One New York Life

1) When Bootleg makes his drive from Albany, Buffalo, or Rochester to Cooperstown next month, I look forward to his thoughts on the brain-numbing, supposedly 90-minute drive. I also look forward to his thoughts on either Brewery Ommegang or Cooperstown Brewing. I wanted to get to one or both of these places on the drive home but, sadly, it didn’t happen. We were actually afraid we’d be swallowed by time itself.

2) Unfortunately, something we didn’t notice until we were leaving Glenora was the Earle Estates Meadery. I’ve not had huge experience with mead, really only a 4-glass sampler at the unparalleled Sunset Bar & Grill in Boston but I would have definitely gone to a meadery just to say I’ve been to one. If we ever happen to go back to the area, I absolutely need to go here.

3) PLR and I have become huge fans of going to seasonal places in the off-season. If we were famous Food Network or Travel Channel people, we could make a whole show about it. We’d have to come up with a fancy, media-friendly name like staycation that’s obnoxious and hated by everyone. But we’ve done Maine and the Wineries in the offseason now and it saves huge amounts of money. Additionally, there are hardly any other people. It’s great.

4) As we were leaving Glenora, the Wine & Cheese festival was in full swing. Apparently, the transport of choice, other than driving yourself, is to rent a limo. PLR did something like this for a friend’s birthday down here. Their group rented a limo to drive them around to Long Island’s wineries. The vibe, she said, was much different. Long Island, if one can imagine, was much more tight-assed about their samples and looked down on, uh, oversamplers. Proving, once again, all other regions of NY > downstate NY.

5) I am one of the biggest proponents of Dunkin’ Donuts over Starbucks. Donuts has superior food and superior basic coffee. I was crushed when Donuts moved to Starbucks’s terrible syrup-based flavoring. Regardless, I have found something better than Dunkin’ Donuts. Tim Horton’s. My aunt turned me on to them a few years back because she used to bring 5-pound cans of their coffee home whenever she was out that way. Their baked goods are even better than Dunkin’ Donuts and, by God, their coffee might even be better. The take-home price of the five-gallon tub is very reasonable. Right now, they only go as far east as Syracuse, but here’s to hoping they continue moving west.

6) Apparently Upstate New York just has to shift their entire economy from being factory-based to alcohol based. If this one region can support so many different wineries, maybe the full upstate economy can recover by brewing, distilling, and vineyarding. I mean, it’s worth a shot, right? There’s got to be something better than rusty, dead factories.

7) Quite obviously, I prefer beer to wine, but this trip certainly gave me a little bit more of an appreciation for grape juice. It probably will never be my go-to given the choice of a craft-brewed ale, but at the very least I have a better idea of what I like. That said, even tasting the different types of wine, I’m pretty sure I’ll always find the idea of hundred-dollar bottles of wine to be stupid.

8) If I had my choice between the two places, I’d definitely return to Glenora over Belhurst. There was something missing at Belhurst. I’m not sure what. Between the strange weekday, formal-attire wearing group and the somewhat inconvenient breakfast buffet, I just felt like my stay was more pleasant at Glenora; even with the poor dinner service. It might be time for them to upgrade their televisions though.

9) When I’m a millionaire some day, I think I’m going to buy a winery. Or maybe just a house next to a winery so I can get lots of samples. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.

10) The trip was an excellent appetizer to the upcoming trip of doom in September. Much like the movie Beerfest, I need to start training somewhere. It might as well be an early summer trip to drink wine.

Related posts:

• TravelDL: Finger Lakes Wineries 2009 – Glenora Wine Cellars
• TravelDL Snob: Finger Lakes Wineries 2009 – Seneca Lake Wine Trail
• TravelDL Snob: Finger Lakes Wineries 2009 – Belhurst Castle
• TravelDL Snob – Finger Lakes Wineries 2009: Cayuga Lake Wine Trail
• TravelDL Snob – Finger Lakes Wineries 2009: Seneca Lake Wine Trail