Straight Outta Corning -- Highlights of #WBC15 Finger Lakes Part III

SATURDAY--
Ageability of Finger Lakes Wines
I learned a lot in the session led by Brandon Seagar who was funny and engaging and the wines he selected for the tasting supported his points well. The best thing about WBC in recent years have been the educational sessions devoted to aspects of the wines from the particular region. Last year in Santa Barbara, the Syrah panel comes to mind, and in Finger Lakes this session was top notch.

Three Birds Cornerstone Dinner
I’m always honored to be invited to the Cornerstone dinner and Craig Camp’s Cornerstone wines are a pleasure no matter where in the world you are. This year the dinner was held at Three Birds in downtown Corning. The food was quite good and a well suited to showcase Craig’s wines.

Wine Blog Awards Corning Museum of Glass 
What is with the two Allan’s/Alan’s -- Alan Kropf and Allan Wright? They have a special kind of bromance for sure for Allan to get Alan to delay his honeymoon to present the Wine Blog Awards.

Alan Krop pulls out all the stops for his annual awards show

I find the Wine Blog categories are still a bit weird, but I’m sure if I ever won one I’d be knocking people aside to get mine and singing their praise in a heartbeat. Plus that handmade glass trophy??? Whoa, that beauty should win a wine blog award for best wine blog award.

WBC16 Announcement
Drum roll please for the worst kept secret ....

WBC16--We’re going to LODI!!!

Yay, We’re going to Lodi!

SUNDAY--
After the last two sessions we had, in my opinion, one of the best WBC meals by far: chicken spedinis, salt potatoes and fresh husked corn, a Hudson style repast prepared by Sommelier/Winemaker/Chef extraordinaire--Christopher Bates. Mr. Bates deserves some kind of medal for the work he put in over a hot grill keeping hundreds of hungry bloggers fed. What the heck was in that secret sauce? It was the best chicken, actually the best anything on a skewer, I’ve ever tasted. Yeah, it was way too hot outside, yeah, it was way too long a line to get food, but yeah, it was incredibly delicious.

Corning Museum of Glass Tour
You will need at least all day, if not two days, to explore this amazing collection. The new wing of the museum is a work of art in its own right with soaring spaces, undulating lines, and an abundance of natural light to showcase the exhibits.

Celestial Scat at the Corning Museum of Glass

By the way if you find yourself in front of this exhibit shown above at the Corning Museum of Glass and see the term “celestial scat” in a placard describing the work, you can thank me. Huge thanks to Kimberly Ford for the Museum tour and especially for taking the time to escort Regine Rousseau and me through the 100 Years of Pyrex exhibit. It was a true blast from the past.

Thanks Finger Lakes!
Big shout out to Ann Crook, Director of Aviation at Elmira Corning Regional Airport for coordinating blogger shuttles to the airport. That was greatly appreciated and of course enormous thanks to all the sponsors and especially to Laury Poland and her entire team at Finger Lakes Wine Tourism for hosting a memorable and engaging Wine Bloggers Conference.  I’ll be back!

But first I had to try and leave....

Last Chopper out of Corning
After all the flight delays, lost bags and missed connections; WBC15 may go down as the conference you check in to, but can never leave. Cue Hotel California... But if you have to get waylaid in an airport, getting stuck with fellow wine peeps makes it much more tolerable. And if those peeps include the Canadian Delegation...all the better.

After a two hour flight delay getting out of Corning, I was re-routed from ORD to PDX then to SFO the following day.

Last call for Peter Rabbit

While waiting In ORD with April Yap-Hennig for our (delayed, of course) flight to PDX I heard the announcement:

“Last call for Peter Rabbit, Peter Rabbit, gate 27 last call.”

I looked at April and said, “It’s a little early for Easter jokes don’t ya think?”
April gave me a long withering look -- “It’s last call for Cedar Rapids, Marcy, not Peter Rabbit!” Oh...well it sure sounded like Peter Rabbit to my exhausted ears.

Finally made it home, a DAY later!

I got home on Monday, 18 hours after I was originally scheduled to arrive.

I am so looking forward to DRIVING to Lodi! See you all in 2016.

LINKS and RESOURCES
Cornerstone Cellars
Corning Museum of Glass
Lodi -- WBC 2016

Related Links:
Straight Outta Corning -- Highlights of #WBC15 Part I
Straight Outta Corning -- Highlights of #WBC15 Part II

Straight Outta Corning Part II--Highlights of #WBC15

Part II -- Highlights of #WBC15

FRIDAY DAYTIME
WBC Keynote with Karen MacNeil
Karen was a hit. I’m not surprised her talk was rated one of the highest in WBC history. Her story of how she got her start writing and forged her career in wine was compelling and inspiring. I’m looking forward to the release of her revised and updated 2nd Edition of The Wine Bible in October.

Speed Tasting White Wines -- 
All the wines poured at speed tasting were from the Finger Lakes region and I was impressed with the majority of what was presented. My top three were the 2014 Keuka Springs Dynamite Vineyard Gewürztraminer; Dr. Konstantin Frank, 2014 Gruner Veltliner; and the hipster orange wine of the day--a skin fermented, unfiltered Chardonnay from Atwater Vineyards on Seneca Lake.

FRIDAY EVENING

I was on Bus 4 to Keuka Lake with stops at Chateau Frank and Pleasant Valley Wine. We sampled a few of the Chateau Frank sparkling wines and admired the view of the lake and also tasted wines from Ravines and Heron Hill. Fred Frank of Dr. Frank Wines showed us around the cellar and we met Meaghan Frank, the fourth generation family member to carry on the Dr. Frank legacy, who lives in the home. We could have stayed here all evening as far as I was concerned, I was very happy with the wines and the view. But off we went to the next location.

After a short drive, we arrived at the first US bonded winery, Pleasant Valley Wine Company also known as Great Western Winery, where we had dinner in the vaulted cellar room and enjoyed more wines from Dr. Frank, Ravines, Heron Hill and Pleasant Valley Winery.

We had a 2013 Chardonnay and 2012 Pinot Noir from Ravines which I really liked. The Ravines Pinot had a light rose petal nose with flavors of tobacco, spice and dark berries with nice medium tannins. It seemed to be a hit all around the table.

The best part about the excursions is you get a chance to hang out with the winemakers and winery owners and hear first hand about the wine and their operations. I learned that Heron Hill has a very innovative approach to keeping labor costs down. For harvest they “raffle” off the chance for people to work the vines and pick grapes. They also have an interesting program for local homeschool kids to help keep the winery clean and shining. And don’t even ask about how the labels get attached to the bottles--but rumor has it they are hand applied by girl scouts working on their winemaking merit badge! The folks at Heron Hill are staffing geniuses. (I joke here of course, well sorta, kinda.) But no matter how the labels were attached--I really loved the Heron Hill Reserve Cab Franc, it was a standout of the evening for me.


Rockwell Museum Wine Reception 

I was knocked out by the collection in the Rockwell Museum, I’m a huge fan of Western American art and the sight of so many great works by American artists in one place was quite a sensory overload. Add to that the chance to sample a selection of NY State wines and I was practically overcome with Stendhal Syndrome, the condition of being overwhelmed by art.

FRIDAY LATE NIGHT
Hand + Foot again for cocktails before the after-after parties. Word was out and the place was now the ALT WBC hangout.

LINKS and RESOURCES
Chateau Frank 
Dr. Konstantin Frank
Heron Hill Winery
Ravines Wine
Pleasant Valley Wine Company / Great Western Winery
Rockwell Museum

Related Link: Part I Straight Outta Corning -- Highlights of #WBC15

Next: Part III --Straight Outta Corning -- Highlights of #WBC15

Straight Outta Corning (NY)-- Highlights of #WBC15 Part I

As much as I love the camaraderie of WBC (see my post on that here), I don’t particularly love the noise and cacophony the event generates especially when it comes to wine tasting. I need some quiet time to contemplate the wines. I’ve even suggested WBC offer isolation booths for tasting in this post here.  But one thing I’ve learned over the years is even though the WBC hotel is convenient and the locus of all the after parties, I prefer to stay off site if possible just to maintain some sense of sanity.

This year I stayed at the Inn at the Gaffer Grille just above the Gaffer Grille and conveniently located just a few blocks from the conference hotel in downtown Corning, NY. My room was quite spacious with a small sitting area, galley kitchen, and a very comfortable bed. Oh and the rate I paid of all this was far, far, less than the Radisson. I highly recommend it.

WEDNESDAY
I arrived on Wednesday and met up with Robert Larsen and Laura Fontana of Rodney Strong Vineyards and Regine Rousseau first time attendee and scholarship winner. We went to The Cellar for an opening glass of Riesling, then ended up at the Gaffer Grill for dinner. You know you are in the presence of fellow wine lovers when you spend more time looking at the wine list than the menu and select the second and third bottle of wine before your entrées arrive.

After dinner we strolled across the street to Hand + Foot for a nightcap. Over the next three days I would go toe-to-toe at Hand and Foot seven times. I guess you could say I had affection for the place or maybe it was an affliction. But I was instantly at ease there. I felt like Goldilocks, everything from the food, to the wine and cocktails, the music, and especially the welcoming vibe of the staff was just right. Hand and Foot became the ad hoc blogger hangout and Friday night the place was packed with badge wearing conference attendees.

THURSDAY--
I had the day to myself and took advantage of the time to wander about downtown Corning and visit many of the art galleries, shops, and a few of the restaurants including Pocoleum and Donna’s that had a great collection of vintage corning ware and pyrex on shelves above the tables. In addition to the many art galleries, hair salons seem to be plentiful in Corning, so if you arrive with your hair mussed you are in luck as the town had at least six hair salons that I passed on Market Street.

Galleries abound. One of the many works of glass art.

Center way Square Plaza was full of activity--on Thursday there was a farmers market and free music. Friday there was more live music, and on Saturday an Indian festival with music and a belly dancing demonstration was taking place.

The only weird thing about Corning is late at night it felt like a movie set, like it was a façade. At one point Regine and I both compared it to the Twilight Zone episode where a man gets off a train to find he is in a tiny town that turns out to be a kid’s doll house. Some of the storefronts seemed like they were not really open for business, just widow dressing. But the places that were open were more than welcoming and full of real life and hospitality. I walked back to my room at the Gaffer Inn many times late at night when I was the only person on the street and I felt perfectly safe.

Wines of Virginia Dinner--
I had the pleasure of attending the Early Mountain Vineyards dinner hosted by Frank Morgan at Hand + Foot. The last time I tasted through any wines of Virginia was in 2010 when I hosted a blogger tasting with Frank Morgan prior to WBC11. Dang, what a difference five years can make.

I was very impressed with the wines presented at the dinner, particularly the Veritas Viognier, Linden Chardonnay, and the Barboursville Cabaret Franc. I guess Virginia is not a region I can write off as being on the wrong coast anymore.

Sommelier Neal Wavra did an excellent job leading us through the wines and answering our (my)  questions about the region. And the dishes Hand + Foot matched with the wines were pitch perfect. Each course elevated the wines to their full potential and enjoyment from the fried buttermilk-brined poussin, to the country ham, hush puppies and boiled peanuts. The entire meal was a delight of Southern inspired flavors. Yes, there was kale, and it was divine with bacon and white beans.

Opening Reception Centennial Park -- 
Excellent set up with local Corning restaurants and winemakers pouring Finger Lakes wine. Ever since Penticton raised the bar on what makes a memorable event, subsequent locations have had their work cut out for them, but Finger Lakes set the tone for the weekend and delivered with grand style.

Len and Judy Wiltberger, Keuka Spring owners

One of my favorite wines at the reception was the Keuka Spring Gewürztraminer 2014, Dynamite Vineyard. Actually I liked all the Keuka Spring selections that owners Len and Judy Wiltberger poured, including the captivating Dry Rose that was a blend of Lemberger and Cabernet Franc; and the Vignoles, a hybrid grape that I’d never had before.

Canadian Wines After Party--
Canadians and Canadian wine. What more do you need for a great time? Add Jeff the Drunken Cyclist aka Sabering Fool into the mix and you get some drama (and blood) along with a decibel level approaching a jet take-off, and security knocking at the door.

Liquidity and Time

LINKS and RESOURCES:
Inn at the Gaffer Grill 
Gaffer Grill
Hand+Foot
Keuka Spring Winery

Stay Tuned for:
Part II Straight Outta Corning WBC15
Part III Straight Outta Corning WBC15

Women in Wine — Wine Bloggers Conference 2015

L to R: Amy Power, Karen MacNeil, Stevie Kim, Meaghan Frank

One thing I’ve noticed since the end of #WBC15, Wine Blogger Conference held in the Finger Lakes, is a lack of controversy over any of the panel sessions and speakers. Maybe those posts are coming down the pike, but so far everyone has commented on how convivial the weekend was, and most seemed very pleased overall with the speakers and sessions that were presented. 

One panel in particular that I really enjoyed was Women in Wine.

Wine writer Karen MacNeil; Meaghan Frank, General Manager of Dr. Frank’s Winery in The Finger Lakes; and Stevie Kim, Managing Director of Vinitaly International spoke about their success in the world of wine and the challenges they face, in a great thought provoking session moderated by Amy Power.

It was very interesting to hear the generational differences from the discrimination that Karen faced back in the early days of her career, to the relatively smooth path of acceptance that Meaghan experiences. But as Stevie showed in her very illuminating presentation—women still lag behind in the top power and decision-making positions, way behind. It’s not a perfect world for women in wine by any means.

I was surprised by some of the audience commentary that many women, even very young women, still feel intimidated. Lucky for me, I was blessed with good training for dealing with a patriarchal society--I went to Catholic school.

Even as a child I was constantly questioning the powers that be. I  could not adjust to the rigidity of the curriculum and the lack of answers to my questions. Eventually, at the age of eight, I was invited to leave Catholic school and I finally got to go to public school. I thrived in an experimental lab school with a non-graded system where pupils worked at their own level in each subject. I was only in third grade, but I studied at the sixth grade level with kids older than me. This gave me a leg up so to speak on the feeling of being an outsider, but also a sense that I belonged. When I ended up working in tech companies, where I was typically the only sr. level woman in the room, it did not faze me.

Stevie Kim said she wears heels to make sure she can look more directly in to the eyes of whom she is speaking with (and I did notice she has some amazing shoes) – I’d love to do that too if was able to walk in heels with out twisting an ankle. But everyone has to find their own technique. Heels or not, Ms. Kim has obviously made the most of her considerable talents and creativity to make VinItaly and many other programs promoting Italian wine a success.

The advice of the moment for women in the workplace is to “lean-in” to their careers. But I never lean in—I lean back and observe intently. I pay close attention to the conversation, especially the unspoken parts of a dialog, as more often than not it’s what’s left unsaid that becomes important. 

I’ve never felt held back or intimidated because of my gender. I just approach situations head-on. I know my skills, my value, my worth and I don’t let anyone else define me. 

I don’t think you can be equal on an unequal playing field but I believe you can change rules by your determination and presence at the table. Dealing with gender discrimination or exclusion by gatekeepers in the wine world, or anyplace is not easy. But it helps if you’ve been raised to believe your role is not merely to set the table, but to sit at the table, to own it--that it’s a given you belong, not an exception.

Being strong, outspoken, honest, and female is not an easy path. Not everyone will like what you have to say. And that’s okay. Do we need legislation to make sure women are compensated equally and fairly? Hell yes. But I believe the only limits for advancing and getting key positions in any industry are in one’s own head. I’ve worked with incredibly talented and supportive men and women in my career and I’ve also run into to some very difficult people, male and female. It’s not always about gender in the workplace, it’s about the individual.

I was very inspired by what the panel had to say, but I think Amy Power summed it up best at the end of the session—“Here are three great examples of people working in wine who just happen to be women.”

Stay tuned for upcoming posts--
Straight Outta Corning and WBC15: Finger Lakes Day-by-Day Recap

{Photo above sourced from @binNotes Twitter stream} 

Come for the Wine, Stay for the Camaraderie: Wine Bloggers Conference #WBC15

WBC15 Finger Lakes Speed Tasting Table with new and old friends 

W. Blake Gray’s post that the Wine Bloggers Conference is like adult camp is not a revelation; it’s an obvious observation from a first timer. Any veteran WBC attendee will tell you, wine is the topic of interest we rally around, but connecting with old friends and meeting like-minded wine lovers is the engine that drives the conference.

Call it Camp with Wine if you like, but it's often the only time of year most of us see each other. It's a time to meet the person behind a blog or Twitter profile you've been following. Ironically it's also the place I get to see friends that live nearby! Like Michael Wangbickler ‏(@mwangbickler) and Liza Swift ‏(@BrixChick_Liza). You'd think living in close proximity to each other we'd see one another more frequently but that is not the case.

The conversations at WBC revolve around more than wine: I spoke to Ken Hoggins (@KensWineGuide) about his daughters college plans and what type of degree would be best for her career (not journalism it was determined). I listened to Mykha’el Wilson ‏(@Mykhael) tell me about his difficult year coping with the death of his father and brother, a romantic breakup, and moving across the country. And I heard Alina’s (@onegirloneglass) tragic-comic story of the crazy family dynamics that erupted when her grandmother broke a hip.

The Wine Bloggers Conference is a gathering of a diverse group of people dedicated to wine, but also devoted to each other.

Three new friends in a shop window in downtown Corning

My goal at each conference is not to try and taste 300+ wines, but to meet and hang out with at least 3 new people. This year that mission was accomplished by meeting Regine Rousseau (@ShallWeWineChi),  Joanna Snawder and Gabe Manzo of (@WineFaveSnack). Three people I know I will keep in touch with in the coming year.

I’d also include W. Blake Gray in my list of new people. I’d never met Blake in person but was well aware of the reputation that preceded him as an opinionated, bombastic, take-no-prisoners wine writer that will rip you a new one if he disagrees with your view on a topic. (But in fairness, I’ll admit, he is usually right.)

I thought his shut down of Stevie Kim of VinItaly for being off topic in the Wine Writer panel was extremely harsh, I don’t think Stevie was trying to hijack the conversation, and she had a very interesting question that I’ll discuss in another post. But Blake’s outburst to re-track the conversation was like seeing someone explode with Tourette’s.

Yet after a delay of several hours in the Elmira airport, I saw another side to Blake—just a regular guy that wanted to get home like the rest of us. And his play-by-play call of the airline employees gathered around the wheel-well of our tarmacked plane was nothing short of hilarious. I also discovered he is a lightning fast runner as he loped out of the plane in Chicago and nabbed the last seat on the next flight to SFO (albeit the next day), while I got shunted off to Portland for the night and booked on a flight to SFO the following afternoon. 

Canadian pals from TownHall Brands Leeann Froese and Sujinder Juneja

It's impossible to have a meaningful conversation with everyone you meet at WBC, but if you make an effort, you can develop a friendship over three days that may very well last a lifetime.  

At the 2009 WBC, I sat down for my first speed tasting wondering: “What fresh hell is this?” Sitting across the table was a blogger who seemed to be thinking the same thing. That blogger was Frank Morgan (@DrinkwhatUlike). We’ve been friends ever since.

If you plan to go to Lodi in 2016 here’s a bit of advice: Come for the Wine, Stay for the Camaraderie.

Wine Bloggers Conference Preview: It’s a Glass, Glass, Glass!

In just a few days the 2015 Wine Blogger Conference will roll into the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York with the town of Corning as host.

Normally I’m excited to learn all about the wines of the region and visit the wineries, but this year I’m also very interested to spend some time at the Corning Museum of Glass. I keep hearing the chorus from Jumping Jack Flash in my head re-written as:

...I’m jumpin jack flash,
It’s a glass! glass! glass!

After I heard that one of the WBC receptions would be held at the museum I looked them up. On the Corning Museum of Glass site I came across the exhibits section and the pictures of vintage pyrex caught my eye. I grew up with these very bowls and square lidded containers that were the precursor to tupperware. I have two green pyrex bowls (see above)and my sister had the small red casserole with the glass lid and a large yellow dish too.

I had not seen the vessels for 20 years or more till my sister and I came across them in our mother’s kitchen after mom died. It was an instant memory buzz, a true blast from the past to see them in the cupboard. I can remember them in use on our dining table as if it were yesterday. When I use them, I feel like my mom and the rest of the family are right there with me. Which is great since everyone is dead now. It’s just me and the pyrex that have survived.

Don’t Diss My Vintage Glass

So yes, I’m looking forward to trying the many wines of the Finger Lakes, but I’m equally excited to visit the museum and see the vintage pyrex too, no matter what Frank Morgan @DrinkwhatUlike has to say.

Photo Credit: Pyrex photos from the Museum of Glass in Corning