Keuka Lake Wine Tasting

Tuesday, July 26


You can find a map of the Finger Lakes wineries here.

Did some great wine tasting today. I just love Keuka Lake! One of the smaller of the Finger Lakes, but a ton of charm.  (I have a soft spot for small things in this world … J)  

One of my favorite wineries, Dr. Konstantin Frank, was our first stop. 

Tasted five or six wines, ended up buying three bottles of wine and one champagne. Yuuuummmmyyy! The Finger Lakes are known for their white wines, particularly Rieslings.  I’m not usually a Riesling fan, since in this country it is usually sold as an incredibly sweet wine. But there is just the right amount of “minerality” (their word, not mine!) in the soil, coupled with the cold winters to make it a fantastic grape – and an even better wine – in the Finger Lakes. Dr. Frank does a nice dry Riesling, and their champagne is delicious, too. Dry, very pale and crisp.

Auggie and I sat outside and admired the view for a while to let the mild wine buzz wear off – such a beautiful mix of vineyards, lake, farms, blue sky and clouds. I could stare at that all day.

After that, we drove the short distance down to Hammondsport for lunch at the Village Inn & Tavern. I was there in 2006 – it’s great. The place boasts an award-winning beer selection of more than 130 choices. (I know, I know – the Finger Lakes is wine country, not beer.) But back in ’06 when I was there, we actually met the owner’s daughter, who is an international wine judge. She was great – informative, sophisticated palette, well traveled and definitely knew her wine and the Finger Lakes region. She let us try a few reserve wines she had on the bar, and also gave us tips as to which wineries to visit and which to skip. We followed her recommendations that trip and we were not disappointed!  

After a lovely lunch next to a couple that was biking through the Finger Lakes for the week (50-70 miles per day for seven days!), we took another walk around this quaint little lakeside town to digest the Fumé Blanc I’d had with my fish. Then it was off to Bully Hill vineyard and a nice, not-too-oaky chardonnay and another great champagne, but way too many other sweet wines. Blech. 


Bully Hill is known for its labels – and its sense of humor – both of which were on full display. Or maybe it was just the wine by that point???

Good news from the day for all of you is that I got you great gifts from the Finger Lakes. The bad news is that I will probably drink it all before I get home. 

Ha ha ha ha ha.  

Headed back to the campground, and made a stop at the dumping station to empty my “black” and “grey” tanks, and to fill up with water. Unfortunately, at this stop, I encountered my first “problem” with my trusty van, Grover. My wastewater wasn’t pumping out. So, I placed my first “Damsel in Distress” call to Scott back in Maryland, who walked me through a couple of things to help troubleshoot. When I walked over to the other side of the van while I was on the phone with Scott, I saw that my wastewater was leaking onto the street … from a visible break in the pipe. Ugh.

Welcome to the world of RV fix-it, Christine.

Being a non-mechanical female who has never bought or traveled in an RV before, I did buy the warranty package that the RV dealer offered. However, since I wasn’t broken down on the side of the road, “Barbara” from their support line gave me two RV places not too far away and suggested I give them a call in the morning. 

Well, thanks for that. I guess.