Posts Written OnFebruary 2010

By Andy Freedman, New York City Correspondent Some of my favorite things in life begin with the letter 'B': there's basketball, and brunch, and, of course, bars.  Last weekend my wife and I encountered 3 other Bs close to my heart when we attended the "Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival" at LA.VENUE in Manhattan with some 5,000 other beer and bourbon-drinking, bacon-crazed porkophiles. Having successfully traveled up and down the East Coast the past three years, BB&B finally made its Manhattan debut. What's there not to love about a walk-around event that features unlimited tastes of 60+ beers, 40+ bourbons and all the southern 'cue you can handle,…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Raphael and winemaker Richard Olsen-Harbich have long made one of the North Fork's best sauvignon blancs — wines that aren't quite Loire, aren't quite California and aren't quite New Zealand. They are Long Island through and through. With the 2008 vintage, they expanded upon their sauvignon blanc program, making two distinctly different wines: Raphael 2008 First Label Sauvignon Blanc and this wine, Raphael 2008 Grand Cru Sauvignon Blanc ($15). Made using fruit from their younger sauvignon block, the Grand Cru is made in 100% stainless steel and is made in a bright, drink-young style. When I…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief As Evan hinted in his post last week, he'll be investigating the challenges involved in making truly exceptional dry rieslings. The story idea grew out of some conversations he and I have had about some of the "acid water" dry rieslings we've both tasted of late — meaning wines that have the lively acidity that we both look for, but not much else. More on that soon though. Today, I wanted to review this Lucas Vineyards 2008 Dry Riesling ($14) a dry Finger Lakes riesling that sucessfully dodges the pitfalls of dry riesling and delivers solid…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Another quick note pointing you to another piece penned by a NYCR editor, this time Evan Dawson, over at Palate Press, an online magazine that several of us contribute to (or will contribute to). Evan's story is about restaurant wine experiences — specifically three that he had on his recent trip to Northern California.  Check it out. It's worth the read.

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief My lukewarm feelings towards barrel-fermented chardonnay are well documented, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the qualities that a cool growing climate bring to the category. Lucas Vineyards 2008 Chardonnay ($14) shows great balance from start to finish, which is something worth noting in any wine. The nose is decidedly oak-inflected with toasted marshmallows and hazelnuts layered with pineapple, mango, roasted apple fruit aromas. Medium-bodied with a bright, fresh attack that brings sweet apple and pineapple fruit, this wine turns creamy and vanilla-tinged on the mid-palate before getting nutty as it ends on a medium-length…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief With all of the details ironed out and all the moving parts in place, I'm exited to announce the second in a series of Taste Live events I'll be moderating for Finger Lakes Wine Country (FLWC) in conjunction with their newly launched TasteLive page. The first in the series, centering on Finger Lakes cabernet franc, was a success and I think this one is going to be even better. Why? Well, for one we're tasting four sparkling wines, which is always fun. Specifically, we'll be tasting: Chateau Frank 2002 Blanc de Blancs Goose Watch Winery NV…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief More local than usual, this week's WWD offers a different kind of diversity… Lenn Thompson: Peconic Bay Winery 2007 Steel Fermented Chardonnay Yesterday was Jackson's third birthday, so we had family in from upstate New York as well as Pittsburgh for a weekend of festivities. Of the course of a few nights, a lot of bottles were opened and enjoyed, but this one was the one I chose for WWD. Why? Well for one, it was a magnum which is just plain fun for entertaining. There's just something celebratory about opening a large-format bottle (if we're…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Just a quick post this morning to send some kudos over to our Niagara editor Bryan Calandrelli for his cover story in the latest issue of Edible Buffalo. The story is titled "Liquid Assets — Ice Wine" and it tells a tale of Bryan's own experience picking grapes for ice wine, a bit about ice wine in general and of course the present and future of Niagara USA's ice wine industry. It's definitely worth a read. Check it out. And, look for some video here on the NYCR. Rumor has it that Bryan picked for ice…