Private: News

Friendly Ford Features Ventosa on Their Blog Featuring Local Businesses

Friendly Ford features a local business on their blog page each month. This month, Ventosa Vineyards was featured! Check out the write-up in the link below: https://www.friendlyfordgeneva.com/community-spotlight-ventosa-vineyards-geneva-ny.htm   more»

New Vintage Release

Our first ever Vintner’s Reserve Pinot Noir is smooth, complex, and full bodied; a stark contrast to the traditional light and delicate style of Pinot Noir. Most of our red wines age from six months to two years, but this Pinot Noir matured in barrel for three years. The extended barrel-aging concentrates the wine and increases its “weight” on the palate. The rich dark fruits and autumn spices pair well with heavier meals. Grab it before it’s gone! more»

Harvest 2018

Well, we picked our final grapes yesterday bringing the end to the 2018 harvest.  From Pinot Gris, the first variety picked, to Cabernet Sauvignon, the last picked, it was not the record crop like we had in 2017.   The changing weather throughout the growing season created various issues in the vineyard.  However, we were able to overcome many issues due to the fact that we handpick each cluster.  This gives us the ability to take the best fruit off the vines to use in the production of our wine.  As always, at this time of year we are thankful for the harvest and look forward to the wines that will be crafted for the 2018 vintage.  Kudos go out to Marc and his team … Jeff, Roberto, Nicolas, and Antonio. more»

Veraison

Every winemaker looks forward to “Veraison.”  That time of year when the berries change color and begin to naturally sweeten.  Here at Ventosa, this is when we begin to plan for harvest, making sure that we have enough tanks and barrels for the juice, checking the equipment to be sure everything is in good working order, bird control to keep them from eating all of our berries, and we keep a close eye on the clusters as they ripen, pulling off leaves to get the direct heat from the sunlight to prevent rot.  We also can take a sampling of berries to give us an estimate of what the yield will be for this year’s harvest.  It is definitely a busy time for our vineyard and cellar crew … Marc, Jeff, Roberto, and Antonio. more»

Join our Club!

How would you like to be more involved with Ventosa Vineyards?  When you join our Wine Club, you have the opportunity to do just that.  We ship wine each quarter of the year (March, June, September and December).  You can choose to have your wine shipped, or you can pick up the wine at Ventosa.  We encourage you to pick up if you are able.  Our pick up parties are pretty amazing, if we do say so ourselves.  Chef Nick prepares a delicious buffet lunch; we break open a few varieties of wine to taste and then serve with lunch, followed by a hands-on and very informative presentation put on on our winemaker, Marc Peterson.  If you are a red wine drinker, choose our Red Only membership, or, if you like red and white, the Winemaker’s Choice membership is the one for you.  For details or to become a member, click here more»

Deck the Halls Ticket Giveaway

Enter to win a couples ticket for the Seneca Lake Wine Trail’s Deck the Halls event.  All you have to do is purchase 3 bottles or more.  We have one ticket for each weekend, November 17th or December 1st.  Both are SOLD OUT.  It’s a great way to have fun, purchase wine, and start the Holiday season!  And, don’t forget, 3 bottles also gets you 5% off your purchase. Visit the Wine Trail office at www.senecalakewine.com for additional event information. more»

New Wine Labels

Have you seen the new labels on our white wines?  We love the rendering of one of our favorite views!  The tree, the vineyards and the lake … Beautiful!  Heather Heffernan, of Fine Art with Function, is responsible for this amazing artwork and has done an amazing job for us once again.  In case you aren’t aware, Heather’s work adorns our tasting room and banquet room.  The  trompe l’oeil style of painting is utilized in much of her work here, providing the “art of illusion.”  Heather also painted the mural of a Tuscan scene that graces our banquet room.  We hope you enjoy these new labels as much as we do! more»

Harvest 2017 has begun!

October 4th was the first day of the 2017 harvest here at Ventosa Estate Winery.  As you probably know, we hand pick all of our grapes.  This process is gentler on the fruit and we can carefully select which grapes to keep and which clusters to drop.  Those that are dropped, rot and go into the soil to nurture future crops. The first grape picked was our Pinot Noir.  These vines are located in the first several rows closest to our building.  As you look out toward Seneca Lake from the terrace, you are looking at our Pinot Noir vines. Pinot Noir is very sensitive and an early ripening variety.  If not picked early enough this thin-skinned grape will shrivel and dry out rapidly. Once picked, the grapes are processed through a crusher/destemmer which takes the berries off of the stems and gets rid of any leaves left on the clusters.  For Pinot Noir and other red varieties used in dry wines, the berries are placed in large bins.  Two to three times a day, the wine making team punches through each bin to add oxygen to the yeast which helps to “kick start” fermentation.  This step of the process also gives more»

Another Great Review on Wedding Wire!

Julianne said…  An amazing place all around and would highly recommend to anyone seeking a romantic, waterfront view alongside a beautifully manicured outdoor space. RJ is fantastic along with his staff and the food was amazing, along with of course their delicious wine selections! So many wonderful attributes at this venue, all of our guests had an amazing time here! 5 Stars more»

Great Review On Wedding Wire!

Kathy said…  Could not have asked for a better place to have our Daughter’s wedding reception. They were very accommodating and the service was excellent. They went out of there way to make sure we had everything we needed and the food was Phenomenal!!!! Highly recommend!! RJ is the manager and he worked with us through everything and we couldn’t of been more happy with everything!! Thanks RJ and the Staff at Ventosa Vineyards for helping to make our daughter’s wedding day very memorable!! Wedding: 05/06/2017 Services Used: Ceremony & Reception Venue, Rehearsal Dinner Location Reviewed On: 06/20/2017 more»

Ventosa Vineyards 2017 Couples Choice Winner

Wedding Wire Awards Ventosa Vineyards with the 2017 Couples Choice award Weddingwire.com has awarded Ventosa Vineyards with the 2017 Couples Choice award.  This award is determined by couple’s reviews on the Wedding Wire website. Ventosa Vineyards demonstrates excellence in quality, service, responsiveness, and professionalism. This is the third year in a row Ventosa has won this honorable award. For more information on how to book your big day with Ventosa Vineyards, please call RJ Passalacqua at 315-719-0000. more»

Dry Red event has food, wine, music and winemakers – Democrat & Chronicle

You can sip, shop and bebop at the 2nd annual Dry Red event, where seven producers of Finger Lakes dry red wine gather at Ventosa Vineyards in Geneva 6-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13. It’s a chance to sample wines paired with light tapas, listen and dance to live music, mingle with winemakers and purchase bottles of wine for the holidays. Tickets are $30. Last year’s event sold out, so organizers have expanded this year’s version throughout the ballroom and winery. Participating wineries are Ventosa Vineyards, Damiani Wine Cellars, Billsboro Winery, Shaw Vineyards, Hector Wine Company, Zugibe Vineyards and Hosmer Winery. Ventosa Vineyards is located at 3440 Route 96A Geneva. For more information, call 315-719-0000 or visit ventosavineyards.com. Mark Liu, @mliueditor Democrat & Chronicle more»

Ventosa Vineyards 2011 Lemberger Wins Coveted Governor’s Cup & 10 Medals

Geneva, New York- August 13th 2015- Ventosa Vineyards, an estate winery on the north east side of Seneca Lake, wins big at the 2015 New York State Wine & Food Classic. more»

Dos and Don’ts of Wine Tasting

By Susan Clark Porter With Memorial Day signaling the unofficial start of summer, Finger Lakes wineries are gearing up for the start of their busy season. To make those trips around the wine trails as enjoyable as possible, here are a few tips from winery workers. Don’t overindulge Erica Paolicelli, general manager of Three Brothers Winery in Geneva, said people who are visiting the wineries on tour buses or limos are often inclined to imbibe and have a good time between stops. It may be fun in the moment, but it can catch up to you. “I don’t think people realize that you can ruin your own experience that way and that of people around you,” she said. Be polite if a wine doesn’t strike your fancy. Paolicelli said it’s perfectly fine not to like a wine you sample, but don’t make a verbal fuss about it. “That can make it unpleasant for the people you are with,” she said, suggesting that a discreet dumping of it is preferable. Appreciate your flavor profile. If you’re a dry-wine drinker, try wines in those range and not super-sweet ones. “It’s OK to say, ‘That’s not me,’” Paolicelli said when selecting wines more»