Posts Written OnMay 05, 2014

Race Wines 2010 Merlot

Race Wines is the new label from veteran North Fork winemaker Greg Gove, who most recently served at Peconic Bay Winery’s winemaker. The current releases were made at PBW before it closed, but he is now making his wines at Lenz Winery. I expected Race Wines 2010 Merlot ($20) to taste a lot like Gove’s Peconic Bay Winery 2010 Merlot, and while there are some similarities, they are far from the same. Aromas of cherry cordial and strawberry preserves are backed by notes of cocoa powder, toasty oak and vanilla — all with a smoky edge. The palate is dense…

Winter Vine Damage Low Down

Word from the North Country has been relatively good as regards vine damage, based on early random bud samples and their reported survival rates after the deep cold that was delivered this winter. Once we get out into the vineyard to do the pruning, and we visit every vine, that’s when you get a true picture of what is going on. In this particular case, the visual I got was a real shocker. The buds may have held up,  but while working a couple of Lake Champlain Valley vineyards in NY and VT, we found some pretty significant trunk damage.…