Leon Millot is my Valentine This Year

Happy anniversary of my parents’ first date! Yep, they met on a blind date on Valentine’s Day 1970. They’re celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this November, so I think it’s fair to say it worked.

In their honor, I chose a bottle this week that I bought while we all visited the Finger Lakes in October 2017, Keuka Lake Vineyards’ 2016 Leon Millot.

Keuka Lake is one of the shorter and more amusingly shaped Finger Lakes. Roads are a little bumpier, and my cell reception almost always goes out. One of the oldest wineries in the region, Konstantin Frank’s, overlooks Keuka Lake.

Leon Millot: if you don't know that man, that’s OK, because it’s a grape! It’s a French-American hybrid specially bred to live in cold climates. According to WineFolly, it also grows in Maine and New Hampshire in the U.S.

On first taste, the wine reminded me of a darker more acidic pinot noir. It’s got that same body, but was super tart and thin immediately after opening. I liked it much more after I’d let it get some air. With all that acidity, this is going to be a terrific food wine: salmon, roast chicken, turkey, anything with a little creaminess to balance it out.

Have a yummy weekend, all!