A Luscious Landing

One of our stops in Seneca Lake was Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars which is named after a 19th century steamboat landing and was easy to spot with it's gorgeous vineyards surrounding the winery.

As you step into their tasting room the first thing you notice is elegance

Mark Wagner

founded Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars and has consistently produced award-winnning wines with his own grapes since the 1990 vintage.



Mark's family has been in the Seneca Lake grape business since the time of his great grandfather, and since the 1940s has produced vitis labrusca and French-American hybrid grapes for sale to big wine producers like Taylor and Widmer.

As the giants began to stumble and estate wineries emerged in the wake of the Farm Winery Act of 1976, Mark took over the family business in 1978 and shifted the emphasis of the family farm to cultivating premium vitis vinifera grapes to supply the budding new wineries.


The original vineyards are planted on lands recognized as far back as the 1800s as ideal for grape cultivation. Superior soil content, gently sloping hills, unusual prevailing wind patterns, ample sunlight, and proximity to the deep waters of Seneca Lake are all important ingredients that contribute to the production of Lamoreaux Landing's premium estate-bottled wines like their Cabernet Franc.

GOLD MEDALIST - This full bodied red has a big, rich nose with aromas of black cherry, chocolate, cranberry and spice. With luscious ripe fruit on the palate, this Cab Franc has an excellent oak structure that will allow it to withstand the test of time. Bring on your heartiest of fare including game meats, beef steaks, roasts, and meatball goulash.

We opened a bottle of this premium Cabernet Franc at our last wine tasting which was much enjoyed by our customers. If you are interested there are still a few bottles on the shelf which retail for $17.60 with 10% off.

You Never Know What Tomorrow Will Bring

Shortly after opening Vonadeau I had a very nice salesmen stop by with some samples of Pinot Noir from a winery called Warm Lake Estates. He talked highly of the man that started the winery and thought they had a great wine and he was trying to help them reach out further to new customers.

Michael von Heckler was an Electrical Engineer of twenty eight years with Lockheed Martin, during which time he began his venture in winemaking.

In 1996 Michael discovered that just across the Canadian border in Ontario there is a large wine industry located adjacent to an age old limestone plat/outcropping, know as the Niagara Escarpment.

He had noticed that the escarpment continued on the United States side of Niagara River and asked himself, “Why not here?”

Michael's interest and research continued; The Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario provide a unique maritime climate and soil. In 1998 the first acreage was purchased and prepared for planting, in 1999 the first 2300 Dijon clone Pinot Noir plants were ordered. In 2000 the first plants were put to test on two acres of the land; the plants did well. As the years went by the part-time venture turned into a full time business which now produces "World Class Pinot Noir".

Warm Lake Estate

produces exclusively estate grown Pinot Noir using environmentally friendly techniques in the vineyard (manual weeding, no herbicides, organic fertilizers, etc.) and old world techniques in the winery (triage fruit, manual punch down, and French oak barrels).

The Warm Lake Estate 55 acre vineyard

on the Niagara Escarpment AVA is now the largest planting of Pinot Noir east of the Rocky Mountains. Using the most recent agricultural statistics available, Warm Lake Estate has almost 22% of the entire Pinot Noir production capability in the New York State. Volume is scheduled to reach 10,000 cases or 120,000 bottles when the vineyards have fully matured. They will achieve full production in 2011.

2007 Mountain Road Pinot Noir

Fine aromatic wine with bright red fruits, hints of coconuts, vanilla, coffee, chocolate and a silky, supple texture. A great wine and a great value for their World Class Pinot Noir. This wine would pair nicely with roast beef, salmon, roast turkey, and even Vic's Beef Saute with Cream and Mushroom Sauce.

The Wine Spectator 2007 Ultimate Buying Guide rated Warm Lake Estate higher than any other Pinot Noir in New York and thus confirmed what we always knew to be true - Warm Lake Estate makes the best Pinot Noir in New York State.

Niagara Wine Trail now has 12 wineries and 12 more in development it is the fastest growing wine, agricultural, tourism region in the state.

So if you enjoy Pinot Noir or are just starting to experiment with them; then this is one that you will not want to miss.

A Port in a Storm

On one of our visits to the Finger Lakes Region after deciding to open Vonadeau; we visited Glenora Wine Cellars.

Upon our visit at Glenora; which was a Saturday and the winery was extremely busy with the staff giving tours and pouring their magnificent wines. We spoke with one of the young ladies that worked there and told her that we were interested in speaking with someone in management about their wines because I was opening a shop in upstate New York and wanted to help promote New York's wines. We were introduced to Bridgette who explained that she was having to take a scheduled group on a tour in a couple of minutes. Bridgette set us up with one of her experienced staff for pouring samples and briefing us on their wines. Bridgette met us back at the tasting booth after her tour and had us try a couple of other wines that we hadn't had the opportunity to sample as of yet. Bridgette then took us on a tour of the winery, we came back to the tasting room and she decide we needed to try a few more wines by themselves and then try them again with some sharp cheese to see the difference. With no doubt the cheese brought out so many more flavors in the red wines and port that we tried.

Glenora was the first winery on Seneca Lake when opening in 1977, producing 5000 cases.
Glenora is now producing over 45,000 cases and more than 35 different wines from sweet to dry in reds and whites, from champagne, sparkling wines, fruit wines to iced wine and port.

Out of all of the wines that I thought of the most this week I thought mostly about port. With the snow storm last week a nice glass of port would have been quite enjoyable on a couple of those evenings, especially if you were out shoveling or plowing.


Glenora's Port is produced from Cabernet Sauvignon, Baco Noir, Syrah and Merlot grapes, then aged in French oak barrels, our Port is full of rich raspberry flavor with nuances of vanilla. It is a classic complement to strong cheeses such as Blue, Sharp Cheddar, aged Gouda or numerous others made right here from New York Cheese Makers that will go wonderfully with this port.

Glenora's Port would also go nicely with a verity of nuts from the Superior Nut Store

or with Godiva's dark chocolate.

If you are ever in the New York State Finger Lakes wine region; make sure you plan to stop and visit Glenora Wine Cellars, located on the western shores of picturesque Seneca Lake.

Or you can make reservations to stay at their Inn

and eat in Veraisons Resturant

which is also owned by Glenora; not that I have taken the pleasure to visit either establishment but have been told by quite a few couples that it's a must!

While you are in the area there are numerous wineries along the Seneca Lake Wine Trail that are definitely worth visiting and of course indulging in a few samples!