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Bedell Cellars 2014 Chardonnay

Chardonnay with little or no oak footprint have gained popularity in recent years, but for Bedell Cellars’ winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich, it’s not a new style. He’s been making unoaked chardonnay for his entire winemaking career, dating back to 1982. He still makes steel-fermented chardonnay, but it’s not bottled alone. Instead, most of it goes to the winery’s First Crush White, where it’s blended with sauvignon blanc and riesling. “I want a bit more complexity in our varietal chardonnay,” he told me in an email. As with all of his wines, fermentation was done with ambient yeasts and while about 50% of…

New York #Tastemaker: Roman Roth | Wolffer Estate

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new #NYTastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who actually makes the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we love. A “tastemaker” should make something, after all. This week’s tastemaker is none other than Roman Roth, winemaker and partner at Wolffer Estate. Roman has been making wine on Long Island for a long time, was instrumental in the creation of the Long Island Merlot Alliance and is…

Weekly New York Wine News — February 29, 2016

The vines adjacent to Lieb Cellars’ tasting room on Sunday. NEWS Albany Business Review– 2/24/2016 Task Force formed to determine if the New York State Liquor Authority should get involved in regulating third-parties. Syracuse.com – 2/25/2016 Opened late in 2015, Lakeside Vista restaurant on Otisco Lake serves up all New York wines, with a special focus on the Finger Lakes. Pres Republican – 2/28/2016 Cornell Cooperative Extension Specialist Anna Wallis is spreading the word about opportunities for cold-climate viticulture in upstate New York. EVENTS Long Island Wine Lecture – March 4, 2016 – Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY Proprietors…

From the Archives: Op-Ed: Towns, Don’t Crush the Grape Growers

Editor’s Note: Every Thursday — call it Throwback Thursday if you’d like — we’ll pull a story from the more than a decade of NYCR stories and republish it. This week’s pick is a piece written by Steve Bate, executive director of the Long Island Wine Council and then-president of the council, Ron Goerler Jr. of Jamesport Vineyards back in the summer of 2010.  “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” The famous opening line from Charles Dickens’ classic “A Tale of Two Cities,” set in 18th-century Europe, would appear to be an appropriate description of the opportunities…

Weekly New York Wine News — February 23, 2016

Photo courtesy of Southold Farm + Cellar NEWS Fios 1 News – 2/12/2016 Local video profile of Long Island’s own wine and spirit cooperage, East Coast Wood Barrels. *Disclosure: News Editor is a very happy customer/owner of one of their 100 litre Romain Oak Ithaca Voice – 2/17/2016 Nineteen year-old graduate student files suit against New York Attorney General over constitutionality of state drinking age. Ithaca.com – 2/22/2016 New ownership and same winemaker at Six Mile Creek, Tompkins County’s only winery. It’s been a light news week, so here’s a recent piece that looks back at the founding distillers… New…

Hermann J. Wiemer 2011 Blanc de Noir

Hermann J. Wiemer and winemaker Fred Merwarth get a lot of attention for their rieslings — and rightly so. Those wines can be incredible. Some of the best in America. I’ll tell you what though, the rest of the portfolio is pretty outstanding too. I recently reviewed Merwarth’s 2013 Cabernet Franc which has become a favorite, but will never challenge the rieslings for supremacy at the winery. The sparkling wines though? They rival the rieslings in terms of quality. They are that good. In fact, this Hermann J. Wiemer 2011 Blanc de Noir ($39) is among the best domestic sparkling wines…

New York #Tastemaker: Peter Becraft | Anthony Road Wine Company

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new #NYTastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who actually makes the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we love. A “tastemaker” should make something, after all. Over the course of my nearly 12 years writing about wine, I’ve only had a few hands-on grape harvest experiences. One of the most memorable (and immersive) was with Johannes Reindhardt and Peter Becraft at Anthony Road Wine Company several years…

Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars 2014 “Eugenia” Dry Riesling

You can’t throw a lime-soaked river rock in the Finger Lakes nowadays without hitting a bottle of single-vineyard riesling. Most of the top producers bottle them these days. Some of the lesser ones do too, where it’s perhaps more marketing gimmick than actual exploration of site-by-site terroir. Back in December, Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars announced its own series of single-vineyard rieslings, each meant to honor one woman in the Frank family. The first wine of the series is named “Eugenia” for Dr. Konstantin Fran’s wife. Dr. Konstantin Frank 2014 “Eugenia” Dry Riesling ($30) is made with grapes grown in…

Corks of the Forks: Good wines for under $25

Last week I read an interview on Food & Wine magazine’s website written by executive wine editor Ray Isle, with Doug Bell, who oversees all of the wine, beer and spirits buying for Whole Foods Market nationwide. Bell is responsible for selling 42 million bottles of adult beverages per year. Over the course of the interview, he makes some predictions for wine and beer in 2016.  Among the expected, often-discussed trends (dry rosé, prosecco and even more local craft beer), Bell feels that wines in the $15 to $25 price range are going to be big. “Look, when you spend…

Weekly New York Wine News — February 16, 2016

Photo via Finger Lakes Wine Country Facebook Page NEWS Paste Magazine – 2/9/2016 Kudos for the facility and hospitality found at Glenora Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake. Rochester Business Journal – 2/10/2016 New York lawmakers entertain legislation to create signage for the Rochester Craft Beverage Trail. Cornell Sun – 2/11/2016 The Cornell Institute for Climate Change is developing new tools to help farmers cope with unusual weather patterns. Northern Grape Project – 2/11/2016 A comprehensive update on the fourth year of a program to study and promote cold-climate grape growing. Now and Zin – 2/12/2016 The Finger Lakes International Wine…