By Christopher Watkins As if, in opposite corners, our trainers had just told us to “Go out there and get ‘em,” we square off, I on the wine side of the bar, you on the other. What, I wonder, is there in your armor in the way of a weak spot? I speak slowly, but the grim cast never leaves the set-in hardlines of your lips. I move precisely, careful not to tear the foil or break the cork or spill the wine. I marvel at your nose, how it reaches, like a hand, into the deep crimson bowl. I…
Posts Written OnApril 2007
Long Island Dines: Farmer Bar (Cutchogue, NY)
On Saturday afternoon, with my mom and sister in town for Easter (and to see Jackson) we did a quick North Fork wine jaunt so that my family could buy some wine. You see, they live outside of Pittsburgh, PA…where LI wines aren’t available and can’t be shipped. Great country we live in isn’t it? Anyway, after stopping at Roanoke Vineyards and Lieb Family Cellars (two of their favorites) we were hungry and decided to go to Farmer Bar, a little BBQ place that I’ve enjoyed quite a bit on previous visits. This trip was a little disappointing, but not…
What’s the Best New York Wine You’ve Had Recently?
Happy Friday everyone. I thought it might be fun to get a discussion going about some of the New York wines you’re digging lately. So, any New York wines blown you away lately? The last one that really blew me away was Dr. Konstantin Frank’s 2006 Rkatsiteli ($24) which is a variety I wasn’t familiar with. It somehow combines the best of riesling, gewurztraminer, sauvignon blanc and gruner veltliner. Fresh, aromatic…just awesome. If you ever see it in a wine shop, pick it up and check it out.
April: Lieb Family Cellars’ 3rd Annual Oysterfest
Throughout the month of April, Lieb Family Cellars will be toasting the arrival of spring with its third annual OysterFest. Every Sunday in April, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., tasting room visitors will be able to sample a variety of wines and oyster dishes prepared by local chefs. The winery will offer a special vertical tasting of three vintages of their signature wine pinot blanc (including their Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine, a LENNDEVOURS favorite). They will also be releasing their 2004 Cabernet Franc. April 15: Canal Cafe Presents Po’ Boy Oysters Chef’s Parker and Paul Hodges create their…
State Money Still Available for Winery Website Enhancements
I’m not sure what kind of website a winery is going to get for $1000 these days, so it’s good to see that wineries and vineyards that already got money from New York State to enhance their Web presence can now apply for another $1000. So now wineries can get $2000 plus and presumably already have some sort of site to begin with. That’s a great start, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to see a lot of great NY winery websites any time soon. You can spend $25,000 on a website for your winery, but if you have a…
Corey Creek Vineyards Grand Re-Opening: May 26-28
You may have noticed that the tasting room at Corey Creek Vineyards, sister winery to Bedell Cellears was closed for six days in March for some major, but quick renovations. Well, this Memorial Day weekend (May 26-28) it will officially re-open (even though it’s been open since) with a new look, new focus and some new wines. The newly renovated tasting room now features rich earth tones such as milk chocolate, copper, gold and red to coincide with the label colors of the wines. New built-in displays will offer a new assortment of merchandise featuring local food products, wine products…
Long Island Dines: Andrew’s by the Pond
Sunday night, Nena and I had our first baby sitter (thanks MIL) and were finally able to enjoy our first meal out–just the two of us–in several months. After Nena called our favorite local restaurant, La Plage, several times at several different times of day (both before and during dinner service) and nobody picked up, including a machine, we settled on another local restaurant that we’ve enjoyed in the past–Andrew’s by the Pond in Wading River. We looked forward to the 6:00 p.m. reservation for well over a week, which is a sign of how our lives have changed. A…
WTN: Brotherhood Winery 2004 Chardonnay (New York)
I’ve written a few times about Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville, NY up in the Hudson River Valley. It is one of the region’s larger producers and makes a wide array of wines–from honey wine to spiced holiday wine to riesling to a ruby ‘port’. They don’t have any vineyard holdings of their own, so they source grapes from throughout New York State–primarily the Finger Lakes and Long Island. The grapes that went into this 2004 chardonnay were grown on Long Island’s East End, but no further details are available. There’s a lot of chardonnay grown here, so it certainly isn’t…
SUPPORT LENNDEVOURS — Visit Our Sponsors
If you like what you read here on LENNDEVOURS, make sure that you visit our sponsors: Wine Library TV. I challenge anyone to visit this site, watch a couple episodes of Gary Vaynerchuk’s awesome videocasts and not get hooked. I watch it every day and every bottle of wine I’ve bought from Wine Library has been based on his recommendations. Greene Grape Wine Company. Co-creators of the New York Cork Club, they have a focus on small-production, artisanal wines. I’ve loved many of the wines I’ve picked up at their online store. Wine Anthology. Our newest sponsor is another online…
The Straight Answer on Salmon Run Wines from Fred Frank, President, Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars
My post last week about American Airlines deciding to pour a couple New York wines on cross-country flights stirred up quite a discussion in the comments. The question was: we the Dr. Konstantin Frank wine included really a New York wine? I decided to go right to the source, sending an email to Frederick Frank, president of Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars. I asked him flat out about the origins of the grapes that go into the Salmon Run line of wines. Here’s his response and although he didn’t address the riesling’s orgins directly, I think we can read…