By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photos courtesy of J.R. Dill Winery If you were a banker, you might not be that excited about helping Jeffrey Dill, either. See, the guy was not even 26 years old. He wanted to build and open a new winery in a region where at least two wineries are for sale and others are struggling. He wanted to do so in a dreadful economic period. And he told the bank he was counting on the local industry – his competitors – to help him get going. This was not a fat-chance scenario. This was…
Posts Written OnJune 2010
What We Drank (June 14, 2010)
A light turnout this week, but here are some of the wines and beers that our editors drank last week… Bryan Calandrelli: Tabor Adama 2007 Clay Soil Rosé (Israel) Even with all the great wine stores in western New York within striking distance I still stop into smaller package liquor stores every now and then to see if the wine shelves hold any surprises. This time I found an interesting rosé made from 100% cabernet franc grapes.The package caught my attention right away with a 500ml bottle, but the origin of Galilee was the clincher. I’ve had a few wines from…
Lake Placid Honey Rye
By Julia Burke, Beer Editor I enjoyed this summer seasonal from Lake Placid Brewing, a member of the F.X. Matt family of beers, for the first time on a kayak on a gorgeous summer evening last week. Though I enjoy all of Lake Placid’s beers, this one impressed me as a solid example from my least-favorite beer season. Honey Rye pours a lovely reddish-bronze with a two-finger head, delicate lacing, and good retention sipped from a wheat glass. The nose shows buckwheat honey, orange peel, and almonds with the sweet bready rye and crisp hops standard for the style. A…
Aaron Estes | Cheese Editor
An IT project manager by day, cheesemaker and cheesemonger by night, Aaron Estes became a serious cheese freak a couple of years ago while spending time in Wisconsin on an opera gig. When he isn’t making cheese at home, mongering at Lucy’s Whey at Manhattan’s Chelsea Market, or traveling to various farms for classes or inspiration, you can find him trying to put his passion for cheese and pairings into words at the Cave-Aged Blog. For the New York Cork Report, he’ll be writing about the New York cheese industry and artisanal cheeses made in New York. >> Read Aaron’s…
Laying Bottles Down: What Makes a Classic Finger Lakes Vintage?
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Second photo courtesy Lucas Vineyards from a recent riesling vertical tasting See if you can answer this question: What is the greatest white wine ever made in the Finger Lakes? What is the greatest red? For most people, that question is largely irrelevant. That's because most of us drink Finger Lakes wines within months of purchase. Bottles lay down about as much as the Statue of Liberty. But with the growing number of quality producers focusing on making wines that can evolve and improve with bottle age, we'll soon be kicking off a new…
Croteaux Vineyards 2009 Ruby (Cabernet Franc Rose)
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Okay I'll admit it. I bit of more than I could err…taste when said we'd publish a rose and riesling review every day in May. It was a fun idea, but a hectic schedule at my job made it impossible, really. So, we'll continue writing about riesling and rose well into June — and beyond. They are quintessential summer wines after all. Today's wine is the Croteaux Vineyards 2009 Ruby ($24) the rose-only producers first rose made with cabernet franc. The rest of their wines are merlot. In the same stylistic vein as Shinn Estate…
Guest Post: Save Stony Brook Southampton (Adam Ehmer, Roanoke Vineyards)
(Editor's Note: From time to time, we hear about projects and initiatives that we feel are better discussed and written about by those directly involved. In this instance, we've asked Adam Ehmer, who in addition to his duties at Roanoke Vineyards, also works as an instructor at Stony Brook Southampton, to write about his efforts to save the Southampton campus) By Adam Ehmer, Guest Contributor This spring, students at Stony Brook Southampton learned that they would not be returning to their campus at the start of the next school year. The president, Dr. Samuel Stanley, made an executive decision to…
TasteCamp EAST 2010 Interview: Sue Guerra | New Jersey Monthly
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor When Sue Guerra, who writes On the Vine for New Jersey Monthly, expressed interest in attending TasteCamp, I had absolutely no idea who she was. None. Now, after spending a couple days with her, tasting (and drinking) wine with her, I'm glad she reached out and pushed her way into the TasteCamp experience — it was a better event because we had her with us. Beyond her impressive palate, she has a great sense of humor and lives an interesting life as a dual citizen of the United States and Italy. And now, our TasteCamp…
What We Drank (June 7, 2010)
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Here is just a glimpse of what the NYCR editors and contributors drank last week, and what happens when we did: Evan Dawson: Inglenook 1976 Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 48 and La Rioja Alta 1985 Gran Reserva 904 I feel that it's my responsibility to keep up the quality of the What We Drank section, so I plundered two of my best bottles. Okay, that's not exactly true — we all enjoy a range of wine and beer. But this past week brought a very special dinner and two fascinating mature bottles. The Inglenook could have…
Veteran Winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich Leaves Raphael to Join Bedell Cellars
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Rich Olsen-Harbich, long-time winemaker at Raphael in Peconic has resigned that post and will take over the head winemaking duties at Bedell Cellars starting next week, joining a winemaking team that includes Bedell's founder and now founding winemaker Kip Bedell and consultant Pascal Marty. The news was first reported on Twitter by Howard Goldberg. Olsen-Harbich succeeds Kelly Urbanik, whose contract has run out told me in an email "I don't have any current plans — just going to take a few days to think about things. I'm keeping all of my options open." Bedell's owner…