Wines and Wineries

Continuing our survey of New York State wines and winemakers from last issue, two other Finger Lakes wineries are Boordy Vineyards in Penn Yan, at the north end of Lake Keuka, and Widmer’s Wine Cellars in Naples, over the hills from Hammondsport. Boordy takes its name from a small Maryland winery begun in 1945 by Phillip and Jocelyn Wagner, who were the first to introduce French hybrids into this country. Mr. Wagner found the native grape varieties wanting in flavor. He read about the French hybrids, imported some, and found they made a palatable wine. Soon he became a grape nursery expert and his wines became the local vin du pays. In 1968 the Wagners got together with Seneca Industries (large food processors) and now the Boordy division of Seneca operates in Maryland, Penn Yan, and Yakima, Washington. Boordy’s winemaker at Penn Yan is Raymond Knafo, a Moroccan agricultural expert who studied viticulture in Geneva. Knafo is a jovial and colorful gentleman who takes pride in his varietal table wines with a European character, made from the French hybrids. His red, white, and rosé non-vintage pinard wines are among the best inexpensive, everyday table wines—vastly superior to what the French call pinard, which found its glory as a morale-booster in the trenches in World War I.

Widmer’s is an old, established New York State winery, founded in 1888 by John Jacob Widmer, a Swiss immigrant, who prospered sufficiently to send one of his sons to the famous Geisenheim wine school in Germany. The winery became best known for its sherries, which are made by the Spanish solera system of progressive blending. This blending process takes at least four years and removes the flavor of the labrusca grapes. Widmer’s sherries are excellent, and the sight of the barrels on the roof—thousands of them, lying four-deep under the open sky—is quite startling.

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Nika Hazelton

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Continuing our survey of New York State wines and winemakers from last issue, two other Finger Lakes wineries are Boordy Vineyards in Penn Yan, at the north end of Lake Keuka, and Widmer’s Wine Cellars in Naples, over the hills from Hammondsport. Boordy takes its name from a small Maryland winery begun in 1945 by Phillip and Jocelyn Wagner, who were the first to introduce French hybrids into this country. Mr. Wagner found the native grape varieties wanting in flavor. He read about the French hybrids, imported some, and found they made a palatable wine. Soon he became a grape nursery expert and his wines became the local vin du pays. In 1968 the Wagners got together with Seneca Industries (large food processors) and now the Boordy division of Seneca operates in Maryland, Penn Yan, and Yakima, Washington. Boordy’s winemaker at Penn Yan is Raymond Knafo, a Moroccan agricultural expert who studied viticulture in Geneva. Knafo is a jovial and colorful gentleman who takes pride in his varietal table wines with a European character, made from the French hybrids. His red, white, and rosé non-vintage pinard wines are among the best inexpensive, everyday table wines—vastly superior to what the French call pinard, which found its glory as a morale-booster in the trenches in World War I.

Widmer’s is an old, established New York State winery, founded in 1888 by John Jacob Widmer, a Swiss immigrant, who prospered sufficiently to send one of his sons to the famous Geisenheim wine school in Germany. The winery became best known for its sherries, which are made by the Spanish solera system of progressive blending. This blending process takes at least four years and removes the flavor of the labrusca grapes. Widmer’s sherries are excellent, and the sight of the barrels on the roof—thousands of them, lying four-deep under the open sky—is quite startling.