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Americana Vineyards Winery Review

Americana Vineyards Winery Review

Address: 4367 East Covert Rd. Interlaken,New York 14847.
Phone Number: 607-387-6801
Tasting Hours: 11:00-6:00

Region: Finger Lakes AVA, Cayuga Lake AVA, New York
Reviewer: Julie Grice
Review Date: 4/26/2013
Reviewer: Julie Grice
Rating: 4

The Review

The Place:  Americana Vineyards is housed in a sprawling wood building with a long porch wrapping around the front and sides. The rustic interior is accented with farmhouse-style décor, such as the wheel-shaped clock and the rough-hewn wooden shelving. Twinkle lights wind themselves around the exposed rafters and beams lending a festive feel to the place.

Since there are often families waiting to be seated at the café, the tasting room tries to be as kid-friendly as possible. Americana provides children coloring sheets and crayons to occupy their time while the adults taste wine. There are plenty of fudge and dip samples as well! The tasting room is also pet-friendly, and the winery’s dog can often be found greeting guests.

The Experience: &nbspEight tastes of wine usually cost $3, but because we were waiting for a brunch table at the Crystal Lake Café, the tasting fee was waived. Though we were only a group of four, the staff member who served us struggled to keep up with our tasting. She seemed to have a hard time keeping track of where each of us were on our tasting list, leading her to focus on two of us at a time. This unfortunately meant that one couple in our party was done tasting well before the other, and the other was left waiting a long time between tastes.

The Wines: &nbspAmericana Vineyards excels in crisp dry and semi-dry white wines and rich, full-bodied reds. Anything made with their Baco Noir grape tends to be fantastic. Sadly, the pure Baco Noir wine was sold out on our visit, but we still managed to taste plenty of the deep, fruity flavors of the grape via the Revolutionary Red, Indian Summer and Barn-Raising Red wines. The Pinot Gris is spectacular with just enough sweetness to bring out the crisp and fruity aroma. The Lemberger is also impressive, almost buttery and with a spicy finish.

Extras: &nbspAlongside the expected wine and wine accoutrements, the gift shop offers local honey, maple syrup, cheese, salsa and barbecue sauce. Samples of several dips and spreads are available with pretzel sticks. In addition, Americana makes its own fudge. Samples of four flavors were available during our visit and were good enough to tempt a friend into buying the minty chocolate flavor. If you pay for your wine tasting (if you aren’t waiting for a brunch table, for instance), you will receive 5% off your purchase from the gift shop.

Though $3 will allow you to taste eight of the twenty-two wines on the regular tasting menu, you may want to pay the premium fee to taste some of the specialty wines. For $1 per pour, you can sample the two limited release wines, Sunrise and Sunset, and the three blueberry wines.

Insiders’ Tips: &nbspBrunch at Crystal Lake Café is not to be missed. The tables fill up quickly, so if you go, try to arrive as close to opening time on Sunday as possible. If you’re lucky, you’ll snag one of the coveted tables right away. But if not, get your name on the waiting list and enjoy your complimentary wine tasting. It should be easier to get a table in the warmer months, when both indoor and outdoor seating is available.

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