Posts Written OnNovember 22, 2010

The Judgment of Riverhead: The Wines. The Winners.

The judges tasting and scoring reds from Long Island, France and California By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I walked in to Saturday night's "Judgment of Riverhead" tasting at Roanoke Vineyards with an intoxicating blend of excitement, curiosity and nervousness. The wine lover in me was near-giddy about tasting so many top wines blind. Blind tasting is one of my favorite things to do — especially when I get to taste with winemakers and other industry folks. I wish I got to do it more often. The local wine enthusiast in me wondered what Long Island wines would be poured and…

From Best-Kept Secret to Standard Bearer: How Damiani is Evolving

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Five years ago, my wife and I wanted to know which winery was the best-kept secret in the Finger Lakes. We were touring the east side of Seneca Lake to celebrate our one-year anniversary, and after a tasting at Lamoreaux Landing we asked if there were any largely undiscovered wunderkinds. "Yes," our server told us. "There is one. Damiani." We drove south to find a winery following the kind of ascetic practices that few want to endure in the nascent stages: Small tasting room, small production, patience with young vines, moderate yields. It seems…