Posts Written OnSeptember 2010

2010 Harvest Update: Chardonnay for Sparkling at Paumanok Vineyards

Harvest is underway at Paumanok Vineyards on the North Fork where winemaker Kareem Massoud reports that they hand picked 2.67 tons of chardonnay for sparkling wine on August 28. "Brix came in right where we want it for bubbly: 18.5. pH was also nice at 3.07. Acid good for bubbly at 10.2 g/l," he reports via email. If you haven't tasted or seen a sparkler from Paumanok, there's a reason for that — 2010 will be just their second sparkling wine. "The 2009 will be released in time for the Holidays…of 2013," according to Massoud.

Channing Daughters Winery 2008 Sylvanus Vineyard Tocai Friulano

I can count on one hand the number of varietal Tocai Friulano's being produced in New York — and two of them come from Long Island's Channing Daughters Winery. Long a maker of as single Tocai, winemaker Christopher Tracy made two vineyard-desginated Tocai's in 2008 — one for a new Mudd West Vineyard planting on the North Fork and one for the Sylvanus Vineyard in Bridgehampton — two display the uniqueness of each spot. Channing Daughters 2008 "Sylvanus Vineyard" Tocai Friulano ($24) was aged in both stainless steel barrels (55%) and older French and Hungarian ones (45%) for 10 months,…