We did not make it to the Little Falls Cheese Festival, because we became preoccupied with decorating our front porch for Halloween (pictures to follow) (preview of coming attractions). However, once we had some lights hung, we decided to drive to Little Falls Elks Lodge for a wine tasting.
Our poured was Meghan Tracy from Ann Street Liquors in Little Falls. She was very knowledgeable about the wines and what they would pair with.
We started with a New York State wine, a semi dry Riesling from Wagner’s Vineyards. I thought it tasted New Yorky, which is a quality I like. Wagner’s also offers a sweet and a dry Riesling. I need to look for the dry one.
We went on to a Giesen Sauvignon Blanc. This was also very nice. It comes from Marlboro, New Zealand, where they say all the best Sauvignon Blancs are from (not that I know who “they” are).
Both whites would be good with softer cheeses. The red wines we tasted would be good with harder, aged cheeses such as provolone and cheddar.
We first tried Bonterra Merlot, a California wine. I found it very smooth, not at all heavy. The last wine we tried was Atteca, a red wine utilizing Grenache grapes. I liked it best of the four.
We enjoyed the tasting very much, and decided to go home via Ann Street Liquors, to take a bottle home with some folks from other contributors.