Posts Written OnSeptember 2008

Tropical Storm Hanna No Big Deal for Long Island Wineries

Hurricanes, and their remnants, are a hazard that very few wine regions need to worry about. But as harvest approaches each season, Long Island vineyard managers and winemakers always have an eye set on tropical systems as they develop in the Atlantic and build steam in the Caribbean. Sometimes the can, and do, make their way north and the results can devastating. Growing fine wine grapes on Long Island is a delicate balancing act. Growers are always trying achieve the most ripening that the growing season will allow—trying to eek out every last bit of sugar—while ensuring that they get…

Villa Bellangelo 2006 Riesling (Finger Lakes)

Here on Long Island, the influence of Italians and Italian-Americans is felt throughout wine country. Winery names like Castello di Borghese, Pellegrini, Pugliese, Scarola, Medolla, Christiano, Diliberto and Macari put that heritage front and center. In the Finger Lakes, the Italian influence seems a bit less obvious. Being further away from Italian-heavy sections of New York City is probably partly to blame. But, Michael Litterio, owner of Villa Bellangelo on the western side of Seneca Lake, is bringing Italian flavor to Finger Lakes wine. He’s from New Jersey by the way. His wine portfolio shows a definite leaning towards Italy…

Riedel in the Finger Lakes (Part II)

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent On the morning of Friday, August 22 the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance hosted a closed tasting of winemakers and critics at Sheldrake Point Vineyards on Cayuga Lake to determine which Riedel glass best exhibited the flavors and nuances of Finger Lakes Riesling. Later that day, George Riedel continued his tour of the Finger Lakes with a public tasting at Glenora on Seneca Lake to see whether a mixture of wine enthusiasts and reporters — including me — would come to the same conclusion as the group of winemakers. I approached this public tasting with…

Applewood Winery NV Cabernet Franc (New York State)

Applewood Winery, located in Warwick, NY, was founded in 1993 by Jonathan Hull, who serves as winemaker. Hull makes apple wine, hard cider and also more traditional wines, including this non-vintage cabernet franc. I’m not sure where the grapes were grown. It’s labeled under the New York State AVA, so it could be most anywhere. I also haven’t been able to track down information on the vintages that went into this wine. Light-to-medium garnet in color, it’s slightly opaque in the glass. The nose isn’t overly expressive with only the lightest plum and blackberry aromas, and just a little oaky…

Bridge Vineyards 2001 Merlot (North Fork of Long Island)

Visitors to the North Fork wine trail probably won’t recognize the name Bridge Vineyards. They don’t have a tasting room and their wines aren’t widely available on Long Island. A couple are available at The Tasting Room, but it looks like this particular wine isn’t. Owners Greg Sandor and Paul Wegimont are doing something a little different with the wines they make from their North Fork vineyard. Instead of trying to figure out how to pull people out to the North Fork from the five boroughs, they are taking the wines west. Into Brooklyn to be more specific, with Bridge…

Why does Long Island wine get so little attention in local media?

Eileen over at Cellarette wrote a post earlier today titled "Why so little attention?" about the Long Island wine industry that is worth a read. In the post, she discusses the New York Times, Howard Goldberg (who ‘covers’ the LI region) and the fact that his once-weekly column "Long Island Vines" has gone from weekly to every-other-week. She also mentions that local winemakers allegedly aren’t as apt to send him samples recently. She asks a great question with this post, but it’s not just the Times. None of the papers in the New York metro area cover the local wine…

Edible Manhattan Launches Next Week

Many of us in the blogosphere are familiar with (and even write for) the various Edible Communities publications across the country. I contribute to Edible East End on occasion and have done some writing for Edible Brooklyn in the past as well. Now Manhattan, perhaps the best food city in the world, has it’s own edible magazine: Edible Manhattan. From Madison Avenue food jingles that play across the country to the ecology of rooftop honey, from LaGuardia’s love of hot dogs to the bodegas up and down Broadway, Edible Manhattan will peel back the curtain on all that’s devoured, delivered…

Peconic Bay Winery 2006 Riesling (North Fork of Long Island)

The 2006 grape-growing season was a relatively cool one, especially sandwiched between two years (2005 and 2007) that were among the warmest (and driest) in recent memory. The reds from 2006, in general, are lighter and less intense. It also means that 2006 was a good year for local whites it seems. Natural acidity was preserved a bit more than in 2005, which is certainly a good thing. Peconic Bay Winery’s 2006 Riesling ($18) shows off that acidity very nicely. It pours an extremely pale yellow with a subtle greenish tint. Floral aromas lead on the nose along with ripe…