By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief I'm not sure if it can be attributed to Finger Lakes Editor Evan Dawson's Four Stages of Riesling or not, but most people I know strongly prefer either dry OR semi-dry styles of riesling. When Nena and I first visited the Finger Lakes a couple years ago we ended up taking a bottle of dry and a bottle of semi-dry from just about every tasting room we visited — one that I liked better (dry) and one that Nena preferred (semi-dry) For me though, it's not really about residual sugar, it's about acidity. If a wine…
Posts Written OnFebruary 2010
Vineyard Visuals: A Red Winesicle at Anthony Road Wine Company
Peter Becraft, associate winemaker at Anthony Road Wine Company sent me this shot this morning, saying that: "We are cold stabilizing a tank of red, which is pretty easy to do when it is 18 degrees and colder outside. This particular tank always tends to drip small drops from the manhole seal when the temp gets down there. What you are seeing is a slow accumulation of drips over a couple of chilly days and nights. No need for alarm." And if you're curious, that's Tony's Red, a semi-sweet red made mostly of Rougeon.
Shinn Estate Vineyards 2007 Malbec
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief I'm intrigued by the malbec grape's potential on the North Fork. It seems to do quite well here and makes some great wines. In fact, it may only be held back by the limited amount that is planted and grown, as most growers only have a small bit planted for use in blending. Malbec bottled on its own is a relatively new thing on Long Island. The first one I remember seeing was from 2004. But, Wineries like Macari Vineyards and Raphael have done some really nice varietal bottlings that both show typical malbec character and…
Mini-Rieslings: Hazlitt Hopes To Take a Major Step With Customers
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photo courtesy of Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards has just released a new mini-format riesling and they believe it will provide more options for consumers and restaurants. As shown at right, the wine will be sold in packs of four, with each bottle containing 187 milliliters of wine (or exactly 1/4 a standard bottle of wine). "People want a single-serving bottle," Hazlitt's Director of Marketing, Brad Phillips, told me. "There are a lot of customers who don't want to have to get rid of a whole bottle of wine. So this format not…
Valentine’s Day in Long Island Wine Country
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief This weekend, Long Island wineries are pulling out all the stops to help you woo your Valentine and make your Hallmark holiday a special one. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one more time that Long Island Winterfest kicks off this weekend with live, free jazz at tasting rooms across the North Fork. Visit liwinterfest.com for a complete listing of performances and special deals from wineries, B&Bs and other local businesses. Winterfest runs for the next six weekends, but if you don't like jazz, local wineries have plenty of offer this weekend anyway. Valentine’s Day…
Arrowhead Spring’s Estate Syrah Makes a Bold Statement
By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor Duncan Ross is not one to get too visibly excited or emotional when he’s discussing his Niagara Escarpment winery in Lockport, NY. Arrowhead Spring Vineyards had just released their first 100% estate-grown red wine when I stopped in to speak to him about his 2008 Estate Syrah. Just as I expected, he was calm, cool and collected — until the end of our interview when I asked him his overall impression of this wine. To which he responded, “It’s the best wine I’ve ever made.” If I weren’t sitting there with a glass of…
What We Drank (February 8, 2010)
This week, our intrepid Niagara correspondent chimes in with her first contribution from South Africa, so she gets top billing. But, this is one of our better editions of WWD with some old wines, some poorly-rated-but-tasty wines and (of course) a couple beers. Julia Burke: Blaauwklippen 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon and 1999 Pinotage We don’t see a lot of aged South African wine in western New York – I think the oldest I’ve tried was a 2006 Cape blend. So when our assistant winemaker whipped out five aged Blaauwklippen wines on Thursday afternoon and asked us to try…
New York Wine News & Notes (February 8, 2010)
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief It's been a while since we've compiled a "News & Notes" post, but as the busy season approaches in New York's wine regions, we'll probably be doing them more and more. Jazz Returns to the Vines on Long IslandThe extremely popular Long Island Winterfest Jazz On The Vine is coming back this week and this year it's even bigger and runs longer than last year's successful program. This, the 3rd annual Long Island Winterfest, runs from February 13 to March 21 across the East End and features renowned jazz musicians performing free-admission concerts at winery tasting…
New Chocolate and Wine Bar Opens In Rochester With Local Emphasis
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Admit it: On more than one occasion, you've said to yourself, I'm going to quit work and start my own bed and breakfast/wine bar/restaurant. Danielle Lewis and Michael Goldberg got sick of saying it, so they decided to finally do it. The result is Rochester's newest foodie attraction: Chocolate & Vines, located in a renovated house in the Neighborhood of the Arts. Lewis and Goldberg bought the house nearly two years ago and spent 18 months renovating it. They live upstairs, with the downstairs converted into a chic mini-restaurant with seating for roughly two…
New York Cork Report Tasting Table: February 5, 2010
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief This week, the tasting table post is a little shorter than usual, but I've got a big tasting planned for Super Bowl Sunday. In the meantime: Fox Run Vineyards 2007 Merlot ($20): Ripe blackberry and plum with vanilla and smokey (American?) oak. Even smokier on the palate with vanilla covering up what is a nice core of ripe, concentrated fruit. Blueberry pie peeks through with time in the glass. Medium body, ripe, medium-low tannins. Great fruit, with a little too much oak. (3 out of 5 | Recommended) Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Chardonnay ($19): Toasty oak,…