Okay, so curiosity got the best of me. Could you get drunk on the stuff? Could the two biggest sins, alcohol and sugar, be enjoyed in one serving? The last time I screeched to a halt on the road was when I spotted garlic ice cream in Gilroy, California just south of San Francisco (the garlic ice cream tasted a little too garlicky for my tastes).

The wine ice cream was actually located inside Amberg Wine Cellars, 2200 Routes 5 & 20 Stanley, NY 14561, 585.526.6742, one of the first wineries on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail.

Half of the homey shop is a tasting room/gift shop, and the other half is a makeshift ice cream parlor. The ice cream is from Finger Lakes Wine Gourmet Ice Cream, a small but growing business that is popping up at a variety of wineries in the Finger Lakes.

To die-and-try for flavors include: Finger Lakes Grapes swirled in Vanilla, Amaretto Cream Sherry, and Chocolate Cabernet Sauvignon. On the day I showed up at Amberg, the teenage boy behind the counter gave me ample samples to try.

FYI. the ice cream is child friendly since the wine sauce is alcohol-free. Rumor here is some vintners think that wine ice cream is too gimmicky, and will transform the growing wine country here into a Disney World or Vegas, but being an ice cream lover, I say it rocks.

The post Pop Your Cork For A Sweet Taste: Finger Lakes Wine Gourmet Ice Cream, NY appeared first on Vagablond.

For this annual festival that highlights Finger Lakes’ wines, do not think French or Italy. Do not think pate or inhaling into a glass and pondering the personal history of the grapes.

Think wine slushie and chardonnay ice cream. Think people wearing togas, cork screw necklaces, Marti Gras beads, and thousands wearing pint-sized wine glasses on their necks as if they were necklaces. Think hot dogs, sausages, and pizza, loud laughter, and packed crowds in muggy near 90-degree weather in upstate New York. Is this what “Sideways” has created?

The Finger Lakes Wine Festival draws in thousands of visitors, many from the northeast, but some from as far as Texas and Tennessee. While some attendees are wine connossieurs, many are there simply because they want to drink. They plan entire vacations around what could be deemed a drinking fest to sample 500 wines. They camp out in their RVs, trailers and even SUVs, and spend a weekend at the festival building bonfires and screaming “Bottoms up!�? The festival organizers seemed to stoke the playful wine culture by opening the first day with a toga party, and holding the event on a racetrack usually reserved for car racing.

For foodies it is also an eating fest with samples of cheese, chocolate, olive oil, breads and pastries floating about. In a year when New York wines are on the uptrend the festival is a delicate balance between selling out and showcasing New York’s offerings. It brings additional cash and exposure to the 80 plus wineries that do attend, and pokes fun at a culture often taken too seriously. I chatted with a regular festival goer from Long Island who told me that the event gives middle class America a chance to learning more about wine.

“It’s a common ground for people to get together, it’s a festival for every age group, parents, grandparents, it’s everybody,�? the Long Island lady told me. A young man and woman wearing cork screw crowns confirmed it.

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Just a 20-minute ride from downtown Rochester is Schutt’s Apple Mill, a Huckleberry-Finn styled farm that sells apples, cider and cheese. But come spring, it is also a cherry-picking paradise.

On a recent day, I joined a bunch of international students from the University of Rochester on a cherry-picking venture. First of all, I love cherries, but sadly the fruit have become almost as expensive as filling a gas tank.

Now for some good news: Here at Schutt’s, they are a mere $1.75 a pound, and mostly black, plump and sweet. The tricky part is actually getting to the cherries. Anyone suffering from fear of heights should just forget about it; it takes climbing up a ladder or up a tree to get to the sweetest cherries. Being a big chicken and not trusting the ladder, I was lucky enough to discover some sweet long-hanging fruit though.

Schutt’s is awesome in that there’s much more than cherries. It has a sprawling food and gift shop area loaded with goodies, including homemade jellies, jams, salsa, candies, baked goods, and a Schutt speciality called “apple frost,�? an apple-flavored milkshake-ice cream and slushy hybrid. And if you’re sick of cherries, Schutt’s also offers raspberry, apple and pumpkin picking with the change of seasons.

The post Cherryland: Schutt’s Apple Mill, Rochester, NY appeared first on Vagablond.

The sleepy little town/city, with the charm of a Norman Rockwell painting, is a mere 30 minute drive from Rochester, and known for being the gateway to the Finger Lakes and for its small town friendliness.

Now it is also the Mecca for New York’s food and wine — the New York Wine & Culinary Center — the pseudo-clone of COPIA, the Mondavi-backed culinary center in Napa Valley.

As a native downstater I never thought that upstate New York would be home to the New York’s wine center (you’d think it would be closer to the Big Apple), but I’ll admit, it’s a pretty impressive hang out for diehard foodies and wine lovers like me.

The high-tech center boasts a tasting room, wine and tasting bar, and a Food Network-inspired theater-kitchen where the center’s head honchos hope to recruit celebrity rock stars like Rachael Ray (as of this posting no word yet).

And the center’s theme of course is “Made in New York.�? Even the wood and stone that make up the tasting room come from New York. Another highlight: cooking classes for kitchen virgins like myself.

Canandaigua is a pleasant and pretty place to visit. The center happens to overlook cobalt-colored Canandaigua Lake, a highly recommended place for a post tasting-swim to work off all that cheese and Merlot.

The post Welcome to New York’s Wine Hub: Canandaigua, NY appeared first on Vagablond.

Last Thursday I wandered in, chatted with Larry the general manager who showed me the fast-growing New York wines that the restaurant is serving: including a vast collection from owners Barbara Shinn and David Page.
W: www.recipesfromhome.com.
A: 20 Cornelia Street, NY NY 10014.
T: 212-243-9579.

The couple also happen to own Shinn Estates Vineyards on Long Island, and since food and wine go hand in hand, the couple decided to open a restaurant to compliment their vintages. “Home�? is one of a handful of New York eateries gung-ho on showcasing the New York’s culinary pride. I tried the “seasonal greens with spring vegetables and mustard thyme vinaigrette,�? and for $2 more with two poached eggs on top (a healthy choice). I’ll save the wine for the next trip out to the vineyards.

Another hotspot is Vintage New York, a chic wine and food bar on Broome Street that looks like it is for the Vanity Fair set, but is really more down-to-earth.

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