Wine and Spirits Travel

While I was in New York City for Taste of Tennis , a yearly charity event that features top chefs and top players, I had the pleasure of spending a night at the Hotel Elysée .   It was my first experience at an HK Hotel , a chain of boutique properties in Manhattan that consistently receive the top ratings on Trip Advisor . Hotel Elysée was a perfect preview of my upcoming trip to France.  Everything about the hotel, including the dedication to artwork, flowers, food and drink, screams European.  My room, full of quaint furniture, had a beautiful balcony.  If I didn't let my eyes wonder past the cute table and chairs to the Manhattan skyline, I could have easily believed I was in Paris! Beyond the rooms and the attentive staff, you will find special touches at the Hotel Elysée that I’ve never seen offered without extra charge at a hotel in New York City.  For example, the high speed internet is free of cost.  Guests are given a complimentary evening reception on weekdays and

After a preview tasting of some of the new offerings and more than two weeks of eating many other items, I think I’m well-qualified to talk about what there is to eat and drink at the U.S. Open . I know it’s supposed to be about the biggest sporting event in the United States, and you will never get me to say tennis isn’t important, but attending the U.S. Open is about the entire experience.  The experience here is about “cooks” like Executive Chef Mike Lockard, Spiaggia Chef Tony Mantuano, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Border Grill Chef Susan Feniger, Carmen the Restaurant Chef Carmen Gonzalez, RM Seafood Chef Rick Moonen and New York’s infamous Jonathan Waxman, winner of the 2010 US Open Master Chef Charity Competition. The new chefs and additional offerings by Levy Restaurants have transferred into some great dishes.  The South Plaza Café, which still offers the great Panini’s, now also has an assortment of other menu items.  I hear (I’m allergic so I didn’t try it) the Lobster R

The winding roads and beautiful lakes of this area don’t ever seem to end and one of them led me to Shaw Vineyards .  Steve Shaw grew up in this region so winemaking was a natural transition for him.  In stark contrast to nearly every other place I had seen, the set up here is very simple, in a barn, with a tasting table surrounded by art (for sale) by a friend of Shaw’s.   His winemaking ideas are unconventional as well and they led him to branch off from a partnership to his own place.  Among the methods he employs are wind power and geothermal energy to run his Europress, which gently de-stems and turns grapes rather than following the usual crushing process.  Shaw’s other point of note in winemaking is patience and you will find many more aged wines here than on the racks of some of his neighbors.  We tasted a selection that included his newest release, a perfect 2007 Riesling  to a 2004 Chardonnay that showed the strong pepper and vanilla from 24 months in old French oak to a 20

It was time for Meg to go home and two more knowledgeable guides Teresa and Nicole, to take over and escort me through the scenery, attractions and wineries of the region.  Despite all I have seen, I am beginning to feel I’m not even scratching the surface on this trip.  There is just so much to see, do (and taste) in this area! The first stop was one of the biggest and most known wineries in this area, Dr. Konstantin Frank’s , home of the namesake wine, as well as Salmon Run and Chateau Frank sparkling wines.  The quickest way to sum up the quality of this winery is to point out the 40 gold medals their wine has won – in 2010 alone.  As if great wines weren’t enough, the winery offers some of the most absolutely incredible views you will ever see up here, with the vineyards in the front and Keuka Lake behind it.  Those vineyards have quite a history as Dr. Frank pioneered the growth of vinifera in the United States back in 1951 in his successful quest to bring Northern European win