Since we didn’t get much of a vacation over the holidays, Luke decided to take a few days off of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. For our first day off, Thursday January 17th, we decided to go to 2300 degrees.
2300 degrees is a free event sponsored by the Corning Glass museum every third Thursday night from November to May. Each month the museum chooses one night to close the galleries and transform this tourist attraction into a site for a night on the town.
Corning Glass Co. launched 2013’s 2300 degrees with a “Finger Lakes Finest” themed event which meant free wine tasting. You heard right: free! The Finger Lakes Region, as our area of upstate New York is called, is home to many local wineries and wine trails nestled in the hills surrounding the local lakes.
Luke and I arrived around 5:40pm to find the Glass Museum parking lot, and all adjacent parking lots full. It was disappointing to have to walk several blocks in the snow, but it was promising to know that this event was well attended. Grateful to get into the warmth, we were greeted and given a program listing the 30 wineries and their booth locations.
We walked through the entrance and wandered toward the auditorium. Low-lit black dinning tables lined the back wall. On the stage was an Indie Rock band from California called The Blind Spots. A lead singer with a Zooey Deschanel hair cut swayed as she sang and rocked to her decked-out microphone stand. On the adjacent stage screens flashed images from the Hot Glass innovation stage as lights danced on the open stage floor.
After listening to a few songs, Luke and I decided to check out the wineries. This was my first time wine tasting and although I know generally what I prefer, I was not as familiar with wines such as Caberet Franc, Riesling, or Gewurztraminer. Fortunately being married to an ex-bartender, Luke has had plenty of wine-tasting experiences, so I let him take lead.
Each winery brought three to five wines from crisp whites to full-bodied reds, some even brought fruit or dessert wines. We decided to focus on red wines. We wound through the corners, ramps, landings, and stairways of this modern museum reading each booth’s wine descriptions and taking brochures from the ones we liked best. (It didn’t take long for Luke to start a 0-10 rating system on the side of our program.) I was pleasantly surprised to discover we both liked the same wineries and the similar qualities in a red wine. Just as I began to remember we had not had dinner yet, we rounded the corner to find a table of free snacks: cubed cheese, crackers, vegetables, dip, and cold cuts were piled high on round black tables getting quickly picked over.
We took a short break from the crowds to watch the glass blowing in the Hot Glass Innovation studio. A tiered open auditorium hosts a large screen showing the busy hands of the glass artists on the stage directly below. With the aid of state-of-the art video equipment observers can even watch the glass be turned and heated via a video camera inside the kiln. Many people sat sipping their drinks while watching the artists make a large wine colored vase decorated with clusters of glass grapes.
In spite of the tight space, everyone was warm and friendly, milling around the booths discussing their taste and preferences with each other. Everyone stood in clusters holding comfortable easy conversation. If they bumped into someone it was only to recognize their face and ask how their holidays were.
This was one local event we were lucky to attend. We now can support local wineries without any guesswork.
Curious what 2300 degrees really looks like? Here is the event list and photo gallery: Click Here
Want more details on the wineries? Here is a link with information on “2300: Finger Lakes Finest”: Click Here
Looking for new up-and-coming music artists? Find out more about The Blind Spots: Click Here
P.S. I’d love to know: What do you do for date-night or a night-on-the-town with your friends where you live?
A.Greene's Adventures 
This sounds like a wonderful free event. Romantic, food, wine, warm, good company. Oh, how I remember being a dink before they coined that phrase! Have fun!
Well as a single mother of two full time employee and now full time student. I have rare night outs. But when I do I like to dance and clubs and bars. To have conversations not involving pointing and made up words (as much as I enjoy it) and for once not discussing why it’s too late to watch Spiderman for the 500th time. I expect more nights out since my now ex is going to be taking the girls every other weekend. I expect to unwind and relax to remember that I am also an independent person.
Good for you! I’m glad you are taking time for yourself. It is always important-doesn’t matter if you are a single mother of two you still need “me” time. (and a break from Spiderman lol)