Guided Renowned Winemaking in the Finger Lakes

Guided Renowned Winemaking in the Finger Lakes

The Finger Lakes has arrived! Throughout the wine industry the Finger Lakes is being recognized as one of the world’s top wine regions for rieslings. Nothing demonstrated this more when two of the worlds most notable winemakers decided to make their mark by planting vineyards and making wine on the east side of Seneca lake.

This tour celebrates the coming of age of Finger Lakes wines by visiting the estates of two renowned winemakers: Paul Hobbs and Louis Barruol. Paul Hobbs, known as one of the world’s “flying winemakers” owning 7 wineries around the world, and having consulted for scores more, is originally from upstate NY and has come home to New York with the opening of Hillick & Hobbs.

Louis Barruol is one of the most celebrated winemakers in the Rhone Valley of France. The 14th generation winemaker at his family’s winery, Chateau de Saint Cosme, not only elevated the domaine to prominence, but also the entire Gigondas appellation in which it resides, serving as the benchmark of wine quality in the region. In 2011 Louis Barruol and managing partner Rick Rainey released their first vintage of Forge Cellars wines, and upon doing so immediately set the bar for terroir driven riesling in the Finger Lakes.

We start our morning at Forge Cellars, where guests experience a guided communal tasting in the winery’s Summer House, a classroom style atmosphere over looking the estate vineyard.  A pre-determined selection of terroir-driven bone-dry Rieslings along with Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc will be shared and discussed, with an emphasis on the region’s geology and the diverse collection of vineyards they work with on southeast Seneca Lake.

After the tasting, we will walk down to Forge’s Salon – a stunning indoor/outdoor lounge space – where you will relax and enjoy a prepared assemblage of artisanal foods including toasted baguette, local cheese, imported Jamón and other seasonal items.  Guests will have the option to select wines from Louis Barroul’s wineries in France, to enjoy with your food.

With appetites sated, we will head to Hillick & Hobbs, where one of the vineyard team will host you on an immersive tour of the vineyard, a 10-year work in progress that pushes the boundaries of what is possible when grape growing in the Finger Lakes. Afterwards, experience a guided flight of Hillick & Hobbs currently released vintages alongside wines from Paul’s California winery, Crossbarn, or his collaborative projects around the world from Argentina’s Viña Cabos to Armenia’s Yacoubian-Hobbs.  The wines will be accompanied with local cheese and charcuterie to emphasize the qualities that make them exceptional food pairing wines.

For our final stop, we will visit Red Newt Cellars for a personal and private tasting with Owner and Founder, Dave Whiting or lead wine associate Heather O’Grady-Evans. Share three sets of side-by-side verticals of specially-selected wines from the Red Newt library. Learn about the evolution of the Finger Lakes through 25 years of winemaking at Red Newt Cellars. Through this tasting you will come to understand the hard work and passion behind the community of Finger Lakes winemakers over the past 40 years that has brought the region to where it is today.

A tour designed for our most discerning guests, this experience will leave you with an entirely new perspective on Finger Lakes winemaking.