Posts Tagged“cabernet franc”

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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Freedom Run Winery 2010 Estate Cabernet Franc

I think my Niagara-based colleagues here at the NYCR would agree that their home region has yet to hone in on a ‘signature variety.’  Many grapes have been consistent performers, including chardonnay, pinot noir and cabernet franc. Does Niagara need a signature variety? I have mixed feelings on the matter, but will explore them in an upcoming post. For now, we can say that it can be helpful to be known primarily for one grape — think Oregon (pinot noir) or the Finger Lakes (riesling) closer to home. On the other hand, merlot as Long Island’s signature variety has been…

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Bedell Cellars 2010 Cabernet Franc

Despite what casual observers or even some writers will tell you, a hot, dry growing season doesn’t automatically mean the best — or the most exciting — wines. When a local red wine captures the ripeness and intensity of such a vintage, but also retains its varietal character and regional distinctiveness — that’s when I really start to pay attention. Bedell Cellars 2010 Cabernet Franc ($35) is one such wine. Made without a splinter of new oak — and with ambient yeast —  this wine offers an alluring, complex nose with layers of strawberry preserves, black cherries, blackberries, Chinese five…

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Finally! A Good Reason to Open Cab Franc Ice Wine

I’m probably being a bit unfair in the title of this post. After all, some of the region’s top producers make a cabernet franc ice wine. And on occasion, it’s nicely made, drinkable. The problem is that too often, it tastes like ballpark nachos. I suppose the science types among us might be able to explain why that is. But even if it’s good, it’s hard to find a good occasion to open a bottle. How much can you drink? Let’s pretend, for a moment, that you recently purchased a bottle on a wine trip at one of the lesser…

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Martha Clara Vineyards 2009 Cabernet Franc

With a nose that shows black cherry, dried cranberry, savory herbs and a subtle hint of grilled mushrooms, the Martha Clara Vineyards 2009 Cabernet Franc ($23) shows both nice varietal character and Long Island-ness. On the palate, there is a slightly underripe note, but nice cherry and plum fruit flavors with a woodsy, earthy-herbal edge. Medium-intensity tannins are pretty well integrated, providing a bit of drying grip, while understated acidity brings freshness. A solid effort from one of the region’s weirder vintages. If you’re a true lover of cabernet franc, you’ll appreciate this wine. Producer: Martha Clara Vineyards AVA: North Fork of…

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Roanoke Vineyards 2009 Marco Tulio

I’ve said it before, but it is worthy of a reminder — in your excitement to taste Long Island’s 2010 reds, don’t skip over or dismiss the 2009s.  A dry, warm autumn rewarded those growers patient enough to let their fruit hang and soak up those last bits of sun. Roanoke Vineyards 2009 Marco Tulio ($24) is a blend of 66% cabernet franc and 34% cabernet sauvignon. Anyone who knows Long Island wine knows that Roanoke Vineyards makes some of the best cabernet franc in these parts, and that this wine is two-thirds franc is obvious from the first sniff.…

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Ravines Wine Cellars 2010 Keuka Village Red

I’m not even going to ask, because I know that most of you have never heard of the Noiret grape. Developed by Cornell University, it’s one of the newer hybrids out there (it’s a cross between NY65.0467.08 and Steuben), having been released in 2006.  According to Cornell’s Bruce Reisch, wines made from Noiret “are free of the hybrid aromas typical of many other red hybrid grapes. The distinctive red wine is richly colored and has notes of green and black pepper, with raspberry and mint aromas, and a fine tannin structure.” It ripens mid-season too, which has mad it an increasingly popular…

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Anthony Nappa Wines 2010 “Bordo” Cabernet Franc

I first tasted this wine last summer at The Winemaker Studio during a rare childless wine country jaunt with my wife and friends. As winemaker Anthony Nappa poured it and I first put my nose in the glass, I knew this was a wine I would fall for. And I did. Hard. Anthony Nappa Wines 2010 “Bordo” Cabernet Franc ($20) was the first wine I picked for the first shipment of the Empire State Cellars Wine Club. Truth be told, the chance to have it again was the initial inspiration behind our recent dinner with Nappa and his wines.  I’ve…

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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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Tousey Winery 2010 Cabernet Franc

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor When Ben and Kimberly Peacock took over the wine portion of Tousey Winery's business in 2009 — Kimberly is founder Ray Tousey's daughter — the portfolio was focused on hybrid grapes. "To be frank, that didn't suit our tastes," Ben told me, adding "So, we switched our focus to vinifera." To help make that switch, they've been working with Fox Run Vineyards winemaker Peter Bell in the winery and long-time Long Island grape grower Steve Mudd in their vineyards. I've already written about the pinot noir, and after tasting the Tousey Winery 2010 Cabernet Franc…

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