Posts Written OnJune 03, 2014

Heron Hill Winery 2012 “Morris Vineyard” Reserve Pinot Blanc

Heron Hill Winery 2012 “Morris Vineyard” Reserve Pinot Blanc ($18*) offers a delicate nose of Bartlett pear, mango drizzled with lime juice and green melon. Medium bodied and showing a bit of mid-palate sweetness, the palate is dominated  by green apple and tropical fruits. That residual sugar brings nice weight and a nice nudge of acidity drives a juicy finish that lingers with subtle sweetness and distant lemon verbena herbal note. Producer: Heron Hill Winery AVA: Finger Lakes Harvest Date(s): September 11, 2012Brix: 21.5 ABV: 12.5% RS: 1.48% TA: 6.1 g/l pH: 3.26 Production:  235 cases Release Date: October 4, 2013 Price: $18* (3 out of 5, Very good/Recommended)

Playing Some La Crosse

La Crosse is a grape from the cold climate quiver that is a pet favorite of mine. Having worked with it in the Cornell trial vineyard and in and the home winery for a few vintages, I’m intrigued by what smells and tastes like potential. It’s yet another of the Elmer Swenson-propagated diaspora of hybrid vines which offer options and hope to winemakers who grow and press  in places that are USDA Zone 5 and below. A complex hybrid offspring of Seyval Blanc, and named for the Wisconsin city on the Mississippi,  it offers some improvements upon its parent, and…