Though we had planned to leave the city early Friday morning, we got off to a late start because of work…guess we can’t really complain though since it supports our wine habit. The late start meant an hour to get through the Lincoln Tunnel and an additional hour and a half of Jersey traffic after that. I was nervous we weren’t going to make it in time for our 8:30pm dinner reservation at Red Newt Bistro. Thanks to some fast drivin’ (courtesy of our Hertz rental car) and some impressive bladder control, we made near record time and cut down a five and a half hour drive to about four hours and fifteen minutes. 

We first heard about Red Newt Cellars on Lenndevours, a wine blog that has become our primary source for info on the North Fork wine region and that has added Finger Lakes correspondents to keep readers up to speed with the goings on of that region, too. We were intrigued after reading a post about Deb Whiting, the executive chef and co-owner of Red Newt Cellars, and decided to make a reservation. Our dinner experience at Red Newt Bistro after the jump…

We were famished by the time we arrived at Red Newt, located on the eastern side of Seneca Lake, so we didn’t waste any time checking out the inventive menu and ordering up some appetizers and, obviously, some wine.

Appetizer #1 – House made wheat ravioli filled with sweet potato, dried cranberry, mascarpone and chard in a roasted garlic cream sauce topped with parmesan and toasted walnuts

Appetizer #2 – Bruschetta with fresh mozzarella, free range bacon, roasted red peppers, spinach and chipotle pesto

Our friendly server explained to us how Chef Whiting uses only locally-produced food and that she has a particular place in her culinary heart for local goat cheeses. Our server also recommended the Roasted Pumpkin Hummus and the Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Scallops on Potato Leek Pancake, leaving us with a pretty difficult decision.

The wheat ravioli appetizer, while it could have been served a bit warmer, had a delicious flavor and texture combination. It made for an ideal Autumn starter dish with the dried cranberry, sweet potatoes and toasted almonds giving it both sweet and savory elements.

The bruschetta was served hot and it was amazing. Granted I’m a bit biased given my soft spot for bacon, but this appetizer was kickin’ with the chipotle pesto adding a nice spicy element.

As far as wines go, while Deb runs the kitchen, it is her husband Dave who is in charge of the wine-making process. Red Newt produces one of the few Sauvignon Blanc wines in the Finger Lakes. After all this region is known primarily for its rieslings. Jill went with the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve while I tried a flight of three 2005 Red Newt Reds (cabernet franc, merlot and cabernet sauvignon). Jill enjoyed her sauvignon blanc but missed the crisp, citrus well-balanced summer taste of the Marlborough sauvignon blanc’s. I tasted some fairly big fruit and some acidity on the front of the palate of her wine. Definitely a different style than the New Zealand and Chilean new world sauvignon blanc’s we’ve grown accustomed to, but very good nonetheless. I enjoyed all 3 of the reds I tasted. My favorite was the Cab Franc which had a bright crimson color and light tannins that I could feel the tinge of in my cheeks. I have to say I was pretty impressed with Red Newt’s wines.

With the local cornucopia of pumpkin, cabbage, winter squash, apples and pears, we were not surprised to see these as ingredients in several of the dinner entrée options. Jill went with the lamb chops special while I had the roasted free range pork chop stuffed with apples, pork sausage, chevre and chard with an apple riesling sauce, served with roasted garlic and sage smashed sweet potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Both of our entrées were great, though my knife was not quite sharp enough for my pork chop, i.e. pork chop was euphemistically a tad overcooked. I had an awesome glass of riesling to go with my big, stuffed chop. The 2006 Tierce Dry Riesling is a collaboration of three of Seneca Lake’s top wine producers — Fox Run (we visited on Sunday and will tell you about soon), Anthony Road and Red Newt. Not a bad way to be introduced to my first riesling of the weekend. Tons of floral notes and citrus popped on my palate.

We had a great dinner at Red Newt Bistro and would recommend it to anyone traveling to the Finger Lakes. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for a nightcap since we still had about an hour’s drive to our B&B and it was already 10:15pm.

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