Posts Tagged“featured”

Sparkling Pointe 2009 Topaz Imperial

The current lineup of wines at Sparkling Pointe — Long Island’s only only-sparkling winery — is impressive top to bottom. Over the next few days, I’ll review some of their current releases, including this Sparkling Pointe 2009 Topaz Imperial ($37). Coppery pink in the glass — looking vaguely of its namesake gemstone — this sparkler offers lively aromas of red cherries, wild strawberries and cranberries, with lesser hints of lemony citrus and distant-but-distinct wet rock minerality. The lighter-bodied palate is at first apple-y before delivering mixed red berries and a savory toasty-earthy minerality. Dry, well balanced and featuring tiny, persistent bubbles it…

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Harvest 2012: Estate Seyval Blanc at Hudson-Chatham Winery

From Hudson-Chatham Winery owner Carlo DeVito:   [quote] We harvested approximately one ton of seyval blanc from our North Creek Vineyard, Block 1 location yesterday. Brix were at 21. We would have actually let it sit longer, but extreme bird pressure and deer pressure led us to pick it earlier than we would have liked. We had several growing experts come in a take a look at it and help us make our calculation to pick. All agreed that we had excellent fruit, and nice production. We’ve found bird pressure immense this year. Possibly, with the drought-like conditions in the…

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Len Dest, Former Director of Long Island Merlot Alliance, Joins NYCR

I’ve known Len Dest for several years now, having first met him when he was serving as the first director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance (now known as Merliance). Over the years we’ve had several interesting, honest discussions about wine and the business of wine. Often, Len has shared his opinions about Long Island wine as it relates to other regions he’s lived in and visited extensively — California and Oregon. He brings a unique perspective to the team and his contributions should prove to be provocative and insightful. He splits his time between Manhattan, the North Fork and Florida, so…

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Send Us Your 2012 Grape Harvest Updates

The 2012 harvest season has begun in New York, with pinot noir and chardonnay being picked across the state for sparkling wine production. The past few years, we’ve made a concerted effort to publish as many harvest photos as we can — so please send them our way along with some basic harvest data — tonnage, brix, etc. and anything interesting about the grapes that you’d like to include. Good luck to all of our friends in the New York wine industry!

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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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Fracking Debate: Energy CEO Admits PR Mistakes, But Opponents Still Suspicious

Is Chris Faulkner, the CEO of Breitling Oil & Gas, the perfect messenger for fracking’s future — or the most frightening man in the industry? It depends on your perspective. Joyce Hunt, co-owner of Hunt Country Vineyards on Keuka Lake, considers Faulkner the latter. “He’s so slick, a lot of people will probably believe what he says,” Hunt told me. “That’s what’s so frightening.” Hydrofracking has never had a spokesman as effective as Faulkner. He’s become known as the energy CEO who will go after his own industry for failling to communicate effectively with the public. Faulkner, in previous interviews,…

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Fork Finds: McCall Ranch Beef, Cutchogue, NY

It’s not quite as adventurous as offal, but there’s something kind of wrong and taboo about eating your juicy burger in front of other cows. It seems rude. After all, the sandwich you’re enjoying used to be their friend. But in a world where *not* eating local is virtually a felony, it was only a matter of time until the North Fork would have access to neighborhood red meat. A region with an abundance of produce, seafood, and wine grown in our backyards would eventually need more protein to balance out the food pyramid or food plate or whatever they call it these days. Beef could join…

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Katie Myers Joins NYCR Team

Today I’m happy to announce that Katie Myers has joined the NYCR team as our newest New York City-based correspondent. I’ve known Katie virtually — through Twitter, mostly — for a couple years now and her passion for wine and food oozes through the screen. When we met at WBC11, it was even more apparent. She works for Zebulon, North Carolina-based Nomacorc, is a contributor to Palate Press, and I think will bring a unique perspective to our coverage of New York Wine. Katie can be found on Twitter at @KatieDrinksWine. Please join me in welcoming her to the team.

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Top 6 Tastes From My Finger Lakes Trip

…or the best 6 things that I put into my mouth on vacation. After spending seven wonderful days on the shores of Cayuga Lake, I returned to work this week with a calmer mind, a happy (though probably still exhausted) family and — not surprisingly — pants that fit just a bit more tightly around my waist. It was a family vacation, so winery visits were  (extremely) limited but it’s nearly impossible to not find deliciousness in the Finger Lakes. We drank and ate well — both at the house we rented and a local farmers’ markets and restaurants — but these…

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