By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Correspondent Perhaps the only thing crazier than attending the Finger Lakes Wine Festival as an attendee is actually pouring wine at it. Now, I’d conceded that the crowds, party atmosphere and prevalence of sweet wine kept me from attending in the past, and I would never want to be the ringleader for a team of winery employees planning the logistics of participating in the festival. But, when I was given the opportunity this year to pour for a local winery, I just couldn’t pass it up — especially because all I had to do was show…
Posts Written OnAugust 03, 2009
What We Drank (8/3/09)
Only three contributions to What We Drank this week, but three diverse ones nonetheless. Evan Dawson: Jean Michel-Stephan 2004 Cote-Rotie Let's hear it for restaurants that offer creative wine lists. I was floored when I picked up the wine menu at Good Luck in Rochester. By the glass I could order a Savoie, a White Rioja, a Carmenere, and a handful of other interesting options. The Finger Lakes was nicely represented. But it was a bottle from the Rhone that impressed me most. My favorite producer of syrah in the world is Jean-Michel Stephan, an idiosyncratic Frenchman who makes gorgeous,…
Dr. Konstantin Frank 2007 Rkatsiteli
By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief I had never heard of, let alone tasted, a wine made from the Rkatsiteli grape until I tasted a 2006 bottling from Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars, on the western shore of Keuka Lake. I loved that wine and it's riesling-meets-gewruztraminer-meets-sauvignon blanc aromas and flavors, all wrapped up in great acidity and length. I still have a couple bottles in my cellar. I've heard that it ages beautifully, so we'll see. And so, it was with much excitement that I got to try the Dr. Konstantin Frank 2007 Rkatsiteli ($18). The nose is…
The LENNDEVOURS Tasting Table (August 3, 2009)
By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief This week's tasting table actually includes a couple wines from further back than this week. I'm still catching up, what can I say? As a reminder, these are notes more or less direct from my notebook. Bedell Cellars 2008 First Crush White ($18): Straightforward nose of fresh apple and apple blossom. Palate is all apple, cantelope and citrus zest. Great summer wine. Medium body. Mouthwatering. Rating: (3 out of 5 | Recommended) Harbes Family 2007 "Blue Mack" Chardonnay ($16). Ripe with pear and tropical fruit on the nose. Even more tropical on the palate.…