By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher I had a feeling that the new Gewurztraminers from Red Newt Cellars would illicit a response from a few readers. I just knew that some people would have a negative reaction to the prices, regardless of quality. The price of New York wines — the truths and the myths — is another topic for another time (and soon) though. Today, I want to tell you a bit about the other single-vineyard Gewurztraminer made in 2007 by Dave Whiting at Red Newt. After much deliberating, I can now say that Red Newt Cellars 2008 Curry…
Posts Tagged“finger lakes”
Red Newt Cellars 2007 Sawmill Creek Vineyards Gewurztraminer
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher When I heard that Red Newt Wine Cellars was releasing two single-vineyard Gewurztraminers, I was intrigued. Did the two vineyards really warrant separate bottlings, or was it a marketing ploy along the lines of "reserve" labels? And when I heard they were price at $36 and $42, I'll admit that I even thought to myself "Have they lost their minds?" Now that I've tasted them, I can say definitively that yes, the two vineyards (in 2007 anyway) led to distinct wines worthy of single-vineyard labeling. Are the prices exorbitant? That's really up to you,…
Damiani Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc
I'm not sure when I first stumbled upon my now-friend Dave Honig's blog, 2 Days per Bottle, but I do know that it changed the way that I taste and review wines. I've always frowned upon the "power tasting" that some publications employ — tasting wines in rapid succession, in a near-clinical environment, spending no more than a few minutes with each wine. Instead, I have always preferred to taste wines over the course of an evening, with and without dinner or other food, to evaluate them in a way more similar to how people actually drink wine. But Dave's…
Red Newt Cellars 2007 Curry Creek Vineyards Pinot Gris
Most of the pinot gris coming out of the Finger Lakes (or Long Island for that matter) is mediocre at best, barely a step up from the lemon-water pinot grigio that you'll find at most every bar and restaurant. As with every wine generalization, there are exceptions of course. For instance, I almost always like Channing Daughters Winery's Pinot Grigio and now I can add a second wine to the "good New York pinot gris/grigio" list: Red Newt Cellars 2007 Curry Creek Vineyards 2007 Pinot Gris ($24) Right out of the fridge (when the wine was over-chilled) this wine wasn't…
Damiani Wine Cellars 2007 Sauvignon Blanc
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher When one thinks of the Finger Lakes, riesling is the first grape that comes to mind. After that, I think usually think about Gewurztraminer, pinot noir, cabernet franc and probably Vidal blanc before sauvignon blanc. But, there are a few producers dabbling in this grape and Damiani Wine Cellars is one of them. There isn't a lot of sauvignon blanc grown in the Finger Lakes — and with good reason. It's not very cold hardy and with the below-zero temperatures that can blanket the region, cold hardy is a characteristic that local vines need.…
How to Impress Outsiders: Open Your Cellar, Wow Them at Lunch and Stay Open Late
Chris O'Gorman of Merryvale Vineyards judging the FLIWC last weekend. By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent When you host guests, I wonder if you do what my wife and I do. We take the opportunity to clean the house and put our most sparkling foot forward. If a guest happens to believe the house is always so pristine, all the better. But shoving all the clutter in the closet is one thing; honoring your guests by using the finest dishware and opening your finest wines is quite another. And that, essentially, is what a handful of savvy Finger Lakes wineries did…
Quick Q&A with Amy Cheatle, Tasting Room Manager, Damiani Wine Cellars
Today we re-start (again) the LENNDEVOURS Q&A project with Amy Cheatle, tasting room manager at Damiani Wine Cellars on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake. I first met Amy at my Atwater-Billsboro tasting a couple months ago when she came in to join the fray. But, I'll let her speak for herself as she answers our standard set of questions: What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? Its actually a very romantic story, really. Picture a crisp, fall, upstate New York day blasted in sunshine, and under all that warm sun is a vineyard on…
Atwater Estate Vineyards 2007 Dry Riesling
I've mentioned before that Atwater Estate Vineyards is really the winery responsible for sparking my obsession with Finger Lakes wines, particularly riesling and other aromatic whites. I first discovered winemaker Vinny Aliperti's delicious, well-priced whites when they were being poured at Roanoke Vineyards here on the North Fork. Roanoke co-owner Richie Pisacano only had a 2000 merlot of his own to sell upon opening and, because he worked with Vinny at Wolffer Estate, offered a handful of Atwater wines in the tasting room as well. I picked up this bottle of Atwater Estate 2007 Dry Riesling ($18) after the tasting…
Red Tail Ridge Winery: A Different Kind of Investment
By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent While the basic strategy for opening a functional winery differs from region to region, in the Finger Lakes the trend seems to follow a path that calls for the opening of the tasting room first with production facility and vineyard coming later. While this might be a generalization of sorts, it makes sense in many respects. Nearly 75% of wine sales in the Finger Lakes occur on site; many larger wineries lease production space; and a vineyard takes quite a few years to produce grapes. A winemaker or entrepreneur can purchase grapes, make wine at a different…
Hosmer Winery 2007 Riesling
Is there anything better than driving through wine country, stopping off at a winery that you hadn't planned to visit, and discovering a gem? It's one of the wine world's great joys and it happened to me and Nena on our last day in the Finger Lakes a few weeks ago. As we drove up the western side of Cayuga Lake, we spotted a sign for Hosmer Winery. The winery we had planned to visit wasn't open yet, so we stopped in at Hosmer… and we're glad that we did. The wines impressed almost across the board. This was one…