Browsing CategoryLong Island

Op-Ed: Some Thoughts on Local Terroir (by Jim Silver, GM, Peconic Bay Winery)

As the head of a winery, I am very frequently asked about terroir.  Does the concept really exist?  Is it real? Of course it is, I answer, but it’s difficult to understand.  But, it has actually helped me to define myself while I strive to better my knowledge of wines.  Finding terroir in wine is an existential and personal study, and very rewarding. For me, it sharpens the mind — here your senses are tested along with your memory, as you try to find nuances in a wine, and categorize them.  While you sniff and swirl the glass, you are…

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Anthony Nappa Wines 2010 “Bordo” Cabernet Franc

I first tasted this wine last summer at The Winemaker Studio during a rare childless wine country jaunt with my wife and friends. As winemaker Anthony Nappa poured it and I first put my nose in the glass, I knew this was a wine I would fall for. And I did. Hard. Anthony Nappa Wines 2010 “Bordo” Cabernet Franc ($20) was the first wine I picked for the first shipment of the Empire State Cellars Wine Club. Truth be told, the chance to have it again was the initial inspiration behind our recent dinner with Nappa and his wines.  I’ve…

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This Thursday: “Partners in Living Local” Winemaker’s Dinner at The American Hotel

John Leo, winemaker for Clovis Point, has created a wine dinner series “Partners in Living Local” — all hosted at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor and all celebrating one type of partnership or another in wine country. From the series announcement:   [quote] The American Hotel in Sag Harbor presents local collaborative wine projects in a series of four course dinners celebrating some new landmarks on the East End wine scene. When you live in a place of timeless treasures it’s sometimes easy to overlook the subtle changes growing out of the familiar scenery. It is with this expectation we invite…

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Clovis Point 2007 Vintner’s Selection Merlot

Clovis Point is a North Fork producer that is quickly pushing itself onto the region’s short list of premium producers. The white wine portfolio is limited, but if you’re talking merlot and other red wines, Clovis Point is already on my must-visit list when people email me asking where they should taste. This wine, their Clovis Point 2007 Vinter’s Selection Merlot ($35) is a blend of 86% merlot, 6.5% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc, 2.5% syrah and 1% petit verdot, is one that should put the winery on the map in a more substantial way. Complex and still young, the…

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Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing (LISW) Announces Formation and Sustainable Vineyard Certification

Most wineries on the East End of Long Island like to talk about being “sustainable” in their vineyard practices and winemaking. There’s discussion about windmills and compost piles and this spray or that application, but let’s be honest, “sustainable” is a nebulous term… at least in the way they are using it, to denote a certain “green”-ness without formal biodynamic or organic certification. Those require strict adherence to defined rules over a set period of time. “Sustainable” is a bit of a “green” grey area without any local definition or certification. It is a term that is decidedly open to interpretation.…

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The New York Cork Report Tasting Table — April 17, 2012

I keep trying to retire the “Tasting Table” series, but my recently chaotic day job along with the all-consuming reality of an infant and a 5-year old have once again reminded me that no matter how obsessed I am with local wines, beers etc. and this website — it’s still a hobby. Add to that the fact that we’ll be cutting over to our new site design and platform soon (maybe even next week) and Tasting Table remains a valuable tool. I’d like to start things off at the new site fresh. Tasting Table will not be a part of…

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Shinn Estate Vineyards 2008 Nine Barrel Merlot Reserve

With so many communication channels at our finger tips these days (Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.) it feels like I’m discussing local wines with people almost constantly. It’s fun, but I’ve noticed something recently — great vintages can cause an interesting side effect. The other, ‘non-great’ vintages can very easily be looked down upon or ignored altogehter. 2007 and 2010 were among the best vintages ever for Long Island. We all know that by now. But, because many 2007 reds have come and gone, and 2010 reds are trickling into the marketplace, it’s almost like 2008 and 2009 didn’t happen. Don’t make…

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Merlot Bud Break at Shinn Estate Vineyards (April 6, 2012)

What was mere speculation and conjecture just a few weeks ago is now a reality on the North Fork. Shinn Estate Vineyards’ David Page sent me this photo this morning of bud break in their estate merlot vineyard, marking what appears to be the earliest bud break Long Island wine country has ever seen. The grape-growing process is a marathon, not a sprint, but the North Fork is certainly out of the gate early. Now local growers get to stress over nighttime low temperatures for the next month or so, hoping to avoid crippling frosts that could decimate their crops. Hopefully we’ll get…

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Bedell Cellars 2010 Syrah

Winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich did some things differently during his first crush at Bedell Cellars in 2010. He brought his ambient yeast fermentations, of course, but he also made a couple blends by co-fermenting the grapes together — making his blending decisions from the outset. Bedell Cellars 2010 Syrah ($50) is one of those wines, made with 90% syrah and 10% viognier in the model of the Northern Rhone. That squirt of viognier is most apparently on a pretty, effusive nose that shows melon and honeysuckle aromas layered over fresh red berries, plums and a combination of earthy cumin and coriander. The…

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