By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I have fond memories of Bedell Cellars' viognier. Back when my wife and I were dating and exploring North Fork wine country nearly every weekend, it was a favorite in all of its melon and honeysuckle glory. Then it was gone, removed from the portfolio… because the winery introduced and began to focus on white wine blends like Taste White and Gallery. That's where all of the viognier went. It remains an important component in those blends, but starting with this wine it's back as a varietal wine — permanently. According to winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich…
Browsing CategoryLong Island
Readers Write: Introducing My Midwestern Parents to the North Fork of Long Island
By Tracy Weiss (@northforkd) Last weekend, I attempted to show my persnickety midwestern parents the glory that is the North Fork of Long Island. But given their track record, I was a little nervous. They find fault in every place they visit: New York City is busy, overpriced and filthy with too many people. (Exactly why other people love it!) Chicago is too windy. (Hence the nickname?) Florida, the whole state, is humid and everyone drives too slowly. (I’m with them on this one.) As far as I am concerned, the North Fork is perfection. My first visit left me…
Kicking Off “Found in the Cellar”: Jason’s Vineyard 2001 Chardonnay
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I recently spent what most sane people would consider an inordinate amount of time reorganizing my wine cellar. In doing so, I found a number of wines that I had forgotten I had. Some of these 'lost' wines weren't really lost at all — I hid them from myself so that I wouldn't drink them. But, I also discovered quite a few bottles that I simply forgot that I had. Those wines are the inspiration behind what I hope becomes a near-weekly feature here on the site, "Found in the Cellar," which will feature posts…
WineBar at The Portly Grape: Well Worth the Drive for Good Food and Local Wine
By Dave Seel, Long Island Food Correspondent My recent trip to WineBar was certainly a drive — it's out in Greenport after all — but checking out the new hybrid wine bar and tasting room inside the Portly Grape had been on my to-do list for a while. Managed by former Bedell Cellars tasting room manager, Andrew Mestler, the WineBar occupies a large backyard tent in the summer months and the bar and lounge of the Portly Grape in the winter. After working at Bedell and seeing the growth of the North Fork wine industry, he jumped at the chance…
2011 Harvest: Late-Season Thinning to Encourage Ripening at Clovis Point
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor There is some rain in the forecast later this week, but we're in the midst of a week-long string of sunny, dry days — conditions that were and are direly needed to keep disease pressure at bay in local vineyards and help grapes mature and ripen. Before the sun came out late last week, many local vineyards — including Clovis Point — were working to thin red wine crops, hoping that the reduced crop load will ripen more fully. According to Hal Ginsburg, managing partner at Clovis Point, the vineyard crew there dropped more than…
Bedell Cellars 2010 Chardonnay
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I appreciate the direction that winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich is taking the white wine program at Bedell Cellars. I’ve now tasted a handful of his 2010 wines — his first vintage at Bedell — and a few things are clear. First, there is a distinct focus on expressing the vintage over a house style. Second, there is a much more judicious use of new oak. This Bedell Cellars 2010 Chardonnay ($20) illustrates both points well. In some previous vintages, there’s been a sameness to the regular chardonnay bottling and the reserve. That sameness was oak —…
Martha Clara Vineyards Wins Governor’s Cup for 2010 Riesling
Martha Clara Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island has won this year’s Governor’s Cup for best New York state wine, for their 2010 Riesling. There has been many words written about the New York Wine & Food Classic over the years, but this is still great for the great team at Martha Clara — and it virtually guarantees that this wine will sell out. It was chosen from 741 wines submitted by 105 wineries by a group of judges from across the country and the world. Juan Micieli-Martinez, general manager and head winemaker at Martha Clara, just told…
Wineries Say Heavy Rains Will Have Little Impact on 2011 Long Island Grape Harvest
It has been raining for more than 36 hours here at my house and it’s showing few signs of letting up. I don’t measure rainwater totals here, but I can say definiteively that it’s rained “a lot” across the East End of Long Island. Ever since around 20″ of October rain wrought havoc on the 2005 harvest and vintage, many observers pay far closer attention to rain here in Long Island wine country, but they needn’t worry. Sure, this is a lot of rain, but it’s fairly well timed and should have little-to-no impact on the 2011 vintage. “We
Photos From 2011 Roanoke Vineyards Winemakers’ Smackdown
I spent a beautiful pre-rains Saturday evening at Roanoke Vineyards this past weekend to attend the latest in their series of “Smackdown” events; events where wine industry folks blind taste wines head-to-head while attendees taste along with them. It was great fun to see old friends, make new ones and meet journalist and author George Taber (pictured above center), who hosted the evening. Blind tasting is hard. Very hard. And also extremely humbling. But, the panelist seemed to have fun with it, engaging playful trash talk throughout the evening. Rather than give a blow-by-blow or sip-by-sip account, which I don’t think…
Waters Crest Winery: The Little Winery That Can…and Does
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor 1,000 cases is not a lot of wine. But that’s about how much Jim Waters makes every year at Waters Crest Winery, making him one of the smallest producers on Long Island. For a little perspective, consider that Wolffer Estate Vineyards makes more 9,000 cases — of rose — every year. Waters