luke | animal, vegetable, mineral?: September 2011

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Wine Seminar: Frogtown Vineyards

Visited a couple nice wineries in Georgia. Didn't really expect a whole lot, but was pleasantly surprised. They had a few good ones in the midst of their 'premium reds.'

2008 Frogtown Sangiovese $18.99
With a cherry, raspberry nose, this wine won gold in the Finger Lakes (NY!!). However, it has NO tannins, tastes cheap, was very lite and had a lot of alcohol in the nose. Not a finished wine. 1/2 *

2008 Frogtown Audacity $25.99
This 'premium' wine was made of their best grapes. I was NOT impressed. Had a slight tannin to it, more mellow than the first wine, but had a sting to the tongue. Smells like cheap alcohol. *

2006 Frogtown Touche $21.99
This is a mix of five grapes... as if they threw it all in together. It takes like dirty cherries. Slightly stinky, slight tannins.. it's another red table wine. **

2006 Frogtown Family Reserve Merlot $48.99
With an undertaste of chocolate and tobacco, I had high hopes! Perhaps there was something to GA wines! Had a GREAT nose. Rich, dark cherry smell. Wonderful dirt/smoke flavor. And finally.... TANNINS! ** 1/2

2006 Frogtown Tannat $29.99
Blackpepper wines make me smile! This was the best wine of tasted here. The sommelier even said it was her favorite. Nose is grapey, peppery but tasted very tannic. Strong, sour face. ***

Frogtown First Convergence $27.99
This wine was made of grapes from outside their vineyards. Had no nose. Very lite taste. *

Frogtown First Compulsion $27.99
This wine was also made of grapes outside their vineyard. Had a French style to the palate. There was sediment in my glass, had strong nose, but unfortunately a lite red wine taste. 1/2 *

2008 Frogtown Norton $28.99
The norton grape is indigenous to North America. They held this us as a pride marker. However, it had an old world barnyard smell to it, but was extremely berry. Did not like it. 1/2 *

2008 Frogtown Grandeur 375ml $22.99

Their final wine was a dessert wine, made by pressing, freezing and holding for a month. I hated it. A true grape juice. (no stars)

In all, it was an interesting experience. I didn't regret it, even if most of their wines were subpar. I might try their Tannat one more time.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Niagara Falls, Canada

Enjoyed the day in Canada, walking around and snapping pictures. Had no problems crossing the border, doing some shopping, and seeing the sights. I've already made plans to head back in a couple weeks. I'd like to do more! So much to do all day.. including the casinos!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Darien Lake 2011

My friend Sorah was gracious enough to give me two tickets to Darien Lake. James had expressed a strong desire to go there before the end of the season, so everything just clicked into place.

We made our way there, stopping along the way for some distractions, but got there early afternoon for our fun day. Well, most of the park was closed. We tried our first coaster.. but they closed it while we were in line.

But we made our best of our day. We took our time. It got warm out, but we walked, and walked, did a couple fun coasters, did a couple fun rides... shopped, and walked...

Went up on the big wheel.. and got yelled at for rocking the cart while taking pictures.

The park was quiet.. not a lot of people out. Lots of pumpkins and hay bales.. but still quiet.

I did end up going on a couple rides that James flat out refused. But I have come to one giant conclusion... I am getting too old for amusement park rides. They make me nauseous!

It was a good day. And we left and headed to Canada. =)

Hiking in Rochester

Decided to go for a nice long hike at Ellison Park Wetlands this weekend. Got to see a lot of nature... AND some swans! Was definitely a ton of fun.

Wonderful Day

Such a great day in the sun!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

A little goes a long way...

Having a good week. After my trip to Georgia, I'm acclimated back to my routine. This weekend ahead includes Darien Lake, volleyball, a family party, and the following week includes a trip to CT to see Seth & Kelly. Whoop whoop!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Running @ Sunset

The sky was on fire as I ran my route.

Atlanta Georgia Trip

So I went to Atlanta this last weekend! I try and head to Georgia once a year to see my friends Cynthia & Corey. I jumped on a plane after getting out of work early on Thursday, and arrived right on time in Georgia around 8:15pm. They picked me up right on time and we headed back toward their house. We made a quick stop at the grocery store so I could get some supplies for the weekend. The first night was quiet, and I got some late night work done for my job, but we got a great start the next day.

Friday morning, we got going to the northern Georgian mountains. Apparently, there is a MORE northern part of Georgia than Atlanta. Up there, they have wineries and vineyards! Who knew GA had wine? But on our way, we stopped at a great restaurant called the Yahoola Creek Grill. By the way, everything there is a Grill. But this place overlooked a small grove, and we sat outside on a beautiful deck.

Cynthia and I both got salads. Mine was a medium rare steak salad with blue cheese crumbles, and hers was a spicy peanut chicken salad with fruits. We laughed, jokes and caught up over a delicious meal. We got back on our way, and I drove us up these winding roads. Unfortunately, we almost hit a deer! It came right out of the woods right at our car. After getting our composure again, we found our first winery.

I was quite skeptical of any wine made in the South. Maybe a little uppity. And the first wine confirmed my bias. But the winery had earned dozens of awards in 2010, including a few from Upstate NY. So I gave them another shot. The wine got better, and the wine server actually warmed up to us a little. I tried dry reds while Cynthia tasted whites. We both enjoyed them a great deal, even if we poured a few out.

We headed to another winery, a lesser and smaller version next door. We had fun, even though Cynthia got a little drunk! But we drank, laughed and headed on our way after taking a dozen lopsided pictures out on the patio. We had fun! More fun than I thought given my feelings about wine and wine-making.

We headed back to Cynthia's house over the course of a couple hours, picked up their dog, and chilled out the rest of the night. Cynthia didn't feel well, so the night included a lite dinner of steak and vegetables from Corey and some quality TV time.

Saturday morning came, and the plan was to head BACK to the northern GA mountains for apple picking and hiking! What a beautiful weekend to be outside! Too bad I got incredibly carsick for the entire weekend. I'm not used to riding in a car without driving, so each time just threw me for a loop. But I made the most of it.

We stopped at an old railroad station in Elijay, GA called Cajun Depot Grill (another Grill!) for a lite lunch of southern food! I got some spicy chicken wings to go with a small salad, while the two of them got sandwiches. Delicious! We got on our way after more pictures, and got to the apple picking place shortly thereafter.

Apple Picking in GA is a little different than I'm used to. They charge by the person to pick, plus they charge by the PECK for apples. In NY, we pay by the pound and not by the person. It cost $30 to go there, plus $10 for a full peck of apples. Costs aside, we had a ton of fun! We walked around the orchard and picked a bunch of apples, eating along our way. I did eat a few, which also contributed to my nausea. The place also had a bakery, and Cynthia got herself some juice and an apple cider donut.

Next, we headed to Amicalola Falls State Park. This park is where the Appalachian Trail starts. There is a big, beautiful waterfall overlooking a valley. We started hiking up in (in flip flops no less!), but turned back after a little bit. We drove to the top of the falls, and spent some time at the overlook enjoying the sites.

That night, we headed to the Parten's favorite restaurant 'Swallow at the Hollow.' This is a BBQ place similar to Rochester's Dinosaur BBQ. We go there each time I visit. I was in the midst of a terrible stomach ache, so I got a lite salad, but the atmosphere was fun! And it's a great time laughing and joking with both of them. We did a little side tour on the way home, stopped by Chick-fil-A for me to get take-out for the next day, and even stopped by Trader Joe's so I could use my gift card from Laura! I got all stocked up and we headed home.

The last morning, Sunday, we got up extra early and headed to the Waffle House, a southern staple. Even though service was shotty, the food was good, and I got a burger for breakfast! Ha. We drove through a battlefield park on the way home, and they gave me a little bit of a history lesson of the Confederacy. Definitely a great time! But alas, all good things come to an end, including the laughs and the non-stop fun. I got everything all packed up, so did they as they're heading to Maine this week, and they dropped me off at the airport. After a couple hiccups at the airport (including a plane change after we boarded), I got home safe and sound.