On the Wine Side - Return of the New York State Tasting Fri, Nov 04, 22 Return of the New York State Tasting It's here!The New York State Tasting at Exit 9 Wine & Liquor Warehouse, a combo festival of local wines and spirits, and a kick-off to the holiday season. Most of all, it's an opportunity to try wines from, and learn about, many of the wineries represented here at the store. There's a lot to love in New York wines, and this event is a true showcase. Popular favorites will be back - Bully Hill, Hazlitt, Dr. Frank, Adirondack, Swedish Hill, Whitecliff and Hunt Country, amont many others. America's Oldest Winery, Brotherhood, will be here. And this year, we're excited to be joined by Weis Vineyards for the first time. Weis is based in Hammondsport in the Finger Lakes, and while they're a young winery, their grapes are already scoring high marks with consumers and reviewers alike. Weis won "Winery of the Year" at the 2022 NY Wine Classic.According to the NY Wine & Grape Foundation, "Winery of the Year goes to the winery with the best overall showing based on the level and number of awards in relation to entries. This year, Weiss entered nine wines. Judges awarded their 2021 Dry Rose a platinum medal and named it Best Pink Wine, Best Rose in its class. Their 2020 Winzer Select A, Riesling earned a gold medal and judges named it Best White Wine and Best Overall Riesling. Of the remaining seven wines, six earned gold medals and the final wine earned a silver medal."They'll be pouring their Dry Rose. I for one, can't wait to try it! Exit 9 has proudly supported local wines and wineries from its earliest days, and the category has grown in the store as NY wineries have grown in number and scope. There are over 500 NY wines here, from classic Rieslings and Cab Francs to cold-climate reds like Marquette to delightful bottlings of native grapes like Catawba and Diamond.At the event tomorrow there will also be several local distillers, Albany Distilling, Helderberg Meadworks, Yankee Distillers and Hetta with their (warmed) glogg.The tasting runs from 1 to 5 pm on Saturday, November 5. It is free to attend. As in years past, as well, the store is donating 25% of the proceeds from sales of New York State products to Special Olympics New York. It's a time to stock up for family, friends and the holidays and know you're supporting local craft beverage producers AND Special Olympics.We'll see you there! By Tyler Duma
