In my last edition of this column, I wrote about the first half of my trip to New York state’s Finger Lakes, including wineries on Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake. This is the story of the second half of the trip, including the rest of the wineries my wife and I visited on Seneca Lake. Unfortunately, we did not make it to Cayuga Lake — this time.

The last winery we visited on the west side of Seneca Lake was Red Tail Ridge. The winery has one of best driveways in the Finger Lakes, snaking through the beautiful vineyard, uphill to the production facility, with the tasting room just beyond. Known for its dry wines, Red Tail Ridge is also one of the most environmentally conscious wineries I’ve visited. In 2011, the winery received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification as a result of green features like geothermal cooling and heating and using recycled building materials.

The wines are fantastic as well. Oaked and unoaked chardonnays show very different expressions of the same grape. A nice dry riesling and a zippy, refreshing dry rosé were both great, but the 2013 riesling was the standout white. With 1.3 percent residual sugar, its not bone dry, but it achieves wonderful balance between acidity and a very slight hint of sweetness. I loved the crushed rocks and lime aromas on the nose and the zesty citrus on the palate.

As for the reds, Red Tail Ridge is known for producing wines using some rare varietals in addition to making a delicious pinot noir. These unique wines include: Teroldego, a red grape from northeastern Italy, which has produced a wine with black cherry flavors mixed with interesting herbal and earthy notes; Dornfelder, a thick-skinned German grape with raspberry and smoky flavors; and the Austrian grape Blaufrankisch also called Lemberger, which has a mixed berry palate combined with earth, smoke, and spice. All are delicious and worth trying.

On Sunday, we began our tastings on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake. This area is sometimes referred to as the “Banana Belt” for its longer growing season. Vineyards are closer to the lake here than in most areas, and the water is very deep, allowing the microclimate to stay warm for a bit longer than the rest of the Finger Lakes.

Our first stop was at Silver Springs. The winemaker was in the tasting room, which allowed us to hear more about his process and style. Silver Springs utilizes some grapes from the Finger Lakes and others from Long Island, which provided an interesting comparison. Grapes for some wines are dried on straw mats, an old italian wine making method. The pinot grigio was a delicious summery white, with crisp acidity but also a full-bodied mouth feel, plus delicious peach and pineapple flavors.

Damiani Wine Cellars, our next stop, had an impressive tasting room with a beautiful view of the lake, friendly staff, and plenty of wine variety. One standout was their Prosecco-style sparkling wine; with nice citrus and floral flavors, it would be a perfect easy sipper for the end of a hot day. We also really enjoyed the Vino Rosso, an everyday table wine with bright red fruit flavors that would pair perfectly with pizza. This winery isn’t just for table wines, however. Damiani is making some very interesting fine wines as well. The 2010 cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, and merlot were all very well made. The Cab Reserve really caught my attention with its powerfully concentrated black fruit flavors along with hints of fig and cedar.

Damiani also produces some very interesting single-vineyard wines, which is becoming one of the best parts of wine in the Finger Lakes. There are many micro-climates and soil varieties in certain pockets of the Finger Lakes, and these offerings are making a serious splash for those searching for terroir — a sense of place — in wine. Damiani’s bottles from the Sunrise Hill Vineyard, Damiani Vineyard, and Davis Vineyard all warrant attention, especially the Sunrise Hill Lemberger.

Atwater Estate Vineyards has some really outstanding dry wines; we thoroughly enjoyed everything we sampled. Atwater and Billsboro, which I wrote about in part one of this review, share the same winemaker. Two sparkling wines at Atwater, Riesling Bubble and “Pinot Noir Bubble (a rosé) were easy purchases. Both are fruit-forward, food-friendly, very refreshing, and priced right — perfect for sipping on the deck or by the pool during warm summer weather. The dry riesling was delicious, with its lime and mineral flavor profile. We really enjoyed the peach and citrus flavor combination in the pinot gris and were pleasantly surprised by the Riewürz — a unique blend of riesling and Gewürztraminer. Two red blends, Stone Bridge Red and The Big Blend, were also quite good.

Red Newt Cellars is one of the best riesling producers in the country, with no fewer than six to try: the light, refreshing, and slightly sweet “Circle” riesling, with orange and apricot notes; the mineral-driven dry riesling with crisp acidity; the semi-dry riesling boasting juicy peach and pear; and three single-vineyard rieslings — Bullhorn Creek, Tango Oaks, and Lahoma, each expressing different styles and unique terroir. Red Newt also produces single-vineyard bottlings of merlot and Gewürztraminer, which are fascinating to try.

The Bistro at Red Newt is easily one of the finest restaurants in the Finger Lakes. Like the terroir expressed in Red Newt’s single-vineyard wines, the Bistro aims to express the taste of the Finger Lakes: the food is sourced from over 30 farmers and producers in the region. If you have the chance, try the wine pairing dinners.

At Hector Wine Company, we were fortunate enough to taste with one of the winemakers. Hector is a relatively new winery, having only opened in 2010, but is already making a splash with excellent wines and a great tasting room. We tasted a pinot blanc, somewhat rare in the Finger Lakes, and enjoyed the delicate citrus and tropical flavors mixed with a tinge of minerality and pepper on the finish. The sauvignon blanc was also a standout, light and refreshing with lively lemon and apple characteristics, and hints of herbs and fresh cut grass. Conversely, the pinot gris had a slightly more cloying mouth feel, likely from the oak-barrel aging, with a nice cantaloupe/melon component, along with tropical fruit flavors.

Leidenfrost Vineyards has been growing grapes on the family farm since 1947, and the experience and knowledge the winemakers amassed over the decades is evident in the wine. The reds were particularly good here, especially the pinot noir: really nice hints of floral and red berries on the nose, with ripe black cherries dominating the palate and a long finish. The Cabernet Franc Reserve also stood out, with an interesting nutty, coffee component on the palate. Leidenfrost’s heritage blend, Rhapsody, was full-bodied and loaded with fresh, ripe black fruit flavors as well as smoky pepper on the finish.

Pulling into the parking lot at Lamoreaux Landing feels more like arriving at a winery in California, with the fantastic views and the beautiful, grandiose building in front of you. But once inside, it feels smaller and friendly, despite the high ceilings, with the cozy tasting bar and wine racks spread around. The wines were, frankly, outstanding. Like Red Newt, the tasting menu puts a distinct focus on riesling with multiple single-vineyard offerings. The dry riesling, Yellow Dog Vineyard Riesling, and Round Rock Riesling were each fantastic. While the Yellow Dog had flavors of tangerine and lemon with mouthwatering acidity, the Round Rock had a much more integrated and round feeling to it, with almost creamy apple flavors, less zest, and more elegance. All three were no-brainers at checkout.

As for reds, the Estate Red is a ridiculous bargain at $12, a perfect wine for pizza or casual drinking with both true winos and beginners. The pinot noir was elegant and smooth, with an intriguing mix of the expected cherry and slightly earthy herbal flavors, combined with an unexpected orange/tangerine character.

This was one of the best trips to the Finger Lakes I have made in awhile. Most wineries are pulling out all the stops with serious, delicious, thought-provoking, and complex wines. I feel like I bought more dry rosés and sauvignon blancs than usual, though the beginning of summer undoubtedly had something to do with that. Pinot noir and cabernet franc are fairing the best among reds, but there’s no question that riesling is king in the Finger Lakes.

If you live in the northeastern United States, do yourself a favor and make the trip. It is well worth the drive.

Swirl, sniff, sip.

Looking to try out, and hopefully praise, some of the beers brewed in our native York County, Pennsylvania, we trekked down Interstate 83 and North George Street to downtown York to check out Mudhook Brewing Co.’s brewpub. Situated just one block west of North George Street and nestled in a quiet corner on the backside of the Central Market House (along Cherry Lane off of Philadelphia Street), this locally owned brewpub serves its own line of craft beers ranging in tastes and styles alongside typical pub appetizers, sandwiches, salads, and soups.

So far, the brewery is not bottling its beers, although you can purchase a growler to take home. We asked the server if there were plans in the future to bottle and sell; he said, “It’s been talked about,” but that no such plans are currently in the works. Neither of us had been here before, so we were interested in giving all their beers a taste.

We each ordered a flight sampling of the six craft beers they were offering on draft that night. We drank them from lightest to darkest.

When this column began back in January, I wrote about New York wine, focused on the Finger Lakes. This past weekend, I got a chance to visit the area, including tastings at nearly 20 wineries. It was a perfect weekend to visit, with pleasant weather and surprisingly few crowds. My wife and I took a winding journey around Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake, not having time to stop at every winery, and no time at all to visit Cayuga Lake. We found some tremendous wines. It seems like each winery has something unique about it: an interesting story about how the winery got started or how the owners ended up in New York, growing uncommon grapes or making wine using uncommon methods.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the area, the lakes are long and narrow, running north-south through the expanse of New York state ringed by Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, and Elmira. Seneca Lake, just barely the second-longest after Cayuga, is 38 miles end-to-end. There are no bridges over the lakes, so if you need to drive to the opposite shore, it’s a bit of a ride.

Interstate 90 provides access to the Finger Lakes from points north (such as Ontario and Quebec), east (New England and upstate New York), and west or southwest (Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and beyond). Visitors from southeast (New York City, Philadelphia) can travel Interstate 81 to Binghamton and branch out from there.

For everyone directly south of the Finger Lakes, which includes my wife and me near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as well as travelers from Baltimore and Washington, D.C., take Interstate 83 to U.S. Route 15 through Corning, New York, home to the famed Corning Museum of Glass. From there, take Interstate 86 west, through Bath and Hammondsport (named America’s Coolest Small Town in 2012) to get to Keuka Lake. Otherwise, follow I-86 east to Horseheads, and then choose U.S. 14 to Watkins Glen to access Seneca Lake or U.S. 13 to Ithaca for Cayuga Lake.

Cayuga wineries are along New York Route 89 on the west shore and Route 90 on the east. Route 14 is along the west of Seneca Lake, with Route 414 on the east shore. Keuka Lake lies on Route 54.

The first half of our trip took us on a familiar path, visiting wineries on Keuka Lake and a few on the west side of Seneca Lake. We’ve taken this route a few times before, but manage to find new wineries and new wines each time we visit. The second half of our trip, which I will discuss next time, took us to the east side of Seneca Lake.

There are far fewer wineries on Keuka than on Seneca, and they are mostly clustered along the southern half of the lake. Our first stop was Bully Hill, a long-time Finger Lakes institution on the west side of Keuka. The winery sits high up on a hill with amazing views of the lake below. Bully Hill grew out of a dispute between Walter S. Taylor and the Taylor Wine Company, founded by Walter’s grandfather. Today, Bully Hill is known as the “anti-stuffy” winery on Keuka Lake.

Visitors to Bully Hill can taste of five pre-selected wines (some dry, some sugary sweet), normally with a big crowd of people and the rowdy, entertaining staff, or they can opt for a custom tasting of any wine for $1 each. Since we had done the group tasting multiple times before and almost always focus on dry wines, we opted for a custom tasting. The Estate Blend, cabernet franc, Meat Market Red, and Fish Market White were standouts, and the prices can’t be beat. Bully Hill makes many different wines, with something for every palate.

Down the hill from Bully is Keuka Lake Vineyards, a winery with a very different personality. The tasting room is small and intimate, and the winery operation is much smaller, with far fewer wines available. The winery offers several excellent single-vineyard rieslings, which gives the taster a chance to sample the different Finger Lakes terroirs. We tasted two cabernet franc vintages (2011 and 2012), as well as a Léon Millot, a French-American hybrid red grape.

Traveling back to Hammondsport and up the eastern side of the lake, our third stop was at Domaine Leseurre. Owners Céline & Sébastien Leseurre just opened the winery in the fall of 2013, and the wines are already some of my favorite from New York. The tasting room is also small and intimate, with lots of natural light and beautiful views. Because the winery is so new, only whites and a rosé are available — the reds are not yet ready for release (though a pinot noir and cabernet franc are coming soon, I’m told). Even so, it is well worth stopping to taste the magnificent whites.

Sébastien emphasizes Bâtonnage, an Old World winemaking technique that involves stirring up the lees by hand. This allows the wine to take on a smoother, rounder personality, with layers of well-integrated flavors. Multiple rieslings and chardonnays are offered, and the differences among each are fascinating. Oaked versus unoaked chardonnay, dry riesling versus semi-dry riesling versus a rare oaked riesling, a zippy but not-too-harsh Gewürztraminer, and a refreshing dry pinot noir rosé — all are stunning creations.

From one favorite winery to another: our next stop was Ravines, where my wife and I are wine club members. Visiting the tasting room is always a great experience because of the very knowledgeable staff. Like Bully Hill, Ravines also has an interesting back story, involving a winemaker from Denmark, the purchase of a sought-after vineyard and château in France, and corrupt officials squandering the deal. We are better for it, however, as Ravines owner and winemaker Morten Hallgren settled in the Finger Lakes instead.

The quality of the Ravines wine is easily one of the best in all of New York, and the dry riesling is among the best in the country, consistently scoring 90+ points in major wine ratings. The pinot noir is Hallgren’s real passion, which is a true expression of the grape, and the Meritage blend is also very, very well made (and suitable for cellaring).

Up the road from Ravines is McGregor Vineyards, which has attracted something of a cult following in the Finger Lakes. The winery produces a wide variety of wines, but the Eastern European varietals Sereksiya Charni, Saperavi Rkatsiteli, and Sereksiya Rose set the vineyard apart. McGregor owes its cult status to its popular but pricey Black Russian Red, a blend of Sereksiya Charni and Saperavi Rkatsiteli. A visit to the tasting room, decked out in Clan Gregor plaid and all things Scottish, provides a good experience for anyone, from the novice sweet wine drinker to the serious wino. The Highlands Red is a great value for an everyday table wine.

We stopped at The Olney Place for lunch, a fantastic deli with great beer selection and a catchy motto: “Get this deli in your belly!” The grilled sandwiches are delicious and the sticky buns are legendary (get there early for breakfast if you hope to snag a few).

Here, our journey took a turn to the east, and a short drive brought us from Keuka Lake to the western side of Seneca Lake, the largest lake and home to the most wineries. It’s hard to visit Seneca and not stop at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, which, along with Ravines, is perhaps the best-known winery of the Finger Lakes region. The winery’s namesake came to New York from a German winemaking family and was instrumental in turning the Finger Lakes into an area for fine wine varietals, particularly riesling.

The winery website lists eight different Rieslings currently available, from dry to sweet, and several single-vineyard offerings. Even more astounding, all of them have been scored over 90 points. Don’t get too focused on riesling, however; the other white wines, as well as the pinot noir and cabernet franc, are all extremely well-made. The tasting room is fairly small and intimate, and best of all, it is right among the stainless steel tanks of the winemaking operation.

Just north is Shaw Vineyard, another winery serious about serious wine. More than anything, what sets Shaw apart is the tremendous respect the winery has for the aging process. Wine is barrel- and bottle-aged longer at Shaw than maybe any other winery in the Finger Lakes. In fact, we were tasting reds this past weekend from the 2007 and 2008 vintages. (I have a Chardonnay from the 2005 vintage in my cellar, purchased not long ago.) This is almost unheard of in the region, mostly because of the costs involved.

Growing the grapes, crushing them, and fermenting the juice, is a labor- and time-intensive process. A long time goes by before a crop of grapes brings in any revenue, and Shaw grapes take even longer. But owner Steve Shaw insists on the benefits of his system, and they show in the wines. The 2007 Keuka Hill Reserve, a Bordeaux blend, is particularly enticing — and could warrant even five or 10 more years in the cellar.

Monello Winery is relatively new and a smaller operation but is already growing. Even since my last visit in 2013, several new wines have been introduced. You’ll usually find owner Grace Mirchandani pouring in the tasting room, which is easily identified from the road by a large, red “M” sign. Monello, which in Italian means “brat,” produces mostly dry wines, including a delicious dry riesling and a red blend, called Pella Rosa, perfect for red sauce pasta dishes.

Billsboro Winery has been one of my favorites since my first trip to the Finger Lakes 10 years ago. Unlike most wineries, Billsboro’s tasting room is set in the woods, with a rustic, relaxed feel inside. The dry riesling and pinot gris are both praise-worthy, but the sauvignon blanc was the standout wine during this visit. Billsboro also provided the biggest surprise of the weekend: a Finger-Lakes-grown Albariño. Usually found in Spain and Portugal, the wine is very light-bodied and acidic, making it a perfect pairing for shellfish and light appetizers. Billsboro’s version was no different, delicious and refreshing.

Stay tuned for a trip to the southeastern side of Seneca Lake, sometimes referred to as the “Banana Belt” for its extended growing season, in part 2.

Not too long ago, wine from Greece was shunned and degraded. “Greek wine tastes like mouthwash,” a fellow diner in a restaurant once told me. Indeed, there was a time when most Greek wines were harsh and unpolished offerings. But in recent decades, the quality has improved dramatically.

The tiny Greek islands may seem like an odd place to grow wine grapes compared to the wide open spaces of France and Tuscany. The islands are small and cramped, with little area to plant new vines. The Mediterranean climate is almost tropically humid, with relentless, baking sunlight, little rainfall, and high winds. Most resources are devoted to the tourism industry, leaving little behind for agriculture.

But the islands have multiple advantages. First, despite the humidity, the growing season is long and warm. The poor soil quality, composed mostly of rock and volcanic ash, is actually an asset; grapevines produce the best fruit for wine when they struggle. With readily available water and nutrients in the soil, vines grow like weeds, producing lots of green leafy growth, and poor quality, watery grapes. But when they must struggle to survive, the energy of the vine is focused on reproduction — which means a focus on the seed-containing grape.

Secondly, this rocky, volcanic soil on most Greek islands is immune to a number of pests and diseases that wreak havoc almost everywhere else. The tiny, aphid-like phylloxera insects are nowhere to be found due to the total absence of clay in the soil. This is a substantial advantage, considering phylloxera destroyed almost every acre of vineyards in Europe in the 19th century (an unfortunate transplant from the New World). Afterwards, Vitis vinifera (wine) grapevines were forced to be grafted onto phylloxera-resistant roots. But in the Greek islands, some roots have been growing for centuries. Even if the vine itself grows too old to produce quality fruit, a new young vine is grafted onto the roots. The roots are incredibly valuable here, since they have grown down so deep in the loose rocky soil in search of moisture.

But what about the lack of rainfall? The high winds? And the relentless sun? The industrious Greek growers have found a workaround for all three in the way they grow the vines. In most places on the planet, vines are trained upward, off the ground. Many different training styles exist, such as head training, where the vines are grown in the shape of a goblet, or trellis systems, where vine trunks are grown straight up and arms are grown outward along wires. Both systems have a primary goal: get the vines off the ground, where moisture, pests, and diseases lurk.

On the Greek islands, however, there are very few of any of these issues, so the vines are trained on the ground. The vines are directed in small circles on the ground, forming a rough basket shape. This low, sturdy structure avoids problems with the wind; the basket shape traps a small amount of moisture that the vines can absorb, and the grapes are pushed toward the inside of the basket, allowing the vine and leaves on the outside to shield the fruit from the sun.

I had the great opportunity to visit Greece and the best Greek island for winemaking, Santorini, in 2010. Touring several different wineries, it was somewhat puzzling to see the grapevines growing. The vines, growing in disorderly, almost random locations, are a far cry from the neat and tidy vineyards of France and California, where long, perfectly parallel rows of trellises prevail. There is no grass or ground cover, no weeds, nothing around the vines, just rocky earth. It’s a rustic style, doing only what is necessary to make very good quality wine. No energy (or water) is wasted on appearances.

Santorini, a crescent-shaped island, is a shell of its former self. Originally a normal, round shape, the island was actually a massive volcano which erupted catastrophically over 3,500 years ago. The center of the island dropped down beneath the surface of the water after the volcano erupted, leaving only the high steep cliffs that remain. Some say this volcanic eruption is the source of the Lost City of Atlantis myth, while others claim the eruption wiped out the Minoan civilization on Crete, the result of a massive tsunami.

Whites are the better known wines from Santorini and see greater production than reds. Assyrtiko is produced the most, along with Aidini and Athiri. While most white wine grapes lose acidity as they ripen, Assyrtiko does not. As a result, the wine can be both full-bodied and acidic and typically has a very refreshing flavor profile of citrus fruit and — surprise! — rocky minerality.

White wines on Santorini are usually called “Santorini” or “Nykteri.” Santorini wines must be at least 75 percent Assyrtiko and are typically unoaked. Nykteri, Greek for “working the night away,” is traditionally harvested at night, and also must be at least 75 percent Assyrtiko. The main difference between the two is the aging process; for Nykteri, that includes a minimum of three months in oak barrels. Both are very dry and acidic.

Red wine was, at one point, almost extinct on Santorini. With vineyard land being sold off to build apartments and hotels for tourism and the overwhelming preference for growing the more demanded Assyrtiko, red grapes like Mavrotragano were all but abandoned. What red grapes were grown were typically used for making cheap, sweet wines.

This downward spiral was reversed in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Mavrotragano was produced as a dry fine wine, with critical and popular success. With its thick skins to protect it from the sun, Mavrotragano wine is typically very dark colored, intense, and full bodied, with good aging potential. The flavors are reminiscent of Middle Eastern cuisine, with strong spices, stewed fruits, as well as earth, ash, and leather. Another red varietal, Mandilaria, is also grown.

Finally, Santorini produces a signature dessert wine called Vinsanto. The wine must be 51 percent Assyrtiko and is truly a nectar of the gods. Grapes are left on the vine longer than for any other wine, allowing sugar content to rise, and are then dried in the sun for around two weeks before they are crushed, creating very concentrated, sweet juice. The wine is aged in oak for at least two years before it can be bottled. While most dessert wines have very low or almost no acidity at all, the acidity of the Assyrtiko, even when fully ripe, gives this a unique flavor. It is no doubt sweet, but the acidity provides a beautiful balance. As you can imagine, after being in the sun for two weeks, flavors of dried fruits, like raisins, prunes, and apricots, shine through.

Estate Argyros and Domaine Sigalas are both fantastic wineries on Santorini, and their wines are available in the United States. The “Atlantis” series from Argyros would be a good place to start, considering the modest price tag. The series includes a white (90 percent Assyrtiko), a dry rose (80 percent Assyrtiko), and a red (blend of Mandilaria and Mavrotragano). If you can find the 100-percent Assyrtiko or Aidani bottles, definitely try them.

After that, search for the Assyrtiko or the Assyrtiko-Athiri blend from Domaine Sigalas, which are even better than the Argyros wines. They are both well worth the price and will not disappoint, especially with fresh whole fish, on the grill, with olive oil and simple seasonings.

Finally, for a special occasion, treat your closest friends to a sip of Vinsanto from either winery. You won’t be sorry.

Swirl, sniff, sip.