Andy and I think that the North Fork of Long Island is the perfect weekend getaway from NYC.  It has everything- the beach, the wineries, the marinas, the great local restaurants, and it still has the rustic, country feel (that the Hamptons is certainly missing)- so we were excited to share our favorite weekend away destination with Andy’s parents, Donna and Charles, my Mom, Barbara, and  Jacquie and Gary. 

Day 1, Friday:  We left the city early to avoid all the weekend traffic and were in the NOFO in a couple of quick hours.   First stop on our gourmet tour of the North Fork was Love Lane Kitchenin Mattituck.   Lunch was excellent.  I had the butternut squash soup and then Donna and I split a lobster roll and grilled vegggie and goat cheese panini.  Andy and Charles split a grilled swordfish sandwich and an amazing-looking french dip. We also shared an order of sweet potato fries and garlic and rosemary fries for the table and washed it all down with some Circus Boy drafts.  Delicious!

 Next it was time to explore the area a bit before checking in to The North Fork Table & Inn.  We drove around Southold, Greenport, and Orient and watched the sun set over the water.  Once it got dark, it was time to check into the Inn and pop open some wine. 

We had all four of The North Fork Table & Inn’s rooms reserved, and it was great to have the whole place to ourselves.  When we arrived, we walked right into the restaurant as the chef was going over the menu with all the staff and they were tasting all the evening’s specials.  It looked great, but we would have to wait for our NFT&I feast until Saturday night.  My Mom,  Jacquie, and Gary arrived and we all caught up in one of the rooms over a couple of glasses of wine (the only problem with the NFT&I is that there is no Inn common area- the living room is actually the restaurant!).  Then we were off to Greenport for dinner at the Frisky Oyster.

We arrived a 1/2 hour early to the restaurant, but we were able to snag a big lounge table in the front of the restaurant by the bar.  We ordered some local bottles of red and white (including a Shinn Estate “First Fruit” White 2007 that we all agreed exemplifies the great 2007 growing season in Long Island) and and were seated in no time.  Dinner was superb.  The oysters “friskafella” were amazing- by far my favorite starter.  Fresh oysters with spinach, parmesan, garlic, and chipotle… mmmmm…. The steamed P.E.I. mussels with chardonnay cream were also excellent.  For my entree, I was very pleased with the crescent duck breast with “hash” of baby fennel, shiitake, and duck leg confit, although I do have to admit that Andy won with his braised short ribs.  We got to meet sommelier, Eileen Duffy, who recommended a 2005 Paumanok Cabernet Franc (Donna’s favorite of the weekend), and we also decided to go with another bottle of the Shinn Estate White. After some great food, great local wine, we decided to hit up the local bar across the street.  We enjoyed a few games of pool, a couple rounds of darts, and some ice cold brews before we retired to the Inn.

Day 2, Saturday: Can it get any better than waking up on a sunny crisp winter day and coming downstairs to the dining room to be greeted by Claudia Fleming (formerly of Gramercy Tavern and the winner of the James Beard Pastry Chef of the Year) with a piping hot dish of gruyere, vegetable, and bacon frittata?  Nope, it cannot. 

 The freshly baked assorted scones and muffins, the homemade granola, the fresh fruit, and the local goat’s milk yogurt were all lovely additions to the morning spread.  We all feasted on breakfast, sipped on our freshly squeezed juices and coffee, purused the morning paper, and then we were off to start our day of wine tasting.

After another leisurely drive along the water and some house hunting adventures, we were ready for our first winery. 

Stop 1:  Bedell Cellers in Cutchogue, New York. 

Andy and I loved coming to Bedell in the warmer months to enjoy their beautiful deck and outdoor tasting bar while listening to live music and making new friends.  At this time of the year, it was certainly too chilly for the outdoor tasting bar, but we still enjoyed the modern tasting room that was renovated in 2001 and that looks more like a gallery than a winery.  We did leave with a couple of bottles of wine, but Bedell is certainly on the more pricey side of NOFO wine, so we decided to save our case purchases for later in the day.

Stop 2:  Croteaux Vineyards in Southold, New York. 

Croteaux was truly a delight!  I had never been to this winery before, and boy was I in for a treat.  The tasting room is tiny and overwhelmingly charming.  There was barely enough room for us all to sit around the bar and start tasting.  Croteaux makes only rosés and I LOVE nothing more than a great rosé on a summer day (or in this case a freezing winter day).  They make their rosés in the same style as those made in the South of France and all have a nice dry balance of fruit and acidity.  All three rosés that we tasted were made from 100% merlot and my favorite (that I took home a few bottles of) was the 2007 Croteaux Merlot 181 Rosé- very light and delicate.  I envisioned myself overlooking the beaches of Nice or Cannes with a glass of this in hand.  The 2007 Croteaux Merlot 314 Rosé and the 2007 Croteaux Merlot 3 Rosé were also lovely and Donna, Charles, Jacquie, Gary, and Barbara all took home cases or bottles of all three.   Paula Croteau, who owns Croteaux Vineyard with her husband, was so friendly and knowledgeable as she lead us through our tasting.  She also told us all about her cooking school and offered us some delicious homemade white chocolate almond bark along with our wines.  They also discount the cost of the tasting to the purchase of any wine, so we tasted for free and she was happy to pour seconds and thirds as we decided on our favorites.

 Stop 3: Shinn Estate Vineyards in Mattituch, New York.

Andy and I have stayed at the Shinn Estate Farmhouse, the four bedroom inn on the vineyard property.  Unfortunately, it was not available for our weekend away this time, but we would definitely recommend it.  We were able, though, to make it to the Shinn Estate Vineyard for a great wine tasting.  We sat in the tasting room in their renovated barn at a big table and began tasting away.  We really enjoy these wines and took home a mixed case of red and whites.  We coincidentally had a couple bottles of the 2007 ”First Fruit” Sauvignon Blanc Semillon the night before at the Frisky Oyster and we LOVE the “Wild Boar Doe” (I mean come on- how cute).  Andy was also big fan of the 2005 Nine Barrel Reserve Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon recently reviewed by the Wine Spectator.

Next Stop: Greenport.  We got a little hungry and decided to head to Greenport for a little shopping and some snacks.  We stopped in for some sandwiches and hot soup and chili at the local cafe, picked up some more bottles of wine for relaxing at the Inn, did a little bit of shopping and then it was already time to spend some lounging time together and to get ready for dinner.

Back at the Inn, we tried some local cheeses and stuffed olives with some wines while playing Taboo.  Janeczkos vs. Freedmans, Ladies vs. Men, and it got pretty competitive.  Jacquie opened up all of her birthday presents while we had some more great wine and then got ready for the dinner we had all been waiting for.

The two dinners I have had at the North Fork Table & Innreally are up there with some of the best meals I have had in my life.  I am amazed by what incredible and inventive things they are doing out there- and they focus on local, fresh, seasonal ingredients.  I started with the pasta- a housemade ricotta cavatelli & porcini mushrooms with parmigiano reggiano, wild arugula, crosnes, and sage. 

For my entree, I had the Meyers naturally-raised grass-fed N.Y. strip steak medium rare with local yukon gold potato puree, swiss chard, baby carrots, and red wine-horseradish jus.  Just typing it now makes my mouth water.  I am not normally a dessert fan (opting for an after dinner drink or cheese plate instead), but we went all out on the desserts at this festive feast, and I do have to say that the coffee-toffee ice cream sandwich with roasted bananas and salty peanuts was heavenly.  There was also a spicy pumpkin cheesecake that blew my mind.  The service could not have been better with all of our meals presented in unison by a well-trained staff.  Our waiter was from Morocco and guided us to an amazing Moroccan red wine that I would have never though of ordering on my own.  By the time the last bite of warm sugar & spice doughnut was snatched up, we were the last people in the restaurant.  Thank goodness we were at our home away from home, because I don’t think we could have all squeezed back in our coats after such an indulgent meal. Here are some pics from our phenomenal meal at the Inn.

 Day 3, Sunday:  After so much food and wine, how could I even think of breakfast?  The steaming hot biscuits topped with a scramble of egg, cheddar cheese, onion and herbs changed my mind.  We popped open a bottle of bubbly to make some mimosas and to toast our fabulous weekend away.  After we packed up and checked out there were still  a couple stops to make…

Stop 1: Vineyard 48 in Cutchogue, New York.  Gary had a friend whose brother made wine at Vineyard 48, so we decided to stop by as soon as it opened for our first tasting of the day. 

We enjoyed the sauvignon blanc and took home a bottle, but Charles and Gary were more interested in the collection of Chess sets and challenged each other to a game while Andy, Jacquie, and I tasted.

Stop 2: Peconic Bay Winery in Cutchogue, New York.  Peconic Bay was our last winery stop of the weekend and it was the perfect choice.  We wanted to hit up a couple more wineries, but Donna and Charles had a flight back Atlanta so we had to make it to LaGuardia in time.  We were shocked by the renovation of the tasting room, but were so pleasantly surprised to see that our favorite wine tasting guide was still there with his famous pretzels and dipping mustard to go along with the Riesling.  The tasting bar was renovated into a long, roomy bar with wine barrel bar stools.  It was still cozy and quaint.  Boy were we surprised to see Pascal who we had met and spent time with over a year ago when he worked at Shinn.  Pascal was a delight and got us caught up on all the changes at Peconic Bay.  Everybody LOVED these wines, especially the Riesling and the late harvest Polaris.  The 2001 Merlot Oregon Hills Reserve was also a real treat.  Peconic now offers three tasting options, a Reserve Tasting, or Flight 1 or 2.  We mixed it up a bit, so we could all try each others favorites off the different flights.  After our tastings and purchases, Barbara, Jacquie, and Gary parted ways to try to find some local produce and to head back to Westchester and Connecticut.  We were headed to find our Christmas Tree, then for a last stop at Love Lane Kitchen before ending up at LaGuardia.  After an amazing weekend of the best wine, food, and company we could hope for, it was very sad to say goodbye, but we know we will all be back.  We already started to plan our next weekend getaway in the spring and to all our NOFO friends, we say cheers and happy holidays!

We’re staying at (I should say ‘taking over’) The North Fork Table & Inn run by the husband-wife team of Claudia Fleming (former Gramercy Tavern pastry chef) and Gerry Hayden and eating at their amazing restaurant Saturday night. Friday night we’ll be dining at The Frisky Oyster in Greenport, where Eileen Duffy, the sommelier and author of the wine blog Cellarette, picks and chooses among the best local wines to comprise her wine list. We’ll also be hitting up some of our favorite North Fork wineries, like Bedell and Shinn Estate, as well as a few recommended by Lenn Thompson, publisher of Lenndevours wine blog, who has become our go-to resource for information on the North Fork and Finger Lakes wine regions. Lenn is doing great things in terms of promoting and educating people about New York wine.

Our driver, Ron, arrived early and we were off before 11 a.m. to start the tour.  Ron was full of knowledge and gave us insight into the development of the region, the growing Amish farm community, the rising real estate prices of lakefront property, and most importantly the layout and reputation of the wineries.  We were having such an amazing day visiting the wineries (and tasting all the fabulous rieslings and gewurztraminers), we decided to forgo lunch to make it to even more wineries before returning to the Inn at 5 p.m.  Who needs lunch when you have local cheeses and crackers and when there are wine biscuits at every tasting table? More of our winery tour and some pics after the jump…

By the end of the day, the rain subsided and we were treated to a spectacular full arch rainbow over Keuka Lake.  The fog lifted and the views from the last couple of wineries were spectacular.  Ron was the perfect tour guide and told us not to worry if our tour ran over our allotted 6 hours.  The drives from winery to winery took us along lakefront roads and we were surrounded by the bright reds, oranges, yellows, and greens of the spectacular fall foliage.  All in all, we learned a tremendous amount about a wine region close to home, made some new friends, and tried some great wines. 

Hunt Country Vineyards:  Hunt Country was our first stop of the day.  Although there seemed to be some tour buses outside, we were pleasantly surprised to walk right in and up to the tasting bar without a wait.  Alice guided us through our tasting ($2 per person for any 5 wines, fully refundable with the purchase of any wine).  Although we were supposed to taste 5, Alice poured us many more.  The highlight of the tasting for me was the 2007 Late Harvest Vignoles (superb).  The noble rot silky sweetness brought me back to Sauternais region of Bordeaux.  I surprisingly found the dry riesling lacking in flavor and overly acidic, especially because I generally prefer dry whites.  The semi-dry riesling turned out to be worlds more pleasurable.  I did not find any of the reds compelling, but we were surprised by a taste of 2002 cabernet franc (the winery had bought back some cases, so we were offered a taste although it was not on the tasting menu).  The winery had a nice little gift shop and also sold handmade ravioli from The Ravioli Shop, a small Rochester ravioli producer.  We had just finished breakfast at the Inn so food was not on our mind, but if it was later in the day I’m sure we would have snagged some of the seasonal pumpkin ravioli for Sunday night dinner.  Being our first stop of the day, it was hard to rate the Hunt Country wines at first but after visiting the other wineries, I would certainly recommend Hunt Country if you are in the Keuka Lake region.

Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars:  Andy and I had heard the most about Dr. Frank’s wines and understood that they were the highest quality wines in the region, so we were very much looking forward to this stop.  We were escorted around the porch (with a beautiful lakefront view) to the second tasting room with about 12 other people as soon as we arrived.  There was no tasting fee and our affable tasting guide, Susan, presented two wines to select from each time she poured.  It worked out perfectly for us, because we would get one of each and compare.  I found the sparkling wines (that they listed as champagne causing me to cringe- being a Francophile myself) to exceed my expectations.  Both the Frank Brut and Celebre Rose were lovely and were made with traditional old world methods.  The whites were quite nice, but the highlight of the tasting was being introduced to some varietals I had never tried (and never even heard of).  The Cuvee d’Amour (the vitus Amurensis varietal from Siberia and northern China), the Lemberger (light style red from Central Europe) and the Rkatsiteli (a hugely popular varietal in Eastern Europe-a white with crisp acidity) were all new to me.  It was so exciting to experiment with tasting and comparing some new reds and our guide continued to pour for us after the rest of the tasting group dismantled.  We ended up spending much more time at Dr. Frank’s than expected.  It was one of our favorite visits of the weekend.

Heron Hill: Our next stop was Heron Hill.  The setting was once again beautiful and the tasting room was unique as it was modeled to resemble the inside of a wine barrel.  All of the Heron Hill employees were dressed up in ’20s attire and there was nice acoustic guitar music making the tasting room a very festive spot.  We decided to taste from the premium menu (at $5 per person), but were surprisingly not impressed with the premium estate whites.  I also was not a huge fan of the premium cabernet franc I chose to taste, but both Andy and I loved the late harvest rieseling.  There was a smooth honey flavor but also some layers of orange peel and light acidity.  Heron Hill had a great gift shop and were able to stock up on the essentials (new foil cutters, stoppers, and cheese boards).

Bully Hill Vineyard:  We had commented that it would be nice to be in a wine region where the tasting rooms were not overrun with drunken groups of men and women pounding wines for a bachelor or bachelorette party.  Boy were we wrong.  When we walked into Bully Hill, we walked right into one big frat party.  The room was full of groups of men and women celebrating god knows what with underwear on the outside of their pants and giant hot dog and hamburger hats on (not kidding).  After being polite and signing the briefs on the outside of some stranger’s jeans with a sharpie marker, we began our tasting.  Jason, our guide, told us when to sip, told us when to chug, and told us when to cheer.  The goal seemed to get everyone drunk so they wouldn’t notice what they were drinking.  Although the wines were not top quality (some were down right awful- think concord grape juice), the atmosphere was entertaining, and the labels on the bottles were quite artistic.  It was a fun stop, but we could not bring ourselves to finish our glasses (of horrendous sugary grape juice) when ordered to do so by our tie-died and mardi gras-bead-clad director of ceremonies, so we ran.

Ravines Wine Cellar:  The next visit took us to the Eastern side of Lake Keuka to a boutique winery run by Morton and Lisa Hallgren.  What sets Ravines Wine Cellar apart from the rest is first of all, the Hallgren’s only bought the land in 2000 so it is quite a young operation.  Secondly (and I was very excited about this), the winery is run by a French winemaker using Old World winemaking techniques.  Morton Hallgren was born in the South of France in Provence where his family owns Domaine de Castel Roubine.  Morton studied at the Ecole Nationale Superiure d’Agronomie in Montpellier and even spent a harvest at Chateau Cos D’Estournel (which we passed while in Bordeaux and from which we have bought a lot of wine).  From there, Morton worked in Texas, at the Biltmore Estate in NC, and at Dr. Frank’s winery as the chief winemaker.  The tasting room was a bit packed by the time we got there but thankfully we left the underwear-clad, goggle-wearing, wine-chugging group behind at Bully Hill.  We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of Ravines wines and especially enjoyed the whites (try the dry riesling, gewurtz, and sauvignon blanc).  We had high expectations for the Meritage (hoping for a nice old world Bordeaux blend), but it did not blow us away.  Definitely a step up from Bully Hill and one of the more consistent tastings we had but not our favorite of the day.

Rooster Hill Vineyards:  Next stop, winery number six.  Okay, by now I am forgetting to jot down my tasting notes so not too sure how exact I can be on the wine descriptions.  Rooster Hill was a very inviting, friendly place (think large red barn with an impressive amount of rooster paraphernalia- both to admire and to purchase).  Although none of what we tasted was remarkable, we found the 2007 Silver Pencil to be quite pleasant.  It is surely a good buy table wine and it is slightly sweet with some exotic fruit overtones.  I would not pair it with your special grilled branzini with olive, capers, and preserved lemon emulsion, but I would certainly pop it open with the barbecue shrimp kebabs or the summer picnic tuna salad sandwich.  We did find ourselves some lovely locally crafted chardonnay strawberry cheese and pepper dusted crackers to take back to the Inn (our stomachs were beginning to growl by now).

Keuka Spring Vineyard:  Our last stop of our quite long day of tasting was Keuka Spring Vineyard.  By now, the fog had lifted and we were treated to spectacular views of the lake.  We tried some different whites (I believe we tasted their pinot gris and seyval blanc- but once again, my note taking skills were not at their finest by now).  I did very much enjoy their gewurtz and their late harvest vignoles.  We also found ourselves some wine-related regional crafts (envision our wine bottles at home now clad with hand carved hanging black beers and moose- now remember how much wine we had before making these purchases).  The tasting room had a rustic feel and a beautiful lake view.  It was the perfect ending to our day in the country along the Keuka Wine Trail.

Although we had planned on dinner Saturday night at Warfield’s restaurant after our inn keeper told us about a special tasting menu we could try from her friend there, the award-winning chef, we decided on a last minute switch and ended up at The Brown Hound Bistro in Naples, New York. 

After a long day of tasting (and after popping open another bottle of white with some strawberry cheese and crackers by the fire back at the Inn), we thought driving 3 miles rather than over 30 would be a much better option.  We had heard how excellent The Brown Hound Bistro was, but we also heard that with only a handful of tables we may not be able to get in.  Thankfully, a couple had cancelled their reservation and we were told to come right over. More on our amazing meal after the jump…

After driving only a couple of miles on a deserted Route 64, Andy and I thought our navigation system must have had one too many glasses of wine itself.  How could a renowned restaurant be 0.5… 0.4… 0.3… 0.2… miles away in the middle of nowhere?  As we got closer, we thought we must have entered the address incorrectly, but then there it was.  A little white house with a picket fence emanating a warm, inviting light.  We climbed up the stairs of the porch and were amazed by the tiny (but lively) little bar and the tiny little dining room.  We were seated immediately and after a quick review of the menu, we knew we made the right choice. 

After being spoiled by such amazing meals over the past week, Brown Hound Bistro still managed to impress us.  We picked our favorite local wines from the day’s tastings and we relaxed to the live guitar music in the dining room while looking forward to a relaxing night in our barn suite.  I started off with a crisp Caesar salad (salad was much needed after a week of indulgence) while Andy had an unbelievable crock of french onion soup.  The most impressive part of the evening was the special I ordered- perfectly medium rare Beef Wellington.  The light savory pastry melted into the perfectly tender meat and the fall roasted vegetables and creamy mashed potatoes were godly.  It surely beat my One if By Land, Two if By Sea signature Beef Wellington- I could not have been happier.  Andy chose the filet with smoked gouda and chived whipped potatoes and petit noir thyme jus- perfection!  How did they do it?  With friendly service, local wines, and amazing food (and only a couple of miles from our Finger Lakes home), we could not have done better. 

We finished up the night with some late harvest reisling and a steaming apple crisp.  The Brown Hound Bistro, our little cozy oasis in the Finger Lakes, was the perfect escape from everything urban.

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.

We have so much to report on our amazing weekend away to the Finger Lakes region of New York. Work’s got us a both a bit tied up at the moment, but we can’t wait to describe and show you some photos of our indulgent and educational weekend. We hit up some fantastic (and some quite unique) wineries…10 of ‘em in 2 days. We met tons of nice people…and some very drunk ones. We imbibed large quantities of riesling and cabernet franc and even got introduced to a couple of new grapes we had never heard of. We stayed at a lovely and romantic B&B. We had fantastic meals. And we saw lots of beautiful fall foliage. More coming soon…