Posts Tagged“vidal blanc”

Ice Wine: I’m Really Trying To Like It

A large amount of residual sugar makes me dizzy. Dessert wine tends to remind me of childhood cough syrup albeit with new and improved flavors. I hated that god awful faux cherry elixir. When the New York Cork Report gets together once a year to taste the best New York State has to offer, I sit the sweet flight out. On tasting menus in fancy pants restaurants, I bargain away my last wine pairing in the name of ‘something sparkling.” The nuance of late harvest anything is generally lost on me. Is the aversion in my head? Bias left over…

Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2008 Vidal Ice Wine

Late harvest and ‘iced’ wines — those made with grapes frozen in commercial freezers before processing — are common in New York. Real deal ice wine is not. This is the real deal and you can certainly taste the difference. Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2008 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine ($38) smells like juicy ripe peaches and apricots drizzled with floral lavendar honey. The nose is intense and ever-moving as the wine warms to room temperature. The palate is explosive in its concentration and complexity, bursting with stone fruit flavors along with those of hay, honey, cooked sugar, golden raisin, dried apricots and lavender…

Silver Thread Vineyard 2011 Good Earth White

When Paul and Shannon Brock purchased Silver Thread Vineyard last summer, I immediately wondered about their first vintage and wines. 2011 was a challenge for even the most experienced growers — growers who had been taking care of their vines for the entire growing season. The Brocks came in in what amounts to the fourth quarter of the game. Having tasted a few of Paul’s first wines (he’s the winemaker), those worries seem to be unwarranted. The Silver Thread 2011s deliver the same bright, clean flavors as many of those he made at Lamoreaux Landing a few years ago. Silver Thread…

Atwater Estate Vineyards 2007 Vidal Blanc

Today's review is going to be a lot like its subject — easy going. Vidal blanc, a French hybrid grape, is a grape that doesn't get enough respect (a problem many hybrids face) but it does particularly well in the cool climate of the Finger Lakes where it's winter hardiness makes it a somewhat safer choice than vinifera varieties. And, with flavors that are a bit riesling like, it fits right in with the aromatic whites that make the region so exciting. And this is one of the best Vidals I've had, and certainly the best in recent memory. Pale…

Some Finger Lakes Wineries Hop on Hybrids

I read an interesting little piece this morning from the Cornell Daily Sun that talks about hybrid grape varieties, their advantages and what some wineries in the Finger Lakes are doing with them. Apparently, in addition to being more resistant to the cold weather of the region, they are also less susceptible to the typical grape maladies, meaning that fewer pesticides are needed to grow them. It’s kind of an interesting way to "go green" no? I know that there are plenty of wine lovers out there who turn their noses up at hybrids, but I’ve found several seyval blancs…

New York Cork Club: January Selections

Have you signed up for the New York Cork Club yet? If not, you should think about it — either for yourself or for a friend or family member. It’s a unique opportunity to taste the best wines of New York State (not just Long Island folks!) as selected by your favorite NY wine guru. That’s right…me! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been a member of a couple wine clubs in my day and there are two things that you just don’t see in wine clubs very often — sparkling wine and dessert wine. Well this month’s New…

WTN: Standing Stone Vineyards Smokehouse Dry Vidal (Finger Lakes)

Vidal (or vidal blanc) is a hybrid grape that doesn’t get the respect it deserves — at least when it’s done well. No, it’s not as rich and complex at a well-made, balance chardonnay and it doesn’t have the bright elegance of riesling. But, as far as white hybrids go, it’s among my favorites. Vidal is perhaps best known for it’s role in some delicious late harvest and ice style wines from Canadian and upstate New York producers. But, with high acidity and medium body, dry renditions can be tremendously refreshing and food friendly. Standing Stone Vineyards NV Smokehouse Dry…