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In
the News
As
seen in Finger Lakes Times, Geneva, NY, July 6, 2003
By
Alison Newman, Times Correspondent
Winery
is New Challenge
Couple
Hopes to Make Ultra Premium Wines
Penn
Yan - While owners of some local wineries might be satisfied
with regional popularity, the owners of on of the newest want
to gain notoriety on a larger scale.
"We
want to be small, but good," said Amy E. Hoffman, general
manager of Rooster Hill Vineyards, on the eastern shore of
Keuka Lake. "We are looking to make ultra-premium wines in
our winery, and through our efforts, we hope to elevate the
whole region."
Amy
and her husband, David, opened their winery this spring on
Route 54 south. The tasting room overlooks Keuka Lake and
is surrounded by vineyards they planted by hand.
Originally
from the Buffalo area, the Hoffman's lived in California for
10 years before moving to Yates County in December 1999.
"We
always vacationed here, and after one year's trip I said to
Dave, "We have to find a way that we can live in this area
throughout the year." Hoffman explained.
After
buying a parcel of land on the lake, they discovered rundown
vineyards. At that point, their collective 50 years of business
experience came in handy. One of their problems in moving
to Yates County was sustaining themselves but their discovery
allowed for a creative solution to that problem.
"It
was a totally new challenge to us. It as very exciting, discovering
a whole new industry," Amy recalled.
They
took classes at the Cooperative Extension to learn about rescuing
and cleaning up old vineyards, and they also began networking
and making neighbors aware of their intentions. They also
bought more land, enough to see their dream become a reality.
"We
looked at it as a rescue effort," Amy said. "We had to cut
down sumac and goldenrod as high as ourselves. It was a lot
of work, but it was worth it."
They
now have seven acres of vineyards planted and intend to eventually
have 16 to 20 acres.
Rooster
Hill won three bronze medals at the International Eastern
Wine Competition in its first year of entry. Credit for that
goes to winemaker Barry Tortolon, who was born in the Finger
Lakes area and began making wine when he was 15.
After
earning an associates degree in Food Science and Technology
from the State University College of Agriculture in Morrisville,
he made his way to California where he majored in agricultural
science and minored in chemistry at the University of California
at Fresno.
After
graduating, he became a laboratory consultant and research
technician at the Italian Swiss Colony in Madera, Calif.,
before making his way back East where he has worked at the
Fulkerson Winery, Fox Run Vineyards and Glenora Wine Cellars.
He
also helped develop the two-year certification for oenology
and viticulture at Corning Community College.
Tortolon
brings these credentials to Rooster Hill and intends to use
his experience to help locals and visitors understand how
New York state wine, most notably Riesling, can become internationally
known. Tortolon will host a "Riesling Twilight Tasting" Thursday
at Rooster Hill.
"The
most well-known Rieslings come from California or Germany,"
he said. "But it is a very common grape around here and our
Rieslings are competitive with these varieties. Ours are crisper
and more fruity than others."
He
intends to explain how the region itself contributes to the
characteristics of the wines.
"The
terrain, minerals and soil makeup, all affect the resulting
grapes. All of these things are pieces of a puzzle and how
they fit together determines the wine," he said.
"The
makeup of the land is very important in the development of
the grapes. Because the lakes are deep and the hillsides surrounding
them is steep, a unique micro-climate is created that causes
cold winter air to turn to mist. The mist is essential in
creating botrytis fungus part of the puzzle that yields distinctive
Finger Lakes taste.
"Because Rooster Hill is committed
to advancing the name of Finger Lakes wines in general, the
Hoffmans feel that evenings such as the "Riesling Twilight
Tasting" are invaluable. Recognizing good wine is an education
in wines in general, they said and to that end, the evening
will also feature a guest speaker, Rob Bourdelais, an instructor
of wine appreciation at the University of Rochester.
"Wines from California, Germany, Australia
and France will be featured along with Finger Lakes wines,
and the focus will be on identifying different characteristics
and components of world-class wine.
"Amy Hoffman feels that the key to
world class recognition of Finger Lakes wines begins with
Rielsings.
"With the Twilight Tasting we have
created an educational night, and we hope that people will
come away with the realization that Finger Lakes Rieslings
are among the best in the world," she said.
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