Posts Written OnFebruary 2008

WTNs: Jamesport Vineyards New Releases (North Fork of Long Island)

"Our wines are made in the vineyard." It’s a wine industry cliché that you’ll hear at molst any winery these days. It’s so overused and appears on so many boilerplates that much of its meaning has been watered down and lost. Like many clichés however, it is firmly rooted in fact. Even the world’s greatest winemaker won’t be able to make outstanding wine from un-ripe, low-quality fruit. Winemakers may be the celebrities of the wine world — even here on Long Island — but the good ones know how important a top vineyard manager is. It’s a symbiotic relationship unlike…

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Pindar Gettin’ in on the ‘Post Movement

By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Publisher Nice story in Newsday this week about sustainable grape-growing Long Island, particularly the use of compost in place of chemical fertilizers. Macari Vineyards, as noted in the piece, has pioneered many of of Long Island’s ‘green’ vineyard practices, but did you know that Pindar Vineyards has spent almost three years making compost for application this year? We read a lot about organic/biodynamic/sustainable farming and the benefits to the land, groundwater, etc…but this piece raises an advantage for the wineries: They can save hundreds of thousands of dollars if they aren’t buying chemical applicaitons. Maybe…

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Diploma Dispatches: Central Italy

By Sasha Smith, NYC Correspondent So it came to me on Tuesday night as I was chewing on a mouthful of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and trying to decide if I could call the tannins both “firm” and “drying”: the Diploma is to wine what dressage is to horseback riding – arcane, academic and interesting to an extremely small, and extremely passionate, group of people. This point is not lost on Mary Ewing Mulligan, (from now on, MEM for short) who reminded us that we are “operating in some never-never land” at arm’s length from the average drinker’s experience. I…

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Thank you, Myron.

Warning: No food for wine content here. Today, we’ll be observing a moment of blog silence in honor of Myron Cope, long-time color commentator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who passed away yesterday at the age of 79. As a native Pittsburgher who grew up a huge sports fan, I listened to Myron almost from the womb just like so many Steelers fans. His distinctive, Pittsburgh-accented voice and unique dialect (aka made-up words) were such a part of the overall Pittsburgh Steelers experience that I know many people (myself included) who would turn the sound off on nationally televised games and…

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Wine Chick Wednesday: I’m in a New York State of Disconnect

We New Yorkers are a weird bunch. To start, we can’t even agree on what being a New Yorker means. A former NYC resident myself, I always found it beyond comical that NY1 would devote an entire 60 seconds to the “World Beyond New York” – be it Long Island, Louisiana or Lithuania, it was all the same upon exit from the five boroughs. Is that, then, the true New York? Not likely. Despite the heavy tax-base and votership in that small speck of real estate, the rest of the state ends up feeling neglected and overlooked. For example, when…

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Bernard Cannac Out as Winemaker at Duck Walk Vineyards

The winemaking landscape on Long Island is changing quite a bit in recent weeks. The latest bit of news, again involving Bernard Cannac, is that he has been laid off as the winemaker at Duck Walk Vineyards. Emails to Duck Walk Vineyards have not been returned. When/if they are, hopefully we’ll learn who the new winemaker will be. My guess is that Jason Damianos, winemaker at sister winery Pindar and CEO of the parent company will take the reins. No word on what Cannac’s plans are either.

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LENNDEVOURS/canvas Magazine “Drink Local” Wine Event is Saturday Night

There are still tickets available for  the wine event I’m co-hosting with canvas Magazine this Saturday night at Footprint Art Gallery in Huntington, NY. Join us for terrific local wines from Raphael, Lieb Family Cellars and Macari Vineyards and food pairings provided by Whole Foods Market. It promises to be a lot of fun.  In addition to great wine and food, there will be live music and a raffle that benefits the Coalition Against Child Abuse and Neglect. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Buy tickets today and I hope to see you there. Please make sure…

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Correction: Matt Berenz is Still at Vineyard 48

By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Publisher A few weeks ago I received an official press release from Wine Connection Consulting and Vineyard 48 announcing that Bernard Cannac had replaced Matthew Berenz as winemaker at Vineyard 48. It was surprising at the time given the strides Berenz had been making there. It has come to my attention over the 24 hours that the press release was erroneous and that Berenz is still the winemaker at Vineyard 48. In the interest of fairness and truth, I’ve removed the original post from the site. I have contacted all of the parties involved and…

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Letting the Grapes Speak: An Interview with Anthony Road’s Johannes Reinhardt

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent Johannes Reinhardt came to the Finger Lakes from Germany, yet it is his varied work experience which sets him most apart from many other winemakers.  He has honed his craft in the ancient family wine business, at an organic winery, at a large-scale commercial winery, and now finds himself the sole winemaker at Anthony Road Wine Company on Seneca Lake. Johannes brings a European perspective to a winemaking region in which he sees a great deal of potential. The Reinhardt family, from the tiny village of Neuses Am Berg in northern Bavaria, was awarded…

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Wine Country Lunch: Love Lane Kitchen

By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Publisher The North Fork restaurant scene has improved greatly over the last several years. Restaurants like North Fork Table, Jedediah’s and Jamesport Manor have really upped the proverbial ante…but mainly for dinner. There is still a dire lack of quality, affordable lunch options for people visiting wine country. Even before Jadckson came along, Nena and I usually ended up at the Village Cheese Shop, located on Love Lane in the cute little village of Mattituck. We’d pick out a few cheeses, get a baguette and maybe some cured meat and olives, and take it to…

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