America’s #1 Wine Show, V is for Vino, launches its much-anticipated Season 3 on April 29th to visforvino.com, YouTube, and Roku. V is for Vino follows host and sommelier Vince Anter as he hits the road to explore wine regions and their people, history, culture, food, and wine topics. In Season 3, the show focused on “The Spirit of Community” that is found in each wine region visited; the winemakers, locals, and tourists coming together to make a wine region great.
Episode 3 of this upcoming season brings Anter to the Finger Lakes region of New York. “Who says you can’t grow wine in the cold? Vince heads to western New York in the middle of winter, to talk about the Finger Lakes wine region and its most important grape, Riesling. After exploring Watkins Glenn State Park, Vince visits Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery to learn about Konstantin Frank, and why wine in the Finger Lakes doesn’t exist without him. Next, he heads to Fox Run Vineyards and Sheldrake Point winery, to taste all sorts of styles of Riesling; dry, off-dry, sweet, and aged. Finally, Chef Orlando cooks a 4-course meal to pair with 4 Rieslings at Graft Wine + Cider Bar.”
Pallischeck, Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance, helped sign on Sheldrake Point on Cayuga Lake and Fox Run Winery on Seneca Lake.
Anter adds, “I had been trying to put together this Finger Lakes episode for a few years because it’s such an important part of the American wine story! The Finger Lakes also has such a different style of wine than people typically associate with west coast wine. I credit Meaghan with making it happen; I had tried and failed a few times, but once Meaghan and Dr. Frank were on board, everyone else hopped on. I think because the winery is such a huge presence and carries so much weight with its name, other people wanted to be in the same conversation. Kyle at the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance really helped put me in touch with a lot of awesome people as well.”
In 1951 Dr. Konstantin Frank immigrated from Ukraine where he was a well-respected vineyard and plant scientist and found his way to the Finger Lakes region of New York. During that time, quality wine growing grapes like Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir were not being grown as it was thought the climate was too cold. Armed with his Ph.D. in Viticulture, Dr. Frank brought with him many revolutionary techniques and successfully planted the first vinifera grape varieties in the region forever changing the course of grape growing in the Finger Lakes and the Eastern United States.
“I don’t think this episode could have happened without Dr. Konstantin Frank being part of it; when you talk about the history of the Finger Lakes, Dr. Frank always comes up. What he did to make this region viable really can’t be overstated; it doesn’t exist without him. We get into a lot of that in the episode.” says Anter.
Over the new few months, V is for Vino is hopeful to add Season 3 to its other platforms like Amazon Prime, Tubi, Pluto, Zumo, and VUDU, bringing worldwide attention to the quality wines of the Finger Lakes. Meaghan Frank adds, “I am so thankful Vince and the team at V is for Vino were interested in highlighting our region and wine community. The Finger Lakes should be recognized as being one of the great American wine regions and we have to continue to put ourselves out there and let people know what we are doing with our cool climate wines.”
Even Anter, who travels the world talking to winemakers, learned something new. “I knew you [Dr. Konstantin Frank] had a sparkling program, but I didn’t really realize how robust it was. Your sparkling cellar is amazing, and the wines rival any Champagne method wine I’ve had! Also, while I knew the story of Dr. Frank from a surface level, I didn’t know just how hard he worked; I couldn’t believe he was in his 50s when he started the winery!” says Anter.
The days of filming at the winery were full of entertaining stories and laughs. “I had a lot of fun clapping my arms together after “take one” was called!” Meaghan happily says.
“The crew said it after we left; Meaghan was one of the kindest, most hospitable people we’ve worked with. She went out of her way to make us feel welcome and was amicable to anything we needed or asked for,” says Anter. “Sometimes the best stories are when the camera turns off and it always kills me that it happens like that and I can’t film it. Meaghan bought us pizza after the shoot, brought out some wines, and we talked for hours about our long term goals, the industry, and where our passions lie within it. I’m always grateful for that extra time after the shoot when I get to make new friends.”
“The Finger Lakes is the premier Riesling region in America,” explains Meaghan. “There is no doubt about it! Come for the Riesling but stay for the beautiful scenery, hospitable local businesses, and farm-to-table cuisine.”
Season 3 can currently be viewed on their website visforvino.com, YouTube, and Roku beginning April 29th, and coming soon to Amazon Prime, Tubi, Pluto, Zumo, and VUDU in the coming months.
