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Fighting Frost in the Finger Lakes

Some photographs tell a deeper story than the first glance reveals. This beautiful shot was taken by Todd Eichas at New Vines Bed & Breakfast on the east side of Seneca Lake, shortly after 6:00am this past Saturday. It shows more than a placid spring morning. New Vines sits on top of a hill overlooking two of the region’s most acclaimed vineyards: Magdalena Vineyard and Josef Vineyard, which are owned and operated by Hermann J. Wiemer. Eichas says his thermometer read 28 degrees on Saturday morning, but he says the vineyards below are always several degrees warmer. I asked Hermann…

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Goodale Farms Valencay-Style Goat

There has been a lot in the local press about Goodale Farms as of late.  A year ago, in May 2011, the farm received a license to start making and selling cheese.  Just five months later, they had already won first place in their categories at the American Dairy Goat Association’s 2011 national convention. Winning awards just after a few months in production is quite impressive for cheesemakers new to the business. Goodale Farms in Aquebogue places a strong emphasis on milk quality and the natural farming practices required to support it.  They don’t use pesticides and the fertilizer is…

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Screwcaps at Paumanok Vineyards — Not Just for White Wines Anymore

Photo courtesy of Paumanok Vineyards Kareem Massoud, winemaker at Paumanok Vineyards, has a thing for screwcaps. I wouldn’t say that loves them — that’d be kinda weird — but believes in them and loves talking about them. Just trying talking to Kareem for any length of time without alternative closures coming up. It’s damn near impossible. Kareem, like his father Charles before him, takes a very thoughtful, logical approach to the family’s wines. “My parents bought this farm in 1983 and planted grapevines on bare land,” he says “Many years were spent establishing the vineyard until the vines bore fruit for the…

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Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2010 Syrah

With all due respect to Long Island and the Finger Lakes, the most exciting wines on my tasting table over the past month or so have been from the Niagara region of New York.  Generally speaking, they are well-made wines that are well priced and show the kind of distinctiveness I look for. This Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2010 Syrah ($35) is on the higher end of the pricing scale, but it delivers today and has the stuffing to improve in the bottle over the next five to ten years. The intense, layered nose shows dark, brooding fruit — blueberry, blackberry…

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Captain Lawrence Brewing Company Beers Now Available in 6-Packs

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company has been working through some growing pains over the last couple of years.  They’ve just gotten so damn popular they couldn’t keep up with demand (pretty much a problem any business wants to find themselves in), going so far as to pull out of the New Jersey market to keep their supply to the Empire State flowing. Striking it rich with popularity in the New York City beer scene means you better be ready; ready for the thirsty mobs who’ll pound through whatever barrel of beer you put in front of them and ready for the…

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Talking Appassimento with Freedom Run Winery’s Cellarmaster Kurt Guba

Kurt Guba is someone I’ve worked with since I moved to the Niagara region in 2007. He’s a certified sommelier, a professor at the local community college and a cellarmaster at Freedom Run Winery in Lockport, NY. He was a huge motivating force behind that winery’s new 2010 Appassimento Meritage, which has been released in limited quantities. I recently sat down with him to get his take on the wine and how it came to be. What lead to the decision to make the appassimento in 2010? Appassimento style wines are something that I really enjoy but it was also…

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North Country Viticulture Education

Two educational events of interest to North Country viticulturists and winemakers, are being held this week, and come shortly after a series of dormant pruning workshops held in the Lake Champlain Region. A day-long vineyard and winery planning workshop will be held on Wednesday May 4 in Herkimer County. On Tuesday May 8, the next installment of the Northern Grapes Project webinar series will be accessible to anyone who registers. Details for both events can be found below. Over the past couple of weekends, volunteer pruning and informal training was completed at the Cornell Baker Farm Trial Vineyard in Willsboro,…

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Massachusetts-Based Shelton Brothers Slams a Door on New York Breweries

Venerable import and distribution company Shelton Brothers, of  of Belchertown, Massachusetts, has been invaluable to beer lovers across the United States. They have been visionary in their quest to bring us the finest beers from Belgium since way before Belgian was cool. If you’ve enjoyed a Cantillon, Dieu du Ciel or Mikkeler and you don’t have a passport, you have the Sheltons to thank. Now, Shelton Brothers can claim yet another accolade: stalwart defenders of the New York State Constitution. We New York residents are thankful that, in 2006, upon being refused State Liquor Authority approval to distribute six English…

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New Winery is a Regional Bellwether: Third Finger Lakes Producer Plans to Make Only Riesling and Pinot

If two times is a coincidence, then perhaps three times is a trend, and in the Finger Lakes, a trend seems to be emerging: A third wine producer has decided to focus on riesling, pinot noir, and nothing else. There is no denying riesling’s regional strength, but the search for a regional stalwart red wine has led winemakers down many paths, not all of them successful. Pinot noir would be the most challenging of paths, a cliffside stroll as opposed to the more leisurely journey to quaffable reds such as cabernet franc or blaufrankisch. That’s not to say that any…

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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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