VinoDuo is Lisa & Gary. Engaged in Sonoma. Honeymooned in Napa. Vacationed in
Temecula (CA), Woodinville (WA), and other off the beaten path wine regions. We’ve married our love of wine with our passion for travel, visiting lesser-known wine regions throughout the United
States. We’ve got strong opinions about the pros and cons of each wine region and this is our forum for airing and sharing them.
Day One: Finger Lakes Wine Region
Road Trip! We packed up the wagon with far more than we needed and headed out the Mass Pike to the Finger Lakes region of NY. How smart of us, we said smugly, to drive instead of flying into tiny airports in tinier planes. Ah, but then came the 1 hour backup in Auburn, MA (accident) and the 45 minute backup (accident) near Syracuse and we were cursing our stupid road trip decision. But by the time we hit Skaneateles (8 hours after we started) we were of good cheer and looking forward to four days of wine tasting in a gorgeous setting.
In between road accidents we stopped in the Berkshires at Baba Louie's, a funky pizza shop in Great Barrington. Sourdough crust is their claim to fame, and it didn't disappoint. The Melanzana Cardinale, with fresh mozzarella, eggplant, smoked gouda, and pesto was fantastic; even pizza-maker supreme Gary gave it a high rating.
The hour traffic snarl put us behind schedule for arriving in Skaneateles before sundown, so we ate and ran...a disappointment, since Great Barrington is the quintessential sweet yuppie town.
Where we Stayed — Arbor House Inn
Skaneateles is one of those stunning summer destinations with grand old homes ringing a pristine waterfront...it reminded Lisa of Edgartown on the Vineyard. Broad sidewalks and ample shade trees grace the downtown, which abuts Lake Skaneateles. The town boasts the requisite cute stores and tourist traps, but also great coffee shops (blogging from one now—Creekside Books & Coffee), galleries, and artisan outposts.
Our B&B, Arbor House Inn, was 3 blocks from the center of town. Location trumped all; the room was slightly shabby, the breakfast mediocre, and the service somewhat rushed. We were asked when we were checking out twice! But...the bed was extremely comfortable and the room had DSL to keep us connected. At $135/night it was reasonable for the area but I'm not sure we would return.
Today we're off to three wineries...Anyela's (in Skaneateles), King Ferry, and Long Point, both on the East Side of Cayuga Lake.
We'll report back tomorrow.
In between road accidents we stopped in the Berkshires at Baba Louie's, a funky pizza shop in Great Barrington. Sourdough crust is their claim to fame, and it didn't disappoint. The Melanzana Cardinale, with fresh mozzarella, eggplant, smoked gouda, and pesto was fantastic; even pizza-maker supreme Gary gave it a high rating.
The hour traffic snarl put us behind schedule for arriving in Skaneateles before sundown, so we ate and ran...a disappointment, since Great Barrington is the quintessential sweet yuppie town.
Where we Stayed — Arbor House Inn
Skaneateles is one of those stunning summer destinations with grand old homes ringing a pristine waterfront...it reminded Lisa of Edgartown on the Vineyard. Broad sidewalks and ample shade trees grace the downtown, which abuts Lake Skaneateles. The town boasts the requisite cute stores and tourist traps, but also great coffee shops (blogging from one now—Creekside Books & Coffee), galleries, and artisan outposts.
Our B&B, Arbor House Inn, was 3 blocks from the center of town. Location trumped all; the room was slightly shabby, the breakfast mediocre, and the service somewhat rushed. We were asked when we were checking out twice! But...the bed was extremely comfortable and the room had DSL to keep us connected. At $135/night it was reasonable for the area but I'm not sure we would return.
Today we're off to three wineries...Anyela's (in Skaneateles), King Ferry, and Long Point, both on the East Side of Cayuga Lake.
We'll report back tomorrow.
So sorry for the horrible trip driving up. I can empathize with all the long trips Carl and I have had. Enjoy the rest of the trip, and drink a couple for us.
Love,
Joyce
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Lisa,
As someone who grew up in Great Barrington I have to take umbridge at your characterization of it as "the quintessential sweet yuppie town". I left long ago, but I'm back and in touch enough to know that it's become a wonderful mix of the old and the new. It's got great great food, but still has a great sense of community and character that you wont find in the quintessentially yuppie suburbs of Boston and New York. Most importantly, it still has local people - townies, not all of them savory. (Like the 45-year old stoners who still hang around in public.) Take a weekend sometime and see what it has to offer.
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