Order Your Finger Lakes Wine Country Bubbly Box Now!

We are excited to announce a new partnership with BacchusWineOnline, a progessive wine retailer in Rochester, NY.  Each month we will feature wines from Finger Lakes Wine Country that will be available for purchase online through Bacchus's website or in person at the Bacchus store in Rochester.  In addition, each month the wines will have a special theme and an opportunity to taste and tweet with wine bloggers and the winemakers of these wines through Twitter Taste Live.

To kick-off the program in February, we are celebrating with a special focus on Finger Lakes sparkling wine.  The featured wines and wineries are:

2002 Blanc de Blancs ~ Chateau Frank (Keuka Lake)
Pinot Noir Brut Rosé ~ Goose Watch (Cayuga Lake)
2002 Brut ~ Glenora Wine Cellars (Seneca Lake)
NV Extra Dry Cayuga White ~ Lucas Vineyards (Cayuga Lake) 

You can order all four of these wines in the special "FLX Bubbly Box" for $80.26 plus tax and shipping. 

For those who are on Twitter, join us on Wednesday, February 17 at 8PM on Twitter Taste Live to taste and tweet with the winemakers of these wines.  Lenn Thompson of the NY Cork Report will be moderating this twitter tasting.  When tweeting that evening use #flxwine so everyone can follow.  You will also want to follow Lenn on Twitter and Morgen McLaughlin, president of Finger Lakes Wine Country as well.

Also to continue our love of FLX Bubbly, we are hosting on Saturday, February 20 from 6-9PM in the ballroom at the Watkins Glen Harbor Harbor Hotel Bubbly! the Finger Lakes Sparkling Wine Party.  This first of its kind tasting event will feature fifteen Finger Lakes sparkling wine producers and one distillery serving sparkling wine cocktails.  Tickets are only $40 per person or $75 per couple and includes appetizers and desserts.

Finally, various restaurants and wine bars will be featuring special FLX sparkling wine promotions like the Starlite Room in Elmira offering sparkling wine cocktails.

Here is a toast to February and Finger Lakes sparkling wine!

Wine Country Insider January 29-31

This upcoming weekend in Finger Lakes Wine Country is full of fun and interesting things to do.  Listen to our 15 minute "WIne Country Insider" podcast with Christina and Morgen giving you some insider news on what is happening in Wine Country this weekend.

Click hear to listen.

Here are the links mentioned in this week's podcast::

Elmira Jackals Hockey
Make Your Own Glass Heart at The Corning Museum of Glass
Free Sundays at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art
Polar Passport along the Seneca Lake Wine Trail
Feast & Fest at Glenora Wine Cellars
Robbie Burns Day at McGregor Vineyards
Between the Lakes Party
Chili Cookoff at Knapp Winery and Vineyard Restaurant
Truffles and Tastes along the Keuka Lake Wine Trail
Chocolate and Wine along the Seneca Lake Wine Trail
Mardi Gras along the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail

Want to see all 23 special events happening this weekend in Finger Lakes Wine Country?   Search through our event calendar now.

Stay another day with a Winter Wine Weekend package to enjoy all the many things to experience.

February is Full of Romance, Chocolate and Sparkling Wine

In Finger Lakes Wine Country February is a month of romance and celebration. From Valentine’s Day Weekend to the feeling that spring is just around the corner, February is the perfect time to enjoy a glass of Finger Lakes wine perhaps even paired with a few decadent chocolate truffles.

Enjoy wine and food pairing events along the wine trails and at individual wineries all Valentine’s Day Weekend. Along the Seneca Lake Wine Trail February 12-14 enjoy the popular “Chocolate and Wine” event featuring, of course, chocolate and wine pairings at each winery. Tickets are $30 per person. The Keuka Lake Wine Trail February 13-14 is hosting “Truffles and Tastes” featuring decadent truffles at each winery. Tickets are $25 per person. The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail February 13-14 is hosting “Mardi Gras 2010” with fun, beads, and food pairings at each winery. Tickets are $25 per person.

The beautiful Fox Run Vineyards is hosting in its barrel room a special five-course Valentine’s Winemaker Dinner featuring winemaker, Peter Bell and winery chef, Heather Tompkins. Seating is very limited and tickets are available for $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

Want to give a Valentine's gift that he or she will have and remember always? How about making a glass heart paper weight at The Corning Museum of Glass. This hands-on glass making experience is available through February 14th. Make your reservations now online to gurantee your space.

To get us all in the mood we are celebrating Finger Lakes sparkling wines all month. We will be featuring a different sparkling wine each day on our wine blog and the celebration culminates on Saturday, February 20th from 6-9PM at the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel with Bubbly! the Finger Sparkling Wine Party. Tickets are available for $40 per person or $75 per couple and can be purchased online or by calling our office at 800-813-2958.

If you want to enjoy a selection of these sparkling wines in your home with your friends and loved ones you can order the FLX Bubbly Box from BacchusWineOnline featuring: the 2002 Blanc de Blancs from Chateau Frank, the Pinot Noir Brut Rosé, the 2002 Brut from Glenora Wine Cellars, and the NV Extra Dry Cayuga White from Lucas Vineyards. You can order starting on Monday, February 1st , each wine individually or as the four wine box with shipping for under $100.

On Twitter too?  Join us in Twitter Land on Wednesday, February 17th at 8PM as we taste and tweet about the FLX Bubbly Box wines.  To join in on the conversation just hop on Twitter and use #flxwine and #TTL in your tweets.  So easy!

Best of all?  Twenty-seven accommodations are participating in Winter Wine Weekends and offering "stay two nights, get the third night free".  In addition, each reservation receives a free bottle of Finger Lakes wine and an exclusive PALATE passport with tons of additinal free items like free museum visits and wine tastings.

Wine Country Insider - January 22-24, 2010 Weekend

Trouble loading the above player?  Click here to listen on BlogTalkRadio.

It's an exciting weekend in Finger Lakes Wine Country with the 9th Annual Wine On Ice event taking place Friday and Saturday at the First Arena in downtown Elmira. Get your first taste of the Mark Twain Riesling at the Glenora Wine Cellars booth. There's even rumors that Mark Twain will be there pouring the wine! Wine On Ice is complete with food venors, live music, and lots and lots of Finger Lakes wine. You don't want to miss this exciting event. If you don't have your tickets, click here for more info.

Here are some other exciting things to do in the region this weekend:
Make Your Own Glass Heart at The Corning Museum of Glass
Polar Passport on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail
Vino Visa Coupon Book on the Cayuga Wine Trail

Get your tickets now & mark your calendar for:
Chocolate & Wine Weekend on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail
Truffles & Tastes on the Keuka Wine Trail
Mardi Gras on the Cayuga Wine Trail
Bubbly! The Finger Lakes Sparkling Wine Party

First Fridays at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art

And don't forget if you're planning on visiting Finger Lakes Wine Country between now and April 30, take advantage of Winter Wine Weekends and stay another day on us! Choose from 27 participating accommodations to buy two nights and get one FREE, along with a FREE bottle of wine, and a FREE Palate Passport!

Have a great weekend! Cheers!

Beautiful Music in Finger Lakes Wine Country

Finger Lakes Wine Country is blessed to have great wine but also a thriving arts and cultural scene. In addition to celebrating Mark Twain’s life throughout Mark Twain Country in 2010, the region is home to the outstanding professional symphony orchestra, The Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes. Drawing talented musicians from throughout the region to perform five concerts annually in Elmira and Corning, the Orchestra fills the bill as the premier and only resident symphony orchestra in Finger Lakes Wine Country. There are two remaining concerts in 2010 on March 7th and May 15th season under the direction of Toshiyuki Shimada, Music Director and Conductor.

On Sunday, March 7 at 4:00 p.m. at the Clemens Center for the Performing Arts, Marza Merophi Wilks, Cello, is the featured musician and performs with the entire symphony. Tickets are still available at $30 per person and can be ordered online. Also book a Winter Wine Weekend package for an enjoyable later winter escape.

BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture – To be performed side by side with The Youth Orchestra
DOHNANYI Concert Piece in D Major, Op. 12 for Cello and Orchestra – Marza Merophi Wilks, Hertzog Competition Winner
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9

On Saturday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. at The Corning Museum of Glass, Margarita Shevchenko, Piano, is the featured musician and performs with the entire symphony. Tickets are still available for $30 per person and can be ordered online.

MOZART Symphony No. 31 in D Major, K. 297 (Paris)
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor
GRIFFES White Peacock
GLASS Company
GERSHWIN An American in Paris

Mark Twain & Finger Lakes Riesling = Tasty Combo

2010 is the year of Mark Twain.  It is the 175th anniversary of his birth and 100th year since his death.  Throughout the year, Mark Twain Country will be honoring this literary legend with all kinds of special events including the special Mark Twain Tonight! performance by Hal Holbrook at the Clemens Center for Performaing Arts on Wednesday, April 21 and Twain's burial recreation on Saturday, April 24.

What many people haven't realized (until now) is that Mark Twain is buried in Finger Lakes Wine Country.  His final resting spot is with his wife and children at Woodlawn Cementary in Elmira.  In addition to all the events, the region is also celebrating Twain with a special wine, a semi-sweet Riesling from Glenora Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake.

The wine is making its debut on Friday, January 22 at the popular Wine on Ice tasting event at the First Arean in Elmira.  The wine which retails for $15.99 per bottle will also be for sale on the Glenora website that same day.  The wine label featuring a fun and artistic caricature of Twain was painted by local Finger Lakes artist, Brandi Smith.

Pasta & Wine Tickets Still Available for this Weekend

Great news!  We just got off the phone with Paul Thomas, the Executive Director of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, and received word that there are still tickets available to this weekend's Pasta & Wine event (January 15-17)

Even better news is that you can book a Winter Wine Weekend package to "stay two nights, get the third night free"!  Enjoy all three days along the trail or add in some shopping and museums visits with your PALATE passport.

Hal Holbrook Brings Twain to Life on the Anniversary of His Death

We are lucky in Finger Lakes Wine Country. We are lucky because Elmira, where Samuel Clemens spent many summers and wrote many of his most famous works, is located in Finger Lakes Wine Country. The region has become internationally recognized for its world-class wines, racing at Watkins Glen International and museums like the amazing Corning Museum of Glass. And in 2010 we are celebrating the life of one of the world’s most famous American authors, Mark Twain.

175 years ago Samuel Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. The Elmira connection began when he married Olivia Langdon in 1870. He spent many summers in Elmira and found inspiration from the Chemung River that flows through the center of the city. He died on April 21, 1910 and is buried in Elmira’s Woodlawn Cemetery next to his wife and four children.

On April 21, 2010 on the anniversary of Mark Twain’s death, Hal Holbrook returns to Elmira and the Clemens Center of Performing Arts to perform Mark Twain Tonight, his Emmy and Tony winning performance. Hal Holbrook first performed Mark Twain Tonight in 1954 and his most famous performance was in 1967 when it was televised on CBS. Tickets to the public go on sale March 25 and will certainly sell-out very quickly.

Enjoy this video clip from Hal Holbrook's famous 1967 Mark Twain Tonight performance.



Discover more Twain events in 2010 throughout Mark Twain Country.

Wine Country Insider for the First Weekend of Winter Wine Weekends!

This upcoming weekend is full of fun things to see and do in Finger Lakes Wine Country.  We have begun our Winter Wine Weekends, the "stay two nights, get the third night free" promotion features twenty-six participating accommodations, a free bottle of Finger Lakes wine, and a free PALATE passport for free museum visits, wine tastings, and other cool free stuff.

Listen to the 15 minute podcast featuring Morgen and Christina giving you the inside scoop.

Here are the links for this show.

The Bridal Show at the Arnot Mall
Heron Hill Winery and Wine Country weddings
Bargain Bash on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail
Polar Passport
Pasta and Wine on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail
The Corning Museum of Glass current exhibit
Rockwell Museum of Western Art
Clemens Center Comedy Night performance
Elmira Jackels hockey games
Mark Twain 2010 and Hal Holbrook performance

***Winter Wine Weeekends

Warm Up this Winter with a Cup of Mulled Wine or Egg Nog

It might be chilly this winter but now is a perfect time to warm up with a cup (or two) of mulled wine or egg nog.  Don't like warm drinks? Enjoy two sparkling wine cocktail recipes instead. The recipes are special because all feature a Finger Lakes twist!

Check out these Wine Country recipes now.

Enjoy!