Three years ago on Memorial Day Weekend, David and I had a fateful meeting in Miami. For this anniversary, we headed to the Finger Lakes to enjoy the Seneca Wine Trail and other local activities. We had an amazing weekend of wine, views and fun adventures.
Watkins Glen State Park: A last minute addition to our itinerary, this stop was one of our favorites on the trip. Although a small park, the natural shale formations, waterfalls and gorges were amazing to view and packed a punch per foot walked. The path is a walk up Glen Creek at the bottom of the gorge. Gazing up to the top of the gorge, we saw the layers of shale, creating a stripped grey wall-paper effect. I wish I had brought (and knew how to use properly) my big SLR camera because the photo ops here were bountiful.
Rooster Fish Brewery and Wildflower Café: After our Watkins Glen State Park visit, we stopped in town to try a local micro-brewery. David had tasters of 4 beers: 3 IPAs and 1 nut brown ale. Per David, the Nut Brown Ale was really good. Food was basic bar level.
Hermann J. Wiemer: One of the oldest vineyards in the region and our first stop for wine. The vineyard has a lovely tasting barn and patio. As we stood outside, we enjoyed more than our 5 taste limit because the server must have really liked us. A higher-end vineyard, Wiemer doesn’t allow tour buses or limos. We weren’t pushed along or overwhelmed by crowds. We received the entire attention from the server. We walked away with the 2011 Dry Riesling and 2010 Late Harvest Riesling.
Fruit Yard: Although it has normal wines, this winery specializes in sweet fruit wines, ranging from peach to plum. Enjoying a sweet dessert wine occasionally, we stopped at the roadside red-barn looking tasting room. We enjoyed the fruit wines, though didn’t try the traditional wines. I think the winery is having trouble being taken for a real winery given its name. In order of preference, first being the one I liked the most: peach, plum, apple raspberry, peach infusia and strawberry. Casual vibe. Very sweet, dessert-like wines.
Two Goats Brewing: For those looking for a respite from wine, Two Goats is micro-brewery and bar nestled among the wineries on the east side of Seneca Lake. Although the inside has a dive bar feel, the bar has a porch with an amazing view. This is the same view as Atwater and Chateau Lafayette Reneau, which are Two Goats neighbors. David grabbed the Two Goats IPA, which he enjoyed more than the Rooster Fish Brewery IPA. We sampled some free popcorn and took in the view.
Atwater Estate Vineyard: Our last stop of the day, Atwater was our least favorite of the day. Although it has an amazing porch and view, the wine selection appeared unfocused. Atwater seemed more focused on marketing than the wine, with the wine selection having multiple styles of labels and the winery doing specialty labels for weddings, etc.
Stonecat: A local favorite, we had dinner at Stonecat, a restaurant with locally sourced, organic ingredients. We both got the pulled pork and would suggest this restaurant to any visitor.
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