In the red: From left, Rick Lawless and
Paul Martan from the Red Barn Winery look on as Jacqui Fehlman and Al
DeCosta sample from their sundry selection at the Regional Market. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

Just like you walk into a classroom
expecting to know less than a teacher, enter a tasting room with the
same spirit for learning. Vintners understand what it is like to be new
to wine. Take Stoneage Winery’s Bob Mattuci, who had to dump 180
gallons of a batch gone wrong when he was just getting started in
winemaking. 

“It took me 12 hours to pick a ton of
grapes, hours to press,” he recalls. “I cried dumping the juice down
the drain in the morning. Then that afternoon I cried when I gave my
daughter away {at her wedding}.”

Not all vintners pick their own grapes
but each seems to share a reverence for the process from vine to vino.
Red Barn Winery, for example, may boast an Old World design but its
wines are all New York, produced exclusively with locally produced
grapes and fruits.

{mospagebreak} 

Anyela’s Vineyards was designed entirely
around the agricultural process so that the first impression visitors
have as they approach is the vines. Owner Jim Nocek says, “{The}
process is not hidden. It does take a lot of work but it’s very
beautiful.” Nocek’s new winery helps round out the pinot portfolio of
Skaneateles nicely by adding to another tasting opportunity at an
off-site tasting room right on the lake.

Chris Couch, King Ferry Winery’s tasting
room operations manager, has a creative way to gauge what types of wine
beginners might like. He asks people how they take their coffee and
whether they drink soda. Then Couch hones in on their preferences for
bitterness, body and sweetness that are characteristic of various types
of wine.

According to Amanda Lee, account manager
for the Central New York Regional Market Authority, the Regional Market
offers wine tasting every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. with five
different wineries including Ashley Lynn, King Ferry, Lakeland,
Pheasant Ridge and Red Barn; Stoneage Winery is there during the
winter. Leon Hurlbut of Ashley Lynn Winery notes that most people at
the Regional Market who want to do a wine tasting are familiar with the
Finger Lakes wine trails, but don’t let that deter you novices out
there.

Wineries, vineyards and their commercial
offspring are not the only stomping grounds for the stuff made of
round-skinned beauties. Vinomania, a wine-only shop in Syracuse, hosts
a special tasting event once every six weeks, along with having about
20 bottles of wine open on a given day for tastings at this
wine-lovers’ mecca. Vinomania owner Gary Decker notes, “People say it’s
like going to a barber shop. You run into the same people. It’s a place
to meet.” Decker also welcomes beginners with questions: “People look
for brands but it’s more interesting with someone with an educated
palette to help {with questions}.”

Most wineries enhance the social aspect
of tasting by offering special events or social clubs. One vintner has
taken it digital. Lakeland Winery’s Andrew Watkins is the official
organizer of Lakeland Wine Making Club and the Syracuse Wine Meetup
Group powered by social networking site www.meetup.com.

During a tasting at any venue, small
samples are usually poured from white to red, starting with
light-bodied wines. Nocek reminds, “If you start with reds, the tannic
structure coats the taste buds.” Similarly, Decker explains that people
pour from light-bodied to heavy-bodied wines because the other way
makes the light-bodied wines seems watery.

Four steps matter during a tasting.
First, you swirl the glass and hold it up to the light to gage the
appearance, looking for legs, or small lines of wine left around the
glass post-swirl, to indicate body and alcohol content. You are also
looking for clarity when you hold it up to the light.

{mospagebreak} 

Next, notice the fragrance, also called
the bouquet or nose, to indicate the type of grape that produced it.
Nocek believes that “half of wine tasting is associated with aroma.
Pinot Grigio has a floral fragrance like green apples.” Female drinkers
might have an advantage since Mattuci says they have better sensory
perception and great noses.

The next step is the anticipated taste,
to identify sensations in the mouth ranging from being yummy to sensing
body and texture.

Lastly, check for the finish, a fancy
word for aftertaste. As the wine lingers, you may sense a hot or spicy
characteristic. Sometimes, after a tasting, your taste buds will get
you a bargain. Couch admitted coolly, “My favorite cabernet sauvignon
is $7 from Indiana.”

From the off-site stops at the Central
New York Regional Market to the newest addition to the Finger Lakes,
Anyella’s Vineyards, the Central New York wine tasting scene just got
easier to join.

Talk the Talk 

Consider using this winespeak for an automatic linguistic upgrade from newbie to

connoisseur. These wine descriptors are a step up from cork, bottle and vine.

Balance: How well the acid, sugar and tannins go together.

Body: Fullness and weight of a wine comparable to the difference between whole,

2 percent and skim milk

Bouquet/Nose: Describes the fragrance of the wine

Legs: Small lines of the wine that stream down along the glass after swirling.

Palette: A person’s tasting preferences and knowledge.

Residual Sugar: Amount of sugar in the wine that classifies it from sweet to semi-sweet to dry.

Tannic: Same “mouth feeling” as drinking really strong tea or an unripe fruit.

Varietal: Wine that is made from a single grape variety.

Vintner: Another word for a winemaker.

Wine Flight: Simply means a wine tasting.

Fit for a king: A few bottles of the King Ferry Winery’s finest are holding court at the Regional Market on a recent Saturday. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

Tongue Tied

A world-class wine experience awaits just outside your door.

Anyela’s Vineyards, 2433 W. Lake Road, Skaneateles; 685-3797; anyelasvineyards.com.

Ashley Lynn Winery, home site and
original farm market: 4142 Route104, Mexico; 963-3262; newer farm
market: 4141 Route 14, Dundee; (607) 243-8084; ashleywines.com.

Central New York Regional Market Authority, 2100 Park St.; 422-8647; nyfarmersmarket.com.

King Ferry Winery Tasting Room, 22 Jordan St., Skaneateles; 685-2009; treleavenwines.com.

Lakeland Winery, 877 State Fair Blvd., Syracuse; 487-2884; lakelandwinery.com.

Pheasant Ridge Vineyards, 3456 Ransom Road, Jamesville; 469-4346; pheasantridgevineyards.com.

Red Barn Winery, 7191 Buckley Road, Liverpool; 458-2276; bestwines4u.com.

Stone Age Winery, 1013 Tulip St., Liverpool; 457-6718; stoneagewinery.net.

Vinomania, 313 E. Willow St.; 422-8466.