Browsing CategoryRegions

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Valvin Muscat is a hybrid — known genetically as 62-122.01 — developed in the early 1960s at the Cornell Experimental Station in Geneva and was released commercially in 2006. It is a cross of muscat ottonel and muscat du moulin. There are a handful of wineries in the Finger Lakes experimenting with Valvin Muscat, but no producer has embraced it as much as Hunt Country Vineyards. (read about their first release back in 2008). In fact, it's one of the grapes the Hunt family is most excited about. They expect great things from it in…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor The Long Island wine community often overflows with more of the same — vineyard walks, mediocre music acts, tenuous food/chocolate pairing events, and the like. These activities clearly attract customers — wineries wouldn't spend the time and money on them if they didn't — and it's easy to simply stick with what works. But two of the North Fork's top producers — Roanoke Vineyards and Shinn Estate Vineyards — are about to up the ante significantly by offering their customers new and unique tasting experiences that are anything but the wine country norm. It's great…

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor What's better than maibock season after a long winter and a late-bloomer spring? This one from Flying Bison Brewing Company is a deep, bloody orange-amber color with a delicate one-finger head and faint lacing.  The nose is all chewy, warm cinnamon-raisin bread and orange zest, with some pecan and nutmeg. A big spicy gingerbread palate with a hint of sweetness and balanced carbonation makes for a tasty drinking experience; the solid banana-bread malt bill and crisp, spicy finish, with good length, make for a delicious take on this undeservedly little-known seasonal style. Hops are more…

By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor Photo from left to right: Justin Boyette, Phil Davis, Rick Rainey, Louis Barruol Louis Barruol, vigneron of the critically acclaimed Chateau de Saint Cosme winery in France's Rhone Valley, has agreed to a partnership to make wine under a new Finger Lakes label. Chateau de Saint Cosme is located in Gigondas and is widely considered the top producer in that appellation, while also producing wine from various other Rhone appellations, including Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Barruol will be an equal partner alongside Rick Rainey in the new Forge Cellars project. Justin Boyette, winemaker for the Hector Wine Company,…

Photo by Gianna Volpe

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Over the past few years, the portfolio at Peconic Bay Winery has undergone quite a transformation. From the addition of the second-label Nautique line to the creation of the winery's first flagship blend, Lowerre Family Reserve, to the East End's first grape brandy, to True Believer, a sparkling cider, the Peconic Bay team has been busy. One of winemaker Greg Gove's newest creations is Peconic Bay Winery 2009 Lot #2 ($20) a blend of merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon that delivers good value. Complex for the price point, the nose offers sweet red cherry…

This is a (small) sampling of what our editors were drinking last week… Lenn Thompson: Bedell Cellars 2002 Merlot This mature local merlot — from a surprisingly under-hyped vintage — showed very well at my birthday dinner last Friday at Fifth Season in Port Jefferson (a restaurant that use to be in local wine country but moved to the tourist town a few years ago). There was still nice fruit intensity, but the mushroomy, dusty chocolate and faintly herbal secondary characters — and enough structure to maybe age another few years — were the real stars with my waygu burger…

Photo courtesy of Paumanok Vineyards

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I've enjoyed winemaker Osprey's Dominion Vineyards winemaker Adam Suprenant's cabernet franc for as long as I've been drinking Long Island wines. Even in the so-called lesser years, it's one of my favorites. At $20, it's also one of the best values in local franc. Chocolate-covered cherries come to mind on the nose along with ripe black raspberries, rubbed sage, dried cherries and a little oak. Medium-to-full bodied, the palate is extremely ripe — edging on too ripe — with blackberries and black raspberries leading the way. A sprinkling of herbs — sage and thyme —…