Posts Written OnFebruary 2005

Lenz 2000 Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon

For obvious reasons, I enjoy my visits to The Lenz Winery in Peconic, NY even if I don’t actually own it, haha. Frankly, I used to be disappointed by the basic, second-label wines that they usually pour in their tasting froom. That all changed when I visited to tast their superb sparkling wines and had an experience I’d wish upon any wine lover. It was then that I could finally understand how some of their wines were rated better than Petrus in a blind tasting. Along with an impromptu vertical tasting of sparkling wines, winemaker Eric Fry popped open a…

Laurel Lake Vineyards 2002 Syrah

I’ve written previously about Laurel Lake Vineyard’s 2002 Chardonnay (see the post for more information on the winery) and I found it to be a pleasant wine at a great price. Their 2002 Syrah ($20) is extremely possible in their tasting room and the last vintage sold out sooner than they expected, so I was looking forward to tasting it. Lucky for me, they sent me a bottle…two actually (the first was "off" and they wanted me to review it again).

Discover Wines Without Breaking the Bank

(This column originally appeared in the 2/18 issue of Dan’s Papers) Discovering Wines Without Breaking the Bank I’ll admit it. I’m completely obsessed with wine. I love drinking it, talking about it, reading about it and, obviously, writing about it. Even thinking about it brings a smile to my face. Why has wine seemingly taken over so many aspects of my life? It’s a challenge, because no matter how much I know, there’s always more to learn. Every time I taste a new wine, talk to a winemaker or talk to a fellow wine lover, I pick up something new…

The Round Up — Wine Blogging Wednesday #6

First…let’s all thank Jeanne of CookSister for forcing us on a trip down to her homeland, South Africa, to enjoy a slurry of delicious red wines. Because she just loves to write so much (and is quite good at it), she broke the round-up post into two…the first batch and the second batch. 25 people participated…which is a good number given the quick turnaround from the previous edition! We’ll be traveling once again for the 7th vintage of WBW…stay tuned for the annoucement!

WBW #6 — Boekenhoutskloof Estate 2000 Porcupine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon

When Jeanne of CookSister emailed me about hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday, I’ll admit I didn’t know much about her. Given her choice of themes, I quickly learned that she’s a South African living in the U.K. — and after reading her site I was hooked on her blend of knowledge, adventure and good humor. Her theme, South African Reds, takes us all back to her homeland. My entree in WBW #6 is 2000 Porcupine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon from Boekenhoutskloof Estates. Boekenhoutskloof is a fairly well-known winery in the Franschhoek region of South Africa. Porcupine Ridge is actually winemaker Mark Kent’s second…

Yellowtail Milkshake Anyone?

As any of you TypePad services users out there know, you can find out what Google searches are bringing people to your site pretty easily. Most of the time, mine involve restaurants, wines or recipes I’ve written about…not stuff that is all that interesting. But last night, one of the searches that led someone to LENNDEVOURS disturbed me to my very core: yellowtail wine mixed with milk and sugar Please say it ain’t so. I can only assume that somewhere someone has actually done this…seems kind of specific to have been invented by the Googler. You guys know that I’m…

Wolffer Estate Vineyards 2000 Cuvee Sparkline Wine Brut

A couple hours after first sipping the 1993 vintage, we uncorked the Wolffer Estate Vineyards 2000 Cuvee Sparkling Wine as another part of our early Valentine’s Day celebration. 57% Chardonnay and 43% Pinot Noir, we enjoyed this sparkler with seared scallops with lemon-chive butter Saturday night. More accurately, Nena enjoyed the two together. I just sipped the bubbly and prepped the next course.

Wolffer Estate Vineyards 1993 Cuvee Sparkling Wine Brut

I’ve recently discovered a local wine shop that has some older vitage Long Island wines…something I’ve not really seen anywhere else. So, when I saw the 1993 vintage of Wolffer Estate Vineyards sparkling wine, I figured I’d give it a shot. By reaching out to my contacts at Wolffer, I was able to get some techinical information on this wine as well. It is 88% Chardonnay and 12% Pinot Noir and the grapes were hand picked on September 4th  (Pinot Noir) and September 25th (Chardonnay). They avoided malolactic fermentation and the wine was aged for 5 months prior to clarificationand…