Swedish Hill Winery:

1998 Brut Champagne: $17.99. 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir. Lively mousse. Yeasty nose. Light. No guts. 78

2001 Reserve Chardonnay: $14.99. Big oaky nose. Rich, yet sharp. 82

2001 Optimus: Bordeaux type blend. Beautiful nose of dark fruit. Balanced. Ready. 85

Cynthia Marie Port: $19.99. 7.3% residual sugar. Sweet. Simple. 84



Anthony Road Wine Company:

2002 Chardonnay: $10.99. Very light nose. Some tropical fruit flavors. Thin. 79

2002 Cabernet Franc: $13.99. Milk bottle nose. Cherry and dark berry flavors. Drinkable. 82

2002 Semi Sweet Riesling: $10.99. Moderate nose of honey. Bland. 79

2001 Martini-Reinhardt Dry Riesling: $19.99. No nose. Very thin. 75

2001 Martini-Reinhardt Chardonnay: $19.99. Nose closed. Oak dominates fruit. 81

2000 Vignoles TBA: $39.95/375. Nose of orange and honey. Well balanced with cirtus flavors. 92



Seneca Shore Wine Cellars:

Red Sail: $7.99. Sweet red. AN alternative to soda. 75.

Royal Red: $7.99 Wild grape nose. The best thing this wibery produces. 76.

2001 Pinot Noir Reserve: Yeah, right! 70



Fox Run Vineyards:

2001 Reserve Chardonnay: $13.99. Nose closed. Tropical fruit flavors. Thin. 79

2000 Sable: $12.99. Bordeaux type blend. Nose of horseradish. thin. 78

2002 Riesling: $10.99. 2.4% residual sugar. Mineral nose. Lacking acidity. 80

nv Arctic Fox: $6.99. 2.1 % residual sugar. Cayuga, Riesling, Chardonnay. Dilute grapefruit juice. 74

nv Ruby Vixen: 4% residual sugar. Cayuga, Chardonnay, Riesling, Vincent. No nose or flavor. 72

2001 Reserve Pinot Noir: $19.99. Unidentifiable nose. Thin. 74

nv Port: $19.99/375. 12.2% residual sugar. 20% alcohol. No nose. Tasty and sweet with a welcome bite. 92

I hope the scenery and your experience were better than the wines.

Wow. That Fox Run NV Port must've been a huge BOMB of a wine to garner that 92 after tasting all those bad wines.

I'm curious to know... when you taste these wines.... do you tell them to their face that they really stink?

How do you handle when they are looking for compliments? Do you oblige?

Rev, I'm very sensitive to their feelings. I keep my notes hidden from them. When we visit wineries, I send the URLs for the write-ups to the wineries that want them if I have something decent to say about them. Otherwise, I never send the URLs. I insist on being honest with what I write here, but if they ask me what I think, if it's pretty bad, I evade answering. I guess I'd actually be doing them a favor by telling them the truth, but I don't want to get into a long discussion. When I'm at a disappointing winery, I want to get out of there quickly.

Now, here's a quandary. I visited Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars on Monday. The owners, Fred, grandson of Konstantin, and Willy, son of Konstantin, spent two hours with me, tasting everything. Willy took me to his favorite project, his Champagne facility. Then he gave me $100 worth of wine to bring home and share with friends. (Expect some of these to show up at future gatherings. He's looking forward to seeing what I write. I gave one sparkler a 90, 2 wines an 88, but most are in the 85-86 range. I do feel their winery is the best I've ever visited outside of the three west coast states, but it's not up to the level of the better west coast wineries. Do I send him the URLs? Advice from all who read this will be appreciated.

i think you should. constructive criticism from people who drink on regular basis should be welcomed by the winemaker, imo.

I'd tend to agree with Ant, Board-o. But I can see your point about not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings either. Maybe send them an email with the ones you rates thehighest and don't comment on the lesser bottles and maybe they'll get the idea?

When I took a wine class in college during my 4th year, I do remember tasting Dr. Frank's wines. Back then I didn't think too much of the NY wines and haven't really tasted a whole lot since then.

Well, I suppose I'll email them the URLs but I'll post about all the ones I tasted, not just the best ones. None of the wines were bad. Some were drinkable but not worth purchasing for me.

Living very close to the area of discussion, I only care for the Reislings from this area. Each year they are improving too. Red Newt Reserve Reisling made in small numbers is a high eighties to low nineties Reisling, one of the only ones I would care to put in my cellar for consumption.

I think constructive criticism can either hurt his feelings or potentially greatly enhance his livelyhood. Someone who is in a situation where they are making borderline bonefide good wine should definately be encouraged and should understand they aren't making Petrus...yet!
Thanks for the notes, they were entertaining, though not quite a treasure trove!

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to put up the Frank notes by tomorrow.