Atwater Estate Vineyards - Great Wine & Great View
Atwater Estate Vineyards is located at the Southeastern side of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail. It is well known for having a wide variety of wine and a relaxed, friendly, yet knowledgeable tasting room staff. Its location and relaxed atmosphere makes it a great first stop if entering the trail from the South or a great finish if starting from the North.
The Wine
Atwater has roughly 20 wines available ranging from sweet to dry including an ice wine and a sparkler. One of the many nice things about this tasting room is that if it is not a super busy day (not packed) for the price of the tasting fee you can choose as many as you'd like from the tasting notes (with the exception of the ice wine and sparkler). Starting with the whites, Atwater offers the standard Finger Lakes fare of Dry Riesling, Semi-Dry Riesling, Chardonnay, an Estate White blend and a more rare Gewurztraminer and Vidal Blanc. The Dry and Semi-Dry Rieslings are well crafted and are excellent examples of one of the Finger Lakes premier wines. Of all the Rieslings in the Finger Lakes, I consider these to fall within the top 20% so they are worth a try. The Estate White is a blend that is easy to drink and pairs well with mild food. It tilts a little on the acidic side, so might pair well with foods that are heavy on the butter or oils. The Gewurz is typically floral and a nice wine if you like the grape's unique character, at $12 it is one of the Finger Lakes more affordable Gewurztraminers. The Vidal Blanc was very enjoyable. Vidal Blanc is usually a bit more citrus-like than Riesling and Atwater's was no exception. This wine works great as a wine for a hot day on the deck and being refreshing without being sweet makes it a nice alternative to the typical sweet "deck" whites.
In the reds is where Atwater becomes even more noteworthy. Their 2007 Pinot Noir was like liquid velvet having both a great mouth feel and a perfect taste. I'm usually not a fan of Pinot Noir so it was even more surprising that I enjoyed it so much. The Cabernet Franc is an excellent example of the red that has found a niche in the Finger Lakes. Fruit forward, fruit in the nose, but a nice long dry finish. I found the Dry Rose to be a great dry wine that still goes misunderstood by people expecting it to be a white zinfandel. It's not, it was never supposed to be. The tasting room was nearly empty so the flight attendant paired it with a bit of chocolate dipped strawberry. This was a nice touch, but the wine would also go well with a dinner of turkey or chicken. The Meritage (pronounced like heritage ..don't slap a French twang it) was incredible. Complex, yet smooth, an excellent Red, even if it was priced a bit out of the realm of "drink this regularly". The Merlot was also enjoyable, but the price puts a damper on being able to enjoy regularly. Hiding at the bottom of the red list is the Estate Red which is priced to enjoy regularly. I also find it to be a great wine. Though I have to admit, I have always been a fan of Marechal Foch and this blend is made primarily of Foch and a bit of Cab Fran and Merlot to round it out a bit. This Foch has a great mouth feel and is well balanced. Unfortunately, my wife is not a fan of Foch so I was prevented from buying an entire case of it.
A few years back, Atwater re-branded what was their "Somerset Series" of sweet red, white, and blush wines as the Banana Belt Series. This is a reflection of the southeastern side of the lake being called the banana belt due to its slightly warmer microclimate and prevailing winds. These three are sweeter than the other offerings and are perfect for hot summer days, lakeside lounging and any time you need a cold refreshing wine. They are affordable and enjoyable. Sitting on our deck in the heat of Summer with Jimmy Buffett playing, this "Monkey wine" goes down good. (the monkey is on the label)
Rounding out the collection is an ice wine called "Celcius" and a sparkling wine made from Chardonnay, Gewurz, and Riesling. We didn't try them this time around, but we have enjoyed them in the past. If you like icewine or dry sparkling wine, these are worth a try.
The Setting
Atwater's tasting room has a lot of nice touches. Upon entering the two sectioned tasting room, make sure you check out the wooden bar top in the first section. It is a clever puzzle piece of beautiful wood. If you are not a person into wood, then just cut to the chase and head to whichever tasting bar seems to be ready for you. Atwater has been a favorite stop of ours so over the years we have spent a lot of time in the tasting room, both on quiet winter days and packed summer days. The tasting room staff has never failed to deliver a great experience. They are friendly and upbeat. They know a lot about their wine but at the same time don't take themselves too seriously. We often do our shopping in Watkins Glen and if I ever give my wife the choice of one winery to stop at on the way, she always picks Atwater. She likes the wine and they make her feel good. What's not to love?
When your tasting is finished (or if killing time before it begins) be sure to step out onto the deck and take in what I consider to be the best view from any winery on Seneca Lake. The panoramic photo below just doesn't do justice to the full experience. Don't forget to bring your camera.
The deck has a couple of picnic tables, so it makes a great spot for a snack if you need to take a break on your wine trail adventure.
Reviews from Other Wine Tasters
- 2003 Gewurztraminer
- Atwater Riesling Reviews
- Lenn Devours Vidal Blanc
- Ken's Wine Guide
- Review Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
