Posts Written OnSeptember 22, 2010

By Lenn Thompson Over the last two weeks, Shinn Estate Vineyards has done something that no one else has on Long Island — harvest their first 100% organically grown grapes — their first year working towards organic certification. Pictured at right is co-owner and vineyard manager Barbara Shinn holding a lug of just-picked sauvignon blanc for a wine they call "Haven." According to her husband, David Page, the grapes were "Field blended with 15% semillon, and are now on extended skin contact in refrigerated press. They will get pressed after 48-72 hours. Brix is 23.6. pH is 3.35. 2.81 tons…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor When Paumanok Vineyards' Charles Massoud planted his vineyard in 1982 with his wife Ursula, there were only a handful of vineyards on Long Island. Over the subsequent 20-plus years, Charles, Ursula and now their sons — this is a true family-run winery — have worked hard to put and keep Paumanok Vineyards in the upper echelon of wineries on the East Coast. Charles takes a very pragmatic approach to running his winery and, over the years, he has seen wineries come and wineries go. He's seen wineries, including his own, succeed not only with critics…

By Lenn Thompson Back in July when I wrote about a 10-year riesling vertical tasting I attended at Peconic Bay Winery, I described riesling on Long Island as "a bit player, a character actor that will never take center stage in any sort of meaningful way." That is still certainly the case, but for whatever reason (post coming soon) 2009 has proven to be an excellent vintage for riesling on the North Fork, leading to some of the best riesling I've tasted locally. Winemaker Greg Gove has a special affection for riesling and the Peconic Bay Winery 2009 Riesling ($24)…