Elisabeth and I spent the weekend in Rochester, NY with some friends and visited a couple wineries. The first was Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars. Their tasting is highly recommended - you get six choices between two similar wines, so if you pair up with a friend you can try twelve in total.
Here are a few short notes. The links are to the closest matching year on their Wine Facts page:
Dr. Frank's 2002 Chardonnay. Very oaky and dry.
Salmon Run 2002 Chardonnay. Sweeter than the Dr. Frank Chardonnay, not overly oaky. Apples and pears.
Salmon Run 2003 Riesling. Fruity aroma and flavor. Sour notes at the back of the throat, but it's not unpleasant.
Dr. Frank's 2003 Johannesberg Riesling "Semi-dry". Rich, sweet. Nice dessert wine.
Salmon Run Coho Red. Thin and fruity - this is a great table wine. It was highly recommended by our helpful tasting guide as a cooking wine.
Dr. Frank's 2001 Pinot Noir. Light flavor, floral but not overly sweet. Well-layered.
Salmon Run 2002 Meritage. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot. It's aged in French oak barrels, and tastes peppery. Nice.
Dr. Frank's 2002 Cabernet Franc. Nice, tastes of apple.
Dr. Frank's 2001 Merlot. Very fruity, dry.
Dr. Frank's 2003 Riesling "Dry". Great! Tart, tastes like grapefruit. We left with two bottles of this one.
Dr. Frank's 2002 Pinot Gris. Light in flavor. That's all my notes say. What a waste of ink.
Dr. Frank's 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon. Very tannic. Dry dry dry! Lots of plum, tobacco.
The Dr. Frank branded wines are from grapes grown on-site. Salmon Run is their newer, more inexpensive brand blending grapes from other vineyards.
All their wines were nice, and I can recommend them. The notes were primarily to help me differentiate between them, and I'm sorry I don't have more detail.
Posted by peter at October 5, 2004 11:36 PM