Browsing CategoryWines of the Year

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Christopher Tracy, winemaker and partner at Channing Daughters Winery, is doing some of the most interesting things with chardonnay on Long Island. Of the winery's current offerings there are six different wines that either are or could be labeled "Chardonnay" and three other wines, including this Channing Daughters Winery 2008 Vino Bianco ($20) feature significnat proportions of Long Island's most-planted white grape. Made with 40% chardonnay (Dijon 96 and Musque clones), 30% sauvignon blanc, 20% pinot grigio and 10% tocai fruilano, it shows pretty floral aromatics layered with white pepper, Asian pear, coriander seed, apple,…

  By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor At Paumanok Vineyards, there are two primary "labels," the standard line, known at the winery as the "white label" (which you can see here) and the Grand Vintage line of wines, only used during better years. Charles Massoud, who founded the winery in 1982 with his wife Ursula, compares the grand vintage designation with "declaring a vintage" but I prefer to think of it as a meaningful version of "reserve" — they only do it when it's warranted. It means something at Paumanok. On extremely rare occasions a stellar growing season will combine with…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Over the next week or so, we'll be posting some reviews for wines that were finalists in our Wines of the Year tasting. Though I tasted and scored them a while ago, I didn't want my fellow tasters to see my notes before we tasted. But now that the tasting has come and gone, it's time to finally publish them. Macari Vineyards 2007 Bergen Road ($46) is a Bordeaux-style blend that shows off the ripeness of the 2007 vintage without going over the top with extraction or new oak. Intense aromas of black plum, blueberry…

By Aaron Estes, Cheese Editor Photo by Morgan Dawson Photography As you know by now, the NYCR team gathered  a couple weeks ago for the 2010 Wines of the Year tasting. As a member of the editorial team, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the group this year. In addition to the wine, several beers were put forth for a Beer of the Year tasting. It was a great assortment of flavors and styles which provided a perfect vehicle for some cheese pairings. That's where I come in. As I've mentioned before, I think that beer and cheese is…