Just like every other week, there's a great deal of diversity in what our editors and contributors are drinking. We're geeks. That's what we do. Evan Dawson: Paolo Bea 2007 Santa Chiara, Montefalco (Umbria, Italy) Equal parts Grachetto, Garganega, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Malvasia If you truly value character and you like a wine that's unique, here you go. It smells like a Lopez de Heredia, but with a science experiment edge added in. You've got the baked peach, caramel, almond paste… and then a fascinating layer of sun-dried tomato bread. It's like the professor stepped out of the lab…
Posts Written OnMarch 2010
Missing the New York State of Mind in South Africa
By Julia Burke, Niagara Correspondent I think I’m the only person I know who actually enjoys visiting wineries alone. To me, there’s nothing better than taking off in my car with no agenda, stopping wherever I want, chatting with the employees and making new friends. Sure, tasting with friends is fun. But aside from a few fellow wine geeks with whom I’ll drop everything for a wine tasting jaunt, I genuinely prefer going solo. Part of it is the fact that I’ve been writing for a long time and I’m used to doing interviews and research solo. Furthermore, I genuinely…
Hunt Country Vineyards 2008 Dry Riesling
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Regardless of region, it's smart stick with the top echelon of wineries in lesser vintages. Top producers are going to make good wines regardless of vintage. At least most of the time. But, in years like 2008 for Finger Lakes riesling, buying wine is far easier. Up and down the price ladder, there are solid (or better) wines from a far wider group of producers. This Hunt Country Vineyards 2008 Dry Riesling ($14) is a good example of that bounty. Green apple, lime and grapefruit pith are backed by a faint fennel seed note on the…
Three Sisters Project Prepares for April Launch
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Full disclosure: Lenn and I were approached in the planning stages about how this project might work.We offered some basic feedback but removed ourselves from the process. An ambitious new collaboration will launch in April, and it unites New York State's three largest wine producing regions. The Three Sisters Project will link "sister wineries" from Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and the Finger Lakes. Each sister winery will sell one another's wine in the tasting room and will seek to educate customers about the unique qualities of the individual regions. “Interest in local foods…
Book Update: The 90,000-Word Journey
Evan chatting with one of his book's subjects, Red Newt's Dave Whiting By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photos by Morgan Dawson Photography It still needs a title, but the hardest part is now over. My posts for the Cork Report have been a bit less frequent than I'd prefer over the past month, and I wanted to explain why that is. I've been in the final stages of writing a book and it has monopolized my time. My publisher set a manuscript deadline of March 15. I'll submit it several days before that date. On Saturday I wrote…
The New York Cork Report Team
The New York Cork Report wine editors at work during the NYCR 2009 ‘Wines of the Year’ tasting. Editorial Board Lenn Thompson Publisher, Executive Editor | Hudson Valley, Long Island Evan Dawson Managing Editor | Chautauqua-Lake Erie, Finger Lakes Bryan Calandrelli Regional Editor, Niagara Tom Mansell Science Editor Julia Burke Beer Editor Aaron Estes Cheese Editor Finger Lakes Rochelle BilowFood Correspondent Finger Lakes Mark TichenorBeer CorrespondentRochester Long Island Dave SeelFood Correspondent Long Island Donavan HallBeer Correspondent Long Island New York City David FlahertyCorrespondent New York City Tracy Weiss CorrespondentNew York City/Long Island Northern New York State…
Growing Up Gewürztraminer: Varietal Character and Ripeness
Just-harvested Gewurztraminer at Keuka Springs Vineyard on Keuka Lake By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Photo courtesy of Keuka Spring Vineyards I recently reviewed Sheldrake Point's 2008 Gewürztraminer for my own site, and as I looked over the technical notes, I noticed that winemaker Dave Breeden added acid to the wine. I was curious about that, given the fact that many wines inthe Finger Lakes are supported by their natural acidity. The concept of adding acid in a cool-climate region like this was a bit strange to me. And, the alcohol content on this wine was listed at 13.6%, pretty high…
Roanoke Vineyards 2006 Gabby’s Cabernet Franc
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief During the winter of 2006, Rich Pisacano, veteran grape grower and co-owner of Roanoke Vineyards, had a disagreement with his father Gabby, also a long-time grape grower. The source of the dispute? Employing a more manually intensive, hands-on approach in the vineyard. "At the time, he (Gabby) was not entirely convinced that such differences in the process could have such a profound effect on the finished wine. He suggested taking a portion of the vineyard to do exactly what an extreme protocol asked of him to see what would happen," Rich told me in an email.…
Wine on Tap: Local Restaurant, Wineries Go Beyond Bag-in-Box
Verace, a newly opened Italian restaurant in Islip, NY with three local wines on tap. By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Photos courtesy of Verace I think we've all been there — in a restaurant that may or may not pay much attention to its wine list and may or may not pay even less attention to their by-the-glass selection — more or less offering whatever is already open, and over-charging you for it. You order a glass anyway, knowing that you're playing by-the-glass roulette. Before you even take a sip, you can pinpoint how long the bottle has been open —…
Local with Local (Finger Lakes): Atwater Estate Vineyards 2007 Syarah and Deb Whiting’s Vanilla Chevre-Stuffed, Bacon-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine-Vanilla Sauce
By Deb Whiting, chef and co-owner Red Newt Bistro My assignment this month was a food pairing with the Atwater Estate Vineyards 2007 Syrah, an absolutely beautiful wine with tones of ripe dark cherries and plum. Often times when I pair food with wine I will concentrate a particular flavor that I find both in the food and in the wine I am pairing. But other times, I think about flavors that I may not find in the wine, but that I think will make a flattering complement. In the 2007 Atwater Syrah, characters of vanilla and smoke showed delicately…