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Wine Blogging Wednesday #74: Happy Bitch Wines “Happy Bitch” NV Rose

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor This month’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, the 74th such edition, is being hosted by Tim Elliott, long-time blogger and podcaster at Winecast.  The theme: Value Sparkling Wine, which Tim has defined as anything $25 and under. Perhaps not surprisingly, I usually try to wedge a New York wine in as my WBW entry when possible. Most of my favorite local sparklers, sadly, do not qualify. They tend to be $30 and up. But then I remembered that my friend Debbie Gioquindo sent me a bottle of Happy Bitch Wines “Happy Bitch” Rose a few…

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EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Bedell Cellars Winemaker’s Dinner at Jamesport Manor Inn on March 2

On Friday, March 2, Bedell Cellars will co-host a winemaker’s dinner at The Jamesport Manor Inn at 7 p.m. The menu, prepared by Executive Chef Michael Mandleur and paired with wines by winemaker Richard Olsen-Harbich, is below. Seats are $70 per person and $65 for wine club members. Call (631) 722-0500 for reservations.           Bedell Cellars Winemaker’s Dinner Menu March 2, 2012 at 7 p.m. Slow-braised barbeque pork belly with Michigan cherries, hazelnuts and frisee Bedell Cellars 2007 Blanc De Blanc Peconic Bay Oysters on the half shell with lemon granite and cocktail sauce Bedell Cellars…

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The 2011 New York Cork Report Wines of the Year

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I think I can speak for my fellow editors and contributors when I say that our 2011 Wines of the Year tasting was a fun, challenging and inspiring day of 16 wine tasting flights. I always come away with myriad story ideas swirling in my head after this tasting. This year is no different. Look for pieces from the team over the next few weeks. But today, we announce the winners — including our first-ever New York Wine of the Year, Peconic Bay Winery 2007 Lowerre Family Estate. Our 2011 Regional Wines of the Year…

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T’Jara Vineyards Joins Long Island Merlot Alliance

\Yesterday, the Long Island Merlot Alliance (LIMA) announced that T’Jara Vineyards label has joined the merlot promotion group. That means that two barrels of 2010 T’Jara merlot will be included in the 2010 Merliance, LIMA’s cooperative merlot blend. T’Jara is a brand created by winemaker Russell Hearn and business partner Jed Beitler, who together own T’Jara Vineyards — an established vineyard in in Mattituck, NY. T’Jara  released two 2007 vintage wines, a Merlot and Merlot-based blend, in late 2011. According to the press release, “T’Jara is the phonetic spelling of an aboriginal word that, roughly translated, means ‘where I’m from.’…

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A Magical Finger Lakes Red, and Why it’s Gone Too Soon

It had been two years since I last tasted the Damiani Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc, and I was down to my last bottle. On release, it was an impressive wine with depth, if a tad besmirched by oak. I liked it enough to buy three bottles. Earlier this month my wife and I went to dinner and decided to open this wine one more time. Sometimes we talk about transformation that can occur in a complex wine, but no one really knows what to expect. If I harbored high hopes for the Damiani Cab Franc, it turns out those…

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Damiani Wine Cellars 2010 Semi-Dry Riesling

I first tasted this wine as a part of Riesling Hour and it was one of the more popular wines amongst the Long Island wine industry folks who joined me for the tasting. This review is based on a subsequent tasting in my home. Light hints of apricot and lime bring nuance to a nose driven by sweet pear and green apple. Juicy, ripe and off-dry, the palate shows more sweet pear character along with flavors of peach and white grape — with snappy acidity that brings focus and verve. There is an interesting floral, green tea note on the…

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Flying Bison Brewing Brindle Porter

\A good porter feels like your favorite pair of jeans. It just fits — your tastes, the meal, the moment. I’m constantly in search of the perfect porter. It’s one of my favorite styles not least because brewing it correctly requires skillful composition and, I would argue, a sense of honor for the style’s history of comforting and sustaining the Industrial Revolution workforce. Flying Bison Brewing has produced such a beer. Brindle Porter, a limited release inspired by the classic English porter, pours a deep brown color with a one-finger head and wide, faint lacing. Hints of coffee, chocolate, and…

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Peconic Bay Winery 2009 “La Barrique” Chardonnay

Yes, another North Fork chardonnay. A barrel-fermented one at that — thus the name “La Barrique.” But wait. It’s not what you think. This is the rare barrel-affected chardonnay that I willingly went back to after my tasting was finished. I had two glasses, in fact. It almost makes me hate winemaker Greg Gove for proving my boredom over local chardonnay wrong. Aromas of pineapple, Golden Delicious apple, vanilla, and lemon verbena are accented by just a hint of butter. Overly toasty or raw oak just isn’t part of the equation. Mouth-filling but very well balanced, the palate shows similar…

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7 Questions with….Regan Meador, Assistant Winemaker, Osprey’s Dominion Winery

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I have yet to meet Regan Meador, assistant winemaker at Osprey’s Dominion Winery — in person at least. As is so common these days, he and I got acquainted via Twitter before he left his white collar job in Manhattan for good and moved to the North Fork to make wine. We keep saying that we’re going to meet up for a glass or a pint or five, but it hasn’t happened yet. In the interim, I’ve asked him our standard set of seven questions… What event/bottle/etc made you decide that you wanted to be…

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