Posts Written OnJanuary 2013

Brewing With Restraint and Growing Without Bounds at Greenport Harbor Brewing Co.

Greenport Harbor Brewing Company is getting bigger, and fast.  The company launch in 2009 with little more than two owning partners and a brewer.  Four years later, the brewery employs more than a dozen workers and is in the process of building a second brewhouse.  But the brewery’s quick expansion has not swayed its resolve to maintain control over their own product and quality. I recently met with Head Brewer DJ Swanson.  He pulled his head out of a steaming fermenter to greet me upon arrival at the fire house-turned-brewery that dates back to the early 1900s. The cozy historic…

Fork Finds: North Fork Smoked Fish Company, Cutchogue, NY

When I was four years old, my aunt and my mother left me unattended in the kitchen while they quickly went to handle something before a huge crowd arrived for brunch. I climbed the mountainous bar stool and sat daintily on the edge of the kitchen island. Seeing an unknown food — pale, orange and gleaming — artfully strewn across my Aunt Elaine’s good platter was too much for me to resist, I took a fistful and stuffed it into my mouth. Family legend states that day, I consumed a pound of belly lox and two of nova before they…

What Bottles are We Really Laying Down? A Brief Look at My Cellar

This is going to be a strange way to contact someone who owes you wine, but Kim Aliperti, Lenn and I would like to finally collect on our case. I was thinking about laying Finger Lakes wine down the other day and it occurred to me: Lenn and I went in together on a case of Billsboro Winery 2008 Riesling. That wine happened to be our first-ever Finger Lakes White Wine of the Year, and deservedly so. It’s wonderful. Lenn and I thought it was the right kind of wine to cellar. Here’s the odd part: I’m reasonably sure that we paid…

Scarola Vineyards 2010 “Cappella” Chardonnay

Apple and pear fruit aromas are slightly buttery, with gentle hints of citrus blossom beneath. Weighty and a bit hot on the finish, this chardonnay is fruity — apple, pear and pineapple — with a caramelly-toasty edge. Well balanced acidity matches the ripe, concentrated fruit, but that heat on the finish detracts. Producer: Scarola Vineyards AVA: North Fork of Long Island ABV: 13% Price: $18* (2.5 out of 5, Average-to-Very Good)

Breaking News: Wölffer Estate Vineyard Purchased by Two of Founder Christian Wölffer’s Children

One of the topics we”ll cover as part of our “Celebrating 40 Years of Long Island Wine” series is winery succession. The next generation of winery owners will help shape what Long Island looks like for the next 40 years — and that future is unclear for some of the region’s wineries — but it’s a bit more clear for one winery today. Wolffer Estate Vineyard announced today that two of founder Christian Wolffer’s children, Joey Wolffer and Marc Wolffer, have assumed joint ownership of the Sagaponack winery. From the press release: A leader in Long Island wine country, Wölffer…

Peconic Bay Winery Moves Tasting Room Operations to Empire State Cellars, Re-Focuses on the Wine and Leaves Agritourism Behind

Live music every weekend. A food menu well beyond snacks. Big crowds. North Fork agritourism at its best. That’s has been Peconic Bay Winery the last several summers. Other wineries have turned to agritourism for financial stability and profitability, but few did it better than Peconic Bay. But no more. Later this morning, the winery will announce that it is closing its tasting room to the public, moving day-to-day retail and tasting operations to Empire State Cellars at Tanger Outlet Mall. The Cutchogue tasting room will now be used exclusively for private parties and wine club events. There will be a…

Raphael Winery 2011 First Label Sauvignon Blanc

Challenging growing season shows here on the nose, which is surprisingly subdued. Light aromas of fresh and candied lemon are joined by subtle notes of minty herbs. Lighter bodied as well, there are mild flavors of citrus and under-ripe melon as well as light grassy-herbal notes. There is also plenty of fresh acidity — but not really enough of everything else to bring balance. Producer: Raphael AVA: North Fork of Long Island ABV: 12.4% Price: $26* (2.5 out of 5, Average-to-Very Good)

Niagara Icewine Update: We Haven’t Started Getting Nervous… Yet

With this weekend’s projected record-warm temperatures, it feels a little weird to be preparing for a weekend of ice wine themed activities across the border. In a region that can usually set its watch to that first big, bone-chilling weather event in early January, Mother Nature has only teased Niagara with a very narrow window for an ice wine harvest so far this year and people are wondering if there will be a full harvest in 2013. “I haven’t started getting nervous yet,” says Jonathan Oakes, winemaker at Leonard Oakes Winery. Oakes is the go-to winemaker in Niagara USA on…

Fork Finds: Topping Rose House, Bridgehampton, NY

I used to work in reality television so I’m not really giddy about ‘celebrity ‘chefs. Except for Eric Ripert. He is the second Mr. Tracy Weiss. I also tend to avoid restaurants that are hyped to a level where food bloggers are foaming at the mouth to get in. How can any meal live up to expectations when I’m inundated with wild praise just a few months into opening? Yet, I didn’t let any of my usual rules get in the way of booking a table at Tom Colicchio’s Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton at the first opportunity. His people…

Evan Dawson Interviewed by Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Evan doesn’t always like it when we publish items about his tremendous book. I don’t think he minds when the book sells, of course, but he just doesn’t want it to ever seem like we mention it too often. So we don’t. But earlier this morning I saw that he was interviewed by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and thought it worth sharing. Happy Friday, everyone, and congratulations on the great success with the book, Evan.