Ever since I started this blog, I've been looking forward to writing a post about the Finger Lakes. As hard as it is for me to remember labels and names with liquor store wine, it's that easy to remember names, locations, and varietals when I've actually visited the winery and drank the wine right there. The Finger Lakes is one of our favorite places: we visited there a few years ago on a whim and fell in love with it. When we got engaged, we both immediately agreed that it was the place we wanted to get married. Planning the wedding was nothing but fun, getting to go up there and drink delicious wine all weekend, and only occasionally pausing to meet with a caterer or DJ.
I could go on, but I still need to talk about our all-time favorite winery, and the amazing wine we had recently. McGregor is a pretty out-of-the-way winery off of Keuka lake. The whole tasting experience here is head and shoulders above the other wineries. You sit in their wood-cabin-y tasting room at a giant picnic table and enjoy a cheese and chocolate plate while super-friendly employees bring you wines of your choice and actually hang out to chat about wine, food, whatever. They never look at you like an idiot when you ask a stupid wine question, they never make you feel rushed, and they make the whole tasting experience so pleasurable that you just want to hang out there all day. And the wine, OH the wine. As much as we love the Finger Lakes, they are not known for their reds. But I have sweet dreams about the McGregor reds for days. Most of their best wines are far from cheap, but every last one is well worth the price.
A few weeks ago we enjoyed McGregor's 2007 Rob Roy Red with a Turkish lamb platter at a local BYO restaurant, Zeina. The wine is amazing. A smoky, full-bodied, dry red that went perfectly with the rich, flavorful meat. I could tell you I detected hints of cherry or chocolate or something, but can never taste any of that stuff. It's just a fantastic wine.
The tragedy here is that McGregor wines (and most Finger Lakes wines in general) are not distributed to stores in NJ, and due to some stupid New Jersey law they cannot ship us wine if we order it. So, I realize that this post will be useless to many people as a wine recommendation, but instead, think of it as a travel recommendation. I am evangelical about the Finger Lakes. They are easily accessible, inexpensive, and just such an amazing place to visit, not just for wine but just for plain old natural beauty. And if you do go, take time to visit McGregor. It's well worth the trip.
