Posts Written OnAugust 2006

This Weekend: Hamptons Wine & Food Festival

The 2nd Annual Hamptons Wine & Food Festival is this weekend. The organizers have gathered a nice roster of celebrity foodies and wine experts this year, including Food Network personalities Sandra Lee and Dave Lieberman, wine experts like Josh Wesson and Mark Oldman, and Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle. Last year, I didn’t talk much about the event — because they didn’t have any local wines there. Instead, they got a big distributor to sponsor the event and poured those. This year, however, they’ve changed that with local winemakers Kareem Massoud (Paumanok Vineyards) and John Levenberg (Bedell Cellars) on board…

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WTN: Anthony Road 2005 Vignoles (Finger Lakes AVA)

Anthony Road Winery, which  released its first wines in 1990, is  on the west side of Seneca Lake. Owned by Ann and John Martini, the wines are made by Johannes Reinhardt, a German native. Reinhardt grew up in a family that has been in the wine business since 1438, so he’s been in vineyards and wineries just about all his life. With his German background, it is no surprise that he ended up in the Finger Lakes, where the best wines of Germany, particularly riesling, thrive. This wine, however, is a first for me — a non-dessert wine made from…

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My “Secret Project” Revealed

Several times back in May I wrote here about how busy I was with "various writing projects" — one of which I couldn’t discuss beyond that. It was probably the single most exciting thing I’ve done thus far as a result of LENNDEVOURS and I’m happy to report that the gag order has been lifted. Many of you are familiar with Chocolate & Zucchini, one of the world’s most popular culinary blogs, and its founder Clotilde Dusoulier. Any fan of C&Z knows that Clotilde been working with a book U.S. publisher on a cook book. Well, I’m proud and honored…

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WTN: Grapes of Roth 2001 Merlot ($50)

Later this month, Roman Roth, the winemaking talent behind the wines of Wolffer Estate, Shinn Estate Vineyards and Roanoke Vineyards, will show off his garagiste side. Translated from French garagiste literally means “garage owner," but in the world of wine, it’s used to describe a winemaker who produces small lots of high-quality, handcrafted wines – sometimes right in his or her own garage. And while Roth didn’t make his private label — Grapes of Roth — in his garage, he’s embraced the garagiste philosophy, crafting fewer than two hundred cases of his 2001 Grapes of Roth Merlot ($50). Roth grew…

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Wine Blogging Wednesday #24 — Chateau de Montfort 2004 Vouvray

Tvinooday, Wine Blogging Wednesday turns two years old — and this founder couldn’t be prouder or happier. What started with a brief exploration of New World, non-U.S. merlot eventually moved onto unique themes like Wacky Name Wines, Obscure Red Varietals and Drinking Local — Real Local. It’s been an interesting ride, that’s for sure, and I hope one that has been fun — and educational — for those participating. This month, it seemed only right to have Alder of Vinography host the event, considering he is best-known of all wine bloggers. Instead of forcing us to drink something from his…

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Don’t Forget — Wine Blogging Wednesday #24 is Tomorrow

Don’t forget — tomorrow marks the two-year anniversary of Wine Blogging Wednesday, everybody’s favorite wine blogging event. To help us celebrate, the King of all wine bloggers, Alder of Vinography is hosting the event. He’s asked us to sample a white wine from the Loire Valley. So, run out and pick up your Loire white and join us tomorrow for Wine Blogging Wednesday #24.

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WTN: Channing Daughters Winery 2005 Sylvanus ($24)

Here on the East End, in the heart of merlot country, Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton serves as a tasty oasis for white wine lovers. They make make red wine as well of course, but white wine is where winemaker Christopher Tracy shines, with a varied roster of different and unique wines. While most local wineries use Bordeaux as their model, Tracy and Channing Daughters Winery looks to Italy for inspiration — northern Italian regions like Friuli and Trentino — because of the similarities of their cool maritime climate to our own. Channing Daughters Winery is known for experimentation and…

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Long Island’s 2006 Vintage So Far: Damp and Dangerous

I’ve been reading a few stories locally about how "great" the 2006 vintage is looking here on Long Island. Of course, knowing that the authors of these stories don’t typically cover wine (if ever) I was skeptical. It’s been very wet and humid lately and we’ve had several days where we’ve touched 90 degrees. But, rather than make assumptions, I asked Richie Pisacano, owner of Roanoke Vineyards and vineyard manager at Wolffer Estate for an update on what he’s seeing. He’s been growing grapes on Long Island a long time, and he’s not one to fall victim to marketing/PR spin.…

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