Posts Written OnMay 2010

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Carmenere on Long Island? Yes, really. This is Long Island's first carmenere, and as far as I know, the only carmenere being made on the East Coast (thought it seems like it might do well in Virginia, so maybe there is some there too.) I've had several carmeneres from Chile, enjoying the relatively few elegant ones that don't have huge extract, but I admittedly know very little about the grape. According to Wikipedia: Carménère grape is a wine grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, where it was used to produce…

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor I’ve encountered consistent quality and creativity from Ithaca Brewing Company’s high-end Excelsior line. Now into the third week of my attempt to make up for lost time drinking all the craft beer I missed while abroad, I shelled out $10 for Ithaca’s 12th Anniversary release knowing it was a special-occasion beer. This Belgian quadrupel-style beer pours a toasty four-finger head with clearly stratified lacing into a goblet, ruddy, muddy and murky with a tinge of butterscotch color. A malt-fest of hazelnut and oatmeal cookies, the nose opens up to some lovely citrus notes reminiscent of…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor It's been a while since we've published a Tasting Table — sorry for that. Our coverage of Finger Lakes riesling and Long Island rose will carry over into June a bit, but here are some of the rieslings and roses that for one reason or another. Heron Hill Winery 2008 Dry Riesling ($13, New York): Floral nose with lime candy and lemon-lime soda. Honeyed, candied citrus on the palate with a little minerality. Citrus zest on the finish a little sweet on the finish for a wine labeled "dry." Rating: 83 Heron Hill Winery 2008…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Many roses made with 100% merlot bore me. There are exceptions of course, but mostly you simple strawberry and maybe some watermelon but not much else. Blending red varieties or even blending reds and whites brings out more complexity, which I look for. But this Palmer Vineyards 2009 Rose Merlot ($19) really impressed me in a recent tasting. In fact, it's one of the best local roses I've tasted this year. Citrus blossom and grapefruit kick off the nose, followed by strawberry, watermelon (of course) and sweet red cherry aromas. Red berry fruit flavors are…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Having tasted a lot of Finger Lakes riesling this month — a lot — several characteristics that consistently ran through most of the wines. I'm not going to get into a discussion of terroir here, but flavors like lime, peach/apricot, slate minerality and anise can be found in a great many Finger Lakes rieslings. This Wagner Vineyards 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling ($13) stood out as something different and I'd be curious to find out more about the vineyard practices and winemaking techniques employed here. Different doesn't mean better or worse — it's just different. Aromas of…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor If you follow Heart & Hands Wine Company co-owners Tom Higgins and Susan Higgins on Twitter you already know this, but they've had a long week. You see, they planted their vineyard this week, so in a few years they'll being producing wine from estate-grown grapes.  This is a shot of one of their baby pinot vines overlooking Cayuga Lake as the sun sets. 

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor After some delays and rescheduling, I'm happy to announce that our next Taste Live event will take place next week on Wednesday, on June 2 at 8 p.m. ET. I'll be moderating again on behalf of Finger Lakes Wine Country (FLWC). For June's event, we'll be celebrating Riesling Month by tasting six Finger Lakes rieslings — two from each of the main wine-producing lakes: Ravines Wine Cellars 2008 Dry Riesling (Keuka Lake) Heron Hill Wine Cellars 2007 Ingle Vineyard Riesling (Keuka Lake) Fox Run Vineyards 2008 Reserve Riesling (Seneca Lake) Lamoreaux Landing 2009 Yellow Dog…

Julia Burke has lived in the Buffalo, NY area for over ten years. She discovered her passion for craft beer while in college in Portland, Oregon, but honed her pint skills as a bartender at the Pizza Plant microbrew pub in Buffalo, where she educates customers on the many beer styles of the world. She is also deeply involved in the Niagara Escarpment wine scene, which means she has something in a glass most of the time. Julia enjoys cooking, hiking, traveling and writing, ideally with a beer or glass of wine in hand. She has spent time in Oregon,…

Tom Mansell is a PhD candidate in chemical and biomolecular engineering at Cornell University, studying protein folding in E. coli.  In the spring of 2008, he took a wine chemistry course and has never looked at wine the same way since. He has taken several courses in the Viticulture and Enology program at Cornell and is currently enrolled in a course in Viticulture and Vineyard Management.  His blog, Ithacork, focuses on Finger Lakes wines with an emphasis on the science and technology of wine production, and gets technical enough for any wine geek. His role at the New York Cork…

Bryan Calandrelli moved to the Niagara Escarpment a few years ago from New York City, where he and his then-fiancee spent an almost unreasonable amount of time driving back and forth from the East End of Long Island on wine-tasting jaunts. When he doesn’t have his nose deep in a wine glass, Bryan is a camera operator/director of photography for network and cable television shows.  >> Read Bryan’s posts | Follow Bryan on Twitter