Browsing CategoryWhat We Drank

Something unique happened with this week's WWD…the whole team got in on the "riesling and rose" theme this month. It's almost as though I asked them to do so. Okay — I did. Tom Mansell: Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2007 Dry Rosé For a month of rieslings and rosés, I decided to chill down a Finger Lakes pink with a little bit of age on it. If I remember correctly, this is a rosé of mostly cabernet franc. The color on this is a nice salmon-heading-towards-copper. Wild strawberry comes to mind after some thought but the fruit is very well-integrated with…

This is what our editors are drinking right now: Lenn Thompson: Windham Winery 2004 Cabernet Franc (Virginia)  There is a lot of cabernet franc grown and made in Virginia, so you'd think I'd come back from my trip with a long list of killer wines. Not so, at least not when it comes to the cabernet franc I tasted. Sadly, it seems as though the prevailing style is to oak and manipulate the "green" out. Too many tasted like lighter cabernet sauvignon, or at least didn't display any of the vegetal/herbacious edge that defines cabernet franc. This Windham Winery 2004…

 Here's what the NYCR editors are drinking now… Evan Dawson: Villard 2006 Condrieu de Poncins Northern Rhone whites just do not get enough love. Of course, there is a very good argument that Northern Rhone whites are almost prohibitively expensive, and thus price themselves out of the love they deserve. The best bottles fetch Napa Cab-style sticker prices. Too bad. On special occasions, this is a go-to wine region for my wife and me. She loves Northern Rhone whites, and with this outstanding viognier, it's easy to see why. It smells and tastes like a peach puff pastry, but just…

 Here's just a sampling of what our editors are drinking, another all-wine edition: Evan Dawson: Luchador 2007 Shiraz, South Australia This was the choice of our guest-of-honor at dinner in Rochester this weekend. I don't typically seek out Australian wine, so I was at least curious. Strangely, there is very little in this wine that smells or tastes like a beverage made from grapes. To say that it tastes like chocolate is to say that McDonald's french fries taste like salt. This wine is so overwhelmed with milk chocolate that I thought I was drinking a candy bar. I suppose…

We've had a good wine-filled run, but it was only a matter of time before beer worked its way back into "What We Drank." As always, this is what our editors and contributors are drinking. Julia Burke: Shongweni Brewery Robson's West Coast Ale (South Africa) Just when I was ready to give up on South African beer, I noticed something new on the shelves at the local supermarket: cute jug bottles, Red Stripe style, from Shongweni Brewery in KwaZulu Natal, an eastern South African province. I immediately snatched up a bottle of each style. All were delicious, but the Robson's…

This is what our editors and contributors are drinking.. Evan Dawson: Johnson Estate 2006 Chancellor (Chautauqua – Lake Erie) Every wine region needs to identify what it does best. It's a process that can take many years. I wonder if the Erie-Chautauqua region has found their most reliable red in Chancellor. This hybrid makes wine with an opaque color that either evokes Leon Millet or Mega Purple — either way, it's dark. But it's soft and approachable on the palate. An oaked Chancellor can wear the wood on its sleeve; I'm told this version was aged in stainless steel, but…

Just like every other week, there's a great deal of diversity in what our editors and contributors are drinking. We're geeks. That's what we do. Evan Dawson: Paolo Bea 2007 Santa Chiara, Montefalco (Umbria, Italy) Equal parts Grachetto, Garganega, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Malvasia If you truly value character and you like a wine that's unique, here you go. It smells like a Lopez de Heredia, but with a science experiment edge added in. You've got the baked peach, caramel, almond paste… and then a fascinating layer of sun-dried tomato bread. It's like the professor stepped out of the lab…

Just a sampling of what our editors and contributors are drinking. We were almost all wine this week… until I had to mess it up with a big New York-brewed beer. Evan Dawson: Raymond Usseglio 2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape As the referee in a weight-loss contest for two friends — a contest recently ended in swift and decisive fashion — my task is to select a half case of wine for the victor, paid for by the non-victor. I have my regional marching orders, so I'm enjoying the research required to make good selections. This wine might make the cut. More than…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Usually our band of intrepid "drink local" editors and contributors can be counted on for at least one local libation. Not so this week, with New Orleans, South Africa, Portual and yes, even California (but not wine) represented. Enjoy reading what we've been enjoying drinking: Lenn Thompson: Graham Beck NV Brut (South Africa) We had a day-long (and over-night) sitter over the weekend, so Nena and I spent Saturday tasting on the North Fork. We had some 'interesting' and diverse tasting room experiences (keep an eye out for a post this week) but also sampled some…

It's a holiday Monday, but we didn't want to let the day go by without sharing some of our favorite libations from the past week. This week we have wine, beer and a mixed drink — a fairly typical mix with our motley crew. Andy is down in New Orleans for Mardi Gras this week — so I'll bet he has something interesting to write about next week. Evan Dawson: Oremus 2000 Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos, Hungary Some parents like to buy wine for their newborns to drink on a 21st birthday. It's a nice idea, but how many of…