Posts Written OnJune 2007

Beer Podcast: Legends in New Suffolk

On today’s show I tell you about my trip to Mr Beery’s in Bethpage to try Moo Thunder!  I hopped on a train and made it to Mr Beery’s just in time.  The beer club at Mr Beery’s had almost drained the keg before I got there.   Next on the show, I take the whole family on a trip out to Legends in New Suffolk.  Legens is a sports bar was some really excellent food.  They have about 30 or so taps and an extensive beer list that advertises more beers than they actually keep in their cellars.  …

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Where is the best BBQ on Long Island?

If my blog buddy WhiteTrashBBQ is to be believed, it certainly isn’t at Bobbique in Patchogue. I haven’t eaten there yet, so I can’t say whether or not I agree. I’ve only ever eaten at two other Long Island BBQ joints, Smokin’ Al’s in Bayshore and Farmer Bar out in wine country. Of the two, I think I enjoyed Smokin’ Al’s much more, but Farmer Bar is serviceable for lunch after visiting a winery or two. But there have got to be other BBQ places on Long Island. So where have you had great ‘cue around here?

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LENNDEVOURS Q&A: Christopher Watkins, Director of Operations, Roanoke Vineyards

You probably recognize the name Christopher Watkins. Not only is he the new director of ops at Roanoke Vineyards, but LENNDEVOURS readers will also now this writer/musician/artist as our poet laureate. He also happens to be one of my favorite people in our local wine country…and he’s someone with the energy and ideas to really help the industry grow and move to the next level. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking?  When I was 9-10 years old, my parents and I lived in Italy for a year (Florence, Venice and Rome), and we quickly…

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I Guess I Really Am a Wine Geek

Eric Asimov discusses wine geeks and their impact on the wine world in today’s New York Times. I like his ‘definition’ of wine geeks: "Wine geeks are not a monolithic group, although certain characteristics emerge, like a preference for minerality and acidity in a wine over soft fruitiness, an abhorrence for new oak flavors and a reverence for terroir and traditional methods." I think I fit that description pretty well. Read the full story.

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Vineyard Visuals: A Bird’s Eye View of Roanoke Vineyards

Picture courtesy of a paraglider via Roanoke Vineyards "So this is what Roanoke Vineyards might like to a flock of starlings as they make their approach in hopes of snacking on some cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. Actually it is the view one of the many paragliders took in last week when flying next door at DeLea Sod Farms. He stopped by for some wine and to bring us some great views from the sky. Thanks JT." — Rich and Soraya Pisacano, Roanoke Vineyards I think this gives you some idea of just how boutique they are…and how much…

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WTN: Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards 2005

Adam Suprenant, winemaker at Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards is a busy man. While many Long Island wineries crank out only four, eight, maybe even 12 different wines each year, Suprenant makes no fewer than two dozen. These wines range in style from sweet, entry-level wines made with peaches and strawberries all the way up to a stellar Meritage-style red blends, which he calls "Flight." Such a diverse portfolio creates an interesting situation in the tasting room and a visit there can be a hit-or-miss proposition. On several occasions, I’ve found myself elbow to elbow with college-age kids treating the tasting room…

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Long Island Sauvignon Blanc in the New York Times

In yesterday’s New York Times, Howard Goldberg offers a nice roundup of Long Island sauvignon blanc. This is, I think, one of Goldberg’s best pieces in a while. He tasted, I assume blindly, a wide array of local sauvignon and ranks them. I don’t think that I’ve had all of the wine mentioned, but for the ones that I have had my rankings would be very similar. I’d probably move the Macari up a notch  but otherwise, I think I agree almost completely. Sauvignon blanc plays second fiddle to chardonnay way too often around here. I really think we’re going…

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Vineyard Visuals: Wolffer Estate Through the Growing Season

This is going to be fun. Ellen Watson, our resident photographer, has decided to visit and re-visit the same spot in Wolffer Estate’s vineyard every few weeks throughout the growing season. This picture was taken yesterday (June 3) and it’s already remarkably different from the picture taken on May 20. I’ve also started a Flickr slideshow, that eventually should be a pretty cool click-through.

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Nena’s VERY Local Salad

Because we only had moderate success with our vegetable garden last summer (we just have so many trees surrounding our back yard, there aren’t many spots with full sun), we’ve scaled back this year. I’m going to plant some tomatoes next weekend in large pots that I can move around to make sure they get as much sun as possible, but for now we are sticking with herbs and lettuce–and this is the first big salad that we’ve made with our own mesclun. You know it’s local when you can take maybe fives steps out your back door and get…

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A Delicate Touch in the Finger Lakes: An Interview with Ravines’ Morten Hallgren

By Finger Lakes Correspondent Jason Feulner Morten Hallgren has an unusual background for a U.S. winemaker, especially one in the Finger Lakes.  He was born in Denmark and moved to Provence in southern France after his father decided to purchase an ancient winemaking estate founded in 1307.  Although Hallgren learned French winemaking techniques throughout his childhood, he decided to pursue science and attended university in the United States, majoring in astrophysics (yes, it seems that in this case it does take a rocket scientist to make wine). Eventually, Hallgren found his calling and enrolled in an oenologist program at the…

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