Posts Tagged“2012”

Fulkerson Winery 2012 Gruner Veltliner

The nose on this Fulkerson Winery 2012 Gruner Veltliner ($14) isn’t as intense as the best gruners I’ve had from Austria — the region where it is most planted and known — but it does show nice varietal character with its light nose of pineapple, peach and citrus with notes of white pepper and citrus blossom. Bright and citrusy on the palate, it is a bit lacking in concentration, but brings a bit more spice than the nose and a juicy mouthfeel. It’d be refreshing on a hot summer day and was actually a nice pairing with some black bean-cilantro…

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Vineyard Visuals: Icewine 2013 Harvest at Leonard Oakes Winery

Icewine 2013 Harvest @ Leonard Oakes from Bryan Calandrelli on Vimeo. Mother Nature did not disappoint the harvest crew at Leonard Oakes Winery as the week of January 21st provided more than enough time for Jonathan Oakes and gang to pull the rest of their grapes from the 2012-growing season. Bone-chilling temperatures and a massive snowfall didn’t make it comfortable or easy but it did ease nerves and make for a long window to press out their frozen grapes. This quick interview and series of images is a glimpse into what it was like the day of the vidal harvest.…

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The Niagara 2012 Vintage in Their Own Words: When We Stopped Measuring Our Brix

It’s the same story that plays out every year. Winemakers are forced to evaluate the complexities of a growing season in a consumer-friendly pitch meant to inflate or dampen expectations of a particular vintage. I tend to believe the dance that Mother Nature, grower and winemaker perform every year and the expectation of resulting quality can hardly be simplified by rehashing the weather but this look back on our young region’s season will suggest the potential of the vintage. Grower Tom Tower of Youngstown — like most everyone I spoke to this year — agreed that there was plenty of…

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The Long Island 2012 Vintage in Their Own Words: A Grower’s — and Sorter’s — Year

Writing harvest and vintage reports is always — shall we say, interesting? I hope that none of my winemaker or winery owner friends take offense, but I know that — nine times out of ten — what they tell me about the current growing season or most recent harvest cannot be taken precisely at face value. Not that anyone would flat out lie to me, mind you, but there is little benefit to lowering expectations or panning a vintage. No matter the quality of the vintage, wineries need to sell those wines to stay in business. The NYCR has a distinct advantage over most…

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The Finger Lakes 2012 Vintage in Their Own Words: Long Growing Season Leads to Ripe, Powerful Wines

When the wines of 2012 are finally released, consumers will find some of the most complex and deeply flavored wines ever to emerge from the region. Growing practices are better than ever and gradually improving, and the stellar overall weather allowed for more ripening than most varieties enjoy in the Finger Lakes. If there is one debate, it’s about riesling, which just happens to be the most important variety in the region. There is no question that the rieslings of 2012 will bring less acidity. However, there is reason to believe that this is a feature, not a bug. One…

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Macari Vineyards 2012 “Early Wine” Chardonnay

I’m over Beaujolais nouveau — it’s mostly about the spectacle (and the marketing) and the wines often disappoint. I’d rather wait until Cru stuff is released.  But when it comes to local nouveau wines (there are a few) I always look forward to Macari Vineyards’ “Early Wine” chardonnay, even if it varies (sometimes wildly) from year to year. Inspired by the jungwein (young wine) of consulting winemaker Helmut Gangl’s homeland — they are often served in heuriger shortly after harvest — the grapes for this win were harvested on August 29 and the wine was bottled less than two months later…

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Years After Finding the Special Spot, Heart & Hands Celebrates Fruit from Their Own Vines

It must feel ridiculous for Tom and Susan Higgins now, looking back on those frantic and frustrating days in 2005. They had spent so many hours, so many days searching for the right place to plant their vineyard. Tom had studied geological maps in search of the one component he found essential in his quest for great pinot noir: limestone. Those days, Tom wondered: Will we ever find it? If we do, will we be able to buy the land? Will this ever actually happen? Fast-forward to this past Saturday when Tom Higgins found himself complaining about having to remove…

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Community Matters: What’s 5 Hours of Hand Sorting Between Friends?

Almost a week later, I still have purple stains under my finger nails and my back still spasms a bit if I stand just so. It’s simple math, really — take a 6’3″ out-of-shape guy, make him bend over a sorting table for five hours and you’re virtually guaranteed these sorts of short-term annoyances. But, standing at that table, hands cold and sticky with sweet cabernet franc juice and pulp, plucking green stems (and a little rot here and there) from the belt, talking about everything from the latest presidential debate to school lunches to harvesting chickens, with a group…

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