Posts Tagged“martha clara vineyards”

Martha Clara Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief High residual sugar and pineapple-flavored wines aside, Martha Clara Vineyards, one of the largest on the North Fork, seems to be on the rise from a quality standpoint. They have winemaker Juan Martinez-Micieli, formerly of Shinn Estate Vineyards and Pellegrini Vineyards, to thank for that. He's working to steer this large ship in a better direction. His Martha Clara Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer ($19) is one of, if not the best the estate has produced and the key to this wine's success is balance.  The nose offers classic lychee aromas with candied orange peel, lime zest and…

Martha Clara Vineyards 2007 Himmel

By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher They don't always get a lot of attention, but there are quite a few late harvest and ice-style wines being made on Long Island. I say "ice-style" because the local versions of those wines are typically harvested long before they freeze on the vine, frozen in commercial freezers and pressed from there. This wine, Martha Clara Vineyards 2007 Himmel ($31) is one of those commercially frozen wines, made with 60% riesling and 40% Gewurztraminer from the producer's own vines. What works about the best local dessert wines is acidity to balance out all of…

Juan Micieli-Martinez Heading to Martha Clara Vineyards?

Thanks to a reader tip (thanks John) and an email sent to David Page at Shinn Estate Vineyards, I’ve learned that Juan Micieli-Martinez, formerly of Pellegrini Vineyards, is now formerly of Shinn Estate Vineyards as well. Or he will be by mid-August. "He has done a great job for us at Shinn during his time with us. Barbara and I wish him the best," Page told me in an email. He’s been offered the winemaker position at Martha Clara Vineyards. I haven’t heard from Juan yet and I have no idea at this point what is going on with Gilles…

On the East End This Weekend (July 7 & 8)

There are a couple festivals tomorrow that are worth checking out: Lenz Winery’s 18th Annual Chardonnay World ClassicSaturday, July 7 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.Taste over 90 chardonnays from all of the major wine regions of the world including Long Island, California, France, South Africa, Australia, and many more. Enjoy a selection of artisanal cheeses and hors d’oeuvres chosen specifically with chardonnay in mind. Tickets: Lenz Subscribers:  $35; General Public:  $50 Website: www.lenzwine.com Phone: 800.974.9899 Email: office@lenzwine.com Martha Clara Vineyards Anything But Chardonnay & Merlot FestivalSaturday, July 7 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.Sample over 50 different wines from 17 East…

WTN: Martha Clara Vineyards NV Blanc de Blanc

Martha Clara Vineyards, best known in these parts for having a bevy of large- and small-scale wine events, is really coming on. And by that I mean that their wines are improving with each released vintage. When I first starting covering the region several years ago, their portfolio was firmly entrenched as one aimed at the white zinfandel set — not fine wine lovers. Standby wines like the sweet, Beagle-labeled rose are still the top sellers, but further down the tasting sheet you’ll find some much better, refined, and delicious wines. Yes, the tasting room still overflows with new wine…

The Thanksgiving Column

Every wine writer or blogger has to write a wine-pairing column for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a must. It’s one of the un-written rules — along with the mandatory New Year’s Eve sparkling wine column, which you can expect to see in just a few weeks. Of course, no two Thanksgiving wine-pairing columns are alike. As it should be, everybody has his or her favorites for the holiday. Sparkling wine, chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir, Beaujolais, syrah, Rioja, sangiovese, zinfandel…the list goes on and on and on. There are as many suggestions as their are wine raconteurs. Me, I tend to like…