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Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2013 Dry Riesling

Dry riesling (that is actually dry — but that’s another topic for another day) is harder to make that many people realize. Without careful, thoughtful decisions in the vineyard and in the cellar, you can be left with that I always refer to as “lemon water” — shrill, acidic wines that have a pithy, often-bitter citrus note but little else in terms of flavor or concentration. With Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2013 Dry Riesling ($16) winemaker Dave Breeden shows his deft touch. Aromas of lemon-lime, dried pineapple and just a bit of peach lead into a palate that is crackling with acidity…

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From the Archives: TasteCamp 2009 — An Interview with Remy Charest

Editor’s Note: Every Thursday — call it Throwback Thursday if you’d like — I’ll pull a story from the more than a decade of NYCR stories and republish it. This week’s post is an interview I did with Remy Charest right after the first-ever TasteCamp — which was held right here on Long Island in almost seven years ago. Remy hasn’t missed a TasteCamp since and has become a vital cog in putting the event on as a permanent member of the planning committee. We announced this year’s TasteCamp earlier this week. I keep forgetting to mention that TasteCamp EAST 2009 was actually…

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Southold Farm + Cellar 2014 “Counting Stars” Sparkling Petit Verdot

With Southold Farm + Cellars 2014 “Counting Stars” ($28) — a sparkling red wine made from 100% petit verdot grapes — co-owner and winemaker Regan Meador has created what might be the most food-versatile wine available on Long Island today. That’s not a declaration that I take lightly, either. A lot of people thought he was a little crazy (maybe he is) for making sparkling wine from petit verdot — a late-ripening variety most often used to add color, tannin and acid to red wine blends — but ultimately, it’s petit verdot’s character that makes this wine such a great complement to so…

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#NYTastemaker: Peter Bell | Fox Run Vineyards

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — typically 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 is making the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we taste. The traditional “tastemaker” doesn’t really make anything, after all. Not really, anyway. Peter Bell, winemaker at Fox Run Vineyards, has been a reader of the New York Cork Report (and LENNDEVOURS before that) for many years. He’s also served as an informal proofreader, often sending…

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Weekly New York Wine News — January 11, 2016

This week’s featured photo is from Hosmer Winery’s Facebook page. NEWS WineBusiness.com – 1/1/2015 Long Island Wine announces it’s new approach to branding and regional identity. Rochester Democrat & Chronicle – 1/4/2013 Winter’s late arrival finally allowed the Finger Lakes ice wine harvest to begin at Casa Larga. Finger Lakes Wine Info – 1/5/2016 A view from Kemmeter Wines – 10 Questions for Johannes Reinhardt WXXI News – 1/10/2016 Since the inception of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation over 30 years ago, Jim Trezise has been its Executive Director…he’s retiring from that position and a change of leadership is expected by…

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From the Archives: Roanoke Vineyards Debuts on the North Fork

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. As you may or may not know, Roanoke Vineyards’ primary tasting room — the one on Sound Avenue — closed to the public at the end of December. It will re-open February 1 after some renovations only for wine club members. That got me thinking back to when Roanoke first opened and the first time I wrote about them back in November of 2004, when this story first appeared on the site. This summer,…

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Corks of the Forks: 5 Resolutions for a Local Wine Drinker

I’ll be the first to admit that I think New Year’s resolutions are a bit silly, which is why I rarely proclaim them privately — let alone publicly, in print. Would I like to lose some weight? Sure, and I will. Should I be a nicer person and help others? Absolutely. I’ll try to do that, too. Without measurement and being held accountable, these types of resolutions often fall by the wayside around Feb. 1 every year. But when it comes to the wine portion of my life — what’s left over after a full-time day job in a high-tech…

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Pellegrini Vineyards 2014 Sauvignon Blanc

Pellegrini Vineyards 2014 Sauvignon Blanc ($25), one of Zander Hargrave’s first releases as winemaker at Pellegrini Vineyards — a job he took over just before the 2014 harvest — offer a bit of Long Island wine’s past, its present and it’s future. The Hargrave name goes back as far as Long Island wine history can go. Zander’s parents, Louisa and Alex Hargrave, founded Hargrave Vineyard, Long Island’s first commercial winery, in 1973, and Zander’s uncle, Charlie Hargrave, has been a vineyard manager on the North Fork for more than a decade. In 2011 Zander was hired as assistant winemaker at the now-closed…

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#NYTastemaker: Steve Casscles | Hudson-Chatham Winery

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — typically 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 is making the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we taste. The traditional “tastemaker” doesn’t really make anything, after all. Not really, anyway. I’ve known Steve Casscles and have written about him and his wines — particularly his baco noir-based wines — for many years now. What has always struck me as most interesting about Steve, though,…

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Weekly New York Wine News — January 4, 2016

This week’s featured photo is from co-owner and winemaker of Red Tail Ridge Winery, Nancy Irelan’s Facebook page. NEWS Syracuse.com – 12/23/2016 Locals look back at their favorite Finger Lakes wines of 2015. Syracuse New Times – 12/23/2015 The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail encourages consumers to try bubbly from the region at the holidays, but their are plenty to enjoy them year round. Finger Lakes Times – 12/29/2015 Dr. Frank prepares to release a new line of wines honoring the important women of the family, who have been crucial to the winery’s success. TODAY Show – 12/30/2015 New York gets some love…

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