Here is a sampling of what our editors and contributors have been drinking. Evan Dawson: Local store's recommendation — Ravines 2007 Meritage I had a very strange experience at a local wine store this past Saturday. I picked up a bottle of the Ravines 2007 Meritage at the urging of the gentleman behind the counter in Wine Sense in Rochester. (The store has assumed new ownership; the previous owner was a steadfast supporter of New York wines.) The man told me, "That's the number one Finger Lakes red wine," referencing the NYCR Wines of the Year results. I did not…
Browsing CategoryRegions
Martha Clara Vineyards Promotes Epperson-McCarthy to Winemaker
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Robin Epperson-McCarthy has been promoted to winemaker for Martha Clara Vineyards less than a year after being hired as assistant winemaker. The previous winemaker, Juan Micieli-Martinez will continue to focus and expand his role as the winery's general manager while still acting as managing winemaker. Epperson-McCarthy grew up on the North Fork, graduating from Mattituck high school in 1999, and though her wine journey took her far away from it, it seems as though she was always meant to return home — and to Martha Clara Vineyards. "As long as I have been working in…
Video: Making Ice Wine at Standing Stone Vineyards
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor There are a handful of ways to make ice (and ice-style) wine, but to make it great, you've got to start with high-quality fruit. I'm reminded of that every time I taste a Standing Stone example. There are four, all priced at $24.99 per bottle: vidal, riesling, gewurtraminer and chardonnay. The Standing Stone Vineyards 2008 Riesling Ice was the NYCR Finger Lakes Dessert Wine of the Year. Like its siblings, the Riesling Ice is rich and pure, always clean and focused. And winemaker/owner Marti Macinski, along with her husband Tom, are committed to getting…
The Tasting Room Closing Today — for Good?
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Theresa Dilworth, owner of Comtesse Therese winery and bistro will close The Tasting Room, Long Island's lone co-op tasting room for wineries, at the end of business today. Dilworth purchased and re-opened The Tasting Room in 2006 after the previous owners sold their interests in the local wine industry and shut it down. She hopes to re-open again sometime in 2011 at a different location. "I am planning to spend a lot of time at my bistro this spring, summer and fall season," she said in a recent email "My vineyard is also in Aquebogue.…
Amber Waves of Grain 2011 Homebrewing Competition
By Julia Burke, Beer Editor This weekend hundreds of beer drinkers gathered on Grand Island to celebrate a single passion: homebrewing. The "Amber Waves of Grain Homebrewing Competition," hosted by the Niagara Association of Homebrewers, celebrates the ultimate in "drinking local" over two days of tasting and judging over 420 entries, from double IPAs to meads to barleywines. The quality of the homebrews I tasted was unequivocally impressive. Of the beers I tasted in the American Stout/Imperial Stout/Foreign Export Stout category, almost all were pleasures to drink, and one was so good I would have chosen it over many classic…
Red Tail Ridge Winery Awarded LEED Certification
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Red Tail Ridge Winery on Seneca Lake has achieved LEED Green Building Certification after a long and rigorous process. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. In a news release, Red Tail Ridge laid out the many steps that have been made in this process: All heating and cooling requirements for wine processing is provided by geothermal energy Alternative energy use creates 50% energy savings Building is constructed from recycled materials All winery processing waste (including water, lees, pomace) is recycled Natural lighting inside the winery eliminates need for day-time aritifical lighting…
The New York Cork Report Tasting Table — February 23, 2011
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor These are a selection of New York wines that have crossed the NYCR tasting table recently but will not be reviewed as part of a standalone post. As always, these are transcribed almost directly from my notebook with little editing: Kings Garden Vineyard NV King's Cab ($20): Cigar box, red cherry and backing chocolate on the nose. Juicy and fruity on the palate with smoky oak and some vanilla. Maybe a little RS? Lacks structure, but brings nice approachable flavors. Rating: 82 Kings Garden Vineyard NV Syrah ($20): Light nose with cranberry, pomegranate and a…
Saperavi, the Great Red Grape of the Finger Lakes? Open Minds at Standing Stone Vineyards
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Marti Macinski is thinking back to the early 1990s, when she first planted Saperavi. We're sitting in her lab, and it's freezing, and she's laughing, which she is almost always doing. "We had such different expectations for Saperavi," she says. "And look at it now!" Saperavi is a grape native to the Republic of Georgia, where the word means "ink." It's an appropriate description for the wines that Saperavi makes. In fact, Macinski planted Saperavi in 1994, just a few years after launching Standing Stone Vineyards, because it seemed to have a future as…
Channing Daughters Winery 2008 Vino Bianco
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,…
McGregor’s Black Russian Red Turns 20: Trailblazing Past, and a Growing Future
By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor The wine that is quite possibly the single most interesting wine in the Finger Lakes is turning 20, sort of, in 2011, and the McGregor family is throwing a party. (This is a family that really knows how to throw a bash.) Details on the event to follow, but first, let's lift the veil on a little history. The McGregor Black Russian Red is, technically, older than 20 years. Bob McGregor spent the 1980s searching for the right blends and combination to unlock the potential in these unusual grapes — Saperavi and Sereksiya Charni. Today,…