All talk of dowsing, lay lines, and other pseudo-geological
hocus-pocus aside, lay of the land can affect the very core of our beings, or,
at the very least, our moods. Driving west from Trumansburg across Searsburg
Road, it’s difficult not to feel a sense of relaxation and a kind of elation
when, coming over the rise, Seneca Lake and its broad valley and crazy-quilt of
vineyards spread out before us. For me,
it imparts a near-giddy feeling that world-weariness has been lifted, and that all’s
about to be very, very well.
And it was with that sense of relief and coming pleasure
that we approached the recently revised Red Newt Winery and Bistro with dinner
on our minds. The folks at Red Newt re-opened their newly reconfigured dining
facilities on May 1, survived the crush of local college and university
commencements, and, say the waitstaff, emerged with their own senses of relief
– everything still works, perhaps better than ever. The winery and bistro have been through some
changes in the past few years, and, we’re happy to say that they’ve come
through adeptly, classily, beautifully, deliciously.
We chose to dine in the re-configured tasting room, its bank
of high and low tables facing through a wall of windows over the deck, with its
recent pergola addition and rustic picnic tables. The Bistro, which has also
been changed a bit, has given up its linen napery in favor of a more relaxed presentation.
If you time it right on a Friday or Saturday evening, you may be witness to one
of those spectacular Seneca Lake sunsets.
In the tasting room, as in the Bistro, there’s a set menu,
and a few specials. For wine trail
visitors who need sustenance to maintain their equilibrium as they ramble (stagger,
perhaps) from tasting room to tasting room along the wine trail, there are
plates of cheeses, cured and prepared meats, or spreads (sun-dried tomato and
olive tapenade, spicy cheddar cheese spread, and garbanzo sesame spread), as
well as small plates of olives, pickled vegetables, or rich Marcona
almonds. But we were hankering for a
substantial meal and were pleased with what we found.
A good-sized bowl of tomato soup was rich, creamy, hot, and
spicy, perfect for that cool evening. The grilled cheese sandwich du jour, on
the house’s substantial bread, was stuffed with local cheddar and crunchy
asparagus spears, and was a perfect reminder of juicy fresh asparagus’ fleeting
availability in relief from its year-round woody supermarket cousin. The roasted garlic gnocchi was pure comfort
food, its sauce of roasted garlic and cream napping fennel, kale, and chunks of
sausage. The special of the day was a hearty slab of bacon-wrapped roasted pork
loin served on a bed of barely sautéed greens, among them kale and celery-like
lovage lightly kissed by an agrodolce dressing.
As ever, the focus is on local and fresh, same as it’s been since the
winery’s inception (can it be?) twenty years ago. All this, along with a glass
of Riesling and one of Gruner Veltliner, came to a rip-roaring $54.
Among the changes at Red Newt is the rotation of
personnel. Dave Whiting, occasionally
spelled by his son, Brenton, has donned the toque, creating a limited but
imaginative menu. The wines are as topflight
as ever, though he has ceded most of the winemaking duties to up-and-coming winemaker
Kelby Russell, with a couple of new releases out on the Kelby James Russell
imprimateur.
We left happily sated, snagging a case of their Circle
Riesling on the way out. Circle Riesling
is our new favorite, less austere than many bone-dry Rieslings, its residual
sugar balanced by a pleasant acidity and all that nice fruitiness that marks
Rieslings at their best, great for pairing with spicy Asian cuisine, or for
lifting the mood on the back porch after a day’s communion with the computer
and the phone.
At Red Newt, the tasting room and the Bistro are open seven
days a week, from 11:30am to 6:00pm, and until 8:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Phone 564-4100 for reservations and information. 3675 Tichenor Road, Hector, NY.
