Posts Written ByEvan Dawson

Years After Finding the Special Spot, Heart & Hands Celebrates Fruit from Their Own Vines

It must feel ridiculous for Tom and Susan Higgins now, looking back on those frantic and frustrating days in 2005. They had spent so many hours, so many days searching for the right place to plant their vineyard. Tom had studied geological maps in search of the one component he found essential in his quest for great pinot noir: limestone. Those days, Tom wondered: Will we ever find it? If we do, will we be able to buy the land? Will this ever actually happen? Fast-forward to this past Saturday when Tom Higgins found himself complaining about having to remove…

Checking in on a Finger Lakes Legend: Good News if You Still Own Anthony Road 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling

It’s the rare wine that has everything lined up in its favor — stellar vintage, top producer, affordable. The Anthony Road Wine Company 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling was available for around $14 or $15 when it was released in 2009. Then it won the Governor’s Cup award, and that availability dried up, but to ARWC’s credit, the price did not go up. But here’s the one problem — so many Finger Lakes wines never see a year in the bottle, let alone two or three or five. The reviews came early and often for this Anthony Road wine, and consumers knew…

Forge Riesling: The Most Debated Wine in the Finger Lakes, and Why Riesling Can Succeed in Oak

Before the final presidential debate, several members of the news media were accidentally emailed a debate recap by one of the campaigns. It described what an outstanding performance their candidate had just displayed. Of course, the review was written hours before anything, you know, actually happened. Spirited discussion is healthy, but prejudgment should be unacceptable, and that has affected the conversation about Forge Cellars‘ first vintage of riesling, the recently released 2011. So what’s the big deal? Well, this is the first Finger Lakes riesling (to our knowledge) aged entirely in oak, not stainless steel or some other container. Granted,…

New York Wine, Beer, and Spirits Summit: Focus on Marketing, Not Fracking or WIGS

When two dozen invited wine industry professionals take their seats at the head table at the New York Wine, Beer and Spirits Summit later this month, they’ll have specific goals in mind. So will Governor Andrew Cuomo, and that includes his desire to make sure the summit is not bogged down by two recurring debates: wine in grocery stores, and hydrofracking. Several sources confirm that the summit will be geared toward other issues, leaving the volatile hot buttons for another day. Indeed, Governor Cuomo has repeatedly stated his opposition to wine in grocery stores, and his administration continues to review…

Red Cat Cellars Celebrates Opening of New Tasting Room

  Hazlitt’s Red Cat Cellars in Naples is celebrating the opening of its new tasting room, a large building on the grounds of what used to be Widmer Wine Cellars. Hazlitt bought the property in 2010 from Constellation Brands. Since then, Hazlitt reports investing more than $1 million to upgrade vineyards and equipment, as well as refurbish existing buildings and launch the new tasting room. Winemaker Tim Benedict said during a recent chat that he was “thrilled” with the progress at the site, and the wonderful 2012 weather has certainly only helped. The old Widmer vines were often gnarled and…

Why Don’t Finger Lakes Wineries Offer Riesling in Magnum?

The other day I picked up a magnum of Hermann J. Wiemer 2008 Dry Riesling in magnum. It had me thinking: Magnums are so sexy. How come almost no one in the Finger Lakes offers riesling in magnum? I was going to say that no one in the Finger Lakes bottles their wine in larger formats, but of course that’s wrong. You can find Red Cat in magnum. Fox Run’s Ruby Vixen, , Arctic Fox, Chardonnay perhaps. Some of Bully Hill’s offerings, I’m sure. But why not riesling? After all, the world’s finest riesling ages gracefully for many years, and…

Finger Lakes Wine Country Hits Primetime Television

If you’re in the Rochester area, tonight I invite you to watch a special report on the growth and success of the Finger Lakes wine region. Yes, sometimes my work worlds collide. “Secrets of the Finger Lakes” can be seen at 8:30 p.m. on WHAM-TV and on 13wham.com My television news superiors approached me about putting together a special report after the success of my book. At first I hesitated, because I didn’t want to simply air a rehashed set of stories that already appear in print. But then I saw an opportunity to tell new stories; these are some…

Five Years After the Finger Lakes’ Worst Riesling Vintage in a Decade, Some Happy Surprises

What’s the worst riesling vintage of the past decade in the Finger Lakes? It’s an awkward question, given that winemakers in the Finger Lakes love to say that riesling performs beautifully in the regoin no matter the weather. That’s largely true, but it’s also a copout. I’m willing to say that 2007 is the worst riesling vintage of the decade. It was a year of heat and drought, and the result was a region dotted by stressed vines. For red wines, it was generally a success. But for riesling, the balance between ripe fruit and crackling acidity was much more…

Fracking Debate: Energy CEO Admits PR Mistakes, But Opponents Still Suspicious

Is Chris Faulkner, the CEO of Breitling Oil & Gas, the perfect messenger for fracking’s future — or the most frightening man in the industry? It depends on your perspective. Joyce Hunt, co-owner of Hunt Country Vineyards on Keuka Lake, considers Faulkner the latter. “He’s so slick, a lot of people will probably believe what he says,” Hunt told me. “That’s what’s so frightening.” Hydrofracking has never had a spokesman as effective as Faulkner. He’s become known as the energy CEO who will go after his own industry for failling to communicate effectively with the public. Faulkner, in previous interviews,…

The Bizarre Tale of Why the Government Opposes Honest Labeling — and how Fox Run’s New Wine was Born

Imagine, for a moment, that McDonald’s was no longer allowed to sell French Fries because, by using the term “Fries,” the government decided that McDonald’s was luring people to over-eat and get fat. Nevermind the fact that the potatoes are, in fact, fried. Honest labeling is simply too alluring for customers. Penalizing them for honest labeling — wouldn’t that be ridiculous? So now try to imagine how the team at Fox Run Vineyards felt when the TTB rejected their chosen name for a new wine. That wine, a fortified white wine, was going to be called “Fortified No. 3.” That…