A couple of years ago the wine distributor for D&R Depot Restaurant in Le Roy convinced Sean Valdes that he should drop his dream of serving only New York-produced wines.
New York wines are too seasonal, he said. They would be too hard to keep in stock.The wine list would always be changing.
Then about six months ago, another distributor, one based in Batavia, came by and Valdes mentioned his desire to stock only New York wines. This distributor listened and agreed to work with Valdes on coming up a suitable wine list.
"We figured out that we could do year-around reds and year-around whites from New York," Valdes said. "New York wines are seasonal, so we choose larger vineyards and different choices that we could get all year around, but ones that wouldn't be so different -- not the peaches and the apricots -- not my crowd. Pretty much the standards."
And as of Wednesday, D&R Depot is the only restaurant, according to Valdes, outside of the Finger Lakes or Albany, to serve only New York wines.
"Champagne only comes from a certain region of France, otherwise it's sparkling wine, so even our sparking wine is from New York State. It's Goose Watch," Valdes said.
So why go to an all New York wine list? Valdes' answer:
"First, New York has some great wines. We focus on Finger Lakes, but there's a winery in this area. Long Island has a lot of wineries. There's even some in the Adirondacks. I think it's a neat thing. It's a niche market. It's always good to be local and it's what we strive for anyway, so this is a neat thing to fit in with that. And they're different. Even the riesling that you get from New York has a little bit different flavor than you would get from California or France or Australia. It's something different to offer our customers and it's been a big hit so far."
Some of the wines on the list include Fox Run Chardonnay from Penn Yan, Glenora Riesling from Dundee, Thirsty Owl Diamond from Ovid, Brotherhood Pinot Noir from Washingtonville, Heron Hill Game Bird Red from Hammondsport and Knapp Superstition from Romulus.
Pictured above with a selection of their wines are Valdes and Nancy Nickerson.
One of the best NYS wines is
One of the best NYS wines is Bella Rosa from Merrit Estates, I can't find it anywhere in Batavia.
What a wonderful idea! I
What a wonderful idea! I love going to the Depot for lunch. I have always wondered why no restaurants served exclusively NY wines. seems to me it would be a great novelty!
Great news!
Great news!
D&R is a great place to eat,
D&R is a great place to eat, but i will not touch the wine because im driving , but i would like to try it.
If you are on a tight budget
If you are on a tight budget then try Lost Vinyards wine !
I dont know if its still the same price but its very good !
personally, I used to have a
personally, I used to have a fondness for Wild Irish Rose.....or Mad Dog 20/20....neither of which are New York wines.......but I have also been set free from those demons!!!
An Exclusive New York wine
An Exclusive New York wine list is long overdue. More restaurants should do this! I've been saying it for more than 25 years. Why don't restaurants, liquor stores and our legislature do more to promote the New York wine industry?
more great NY wines to try
more great NY wines to try are from Vizcarra Vineyard at Becker Farms in Gasport. They have a sweet red called Concord (Concord Variatal), and another not as sweet red called Erie Canal Catwaba.
don't have a comment about
don't have a comment about wine , but The Depot is the best little secret in Leroy. Our office eats there regulary and Sean is the nicest guy and is there to please. The food is great and the atmosphere is wonderful! I'm just glad to see them in the news, they deserve it!
I love it! Nice job, Sean!
I love it! Nice job, Sean! Here's a toast to your paving the way for our restaurants to carry our wines only!