Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Brooklyn attending Brooklyn Uncorked at BAM Cafe. Uncorked has really become the most comprehensive walk-around tasting of Long Island wines. Most of the best Long Island producers were there pouring and several tables were being worked by winemakers and owners rather than other staff. This year, partially because of TasteCamp a couple weeks ago, there weren't many wines on hand that I hadn't already tasted, but it was great tasting those that I hadn't (and also re-tasting some favorites). Some of the highlights included: Raphael Winery's 2007 Cabernet Franc. A new release, it's made…
Posts Written OnMay 2009
Wineries Open Their Libraries With Older Finger Lakes Rieslings
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent Photos by Morgan Dawson It's about time. See what I did there? Clever, right? I've been waiting for quite a while to see Finger Lakes wineries celebrate the aging potential of their rieslings, and many are finally doing it. It's about time. I've also been encouraging my friends to lay a few bottles down or seek out older bottles — it's about, well, time. More than anything else, tasting older wines is pure fun. The wine is not only a snapshot of a given year; it's a story that has changed over the years.…
Rockin’ with Reds at Damiani
By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent There are a few Finger Lakes wineries that have made the production of red vinifera the cornerstone of their business plan. What makes Damiani Wine Cellars, located on the eastern shore of Seneca, unique is the winery's original emphasis on red to the exclusion of whites. When the winery opened in 2004 after several years of experimentation, it offered a variety of reds and only a limited number of whites. "Well, we are red wine drinkers," shrugs Phil Davis, a second-generation grower who oversees the grape growing and production. Lou Damiani serves as the winemaker of the operation. Both Davis and…
Updated List of TasteCamp EAST 2009 Posts
I just wanted to post an updated list of TasteCamp-related blog posts written by attendees. New ones are being published every day, so check the permanent TasteCamp page that I've created to get the latest and greatest. The list, as of around lunchtime today: Becky and Steve Borichevsky of Smells Like Grape Back From TasteCamp East The Way I See It Richard Auffrey from Passionate Foodie: TasteCamp EAST: Initial Highlights Taste Camp East: Long Island Wines Rob Bralow from Wine Post: Absolutely and Totally Geeked Out Walking into the Tsunami – TasteCamp East 2009 Day One Taste Camp – Roanoke…
Did You Hear We Make Icewine Up Here in Niagara USA?
By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Correspondent The more I get out and see what some other wine regions sell as dessert wine, and specifically how much they charge, the more I realize just how precious the climate of the Niagara USA wine region really is. While they do get a lot of local press, it's great to see national recognition of these small wineries' icewines. Schulze Vineyards & Winery just received a gold medal for their 2008 Vidal Icewine at the Riverside Wine Competition in California. Ann and Martin Schulze were thrilled when they read the news on the New York…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Tom Mansell
This morning's TasteCamp interview is with one of my favorite new bloggers and someone who brings something unique to the blogosphere. Tom Mansell's blog Ithacork is one that I visit every morning and is one of the blogs that I learn the most from. You see, Tom is a PhD candidate in chemical engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Last spring he took a course in wine chemistry and since then has been borderline obsessed with the science of wine and winemaking. His blog focuses on Finger Lakes wines and always includes a "Science!" section, which is where I…
Long Island Wines at the U.S. Open 2009
Yesterday, Newsday reported that Long Island wines will be served at this year's U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park. Specifically, Bridge Vineyards wines will be served by the USGA caterers. This is obviously a great deal for Bridge, which operates a vineyard on the North Fork and sells its wines both at the co-op The Tasting Room in Peconic and at it's own facility in Brooklyn. But wouldn't it be great if this arrangement included more than one Long Island winery so that attendees could taste a wide array of local wines during the tournament? In addition to Bridge Vineyards'…
Sannino’s Bella Vita Vineyard to Expand Operations
I heard last week that Sannino’s Bela Vita Vineyard, Long Island’s only custom winemaking facility for home vintners will be expanding its operations for 2009. Owners (and great people) Anthony and Lisa Sannino have entered into a long-term arrangement with Ackerly Pond Vineyards to share production facilities and other space on Peconic Lane in Peconic. You can think of Bella Vita as sort of a mini-, locally focused Crushpad, where you can make your own barrel (or partial barrel) of wine with locally grown fruit. I've made a few wines there and I've been very happy with the reds as…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Joe Roberts
On this beautiful Monday morning, we catch up with Joe Roberts, a fellow Pittsburgh Steelers fan who just happens to publish one of my favorite wine blogs, 1WineDude, which he sometimes describes as "Wine Edutainment for Intermediate Wine Lovers." Joe isn't a one-trick pony, however. He's a wine consultant and musician in the greater Philadelphia area, and holds the Level 3 Certificate in Wine & Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET). He is also a member of the U.S.-based Society of Wine Educators, holding their Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) qualification, and is a member of the…
Sneaking NY Wines Into the Lineup
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent Few things put a hop in my step like a tasting of cabernet franc from around the world. Before heading out to Wine Sense, an excellent wine shop on Rochester's Park Avenue, I noticed that the tentative tasting list did not include any New York cab franc. The shop's owner, Kristin Vanden Brul, is a strong supporter of New York wines, and I called to ask if I could bring a bottle to taste blind. She happily agreed; it's rather common at Kristin's tastings for enthuastic guests to bring a bagged bottle from their…