Rochester Trip, Part 4 - Bully Hill and Country Roads

Upon the suggestion of Chris's drum teacher, we got in the car again one day to traverse our merry way to Bully Hill, a winery in Urbana or Hammondsport - I never really figured out which. In any case, it's at the top of this giant hill overlooking Keuka Lake (one of the Finger Lakes). Maybe the locals say Lake Keuka, like you would with one of the Great Lakes. But before we got on the freeway, Chris ordered the family wagon to transport our wine freight.

 

The little Mazda Protege triumphed over the land as we set on our journey to find out what kinds of wine New York had to offer. I have to admit, I felt I had the right to be a bit of a snob before we got there. I was prepared to tell people I was from Spokane and add, "in the state of Washington, not far from Walla Walla. You, of course, know of Walla Walla, right? Oh I know, we really are spoiled. How do YOUR Syrahs taste?" Oh, just kidding. I knew this winery was going to have more to offer me than just a wine tasting. It had history.

 

Every place I looked on the drive was like a page out of a calendar. I can't tell you how many times I thought back to the days when Mom subscribed to Country magazine. Looking out the front...

 

...to the back...

 

...and barns were everywhere!

Just as I was finally getting used to the overwhelming scenery, lo and behold, we were there, and my eyes exploded all over again.
All the labels were designed by Walter S. Taylor, who inherited the business from his father, and I think it was his grandfather was the founder of Taylor Wine Company in the late 1800s. The company was later snatched up by Coca Cola, as were the rights to use the Taylor name, and dear Walter had no other choice but to start his own label, thus Bully Hill, and their mascot of the goat. A sign in one of the buildings reads, "They have taken away my heritage, but they didn't get my goat."



There are 11 vineyards in the Keuka Lake region, but I'd like to think this was the absolute best.

And so we returned to Rochester, and it rained while we were in the car again. Dinner awaited us at Hogan's Hideaway. They pride themselves on using extremely fresh meat.

It was a sweet little place, and I will say, the crabcake sandwich I had was superb. My entire trip was kind of like that crabcake sandwich - not too heavy, definitely not smelly, and its looks and taste were simply delicious. Oh sorry, was that metaphor a bit of a stretch for you? Seriously, you should try that sandwich - you would totally agree. In any case...
Rochester, I approve of you.