The tone of a winery is set the moment you walk in the door. At Prejean Winery, that tone is friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable. This was stop number 2 on day 1 in the Finger Lakes area and Madam and I were ready for some good wine and nice owners. Prejean Winery delivered on both!
The first vines were planted in 1979 and Prejean opened its tasting room in 1986. The wines come from estate grown grapes and, when matched with the skill of the winemaker, really deliver memorable tastes.
We each did a tasting, red for me and whites for Madam. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon offered a delightful berry nose that bordered on jammy and followed through with a full mouth feel and deep berry notes. The 2016 Cabernet Franc reminded me why I like this varietal so much as it was slightly peppery on the back end of the deep berry notes. The 2013 Merlot also had a jammy nose with notes of tobacco on the back end. The nose of the 2015 Marechal Foch was filled with red berries and delivered a nice raspberry note on the tongue. I finished with their 2014 Cabernet port, a delightful way to end and, yes, a bottle came home with me.
Madam found the Chardonnay had very nice buttery notes. The 2017 Dry Riesling delivered a crisp, slightly sweet experience. Madam commented that it was not quite as dry as some of the Rieslings she had in the Rhine and Mosel river valleys. The 2016 Gewurztraminer had a crisp citrus notes with a very clean finish. It will pair well with food but can also be consumed on its own. The Red Lotus, a blend of 3 new grapes created at Cornell - Noiret, Corot Noir and Valvin Muscat - that were all planted about 12 years ago, had a nice, peppery nose. The semi-sweet wine was full of berry notes with a black pepper finish. She finished with the 2015 Late Harvest Vignoles, a nice sweet wine with pineapple notes and a clean finish.
#ohiowineambassador #prejeanwinery #FingerLakes # SenecaLakeWineTrail
