McGregor Vineyard Blog- the distinction

Blunt honesty: I'm still not sure what all this blogging is about and what the best approach is, so I've created another blog! Visit www.mcgregorwinery.wordpress.com as the "real" McGregor Vineyard blog. This blog will serve as a supplement of sorts to the "official" blog or visa versa depending on what you're looking for...I want to start telling our (my) story, from a completely biased viewpoint here on this blog. I'll use the other for keeping you updated on what's going on (or will be going on) at McGregor Vineyard. Let's get going!
First, check this out...a few of the first taken of the land Bob and Marge McGregor purchased with the help of David and Libby Stewart. Early Picutres. So, this is how it began...or so I've been told.

My parents, Bob and Marge McGregor, had a keen interest in wine back in the 1960s. Having recently moved to Rochester, NY, there were few local places to visit that actually had grapes and actually made wine. One such place was very inviting from day one...Bully Hill Vineyards the brainchild and love of Walter S. Taylor. Walter was the "Johnny Appleseed" of hybrid grapes in the United States and I will humbly declare right now, was the "Robert Mondavi" of the Finger Lakes...I'll write much more about Walter as time goes on. Suffice it to say for the time being, Walter was an incredibly dynamic, influential and addictive personality. He had a club of sorts for people who enjoyed his wines and wanted to stay connected to his winery and back in the 196os that's exactly what my parents wanted to do.

Each year, Walter held debaucherous evening events for those on his mailing list. On one such evening, my folks drove down to Keuka Lake from Rochester and attended one of his dinners. As the evening wore on, Walter's devilish side appeared and he non-chalantly gave my father a cork puller to open the next bottle of wine. After wrestling with it for a few moments, it became clear to my father that he couldn't so much as open a bottle of wine. It turns out, that the cork pull was a "left handed" cork pull (perfect for me, a lefty, devistating to a righty...ha ha ha) and he just about destroyed the cork. Anyway...at some point in the evening, Walter shared his vision with my father...Walter believed that the Finger Lakes (Keuka Lake?) would/should be dotted with family vineyards and wineries in the future. This stuck with my father...

Let's back up for a minute and put it in perspective: My father worked for the Government Systems division of Kodak, had three daughters all about one year in age apart, and had a loving housewife, Margie. In the late 1960s, Kodak was laying people off right and left (what's changed?) and my dad was worried. What if, what if? So, when Walter, in an elated moment of drunkeness, shared his vision with my father, it impressed on him and he wanted to be part of that vision!

He went back to his usual routine, and headed off to work. Sometimes he liked to visit a wine shop near Kodak on his lunch breaks. Shortly after his experience with Walter, he was in the wine shop on a lunch period. For whatever reason, he talked to the store owner about his evening with Walter. Apparantly, my father had a sparkle in his eye and a twinge to his voice. Later in the day, another regular visitor to the wine shop visited and for whatever reason, the store owner felt the need to share my father's enthusiasm with him...Dr. David Stewart. David was interested. Literally, out of the blue, David gave my father a phone call. Are you really interested? What do you need? I'm interested! Let's figure this out!

And so it began.

Rochester Winos

There's a great group of folks up in the Rochester, NY area called the Rochester Winos. They get together once a month at a local restaurant and invite a featured winery to lead them through a series of food and wine pairings. This month's tasting takes place tonight and I'll be heading up to Rochester representing McGregor Vineyard as the featured winery! I'm quite excited- the event is held at Grinnell's Restaurant which is purportedly one of the finest Italian cuisine restaurants in Rochester. It gets better...Renée Suzette’s CHOCOLATE truffles will be on hand and Corinna & Peter Kasandrinos owners of Kotinos The Olive King are sampling olives and olive oil! That's all the good news...unfortunately, tonight's gathering is sold out...I'd suggest joining the Rochester Winos for one of their future events. If you're not a member of the group you can still attend their events, it'll just cost a few extra dollars. Cheers!

randomness

Good morning...I did a quick search of blogs through google, trying to find mine, and found that our Black Russian Red has been discussed by some other folks out there...here are some links to follow. I'll include greater detail about this blog's namesake wine soon.
Dowd's Tasting notes evaluated some of our previous vintages. Our 2005 vintage was rated favorably by Wine Enthusiast, as is mentioned in this post by Finger Lakes Wine Country. I also sent the 2005 vintage to IntoWineTV. The reviewers enjoyed the wine even if rather confused as to what to expect. However, they didn't care for the price. I would have thought Broadbent would have some commentary on how it stacks up to other Saperavi and/or Sereksiya Charni wines he's had in the past...or was this a new experience for him? Here are a few more places to check out: notes from Mark's Journal summarizing one of my Red Wine Barrel Tastings he attended and here's the tasting notes on our 2003 vintage by Mike Sears, a member of our McGregor Clan Club who is very astute about wine. The Black Russian Red is truly intriguing and will be a topic of much more discussion here as time goes on!

Here we go!!!

Well folks,
I'm not really sure where I should begin...perhaps once I get a few people reading this, they'll help me with some direction. In the meantime, I've started this blog for a few reasons. First, my wife Stacey and I run my family's winery- McGregor Vineyard, located on the east side of stunningly beautiful Keuka Lake tucked away in the Finger Lakes region of western New York. I couldn't be prouder of it and I want to share this part of my life with others. Creating a blog helps me get the word out. Starting this blog is also a way for me to finally start organizing my thoughts about growing up in the wine industry- I've spent so many hours thinking about writing a book about my rather unique childhood yet I've never seriously put pen to paper...here's the ideal chance to start getting some of it organized! Even though I don't necessarily like this about myself, I tend to work best under pressure, when I know others are relying on me or at least are expecting something from me. The simple pressure of having a blog is hopefully going to be enough to keep me going...time will tell I guess.

Here's the beginning. John Matthew McGregor...inhales his first breath of fresh air on May 17, 1971. Named after his grandfathers. Taurus. Finnish mother (Marge), homemaker. Scottish father (Bob), physicist for Kodak. Three older sisters- Laura (ten years older), Anne (eight years older) and Sandy (seven years older). As with everyone, born into circumstances not of his choosing (not that I wouldn't choose them, I just didn't). Victor, NY. (Upper?) Middle Class.

more to follow...