Posts Written ByLenn Thompson

New York Cork Club: March 2016 Selections

  “Does he pick these wines because we like them?” One of our friends — who also happens to be a member of this club — asked my wife that recently, and while the short answer is probably “no” it’s a bit more complicated than that, I think. I want each and every one of you to love each and every wine that I pick each and every month, the reality is that I have to like it first. As much as I want to keep you happy, I’d never put a wine into a shipment that I didn’t like,…

Continue Reading

From the Archives: “Celebrating 40 Years of Long Island Wine: A Look Into the Future”

Editor’s Note: Every Thursday — call it Throwback Thursday if you’d like — we’ll pull a story from the more than a decade of NYCR stories and republish it. This week, I don’t go back as far as I usually do — only 3 years. But, looking back on this post, where I make some predictions about Long Island wine as it celebrated it’s 40th anniversary, I’m happy to see that I wasn’t far off on at least some of these.  I’ve got some ground to make up if I’m going to write 40 posts about Long Island wine’s first 40 years.…

Continue Reading

Corks of the Forks: The Do’s and Dont’s of a Good Wine Dinner

Winery events abound on the East End, but not all wine events are created equal. They range from the very wine-focused — things like barrel or vertical tastings — to the not-at-all-wine-related. I’m looking at you, vineyard yoga. Among all winery events, the wine dinner reigns supreme. Just about every winery in America hosts them at restaurants or right on their own property. It’s a simple equation: winery plus restaurant equals fun to be had. They are a great way for a wine producer to reach new audiences and build relationships with restaurants. Restaurants benefit, too, often selling these dinners…

Continue Reading

Bedell Cellars 2014 Chardonnay

Chardonnay with little or no oak footprint have gained popularity in recent years, but for Bedell Cellars’ winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich, it’s not a new style. He’s been making unoaked chardonnay for his entire winemaking career, dating back to 1982. He still makes steel-fermented chardonnay, but it’s not bottled alone. Instead, most of it goes to the winery’s First Crush White, where it’s blended with sauvignon blanc and riesling. “I want a bit more complexity in our varietal chardonnay,” he told me in an email. As with all of his wines, fermentation was done with ambient yeasts and while about 50% of…

Continue Reading

New York #Tastemaker: Roman Roth | Wolffer Estate

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new #NYTastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who actually makes the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we love. A “tastemaker” should make something, after all. This week’s tastemaker is none other than Roman Roth, winemaker and partner at Wolffer Estate. Roman has been making wine on Long Island for a long time, was instrumental in the creation of the Long Island Merlot Alliance and is…

Continue Reading

From the Archives: Op-Ed: Towns, Don’t Crush the Grape Growers

Editor’s Note: Every Thursday — call it Throwback Thursday if you’d like — we’ll pull a story from the more than a decade of NYCR stories and republish it. This week’s pick is a piece written by Steve Bate, executive director of the Long Island Wine Council and then-president of the council, Ron Goerler Jr. of Jamesport Vineyards back in the summer of 2010.  “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” The famous opening line from Charles Dickens’ classic “A Tale of Two Cities,” set in 18th-century Europe, would appear to be an appropriate description of the opportunities…

Continue Reading

Hermann J. Wiemer 2011 Blanc de Noir

Hermann J. Wiemer and winemaker Fred Merwarth get a lot of attention for their rieslings — and rightly so. Those wines can be incredible. Some of the best in America. I’ll tell you what though, the rest of the portfolio is pretty outstanding too. I recently reviewed Merwarth’s 2013 Cabernet Franc which has become a favorite, but will never challenge the rieslings for supremacy at the winery. The sparkling wines though? They rival the rieslings in terms of quality. They are that good. In fact, this Hermann J. Wiemer 2011 Blanc de Noir ($39) is among the best domestic sparkling wines…

Continue Reading

New York #Tastemaker: Peter Becraft | Anthony Road Wine Company

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new #NYTastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who actually makes the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we love. A “tastemaker” should make something, after all. Over the course of my nearly 12 years writing about wine, I’ve only had a few hands-on grape harvest experiences. One of the most memorable (and immersive) was with Johannes Reindhardt and Peter Becraft at Anthony Road Wine Company several years…

Continue Reading

Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars 2014 “Eugenia” Dry Riesling

You can’t throw a lime-soaked river rock in the Finger Lakes nowadays without hitting a bottle of single-vineyard riesling. Most of the top producers bottle them these days. Some of the lesser ones do too, where it’s perhaps more marketing gimmick than actual exploration of site-by-site terroir. Back in December, Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars announced its own series of single-vineyard rieslings, each meant to honor one woman in the Frank family. The first wine of the series is named “Eugenia” for Dr. Konstantin Fran’s wife. Dr. Konstantin Frank 2014 “Eugenia” Dry Riesling ($30) is made with grapes grown in…

Continue Reading

Corks of the Forks: Good wines for under $25

Last week I read an interview on Food & Wine magazine’s website written by executive wine editor Ray Isle, with Doug Bell, who oversees all of the wine, beer and spirits buying for Whole Foods Market nationwide. Bell is responsible for selling 42 million bottles of adult beverages per year. Over the course of the interview, he makes some predictions for wine and beer in 2016.  Among the expected, often-discussed trends (dry rosé, prosecco and even more local craft beer), Bell feels that wines in the $15 to $25 price range are going to be big. “Look, when you spend…

Continue Reading