We’re voracious consumers of culture. And each week, a member of our team shares the words, images, and beers that inspired them.
Finger Lake Wine Country
Read.// Summer is for music. And no one writes about music like Hanif Abdurraquib. His collection “They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us” is a moving meditation about … well, everything. Abdurraquib's prodigious skills as a poet lace all of his essays about music, mortality, and life in modern America with an energy and an elegiac beauty that stays with a reader long after finishing the final page. With essays about punk, rap, emo, pop, and everything in between, I've yet to meet a music enthusiast I didn't try to press the book upon. And I've yet to meet someone who read it and didn't love it as much as I did. (Bonus: This spring Abdurraqib has a new book out. This one's about basketball. And though I'm no sports fan, you can bet I'll read that one too!)
Look.// Summer is for getting outside. Though the popular and ever-expanding collection of Finger Lakes wineries attract most of the attention from visitors to this Upstate New York region, its many local waterfalls offer an attractive excuse for foregoing a tasting in favor of a hike. Watkins Glen State Park offers visitors more than a dozen different falls and hiking trails to explore, making it one of the most popular and (conveniently consolidated) places to see natural splendor. But there are plenty of other, more off-the-beaten-path spots to marvel at cascades. Singing TLC’s song for the rest of your trip is optional, though recommended.
Drink.// Hector Wine Company’s Pinot Gris
Summer is for chilled white wine, and one of my favorite Finger Lakes bottles comes from a winery located conveniently close to a waterfall. Hector Wine Company's Pinot Gris, I'm looking at you! If you time it well, you might be able to grab a tasting at Hector after a hike and enjoy some live music to boot. The relaxed vibe complements the wine nicely, and sometimes, when food trucks are thrown in the mix, you can enjoy all the best parts of summer in one afternoon.
Words by Alyson Mosquera Dutemple 
