Belly Up To The Bar Boys!

   Lake Seneca is an interesting place.
   The Guide books will tell you it's the
longest of the so called glacial "Finger
Lakes."
    I would describe it as a very large
body of water surrounded by grapes!
    Local farmers squeeze those grapes,
and turn them into what seems like
a thousand varieties of wine.
    Then, people like us come to take
a tiny taste of those wines and end up
carting off a dozen or so full bottles
of this alcoholic grape juice!
     I've seen it happen!
     The system is very simple.
      Each of the wineries has a bar
where you can sample its wares. The
samples used to be free. Somebody
discovered they could actually sell
more of their products if they charged
for the samples instead of giving them
away as though they were a worthless
commodity.
      So, these days, you pay a couple of
bucks for a couple of samples. Then, if
you actually buy the product, they
subtract those couple dollars from the
purchase price.
      Of course the selling price has
probably already been inflated just high
enough to cover the costs of those who
sample but do not buy.
      There are some 50 wineries around
the lake. We stopped at just three
during our visit yesterday. At each we
shared the parking lot, and the sampling
with folks who showed up by car, bus,
and even limousines!
      As if the wine market isn't big enough
several of the establishments now have
added both beer and even soda sampling
opportunities!
     I must admit I liked the soda I tasted.
But the $7 plus price tag for a large bottle
of carbonated and flavored water had me
longing for the dollar Pepsi machine back
at the motel!
     My wife did the wine tasting for the
two of us although I did come to her aid
to finish a couple of samples. And we
did get our $3 tasting fee back as is was
subtracted from the purchase price of a'
half dozen bottles of local favorites!
     Others in our group did likewise as
did most of all those people with whom
we shared elbow room at the sampling
bars! Guess everybody found something
they liked.
     We'll probably enjoy our wine with
meals and friends over the next year or
so. Meanwhile, I bought a Pepsi!
      Hope you've got something that suits
your taste and that all your NEWS is good!