Starting in Silver Creek, New York, Lake Erie Wine Country extends into Harbor Creek, Pennsylvania. Within those bounds, individual wineries offer tasting rooms and experiences that range from personal and intimate, to comfortable for a crowd, Monica Mazur, executive director of Lake Erie Wine Country, explained.
“There are more boutique wineries, so you’re not going to get the same feeling in each winery that you go to. Every winery is individualized, and their tasting rooms can be different sizes,” Mazur said. “They have different special wines that they’re carrying, so they’re not all carrying the same thing.”
Although this region has a reputation for its sweet wine production, Mazur said that many of Lake Erie Wine Country’s dry-profile wines have achieved national recognition. On a summer tour of these nearly two dozen wineries, visitors can expect a high-standard variety in their tastings.
In light of the novel coronavirus, Lake Erie Wine Country has encountered the obstacle of following directives from two states and several counties as it progresses to a full reopening, Mazur said. While these circumstances make hosting an all-wineries event difficult, individual sites have coordinated their own summer affairs, available for full review on the Lake Erie Wine Country website.
“Some of them are doing drive-thru events where they’ll have a food truck and you can go through, pick up dinner to go and pick up a bottle of wine,” Mazur said. “A lot of them are open for outdoor tastings, so if they have outdoor space, they have opened up so you can get a flight of wine and actually sit outside enjoying the flight for tastings.” A flight of wine is a group of similar wines brought together for tasting and comparison.
Given that each of the 23 wineries has its own events and restrictions, Mazur recommends that guests contact each winery prior to visiting. Before embarking on a wine tasting adventure,
make sure to touch base with the winery and learn about the changes they have implemented for their individual business.
“Everybody has a way of digesting this new way of doing business and everybody belongs to different counties, plus two different states, too,” Mazur said. “We’re trying to make it as clear as possible to our guests by telling them that if they are planning to visit a winery, then to contact them.”
At some Lake Erie Wine Country locations, Mazur explained that, as opposed to having a walk-in tasting, guests will now have to make reservations in advance. Although new to the Lake Erie Wine Country, this practice proves standard among other winery hotspots, such as California.
To comply with public health recommendations, several Lake Erie Wine Country locations have adopted alternative means of conducting themselves amid the pandemic, according to Mazur. Such alterations include everything from prioritizing outdoor tastings to offering virtual tastings.
“The biggest thing that I want to highlight is, especially during this time, that we’re obviously following all of the Centers for Disease Control guidelines, and many of our wineries have different ways of doing business,” Mazur said. “Just contact them individually before you visit and try to follow the rules of that individual winery as we’re navigating through this.”
For anyone looking to make a more long-term investment in exploring local wineries, Lake Erie Wine Country also offers a wine pass package, available for purchase online.
With the pass, visitors receive five tastings at each one of the 23 wineries, and have a full year to use it. In addition to providing winery access, the package includes a visa book with discounts and incentives to use throughout the region.
For more information about Lake Erie Wine Country, visit www.lakeeriewinecountry.org.
August 13, 2020 at 07:22PM
https://ift.tt/2DF627f
Lake Erie Wine Country Welcomes Summer Visitors | Lancaster Depew Bee - Lancaster Bee
https://ift.tt/31lUVcw
Wine
No comments:
Post a Comment