Today is a very nice day for early November in upstate New York. Blue skies with a chill and crispness in the air. It’s a wonderful day for a wine tasting if you ask me!
So we are off to Heron Hill Winery at Bristol, on the southern end of Canandaigua Lake (the main winery for Heron Hill is located on Keuka Lake.)
When we arrived they had a sign on the door that said Heron Hill winery is pet-friendly for all who travel with your pets. A nice touch we thought. Not so sure Cody would get a lot out of it lol but nice to know. The inside of the winery is really nice and sets the stage for a wine experience you will remember. Since we were visiting during the week we had no wait for our tasting. Here are the wines we tried.
WHITES
- Eclipse White 2011 – a very light and easy drinking wine. A blend of unoaked Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris. A very enjoyable wine. We left with a few of these. :0)
- Reserve Pinot Gris 2012 – I really noticed the floral aromas in this wine. Really nice and light.
- Classic Dry Riesling 2012 – A very crisp dry Riesling that would be a perfect match with a cheese and cracker board.
- Reserve Riesling 2012 – Slightly different from the Classic Dry Riesling. It was a bit dryer but still had a hint of sweetness. Would pair very well with chicken and white sauce dishes.
- Classic Semi-Dry Riesling 2012 – “A very versatile wine for food pairings” is how they described it. It lives up to their description. A very good light wine which was sweet but not overly sweet.
- Classic Semi-Sweet Riesling 2012 – This wine had a fruit forward bouquet but way too sweet for me at 3.9% RS. Still, a wonderful taste. If you prefer more of a sweeter Riesling this wine would be perfect for you.
- Ingle Vineyard Chardonnay Unoaked 2012 – A very nice clean Chardonnay. Stainless steel fermented. A fruity and easy to drink wine.
- Reserve Gewurztraminer 2012 – Excited to try this one as I am a Gewurtz fan. Had a lovely golden color to it. The taste lives up to one of the better Gewurztraminers I have had in this area. We left with a bottle of this too.
REDS
- Ingle Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2011 – They described this wine as “expressive with round, bold tannins and rich dark fruit, wild berries, and toasted oak.” It does live up to every part of that description. A very enjoyable red wine if you like robust reds.
- Reserved Baco Noir 2011 – This wine had a deep burgundy color and was rich-tasting. A smoky leathery taste comes across with some oak as it was aged 19 months in predominantly American oak and some Eastern European oak barrels.
Our tasting at Heron Hill winery was one to remember because of the lady helping us. She was so informative about each wine we tried and was an excellent guide. We had the best time tasting their wines and talking about wine. So I guess this really was a good day for a wine tasting!
