Villa Bellangelo is situated in a magnificent location atop a hill overlooking central Seneca Lake. Their tasting room has offered visitors breathtaking views for more than a decade, but these historic lands have been a part of the heart of Finger Lakes agriculture and grape growing for centuries. The Missick family recently acquired Villa Bellangelo and has completely revived and revamped the entire operation. One of their biggest moves, in 2012, was to hire Ian Barry, a highly acclaimed winemaker, with a distinguished reputation for making wines that are true to the terroir in the Finger Lakes.
While I was in the Finger Lakes for the 2013 wine festival, I went with two friends to do a little tasting. We passed Villa Bellangelo and decided it would be a good place to stop. The tasting room outside was still somewhat under construction (mostly landscaping) but was beautifully and richly appointed within.
I immediately fell in love with Villa Bellangelo when I saw they had the good taste to stock the fabulous, highly acclaimed and award winning book SUMMER IN A GLASS by Evan Dawson.
There's no question, the facilities are meant for weddings and large family gatherings. The please is absolutely beautiful. And the view, over the vineyard to the lake from the back wall is breathtaking.
I recently reviewed several Bellaengelo wines just last year. You can read those reviews here:
I love Gewurztraminer, and this one is no exception. Really liked this wine with a lovely, fragrant nose, beautiful tropical notes, with a lovely grapefruit ending on the tongue. Smells sweet, and despite some small amount of residual sugar, finished relatively dry. A gorgeous wine. Fantastic!
I loved this Seyval Blanc 2012. This was a beautiful example of the varietal wine. The nose was citrusy, and I loved the tart refreshing nature of this lovely, lovely dry table white. Though this has some residual sugar, it did not come through as such. One of the best Seyvals in the state, hands down. Wonderful!
I love single vineyard wines. I love single vineyard Rieslings. Nothing shows a sense of somehwereness (to quote Matt Kramer) like a Riesling. This 2012 Gibson Vineyard Riesling as a gorgeous wine. Beautifully balanced, and well crafted, green apple, start fruit, melon, and a host of other tropical fruits came through with lovely citrus notes. And a minerally, earthiness too boot. A beautiful wine! I thought this was great.
80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Francesca Rossa was a lovely, drinkable table red. Bright red fruit, with cherries an raspberries, this light-to-medium dry red was an absolutely well balanced red, with nice acidity which kept the fruit bright, but with enough tannins to provide classic structure. A very, very nice red.
This was bright cherry and raspberry nose with lovely medium and dark fruit across the palate, well balanced, with a lovely, smooth finish. This is a very, very pretty Merlot 2010.
I always ask prospective employees, which book would have loved to edit or which wine would you have love to have made or produced. I always think this is a window into someone's thoughts. I can honestly say, I wish this was a wine I had made. This is absolutely one of the brightest spots on the list, and shows what a sophisticated wine Moscato can make. This is brilliant!!! No wonder this is a Best in Show winner. This wine has about 7% residual sugar, and it comes off like a classic Italian Moscato or lovely, well balanced Spumante. The semi-sparkling 2912 Moscato has a lovely floral nose, with lively fruit on the tongue, is well balanced between sweetness and acidity, and a slight effervescence that is absolutely gorgeous. Easily one of the best sparkling wines in the entire state.
We had a great time. And you will too! Have a ball at Villa Bellangelo!!!