Two Almost Local Reds

2007 Sheldrake Point Gamay (Finger Lakes) - Medium red, moderate nose of black cherries and dust. Good acid and a full, but medium length finish. Decent wine but up there with some of the better Gamays I've had.
2003 Henry of Pelham Meritage (Niagara Peninsula, Ont.) - I believe I picked this up at the winery a few years ago during one of my expeditions to meet up with PaulB. Opened last night with steak and portabella mushrooms. Deep red color, no purple or brown tints. The alcohol comes on stronger than the 13% indicated on the label. Hints of leather, mint and mowed lawn on the nose. A bit more acid than I'm used to in these types of blends. Raw tannins and a medium finish. Certainly drinkable, but, like the Gamay above, not up there with comparable versions from CA or Bordeaux.

Howie, a 2003 Gamay from Henry of Pelham? Given that this was a mediocre vintage and this is a wine destined for early drinking, I'm surprised that the wine was at all drinkable!

Norm

hmm - no, the pelham was NOT a gamay and i think there is a 'not' missing from the sentence about the gamay.

Howie, a 2003 Gamay from Henry of Pelham? Given that this was a mediocre vintage and this is a wine destined for early drinking, I'm surprised that the wine was at all drinkable!

Norm

David is correct - Sorry for the confusion. Instead of

Certainly drinkable, but, like the Gamay above, not up there with comparable versions from CA or Bordeaux.

Perhaps I should have said something like "Certainly drinkable, but, not up there with comparable Cab/Merlot blends from CA or Bordeaux. Likewise, the Sheldrake Point Gamay was not up there with many Beaujolais or ESJ versions I've had."

[James Roscoe]

Had a Tourainne Gamay yesterday with burgers and hotdogs. It was wonderful. All wild strawberries and meadow on the nose and strawberries and violets on the palate. I served it at about 45F and it got better as it warmed up. A delicious summer red, especially for $9.99!

Sheldrake probably has more Gamay than anyone else in the Finger Lakes and I've followed that wine from its first vintages (maybe 10 years or so?). I'm not really sure what they are trying to do - the variation in style from year to year makes it hard to know what to expect next. One year like a light and sharp rose, next year darker and soft with maybe a touch of oak, etc. etc. At first I had great hopes for Sheldrake, given the clear level of investment put into the nicely situated vineyards, but the results have been generally underwhleming, especially on the Pinot Noir and Gamay side of things.

At first I had great hopes for Sheldrake, given the clear level of investment put into the nicely situated vineyards, but the results have been generally underwhleming, especially on the Pinot Noir and Gamay side of things.

Unfortunately my take on many FL wineries. Still, looking for the needle in the haystack, and a purchaser when the vintage is good (about 3-4x a decade).

At first I had great hopes for Sheldrake, given the clear level of investment put into the nicely situated vineyards, but the results have been generally underwhleming, .

I think you brought a Sheldrake Riesling that I enjoyed to one of the first offlines I ever attended. Gave me a good impression of the winery, but since a couple of reds have been less attractive.

Unfortunately my take on many FL wineries. Still, looking for the needle in the haystack, and a purchaser when the vintage is good (about 3-4x a decade).

I don't know. Not seeing much progress at Sheldrake, while others like Heart and Hands, Red Tail Ridge and Damiani seem to be making better reds right out of the gate, while others show steady improvements.

Dale: the Rieslings have been the only reliably good wines from Sheldrake, IMO. A few nice Cab Francs and Pinot Gris, recently some interesting Gewurz, but otherwise ho-hum.

Two years ago, during the NiagaraCOOL winery tour, the wine maker at Cave Spring (Jordan, Ont.) said "80% of the wine we make is white, because this is white wine country. We only make reds to round out the product mix." There are some nice Gamays, Pinot Noirs and Cab Francs made in the region.