Nancy Tisch makes her wine at Damiani Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake. But she sells it at Bet the Farm Winery and Gourmet Market, an adorable little storefront on Main Street in the village of Aurora. It’s next door to the post office and a couple doors down from the Aurora Inn.
Bet the Farm is a small winery: Tisch makes about 1,200 cases a year of Pinot Gris, Village White, Cabernet Franc and other varieties, and usually sells out. At her store, she shares shelf space with with Damiani, Shalestone, Sheldrake Point and others, plus neighbor wineries on Cayuga Lake’s East Shore, like Long Point, King Ferry and Heart & Hands.
To go with your wine, the refrigerator case holds a nice selection of artisanal cheeses (Muranda Cheese Company, Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery, Lively Run Goat Dairy, etc.) as well as Croghan bologna from Croghan Meat Market in the North Country village of the same name.
You’ll also find crackers, flatbreads, dips, dressings, sauces, granola, pancake mixes and other products from small-scale food producers in New York State.
I picked up a package of Cayuga Pure Organics polenta (a hostess gift for a friend), a bottle of chocolate-Cabernet Sauvignon wine sauce from Arbor Hill Grapery and Winery (a birthday gift for another friend) and a bottle of Stony Brook squash oil, a local – and very flavorful – alternative to olive oil.
More on the squash oil soon.
In the meantime, grab your corkscrew, cooler and picnic blanket and take a leisurely drive to Aurora. Pick up a bottle of wine and some nibbles from Bet the Farm and have an al fresco lakeside feast.
Bet the Farm is at 381 Main St., Aurora. Shop hours 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. Information: 315-294-5643.
Maureen -- I'm going back for a bottle of the Arbor Hill chocolate-cabernet sauvignon for myself. The young woman working the day I visited provided a small sample and it was DIVINE!
Cheers -- and thanks for stopping by.
--Margaret
Posted by: Margaret @ Eat First | 07/17/2011 at 06:36 PM
I've been to this adorable little storefront; another way Aurora distinguishes itself from the pack in the Finger Lakes. Your photos take me there all over again. Thanks Margaret!
Posted by: Maureen | 07/16/2011 at 01:03 PM