Posts Written OnJuly 2006

As I said earlier this week, Roanoke Vineyards is, first and foremost, a red wine winery. Cabernet sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties rule, but this spring, they released their first white wine — a $17 chardonnay — in response to tasting room demand. 60% barrel fermentation brings freshness while 40% fermentation in barrel brings depth and a softness. Refreshing apple and Asian pear aromas lead to a well balance palate that blends apple and melon flavors with richer, more tropical notes. Nice acidity brings balance to this wine and makes it perfect for summer drinking. This is a style that…

This weekend on Hamptons.com my Corks of the Forks column focuses on Waters Crest Winery and winemaker Jim Waters’ 2005 releases. Jim is one of the friendliest, most charming people on Long Island’s East End and his riesling is usually one of my favorites. As you’ll see, the riesling seemed a bit off when I tasted it (two bottles) but it’s possible that it was still a little bottle shocked. I’ll definitely taste it again this fall — probably at Thanksgiving because I like it with Turkey. Read Corks of the Forks for more information.

Well, dear readers, it appears that the LENNDEVOURS team is going to be expanding — on or around February 1, 2007 to be more specific. That’s right, the Thompsons are expecting and the woman behind the man behind the blog is doing quite well following her 12-week sonogram. Currently the little guy/girl is somewhere between the size of a fig and a lime and growing every single day. Needless to say, we are beyond happy/excited/thrilled. Of course, it has also changed things here in the Thompson household quite a bit already. As Nena nears the end of the first trimester,…

When Rich and Soraya Pisacano opened their Roanoke Vineyards tasting room in the fall of 2004, their only Roanoke-labeled wine was a stellar 2000 merlot that is — sadly — long gone. To fill in the tasting room menu, they poured wines from Atwater Estate Vineyards in the Finger Lakes and Wolffer Estate on the South Fork, where Rich serves as vineyard manager. What started with that lone merlot has grown into an impressive portfolio of wines, including two distinctly different Bordeaux-style blends, a hard-to-find cabernet sauvignon, a fresh-but-intriguing chardonnay and an extremely popular rose. Rich has been tending vines…

The LENNDEVOURS family garden isn’t doing as well as I would have liked. Unfortunately (for gardening anyway) our back yard is mostly shaded, and I am not sure that our tomatoes are getting enough sun. They are growing fine, but they don’t have any buds/flowers yet. On the other hand, our cukes are doing okay so there may be some pickles in the future. What might be the most interesting part of the garden is something I didn’t even plant. We have a ton of wild raspberry bushes along our fence line. So Nena picked one over the weekend and…

It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I’ve decided to leave Wine Sediments — the wine wing of the WellFed blog network.  There are some extremely talented people involved and I was proud to be a part of it. But, real life (and other writing projects) has forced me to step down as a contributor. I wish the rest of the team and the entire network good luck in the future. Hopefully they’ll hit it big, get rich and I’ll be left feeling like the fifth Beetle. But fear not, my 50 States 50 Wineries 50 Weeks project…

Ladies and gentlemen…I give you Ben Roethlisbeagle working on his tan. When he’s not curled up right against either me or Nena (or laying diagonally so he’s touching both of us) he can always be found in a strip or patch of sunlight on the floor. He’s knows he’s a good looking dog I guess, so he’s working on his summer tan.

By Contributing Columnist Richard Olsen-Harbich Contrary to popular belief, rain is not always a four-letter word to the winegrower. Grapevines — like all other plants — need water to survive and grow. Early season rains help the vines start their growing season and lead them into a hopefully, long, hot summer. Improved vineyard management and disease control techniques have recently shown that late season rains have less effect on wine quality than once thought. And, there’s another fact about rain that goes without saying — we can’t do a thing about when and where it occurs. A lot has written…

I’ll admit it — I drink a lot of rose in the summer. It’s good with grilled foods, refreshing but flavorful, and just plain fun to drink. Of course, I don’t like the ‘adult koolaid’ style of sweet pink drinks…and there are a lot of those out there. Yes, even here on Long Island. In fact, we’ve got just about every style of rose you can think of and then some. Castello di Borghese’s Fleurette ($9) has some of the sweetness that mars many cheap "blush" wines, but it’s a definite step up from the ubiquitous white zinfandels from the…