Posts Written OnApril 2006

As of last weekend, my favorite Long Island pinot noir producer, Castello di Borghese  in Cutchogue, went on the market for $9.2 million. The entire estate is included — 85 acres (25 planted with vines), winery, tasting room, warehouse and beautiful family farmhouse. Before current owners Marco and Ann Marie Borghese bought the property in 1999, the property was known as Hargrave Vineyard — Long Island’s first commercial vineyard, founded in 1973 by Alex and Louisa Hargrave. The Borgheses bought the vineyard and winery for $4 million. When I asked Ann Marie what made her and her husband, an Italian…

You always hear that Long Island and its wines are reminiscent of Bordeaux and its wines. But when winemakers and winery owners say that, most of the time, they do so to highlight their red wines — those made from merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon. What about white wines? Chardonnay, the white grape of Burgundy rules the Long Island white wine scene, not Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, the white grapes of Bordeaux. But, while far from ubiquitous, a small number of local producers are doing what I consider great things with white Bordeaux varieties — particularly Sauvignon Blanc. Two…

…but this week, I’ll be tackling our bathroom. I apologize in advance if I don’t post much to LENNDEVOURS this week, but I’m sure you’ll understand. We’re ripping out the tile/toilet/sink in our bathroom and replacing it all, tiling the shower walls and putting up wainscoting in there too. Did I mention that I am much more comfortable with a corkscrew or chef’s knife than I am anything you can find at the hardware store? Luckily, Len Sr. (along with Mamma LENNDEVOURS) will be visiting this week to help. You see, my dad is quite handy…but those talents didn’t make…

From my very first of their richly Burgundian 2001 Chardonnay last summer, I’ve been a Sherwood House Vineyards enthusiast. Owners Charles and Barbara Smithen, along with winemaker Gilles Martin (of Martha Clara Vineyards), share a devotion to graceful, Old World-style wines that really comes through in the bottle. Next week, Sherwood House Vineyards’ cozy little tasting room will re-open for 2006 and to celebrate, they are releasing three new wines — two from the 2002 vintage and one from 2003. The differences between the 2001 and 2002 growing seasons (2001 was hotter) are apparent, but these 2002 wines are no…

Long before becoming a huge, raging wine geek, I was well on my way to beer geekdom. While my fraternity brothers were knocking back cases of cheap beer (Keystone Ice and Milwaukee’s Best were favorites) I would scrape together every last nickel I could and buy whatever obscure microbrew I could find at the local beer distributor. I still enjoy good, artisanal-style beers on occasion, especially those from local producers like Southampton Publick House and Oomegang Brewery and that’s why I’m interested in the Long Island Beer Festival, which is being held on May 12 from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.…

On Wednesday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. The Gatsby in Islip, New York will serve a four-course dinner paired with the Tuscan wines of Banfi Vinters. The cost is $75 per person. Reservations can be made by calling The Gatsby directly at 631-581-1900. I’ve never been to The Gatsby. In fact, the last time I was in the building, it was a Chinese buffet named Tang’s at least five years ago when my office was right around the corner. In recent years, however, I’ve heard many great things about the restaurant, and I’ll be there for this event. The menu…

As focused as I am on New York wines here on LENNDEVOURS, my buddy Beau over at BasicJuice is focused on not being focused. To call the man’s wine tastes eclectic would be akin to saying I kinda like my local juice. One thing he and I have in common, however (along with the desire to bring wine to more people and de-snobberize the stuff) is that we like to bring our readers cool stuff. Here I was, thinking that my 50 in 50 project was pretty cool…and then Beau had to go and plan a trip to Austria to…