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  Evan Dawson: Long Island Wines This is the natural time to reflect on the calendar year. My wife's parents make their first journey to Long Island wine country and for Christmas we enjoyed the wines they discovered. Long Island's sparkling wines are similar to the best Finger Lakes sparkling wines: solid, impressive, under-appreciated. We paired the Paumanok 2009 Sauvignon Blanc with shellfish and, even in the dead of winter, the pairing sang a near-perfect harmony. Wines from Hermann J. Wiemer offered a nice counter-balance. The evening concluded with a pile of emptied bottles, including some from Peconic Bay, Shinn,…

Here is what our editors and contributors were drinking last week… David Flaherty: Smuttynose Brewing Company Winter Ale Now is the time of year to snuggle up by the fire and crack open a hearty, winter ale. Wait, does anyone even have a fireplace?  Hmm…perhaps I'm so jaded by living in the city, I've forgotten that millions of people can have open flames inside their homes. I'm scarily close to becoming the sad sap that actually pays for the TV channel that plays a virtual, frickin fireplace 24 hours a day. Come to think of it–where can I get that?! But I digress. Last…

I guess you could say that we're not big into "Thanksgiving Wine" columns here on the NYCR, which is why you didn't see one published here last week. Fact is, there simply is no such thing as a single "perfect" wine for the Thanksgiving table.There are too many flavors. Too many textures. And too many people and palates to satisfy. So, rather than being prescriptive, we'll write about the wines that we drank ourselves for the holiday. I guess you could say that we all agree that Finger Lakes riesling is a good idea for before or during Thanksgiving dinner:…

Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Editor: Cave Spring La Penna 2006 Stateside when we see Cave Spring wines they tend to be made from the riesling grape. If you're lucky you can find a pinot noir or gamay but not often. I had never seen this label before a co-worker brought it back from the tasting room. La Penna is a appassimento-style red wine that hints at what is possible when Niagara red grapes are air dried, fermented and blended. The blend is 66% cabernet franc, 34% cabernet sauvignon with 85% air-dried fruit overall. The drying process is done in their naturally…

Here's what our editors and contributors were drinking last week… Evan Dawson: Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Meritage I have now opened this wine on three separate occasions, and it has been three distinctly different wines. What a beguiling lesson for those of us who seek to power taste and ascribe a permanent score or note. In March 2009, shortly after bottling, this wine was precocious and juicy, dark and rich. Coming from the fabulous-for-reds 2007 Finger Lakes vintage, and in the hands of perhaps the most skilled red wine maker in the region, hopes were high. I found it explosive,…

This is what we were drinking last week… David Flaherty: Vale d' Algare (60% Merlot, 40% Touriga Nacional), Ribetejano, Portugal, 2007 I could go on and on about the magic of Portugal; so much so you'd have to smack me across the face to get me to stop blathering. The misty look passes across my eyes as I go back to the three weeks I spent there when I was an exchange student. (It's too bad I didn't care about wine at the time because I certainly would have planned a completely different trip). Most people associate Portugal with the…

This is what our contributors and editors were drinking last week… David Flaherty: Spezial Weize, Hopf, Germany Nestled in the Bavarian alps lies the Weissbierbrauerei Hopf. It's been in existence for over 100 years and I'd imagine it's something like Santa's little workshop. The beers are just so damn good that it has to be run by magical, little elves who dash about the brewery clad in tiny lederhosen, whistling ancient German folk tunes while they work. But this is serious business. The beer produced here is some of the finest representations of authentic German Weiss (wheat) beers you'll ever…

This is what our editors and contributors were drinking last week… Evan Dawson: Gai'a 2009 Wild Ferment Assyrtiko  There is a slowly growing buzz about Greek wines, and I'd love to have more access to them. They're hard to find in Rochester and the Finger Lakes, and this bottle was a gift from a friend. What a fascinating and bewitching wine. Many wines shake hands and say, "I'll offer you citrus and honey, with a bit of flowers," or "Here is some lime and peach." This wine plays hard-to-get, forcing you to think. What a nice change. It's a crisp,…

This is what our editors and contributors were drinking last week…. Bryan Calandrelli: Creekside Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Ontario When I think of Niagara — Ontario or New York — whites usually its chardonnay and riesling that come to mind. Both are obviously cool climate and are pretty consistent from winery to winery. That doesn't mean that grapes like sauvignon blanc, viognier and chenin blanc aren't common though. In fact the majority of Ontario wineries make a sauvignon blanc and many use oak aging as well. This Creekside Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Ontario is a fine example of…

 This is what our editors and contributors were drinking last week….   Lenn Thompson: Wolffer Estate 2005 Reserve Chardonnay (Hamptons) If you have any of this knocking around in your cellar, chill it only lightly and open it tonight. It's nearly impossible to know if it's truly peaking (and this was my last one) but it's tasting so delicous right now, that I don't want you to miss it. I've been a vocal advocate for less (okay, usually no) oak in Long Island chardonnay, but Wolffer's winemaker, Roman Roth, has been crafting well-balanced chardonnays of varying styles for years. He…