Posts Written OnJanuary 2007

WTN: Channing Daughters 2005 Brick Kiln Chardonnay (The Hamptons, Long Island)

While I enjoy some of their reds, its the white wines at Channing Daughters Winery that really stand out in my mind. Their winemaker, Christopher Tracy, can almost always be counted on for balance in his whites. In other words, if he uses a lot of oak, there’s always ample fruit and acidity. The wines also tend to be layered and nuanced, which is good because they aren’t the most affordable wines on Long Island. Tracy makes a few, distinct, chardonnays and Channing Daughters 2005 Brick Kiln Chardonnay was released a few months ago. The 100% chardonnay fruit that went…

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WBW #29 Roundup Posted at Fork & Bottle

Sorry folks…I’m a little behind on some administrative-type posts. The roundup for WBW #29 has been posted over at one of my favorite food and wine sites, Fork & Bottle. In case you missed it, there was an interesting discussion between some local industry types in the comments of my own entry. Clearly, the term biodynamic gets people riled up–on both sides of the fence. Thanks to Jack and Joanne for hosting the latest edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday.

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Wine Tasting and the Common Cold

I don’t want any of you to think that LENNDEVOURS is unusually quiet because Baby Thompson has arrived or anything. Fact is, I’m just smack dab in the middle of an awful cold that has brought the LENNDEVOURS wine tasting train to a complete standstill. Nena is doing very well considering we’re only about a week and a half from her due date. For those of you that have asked, thank you. For those of you who haven’t asked, that’s okay too. We’re basically in "just waiting" mode. I’m taking every remedy possible to get this cold knocked out before…

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Bedell Cellars Named #7 Hottest Small Brand

I got an email yesterday that Long Island’s own Bedell Cellars was named the #7 hottest small brand by Wine Business News. While the story itself isn’t all that interesting (I’ve been talking about Bedell’s quality and shift towards more blends for a while now), it is obviously nice to see a North Fork producer on this list. It also shows just how boutique a region this is. In the overall world of wine, Bedell Cellars is a small producer, but it is definitely not one of Long Island’s small producers–in terms of wine production, quality or notoriety. Certainly, they…

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WBW #29: Shinn Estate Vineyards 2004 Cabernet Franc (North Fork)

I don’t mean any offense to Jack or anyone else who believes strongly in biodynamic farm practices. Really I don’t and I think that there are some great wines being made with biodynamic-grown grapes. Anyone who has tasted any can see that. But I don’t buy into the benefit some of the more ‘hocus pocus’ techniques. Maybe it’s the former scientist in me. I was a biology major after all. I’m all for organic and sustainable farming. The benefits to the land, environment and those living there are obvious and much more provable. In my mind, biodynamic gets a little…

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Meet Mickey Mouse. Drink New York Wines.

I just got an email telling me that Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort’s Blue Zoo restaurant will soon be pouring six, count em six, New York wines. So, now you can take your kids to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse…and then enjoy some some delectable Finger Lakes and Long Island wines with dinner. The wines chosen by Blue Zoo’s team are: Atwater Estate Cabernet Franc Heron Hill Ingle Vineyard Riesling Heron Hill Semi-Dry Riesling Sheldrake Point Riesling (my review) Raphael La Fontana Wolffer Estate Selection Chardonnay I’ve had all of these wines with the exception of Atwater’s cab…

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WTN: Pellegrini Vineyards 2001 Merlot (North Fork)

With the recent 2006 vintage, Pellegrini Vineyards in Cutchogue celebrated its 15th year. Australian-born winemaker Russell Hearn is known for making flavorful wines that tend to be good values in a local industry that is too often plagued by over-priced, under-delivering wines. True to his Australian pedigree, Hearn applies some of Long Island’s most cutting-edge techniques, but he doesn’t try to make Aussie-style wines — thankfully. North Fork grapes just don’t get ripe enough for those big, jammy, fruit bomb styles. Pellegrini Vineyards also makes enough wine every year that they don’t need to rush their wines to the store…

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WTN: Bedell Cellars 2003 Merlot (North Fork)

Red wines from the 2003 vintage — even those made with the region’s signature variety, merlot — have proved inconsistent in my tastings. Some wines, from some vineyards are delicious — elegant and classic Long Island. Others tend to be light on flavor and even a little ‘green’ in their under-ripeness. Some wineries didn’t even bother making first label or reserve wines in 2003, declassifying the vintage. So what caused this inconsistent vintage? Poorly timed rain and October frosts — two of them actually. Rain, obviously, can dilute flavors and frost kills the canopy. Without the engine to drive the…

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WTN: Channing Daughters Winery 2004 L’Enfant Sauvage Chardonnay (The Hamptons)

You’ve heard me say over and over that Long Island is a cool-climate wine region. That’s nothing new. But the South Fork, also known as the Hamptons, is actually even cooler, with a growing season that is typically ten or so days shorter. Some have said that this makes it  better suited to white wines than red. I’ll open that can of worms another time, but there are some stellar whites made on the South Fork.Channing Daughters Winery, one of three wineries in the Hamptons region is doing some of the most exciting things with white wine on the entire…

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