For this week's edition of What We Drank, our contributors share some of their favorite libations from the Thanksgiving weekend. As per usual, it's a diverse grouping of delicious sips. From Julia Burke: Leonard Oakes Estate 2008 Frontenac and Heart & Hands Wine Company 2006 Pinot Noir My actual Thanksgiving meal could be charitably described as "underwhelming". Grandma insisted on our first-ever restaurant Thanksgiving, and the place we chose lost points quickly in my book for having no New York wine (or any really interesting wine), mediocre food, and — unforgivably — no cranberry sauce. My immediate family being one…
Posts Written OnNovember 2009
If You’re Not Thankful For the Chance to Meet Winemakers Up Close, You Should Be
Josh Wig, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars' general manager, giving a tour of their estate vineyards By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Tuscany is a dream vacation, but be warned: even with appointments, you often will only meet a tour guide, rather than the winemakers who craft Brunello. Napa can be an ideal getaway, but if you don't know someone who knows someone, you might be stuck in the tasting room. The Finger Lakes is not only a mind-clearing destination, but stop by one of the wineries some time and you might be asked to put on gloves and assist the…
Q&A: DJ Swanson, Head Brewer, Greenport Harbor Brewing Company
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief DJ Swanson, head brewer at Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, should be inspiring for anyone working in a corporate job who has dreams of following his or her passion and making a career of it. DJ started homebrewing about 15 years ago, when he bought homebrew supplies from Carl Burnham, the head brewer at Union Station Brewery in Providence, RI. At the time, Burnham knew about DJ's interest in brewing professionally and in September of 2000 he hired DJ away from his accounting position at a finance company. A little over a year later, DJ was offered…
For Thanksgiving, Drink What You Like
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief You may have noticed that the New York Cork Report hasn't published a "What You Should Drink on Thanksgiving" story this year. That's by design. I don't see us writing one of those in the future either. Someone must read them — they appear in just about every possible wine media outlet. Every year. Like clockwork. You can read some of the details about why I personally don't like those columns, but in short: They are based in false expertise. There is no such thing as the "perfect" Thanksgiving wine, period. If there were, all of…
A Niagara Without Borders
By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Escarpment Editor The Niagara River is the natural border that divides Western New York and Ontario. When you stand at some points along the river and look west, you can’t help but notice how close we are to our Canadian neighbors. It’s becoming more and more evident that this border will get even closer as Niagara USA wineries look to carry on the momentum of Ontario’s successful wine industry, and in some cases, look to import what makes them so successful. Perhaps the most obvious evidence that Niagara USA wineries are capitalizing off of Ontario’s achievement…
What we Drank (November 23, 2009)
From Evan Dawson: Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke 2001 Riesling Spatlese When I think of the very best rieslings I've ever had, this one is in the conversation. With a nose that reaches out of the glass and delivers a right hook, and a with a finish that unfolds almost endlessly, it's a gorgeous bottle of wine. But more than anything, this wine is the prime example of balance. It brings perhaps 4% RS (that's a guess). At no point would anyone speak of this wine as being cloying or overly sweet. Instead, it's rich and pure. I try not to get…
2009 Harvest Update: 2009 “Largely a Success” at Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief A few final harvest reports are trickling in from local wineries, so we'll continue to publish them and then we'll also do some regional round-ups sometime after Thanksgiving. Over the weekend, I got a note from Adam Suprenant, the UC Davis-trained winemaker at Osprey's Dominion Vineyards in Peconic, on Long Island's North Fork. Despite the challenges of the growing year, Adam told me that "I am declaring the 2009 vintage largely a success at Osprey's Dominion Vineyard." He added that he will most likely be producing a 2009 Flight, their high-quality meritage blend, "from the better…
A Little Harvest Reflection
By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent Is it time to officially call the end of harvest? Little Elizabeth (my daughter) seems to think so. Yum! There is something inherent in the nature of the harvest that lends itself to youthful reward, a sense that we all long for although the vast majority of us no longer experience a real harvest as did our ancestors. It's a time to enjoy the fruits of our labor, to renew our sense of respect for the land, and then bunker down for a nice long winter nap with family and friends. Falls seems comforting, yet it is full…
Chateau Buffalo: A True Commitment to New York Wine
By Julia Burke, Niagara Escarpment Correspondent It’s exciting to find a great selection of New York wines in a shop. But a wine store devoted entirely to New York State? Carl Schmitter, owner of Chateau Buffalo in Buffalo, NY, is proving that it can work. Now in its fourth year, Chateau Buffalo, located in the city’s hip, offbeat Hertel Avenue neighborhood, focuses exclusively on wines from Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes, the Niagara Escarpment, and Chautauqua. Without favoring a particularly region, Chateau Buffalo’s selection simply offers what Schmitter considers to be the best of New York. “The…
Announcement: The New York Cork Report 2009 Wines of the Year
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Today I'm proud to announce that, for the first time in this blog's existence, its editors will be naming the New York Cork Report 2009 Wines of the Year on January 11, 2010. Over the course of 2009, the three regional editors for this site — myself, Bryan and Evan — tasted hundreds of New York wines from our respective beats. That's the pool from which we're pulling from. We don't pretend that we've tasted every single New York wine released in the 2009 calendar year (which is required to be eligible) but we've tasted more…