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Lakeland Winery, that’s who! We have our very own spot in an article all about different places to make wine around the world. Check it out here: 10 Ways to Make Your Own Wine
Not to brag, but you know, that’s us listed described alongside wine-making spots in Italy, Argentina and Napa Valley.
Sounds like it’s the good and fancy stuff, right? Not exactly, says Anthony Giglio of Details magazine.
When a wine has ‘Reserve” on the label, it might mean that the wine has been aged a specific amount of time depending on the regulations of the wine region. Many wineries added the term to the label if they had produced cheaper wines. However, nowadays “Reserve” is usually just a marketing ploy.
Giglio explains that only Old World, or European, wine regions regulate what can go on wine bottles. New World regions such as the United States, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa do not have systems for those rules and regulations.
Says Giglio: The term is so misused on American bottles that most of the wine critics and sommeliers ignore it unless we know that the producer has a sense of integrity.
Details: Ask the Wine Guy: Does “Reserve” Really Signify a Superior Wine Bottle?
The largest-ever list of Finger Lakes region wines are to be imported to the United Kingdom by Wine Equals Friends. Eight Finger Lakes wines and six Long Island wines will make their appearance on wine lists at UK restaurants such as Chez Bruce, Hotel du vin Bristol and Hotel TerraVina, reports Decanter.com.
“This previously little known region is capable of making world class wines,” said Wine Equals Friends founder, Sue Chambers.
Red Newt Cellars, Fox Run, Lamoreaux Landing, Lakewood Vineyards, Sheldrake Point, Dr. Konstantin Frank, Hermann J. Wiemer and Red Tail Ridge are the Finger Lakes wineries that made the list.
 Those of us who live in the Finger Lakes region know that we have some pretty amazing wineries, and the beauty of the eleven-finger lakes surrounded by rolling hills rivals anything that can be seen in Europe or Napa Valley. Now the rest of the world is catching on.
The Atlantic recently published a piece on how the Finger Lakes is the next up-and-coming region,  especially because of its Rieslings.
Caroline Helper, writing for the Atlantic, describes a wine region that’s been playing a game of catch-up with the well-established regions in California, Oregon and Washington. Helper credits the local food movement with people turning to their own communities for products and the region’s stellar Rieslings for the growing interest in Finger Lakes wineries.
The Riesling, first introduced to the region in 1962 by Ukrainian immigrant Dr. Konstantin Frank, is the most planted grape in the region, according to the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance. Finger Lakes Rieslings are noted for their dryness and pairing perfectly with meals.
The region also earned some buzz in 2011 when famous winemaker, Paul Hobbs, an Upstate New York native, announced that he’d like to make wines in the Finger Lakes.
So why has it taken so long for the Finger Lakes region to start earning national recognition? Helper writes that many of the local producers blame legislation for the Finger Lakes’ slow ascent into winemaking stardom. Prohibition, which was overturned in 1933, and the Farm Winery Act of 1976, which allowed numerous small and medium-size wineries to flourish, gave the region its slow start. Bob Madill of the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance told Helper:
“In general terms, prohibition slowed everything down and we’re still working our way out of it. For example, New York is one of the few large producing and consuming states that doesn’t allow the sale of wine in grocery stores and that is a historical vestige of the idea that sales of alcohol needs to be controlled.”
The Atlantic article also describes how Finger Lakes winemakers take a collaborative approach to producing wine. The region’s winemakers get together throughout the year and compare notes — they tell each other how they made their wines in the spirit of bettering the entire region. Many of the area’s winemakers are self-taught or trained in the local wineries. Many started out as growers. As Will Ouweleen of Eagle Crest Vineyards said:
 “If you work in a vineyard you know that you can always do better. It builds character, integrity, and honesty and that expresses itself in the wine.”
Lakeland Winery was in Utica this past weekend for the Wine and Chocolate Festival sponsored by Galaxy Communication. Had fun, did quite well and have pictures to prove it!
While traveling recently through the Finger Lake wine country, I came across this Renaissance women working at Prejean Winery. She was kind enough to display my Travel Poster advertising our trip to Napa Valley, California. The deadline is approaching fast so if you are interested in going, please visit www.lakelandtraveltours for more information. One thing I noticed from this excursion is that winery owners and their employees are very friendly and accommodating people. 