Freedom Run Winery

Limo Train Fundraiser for the Salvation Army

Last month we hosted the 90 person Limo Train fundraiser for the Salvation Army. On a quiet Tuesday night in October, a huge caravan of limos and RV's pulled in to our winery parking lot for some wine tastings. Each person involved helped out the fundraiser by buying a ticket which included stops at a Attitudes, Danny Sheehan's, Spring Lake Winery, and our winery. We have hosted large groups in the past during wine trail events, but rarely will they all arrive at the same time as with this group of 90.

With our staff working as fast and furious, we managed to provide everyone that wanted a thorough tasting of our wine list, and we also gave a casual tour of our wine production room. A portion of all the wine bought that night was donated to the salvation army. It seemed like everyone had a good time and we are proud to help out by hosting events like this. As it turns out, the organizers are planning in doing the limo train event twice a year after the success of this fall's event.

Hallowine Event Murder Mystery

Halloween has come and gone, and we hope everyone who made it out to the Niagara Wine Trail's Hallowine Wine Trail Event had as much fun as we did last weekend. Once again the turnout was amazing, with costumed guests of all ages piling out of cars, trucks, limos and buses, with wine glasses in hand. Our very own Kurt Guba was playing the role of Mayor Brady in the murder mystery theme of the event. His interaction with guests was a sight to see all day Saturday and Sunday.

Since Kurt is normally pouring wine during these events, we needed some more tasting room help while he entertained the crowds with clues. Luckily Larry and Sandra's son Matt came up from Pennsylvania to help out with a few friends from school. They worked their tails off for us and we owe them a big thank you for being thrown in to work during such a busy weekend.

We were happy to play host to another private party in our barrel room after that busy Saturday in the tasting room. In the past few months we have hosted several private tastings for groups. With more and more people finding the wine trail and encouraging friends and family to come along, a private tasting in our winery is a relaxing and casual way to get familiar with our wines and winemaking facility. If you are interested in hosting an event at Freedom Run Winery, give us a call and we'll get you started with some information on rates and availability.

Our Semi-Dry Riesling Makes Trip to Culinary Center

New York State is blessed by having such distinctive wine regions across the state. The fact that so many grapes thrive here and that the terroir of each area can be tasted in its wines makes our state a wine lovers paradise. The New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua, NY is just a huge bonus for foodies and wine drinkers alike. The center's wine tasting room features flights of wine from around the state and every few weeks they change the menu to highlight the best of what the state has to offer.

Our Manning Manor Reserve 2005 was featured for several weeks longer than most other wines in the past at the center's tasting room because it is a one of kind wine. Made from 100% Niagara grapes, aged in oak, and with 0% residual sugar, it's the only dry Niagara wine we know of. Our winemaker, Bob Green, intended on softening the grapes' natural acidity by aging in French oak, and we feel that it led to a truly balanced wine from a grape otherwise known as being a sweet wine grape.

This past weekend, Kathy, our tasting room manager made the 1 1/2 hour drive to the center to drop off our 2005 Semi Dry Riesling. The thought of people trying this wine that haven't yet made it up to our region is very exciting. We already got some recognition with a silver medal at the Finger Lakes International Competition with this wine, so we see this opportunity as a way to reach many more wine lovers. We are truly lucky to have such a wine friendly state agriculture commission in addition to many people willing to try local wines.