Posts Written ByLenn Thompson

Tousey Winery 2013 Rebellion Rose

You don’t see very much Blaufränkisch rosé in New York. You see even less rosé that is barrel fermented. But, with Tousey Winery 2013 Rebellion Rosé ($16) co-owner and winemaker Ben Peacock has produced both. Fruity red cherry and strawberry flavors are gently accented by notes of spice and blanched almond — hinting at this wine’s time in oak, but not coming out and announcing it. The barrel reveals itself more on the palate — where there texture is creamy and simple red fruit flavors have a buttery edge to them. Mouth-filling and round, it shows enough acidity and a long finish. Producer: Tousey…

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EVENT ADVERTISEMENT: Merlot Rewind — The Long Island Wine Remix

Please join the Long Island Merlot Alliance (LIMA) on Friday, November 6, 2015 at Back Label Wine Merchants for the first annual MERLOT REWIND! Why rewind? Because it’s come to our attention that maybe some of you don’t know Long Island merlot the way you should. Which is just crazy. Sure, we grow more merlot here (to the tune of nearly 700 acres) than any other grape in the region, but there’s good reason for that: Our maritime climate produces consistently lovely versions of this noble red grape — concentrated yet bright, mouth filling and layered yet versatile at the table. And that’s…

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Leonard Oakes Estate Winery 2014 Petillant Naturel Riesling

Pet nat — shorthand for Pétillant Naturel — wines are all the rage these days, particularly in New York City. These are lightly sparkling wines made in a style that, while new to the New York wine industry, is far from trendy or new. In fact, the method is as rustic and old as the wines are fun to drink. Unlike sparkling wines made using methode champenoise (as with Champagne), where yeast and sugar are added to a fully fermented base wine for a secondary carbonation in the bottle, pet nat is made via méthode ancestral, where the wine is bottled before primary fermentation —…

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Uncork the Forks: The Physical Side of Winemaking

Two weeks after I spent the better part of a day picking and processing grapes at Southold Farm+Cellar, parts of my body still ache. Yes, that’s a commentary on my present level of physical fitness — and no one would ever suggest that picking grapes is work meant for someone who stands 6 feet, 3 inches — but it’s also a reminder of all of the hard work that goes into the wines we love drinking so much. Most people picture the life of a winemaker as an artistic, romantic one spent walking through vineyards, examining the grapes, perhaps plucking…

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Wolffer Estate 2012 “Christian’s Cuvee” Merlot

Sometimes, I just don’t want to talk about how much a wine costs. With Long Island wines already seen as over-priced by many and the ever-rising prices of Finger Lakes wines, it’s a topic that I cover enough already. I can’t tell you if Wolffer Estate 2012 Christian’s Cuvee Merlot ($100) is worth that $100 price tag or not. That’s really between you and your bank account. What I can tell you that I’ve bought it before — though admittedly not often — and that I’ve had the pleasure of drinking these wines back to the 2000 vintage and these…

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Long Island Wine Press: Five Long Island Wines That Over-Deliver at Different Price Points

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the fall 2015 edition of the Long Island Wine Press It’s no wonder that from time to time you can see a chip on the collective shoulder of Long Island winery owners and winemakers. They pour time and money into their work and then they hear and read this with some regularity: “Long Island wines are over-priced.” Sadly, just about everyone in and around the local wine industry has heard that declaration – or some version of it – multiple times during their careers. Before we go any further, let’s clear up that misconception. …

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Uncork the Forks: A Wine Lover’s Guide to Pumpkin Season

Editor’s Note: This is the lastest ediction of my biweekly column for The Suffolk Times and Riverhead News-Review. They’re coming! They’re coming! Hide in your homes. Actually, they are already here and they aren’t nearly as bad as I’m probably making them sound. Who am I complaining about — while simultaneously mocking them just a bit? The pumpkin-pickers. The day-trippers from points west looking for a good old-fashioned day in the “country” with their families. I like to joke about them and, yes, I do complain about them now and again, but I have a decidedly love-hate relationship with them. On…

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New York Cork Club: October 2015 Selections

The October 2015 wines for the New York Cork Club will be on there way soon, so it’s time to give you peek at the picks. (If you missed our announcement about the rebirth of New York Cork Club, check it out here.) The 2015 grape harvest season continues. Just about all of the white wine grapes are in across the state and now growers are deciding what they should do with their red wine grapes — pick before the heavy rains that could come with Hurricane Joaquin, or wait it out and hope for the best? I’m glad they have make those…

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Roanoke Vineyards 2012 Gabby’s Cabernet Franc

Roanoke Vineyards 2012 Gabby’s Cabernet Franc ($43) shows the ripeness of the vintage, but is a standout for its elegant intensity and early complexity. A blend of cab franc grown in a part of Roanoke’s estate vineyard known as “Gabby’s rows” because Pisacano family patriarch Gabby Pisacano manages them along with 17% merlot and 1% petit verdot, it offers a spicy and slightly herbal – in a good way – nose with layers of sweet black cherry and blackberry with subtle but distinct minty-licorice notes and high-toned floral aromas. Pretty and fresh on the medium-bodied palate, mixed berries lead the way…

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Bellwether Wine Cellars 2013 Vin Gris of Pinot Noir

I don’t consider Kris Matthewson, winemaker at Bellwether Wine Cellars, to be a “natural winemaker” (what does that even mean?). True, he doesn’t like to make a lot of cellar additions and prefers a decidedly hands-off approach, but he’s not above making adjustments if a wine needs them. That said, his wines do lean toward the idiosyncratic. They invite the adventurous and open minded and aren’t for everyone. Some are truly unlike any other in the Finger Lakes region. I think he probably likes it that way. Of a lineup that also includes a handful of single-vineyard rieslings, a gamay noir-dominant rose and…

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