Vintners & Valentines Winemakers Dinner (Jan. 25 ticket deadline)

Finger Lakes Community College has added a new tasting experience to its fifth annual Vintners & Valentines fundraiser, scheduled for Feb. 7, 2020, at the main campus in Canandaigua. The event now includes an optional curated tasting, which takes participants deeper into the winemaking process, before the signature gourmet dinner. For example, Heron Hill Winery, based in Hammondsport, will offer samples of red and white wines that have yet to be bottled, referred to as tank and barrel wines. Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards will offer a vertical tasting of red wines, which features samples of the same wines over successive years. Vertical tastings give insight into how a wine can change from year-to-year based on the growing and harvesting conditions and other factors. Silver Thread Vineyard in Lodi will offer a flight of 2018 Rieslings representing different vineyards and styles. Anthony Road Wine Company in Penn Yan will offer an exploration of several styles of Pinot Gris wines across multiple vintages. Vintners & Valentines is a fundraiser to support the FLCC viticulture and wine technology degree and the college’s hospitality degrees and certificates. These programs require extensive equipment to provide hands-on training in the skills and processes graduates will experience in the workplace. Proceeds will help purchase 100 gallon tanks and spectrometers for the viticulture and wine technology program and immersion circulators and induction cookware and burners for culinary arts. Winemakers from throughout the Finger Lakes host tables and pair each course with a different vintage. They explain their choices and their winemaking process throughout the dinner. The five-course meal is prepared by the college’s culinary arts students and includes a live auction. The optional curated tasting begins at 5:30 p.m., with a general reception at 6 p.m. This year’s menu features roasted cauliflower soup, pan seared bronzini filets, an entrée of prosciutto wrapped veal shank, followed by an assortment of desserts. Vegetarian options are available. The full menu is online at give.flcc.edu. Tickets are $150 per person with the option of adding the new curated tasting for $30. Reservations are required by Jan. 25 online at give.flcc.edu, by phone at (585) 785-1205, or by email at Margaret.Lorenzetti@flcc.edu