Buried grapes in the research vineyards at Cornell Orchards, Ithaca, NY (left) and grapes more fully exposed to the sun at Peconic Bay Winery, Peconic, NY (right) By Tom Mansell, Science Editor As I checked my Twitter feed over the past few days, I noticed lots of tweets about the upcoming harvest from winemakers and growers. See the following from Lucas Vineyards winemaker Jeff Houck and Fox Run Vineyards owner Scott Osborn: Apparently many places are doing some post-verasion leaf removal, as recently discussed on this site. It got me thinking about what's actually happening inside the grape when all…
Posts Written OnSeptember 14, 2009
Raphael 2008 First Label Sauvignon Blanc
By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief Photo courtesy of Raphael Long Island chardonnay (and there is a lot of it planted and made) can be delicious, but it's rarely distinctive. I don't know anyone who visits Long Island for the first time and comes away thinking "Wow, those chardonnays blew me away." Long Island sauvignon blanc is a completely different story. Ignoring niche grapes with only small local plantings (chenin blanc, tocai friulano), sauvignon blanc is the grape that shows the most promise locally. At proper crop levels, it ripens consistently well, even in cooler years. And a unique Long…