4024 State Route 14, Watkins Glen, NY 14891 • Phone: 877-535-9252 December 2018 • Volume 29 • No. 2

Lakewood Vineyards was foundedin 1988, but we didn’t open ourdoors for business until thefollowing year. 2019 marks the 30th

anniversary of that occasion. Overthose years Lakewood has evolvedfrom a small upstart winery to, wellheck, whatever we are today. Sowhat’s changed over the last 3decades? To name a few of the moreobvious changes, our production andsales have grown by 20 fold. Toaccommodate that growth, we’veexpanded our facility 7 times. Ouroriginal 7 wine tanks have beenjoined by an additional 61 largertanks, not to mention over 250barrels. The addition of gardens, a3-season outdoor tasting deck andthe doubling of our vineyard acreagehave all been part of that evolution.In addition, my wife reminds methat I’m 30 years older. Fortunately,

the next generation has been suckedinto Lakewood’s labor pool. Yes,things have changed a little sinceopening day, but one thing remainsthe same: Our appreciation forthose who have made this possible(that’d be you). So we hope you’lljoin in the festivities. To celebratewe are planning wine and foodpairing dinners themed “Celebratingthe Past, Present & Future”. Forthese dinners, we’re going retro,back to the cozy confines of ourtasting room where our first wineand food pairing dinners took place.Dinner will feature 4 courses pairedwith a selection of older, carefullyselected library wines (that’s the

“past” part) along with currentreleases (present) and 2018 vintagetank samples (future). In additionwe will debut our 30th AnniversaryBlanc de Blanc sparkling wine (see

articleon page2).Weareexcitedtopartnerwith theBrownHound Bistro of Rochester, NY forthis occasion. This smaller venueaccommodates only 40 guests perdinner, so we’ve scheduled 3different nights,

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877-535-9252. Price is allinclusive, $70 pp for Rose Guildmembers and $80 pp for not-yet-Rose Guild members. We lookforward to spending one of theseevenings with you.

By Chris Stamp

Lakewood’s open air tasting bar, perfectly sheltered by anadjustable louvered roof, was the ideal spot to sipthrough a flight of your favorite wines this summer. Buteverything we loved about the outdoors in the summerbecame a liability when temperatures plunged south of60o F. As much as everyone loves the open air venue,

who really wants to taste wine with mittens on? So, toextend the “outdoor” tasting season we’ve installedcustom retractable sides designed to preserve theoutdoor feel but fend off the seasonably chilly breezes.With the help of a couple heaters, we should be able tostay comfortable right up until the snow flies.

The deck wide open on a warm day. The deck with sides down on a snowy day.

In my household, there are twocategories of bubbly: “EverydayBubbly” and “Special OccasionBubbly”. The criteria for oureveryday bubbly are: crisp, lightlyfruity and affordable. Usually it’s abottle of Lakewood’s BubblyCandeo. Special occasion bubblycalls for something a little morecomplex, and due to inherent rawmaterial and production costs it’smore expensive. In recent years,Lakewood’s Blanc de Noir 2011 hasbeen a top candidate. It’s drinkingmagnificently right now, with hintsof cherry, roasted nuts and toast. Ifyou have a bottle secreted awaysomewhere, make up a specialoccasion and you’ll see what I mean.

Sadly, our Blanc de Noir is on theendangered wines list. But noworries, we saw that coming. Thirstis a recurring event, ergo, so mustwinemaking. Last year we beganproduction on another batch ofclassically produced sparkling wineusing 100% Chardonnay grapes. Weproduced this wine in thetraditional, labor intensiveChampagne method (AKA

“Methode Champenoise”) using onlythe free run juice from handpickedfruit. It is bottle fermented andhand disgorged. Aptly namedLakewood Vineyards 30th

Anniversary Blanc de Blanc, it willdebut at our “Celebrating the Past,

Present & Future” wine and foodpairing dinners (see article page 1).

By Chris Stamp

Okay, there is no “Awesomeness” awardthat we know of, but we are happy to benamed “Riesling Winery of the Year” byThe New York International WineCompetition. In addition, the American

Wine Society named Lakewood’s2017 Dry Riesling “Best Riesling”.That’s two big hoorah’s forLakewood Rieslings and we thinkthat’s pretty awesome!

Winemaker Chris Stamp holds a bottle of the 30th Anniversary Blanc de Blanc.

Rain is both friend and foe to grape growers. It’s dosagedependent. This fall we OD’d. 2018 was the wettestFinger Lakes harvest I can recall, and I have made winein 34 of them, so I can’t entirely vouch for my memory.The nearly incessant rainfall from August throughOctober (and continuing at this writing) so saturatedthe ground that tractors were getting stuck mid-rowand harvesters were sliding dangerously close to gullies.There were days we just couldn’t pick because there wasno break in the rain, other days we couldn’t pickbecause it was still too muddy from the day before. Theupside is, we sure didn’t have to worry about wildfires!On years like 2018, we must keep an especially watchfuleye on the vineyards. Our aim being to allow the fruitto mature as long as possible and then harvest it just

before it succumbs to the wrath of Mother Nature.With one precipitation event after another, harvest wasvery compact as many varieties reached a tipping pointall at once. One week in October, we harvested andpressed almost 150 tons of grapes. As the dust settles(intentional irony) on harvest 2018, I can honestly saythe crew at Lakewood put in a Herculean effort, thefruits of which are just now being revealed in theemerging aromas and flavors of the newly fermentedwines. Our crew’s efforts in the vineyards and cellarsnatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Overall weanticipate the 2018 wines to shine despite the rains, tobe beautifully food friendly, elegant and restrained,with nice acidity and slightly lower alcohol.

Contact us for availability of Lakewood Vineyards wines outside of New York.We can be reached by phone (Mon. - Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm), fax or e-mail (anytime).

2017 Chardonnay $142016 3Gen. Riesling $202017 Dry Riesling $142017 Riesling $142017 Full Monty Riesling $152017 Gewurztraminer $152017 Pinot Gris $152017 Long Stem White $9*2017 Long Stem White (1.5L) $15*Will only ship by 6-btl cs.-12 btl. UPS rate applies to 6 - 1.5L2017 Niagara $92017 Abby Rose $92017 Vignoles $112017 Valvin Muscat $112017 Lemberger $182017 Cabernet Franc $182016 Pinot Noir $252017 Glaciovinum(375 ml) $162017 Bubbly Candeo $132017 Bubbly Catawba $112011 Blanc de Noir $30

Wine Total: Subtract 15% for orders of 12 or more btls UPS Charge (sales tax applies to UPS chgs): Sub Total: 8% Sales Tax: Total: $25.00/case (12 btls.), $17.00/half case (6 btls.)

See for current vintages, descriptions and prices of our winesand to order directly from our website.

4024 State Route 14Watkins Glen, NY 14891(877)535-9252 Fax #: (607)535-6656e-mail: wines@lakewoodvineyards.comAsk about becoming a Rose Guild member

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For most people, a visit toLakewood Vineyards entails a winetasting and a conversation with oneof our wine stewards, and then it’soff to the next attraction. We get it.There’s so little time and so muchto see and do in the Finger Lakes.But for those who harbor the urgeto see behind the curtain, we offerour Cellar Tour. Available at 10amand 11am on Saturdays and 1pm onSundays, our Cellar Tour lastsabout 30 minutes and is followedby a wine tasting. Tours are limitedto 12 people. We requestreservations 2 days in advance.

Cost is $10 per adult and kids arefree. We’ll refund $4 with a winepurchase.

Liz hosts a Cellar Tour.

Lakewood’s printed newsletter haslong been our primary outreachvehicle. We try to keep youinformed about our majorscheduled events, wine intereststories and all the other sillinessthat goes on around this place. Butwith only 4 scant pages twice a year,we can’t possibly fit it all in. So, forthe latest scoop on events, winespecials and other such news thatdidn’t make the deadline for theheadline, please check our websiteat:

4024 State Route 14Watkins Glen, NY 14891

We’ve always taken pride in theenvironment inside Lakewood. Nowwe can brag about the environmentoutside as well! Lakewood Farmswas the recipient of New York’s2018 Agricultural EnvironmentalManagement Award. Lakewood,cited as “a model of exemplaryenvironmental management” is thefirst grape farm to receive theEmpire State’s top environmentalaward!The award recognizes Lakewood forits numerous conservation measures,

including: composting, mulching,water and nutrient management andcover cropping. Using thesepractices it is estimated thatLakewood conserves 1000 tons ofsoil and nutrients annually.Ever humble about the award,vineyard manager, Dave says, “I’mjust carrying on what was instilled inme growing-up. We’ve got to takecare of the land.” It’s just one morereason to feel good about enjoyingLakewood wine. Bev, Quinn, Dave & Erin with the

Agricultural Environmental Management Award.

Occasionally made, always loved, Lakewood’s Reserve Cabernet Franc is a limited production wine made in a big,concentrated style. A unique, labor intensive technique, developed at Lakewood, produces this muscular version ofour Cabernet Franc. The downside is we can only produce this wine in certain vintages. The wine requires nearly 2years in French oak barrels to achieve its supple roundness. Although we are currently sold out, we are hoping torelease the 2017 vintage sometime in the summer of 2019. With only about 150 cases in the pipeline, we want to giveour loyal readers the first shot at them. So, here’s your heads up. Call now and reserve your bottle(s). Limit 12bottles/ person. Priced at $40/bottle. Case and Rose Guild discounts still apply!