Posts Written OnJanuary 2008

Menu for Hope: Congrats to Alison Violano and Paul Cardillo

The winners for this years Menu for Hope raffle have been announced over at Chez Pim. Congratulations all the winners, and in particular the two LENNDEVOURS lot winners: Alison Violano, who won WB19, the Long Island Cabernet Franc Three Pack. Paul J. Cardillo, who won WB20, A Romantic Getaway for Long Island Wine Lovers. Alison and Paul, please email me at lenndevours@gmail.com and we’ll arrange pickup or me shipping your prizes to you.

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Roanoke Vineyards: The North Fork’s Boutique Winery

Of late, it seems as if "boutique" has overtaken "award-winning" as the most overused way to describe a winery. There are other annoying, overused wine words too, but let’s focus on "boutique" today. Dictionary.com defines "boutique" as an adjective meaning "of, designating, or characteristic of a small, exclusive producer or business." Of course, even in the wine world, this definition means little without proper context. There are some California wineries that consider themselves boutique that dwarf even Long Island’s biggest producers. While exclusivity is a crux of the official definition, it doesn’t really mean much either. If a winery only…

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All is NOT Quiet in Long Island Wine Country

Long Island wine country might seem quiet right now. But it’s not. Visit the North Fork this time of year and (even without any snow) the landscape seems barren compared to any other time of the year. Most of the farm stands are closed, with the few that do stay open relying on greenhouse vegetables and crops like potatoes, carrots and apples. The vineyards, alive with lush canopies, ripe clusters and harvest teams only a few short months ago, have fallen silent. It’s a quiet that you can feel when you visit the tasting rooms this time of year. To…

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Menu For Hope Prizes Announced Tomorrow (1/11)

If you’ve come here hoping to find out if you won one or both of my lots in this year’s Menu for Hope campaign, sorry. Due to some technical difficulties, the winners will not be announced until tomorrow. But, I still want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who donated. Together, the bloggers involved and you raised $91,188.00 for the UN World Food Programme in two short weeks. Next year I think we’ll blow past the 100k barrier, but for now, let’s be proud of what we’ve done. Come back tomorrow to see if you’ve won.

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WTN: Pindar Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Franc (North Fork of Long Island)

Last year, when this wine won "Best Cabernet Franc" and "Best Red Wine" at the 2007 New York Food & Wine Classic, I was inundated with emails from surprised readers, emails asking things like: "How can that possibly be the best red wine in New York?""Have you had that wine yet? How is it?""How can anyone take these results seriously no?" I didn’t have much in the way of answers. I hadn’t tasted the wine at the time and for a variety of reasons, I still say that it’s hard to take the event 100% seriously. But this wine impressed…

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Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale Cask at Deks This Friday, January 11

This Friday night, I’m hoping to attend the third cask night at Deks in Rocky Point, NY. Our beer columnist, Donavan and Dean from Deks hav secured a pin of Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale this time around. The cask will be tapped around 6 p.m. and should pour most of the night (until we run out). Last time there were still a couple of pints left at midnight. For all you beer geeks out there, Donavan has provided some information about the brew for us from the brewery. Hope to see you there.

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Brooklyn Oenology Debuts

By New York City Correspondent Sasha Smith This fall I went to the launch party for BOE, a winery housed in a converted warehouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (BOE is short for Brooklyn Oenology.) Founded by engineer-turned-winemaker Alie Shaper, BOE released its first wines this fall, a 2005 Chardonnay and a 2005 Merlot. While the fruit comes from the North Fork and the wines are made in Mattituck at Premium Wine Group, the rest of this endeavor is thoroughly Brooklyn-based. Alie says that the winery was created “in the spirit of Brooklyn’s artisanal resurgence,” and points to the many artists and…

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I’ll never buy from wine.com again

There was a time when I ordered wine from wine.com on occasion, but no more. You’ve probably heard about this already, so I won’t write it out in full detail, but wine.com has gone tattle tale on its competition, and not in any sort of professional or honest way. Alder over at Vinography has all the pathetic details. I think pathetic is a good word here, don’t you? I’d encourage any reader of LENNDEVOURS to never order from wine.com again. I’m boycotting them as well. If they are losing ground to their competition (I have no idea if they are),…

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WTN: Roanoke Vineyards 2004 Blend One (North Fork of Long Island)

Since its debut a few years ago, Roanoke Vineyards has firmly entrenched itself as one of the North Fork’s true (and top) boutique wineries. Owners Richie and Soraya Pisacano, along with director of operations Chris Watkins, have created a must-stop destination for any lover of fine wines. A portfolio that started with a single merlot bottling has expanded to include two blended reds, a cabernet sauvignon, a chardonnay and a rose. Each shows Richie’s experience and acumen in the vineyard as well as winemaker Roman Roth’s many talents in the winery. Roanoke Vineyards 2004 Blend One ($30), named as such…

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