Solar Flare by Eagle Crest Vineyards - Delicious Late Harvest Wine :)

This is the label on the side of the Solar Flare bottle

There is a New York State Winery / Vineyard that me and my lady just love - Eagle Crest Vinyards in Conesus, NY.  We've encountered the lovely people of Eagle Crest at a number of wine shows and festivals, and they have always taken very, very good care of us.  Indeed, I basically 'cut my teeth' as far as tasting wine is concerned on their offerings.

Eagle Crest Vineyards offers many different red and white wines, with enough variation to provide something for everyone :)  In today's post, I wanted to talk about their "liquid sunshine in a bottle" - The Solar Flare late-harvest wine.

Solar Flare is delicious late harvest wine

Now this is no ordinary wine.  Late Harvest wines are made by letting the grapes stay on the vines to wither and "rot" - long after these grapes would normally be harvested for making wine.  The grapes basically turn to raisins on the vine.  At this point, the dessicated grapes are then pressed to extract what little juice remains within them.  The result is an intensely flavored, sweet wine.  While thick, the wine is not syrupy or treacly because there is a bracing acidity that makes it refreshing.  In short, it is delicious and sweet without being too overpowering.  I for one generally don't like wines that are too sweet and the acidity of late harvest wines (and particularly, the Solar Flare) keep things nice and refreshing :)

We found this bottle of Solar Flare
living in our Azaleas.

The color of this wine is a beautiful honey color - it's really unlike most wines that I've seen elsewhere.  You'll notice that it comes in a smaller bottle - because of the difficulty of producing these kinds of wines, they are more expensive than average, so they often come in 325ml bottles as opposed to your standard 750ml. No worries though, this wine is to savor in small amounts, most commonly as a desert wine, as opposed to something you might drink along with a meal.

Solar Flare has an incredible honey color.
You have to see it to believe it!

This wine should be served ice cold, unlike most other wines.  If you didn't already know, temperature when it comes to serving wines is very important.  The flavors and nuances change drastically with the serving temperature, so it's important to look up what the proper temperature is to serve your wine.  Or, if you want to spend some time, start with it reasonably cold, and taste it every few minutes as it warms up, noting and differences in flavor :)

Solar flare comes in a 325ml bottle because it's limited.
Don't worry - good things come in small packages!

You can acquire some of this delicious wine from Eagle Crest Vineyards in Conesus, NY, or by meeting up with them at one of the many wine tastings they have, at events and at wine tasting shows.  Me and my lady love Eagle Crest wines and we rarely leave a wine show without picking up at least a case of their wine to enjoy later.  Yes, its that good.

Check them out at http://www.eaglecrestvineyards.com/


You can order all of their wines from the website at that link.  Try what delicious wine NY state has to offer.  I am sure you will not be disappointed.  And if you run into them at a show, tell them that Larry and Merideth say hello!