Yesterday, the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission announced that James Trezise of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation was named the Wine Industry Integrity Award honoree for 2006. Created in 1998, the award honors individuals who have conducted their careers with integrity while making significant contributions to the wine industry. The award will be presented at a dinner in honor of Trezise at the Wine and Roses Hotel in Lodi, California, on Friday, November 3, 2006. Trezise has been President of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation since its creation in 1985. The Foundation is a private, not-for-profit organization that…
Posts Written OnAugust 2006
Rain. Rain. Go Away.
Last October, in the midst of Long Island grape harvest, we received over 17 inches of rain in an eight-day period. Most of the white grapes had already been picked (thankfully) but some wineries lost some of their red grape crops. In fact, a couple lost it all and didn’t make red wine in 2005. With rain, sometimes heavy rain, over the past several days, you can’t blame vineyard managers, winemakers and winery owners for being a little nervous. And, after a forecasted respite tomorrow, the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto arrive this weekend, bringing more rain. It’s only the end…
Brewery Ommegang on Hamptons.com
This week over at Hamptons.com, my Corks of the Forks column actually leaves Long Island and its Forks for a trip to Cooperstown, NY, land of baseball…and Belgian beer. Brewery Ommegang has long been on my upstate New York "to visit" list and last weekend I was finally able to cross it off. They actually have wide distribution both on the East and West Coasts…so if you ever see a bottle (typically cork-and-cage topped 750ml), pick one up. I can’t recommend them enough. I bought a mixed case myself — some I’ll drink now. Some I’ll age a few years.…
WTN: Sheldrake Point 2002 Cabernet Franc
Sheldrake Point — both the geographical point and the vineyard — jut prominently from the western shore of Cayuga Lake and those vineyards stretch almost the whole way to the water. The combination of deep glacial soils and the moderating effects of Cayuga Lakes deep waters provide superior conditions for growing fine quality vinifera wine grapes — a unique microclimate that they call the ‘Sheldrake Effect’. The 400-foot depths just off of their beach heat and cool more slowly than the surrounding land. The resulting hillside microclimate lengthens our growing season to 170 days, more than two weeks longer than…
WTN: Lieb Family Cellars 2005 Pinot Blanc Reserve
When it comes to pinot blanc, its resemblance to chardonnay isn’tlimited to finished wines. Pinot blanc’s leaf structure, clusters andberries so resemble chardonnay that there are many vineyards in Europewhere plantings of the two grapes are intermingled. Here on the North Fork, pinot blanc is grown in a few vineyards, butat Lieb Family Cellars, it’s an important, indespensible part of theirportfolio. In a field on Oregon Road in Cutchogue, you’ll find a 13acres of what Lieb Family Cellars, much like those Europeans, oncethought to be chardonnay vines. Genetic technology has since proventhat the grapes aren’t chardonnay at all. These vines,…
It’s No Wonder That Pittsburgh Isn’t Wine Savvy
Pittsburgh (my beloved home town) falls within the borders of Pennsylvania, a commonwealth whose liquor laws barely have crept out of prohibition, so it should come as no surprise that it’s not the most wine-savvy city east of the Mississippi River. But, with one of the city’s two major newspapers publishing stories like this one (thanks Beau), is there any hope that it will change? It’s disturbing to say the least. Elizabeth Downer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s restaurant critic recently took over as it’s wine critic (cheers to the PPG for finally having a wine critic) as well. And, while her…
1st Annual Long Island Restuarant Week: November 5 – 12
It’s still a couple months away, but the first ever Long Island Restaurant Week has been announced. It will take place November 5 – 12 all over Long Island. Looking at the website, there just aren’t many restaurants signed up yet. Hopefully that will change because this definitely has potential. Check their site as the week approaches, hopefully there will be more, and better, restaurants involved by then.
Restaurant Review: Waterzooi (Garden City, NY)
By Contributing Columnist Donavan Hall In one of my (yet to be published) novels I created a Belgian-style restaurant and brewpub in the Long Island town of Port Jefferson. This little beer fantasy of mine is not so far from reality. For those of us on the East End who are willing to drive into Nassau County, we can get our taste of Belgium at Waterzooi in Garden City (850 Franklin Avenue). Denise and I decided to take in the Sunday Brunch at Waterzooi and we were pleased to find ample parking in the public lot right out front. The…
The Wine Ratings Game
By Contributing Columnist Richard Olsen-Harbich When it comes to things like music, cars, sports, food or even clothes, Americans are adamant about their likes and dislikes. Why is it when it comes to the subject of wine, so many Americans act like a deer in the headlights? How often have you heard someone say, as you them pour a glass of wine – “I’m not a wine connoisseur…I really don’t know much about it.” Of course we know it’s partly due to the fact that most of us didn’t grow up with wine like kids in European countries. The “foreign…
Winners From the New York Wine and Food Classic
This week, Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard’s 2005 Dry Riesling ($16) defeated 702 other New York wines to win the Governor’s Cup, awarded to the events best wine. Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars was named New York’s "Winery of the Year" based on the number, and level, of medals its wines won. Sponsored and run by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation (NYWGF), a nonprofit statewide trade organization based in the in newly opened New York Wine and Culinary Center. Howard Goldberg reported in the New York Times, "The wine industry and influential wine periodicals treat the contest as…