Archive: Around Town

Sometimes the best time to visit a winery is in the winter. While the rest of the world is hidden in their cubicles or huddled over their heaters, the wineries are open and welcoming of visitors – and you can actually converse with their people and learn something about the wine!

It is a cold January day, driving the 30 or so miles up the West side of Cayuga Lake to visit Goose Watch Winery. I'm making the trip expressly because of a new wine they have created; the very first from the Aramello grape. The first Aramello wine became available last year and now the 2015 vintage is available at Goose Watch exclusively.


I don't pretend to be a wine expert, but I'm learning. When I go to visit a winery, it is for the experience – and to maybe taste something special that I had not been introduced to before. Learning is the thing, and having fun as well is a plus. My host Janice was delighted to tell me all about the 19 year history of the winery, one of three owned by the Peterson Family. Swedish Hill and Penguin Bay are the other two, both very special in their own right.

The tasting room is in a tastefully decorated building overlooking Cayuga Lake with a large deck – so that you can enjoy your wine outside with some cheese and good company, but I'll leave that for a warmer day.

Janice introduced me to their 2015 Viognier, a crisp dry white that began a bit bitter, then sweetened and flowered in the pallet to release a fruity aftertaste. It is like a Riesling, but somehow more. This wine would work wonderfully well chilled on a hot summer day in the shade, with cheese curds…


The Aramello is a new variety first planted in 1996, and is now available at Goose Watch. It is a bit like Moscato, but not as sweet. Cheeses, fresh fruit and good company work well with this luscious wine. Of course I bought some to share.

No, I'll not talk about "legs", "body" and all the other things wine experts talk about. I will say that I truly like the wine and the creativity Goose Watch shows with their new offerings.

Back to Janice. I sensed the pride she feels in Goose Watch, and the satisfaction she shows in sharing its wine with visitors. Invited to take all the pictures I wanted, she suggested I walk up the hill to take in the view – and I was not disappointed. There is a pond surrounded by green meadows, ideal for weddings and events with a panorama of Cayuga Lake at our feet.

We'll visit this place again in the summer when the grass is green, the birds are chirping and we can enjoy good times with good friends on the deck. It's not very far – definitely within reach.

Visit the winery at 5480 State Rt 89, Romulus, NY, in Seneca County. (315) 549-2599

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'Within Reach' highlights the food, wine and fun of places 'within Reach' of Lansing NY.  Of course, your reach extends exactly as far as you want it to. I am Monroe Payne, Uncle Monte to some. Come with me as I visit, taste and play in our own back yard, the beautiful Finger Lakes of Central New York.

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