Posts Tagged“wine”

An Early Harvest Report From the East End

By New York City Correspondent Sasha Smith My husband, friend and I had the opportunity to help out with the harvest at The Old Field last weekend. The North Fork’s easternmost vineyard (it’s in Southold) The Old Field produces the typical-for-the-region chardonnay, merlot, cab franc line up, as well as a pinot noir and sparkling wine that has won considerable acclaim. Owners Chris and Ros Baiz and their daughter Perry tend the 12 acres surrounding their house overlooking Peconic Bay, and Lenz vintner Eric Fry makes the wines. (Full disclosure: my husband and I got married at The Old Field…

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2007 Early Harvest Report: Peconic Bay Winery

From Matt Gillies, GM at Peconic Bay Winery: "You know I’ll bring the rains in by saying this, but I don’t think I’ve seen more potential in a vintage in my near 30 years here. Even a bit of nasty weather will have a hard time eradicating the benefits of this prolonged dry spell and this wonderful stretch of clear, crisp weather with only a few rain events in the past couple of months. We have not begun picking anything yet. Our first grapes into the cellar will be our Riesling and we’ll be watching them much more closely next…

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The New LENNDEVOURS Wine-Rating System

I always go back and forth on wine ratings, their usefulness and whether or not I should use them here. I’ve given it a lot of thought, I’ve had lengthy email discussions with some of you, and I’ve talked it over with fellow wine bloggers. Clearly there’s isn’t a clear consensus. Some love ratings. Some hate them. And most fall somewhere in between. When I asked my readers, many of them seemed into ratings…but not at the expense of my commentary and tasting notes. So, here’s what I’ve decided to do… Starting with the next tasting note that I post,…

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WTN: Raphael 2006 Sauvignon Blanc (North Fork of Long Island)

As you know, lots of Long Island winemakers still focus on the parallels between their own region and Bordeaux. Merlot and the cabernets–sauvignon and franc–are clearly the dominant red grapes here and they do well (except maybe sauvignon, which only thrives in the best years in the best locations). But, market conditions being what they are, most white wine made in these parts is made with chardonnay, the white grape of Burgundy. Those wines can be simple and gulpable or rich, complex and truly Burgundian, but they are nothing like white Bordeaux, which are made with sauvignon blanc and semillon.…

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Party On at Bully Hill

By Finger Lakes Correspondent Jason Feulner All the talk recently about the party-like atmosphere at some wineries brings to mind Bully Hill Vineyards, a winery nestled on the hills overlooking the beauty that is Keuka Lake. This winery is a party destination that mixes a proud history, great bottle art, ample tastings and thong underwear. The story starts with the Taylor Wine Company. The Taylor family was one of the original wine producing families of the Finger Lakes. The Taylor Wine Company grew from a small 19th-Century family operation into a 20th-Century wine bohemeth. After being acquired by the Coca-Cola…

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Edible East End’s Low Summer 2007 Issue is Out

Just wanted to let everyone know that Edible East End has published its Low Summer 2007 issue recently. It’s one of my favorite local publications and the only one that I find myself reading cover to cover when a new issue comes out. And, this marks the second vintage of my new EEE column "East End Oenophile." In this issue, I look at some of the first 2005 reds to hit the market and touch on the Italian and Italian-American influence on Long Island wine. I’m working on a larger feature story on that for another publication, so look for…

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Tasting Rooms Gone Wild? I’m Not So Sure.

You may have seen these stories in the New York Times and Syracuse Post-Standard, about tasting room behavior in Long Island and other New York tasting rooms. I don’t have any first-hand experience in Finger Lakes tasting rooms, so I can’t comment much on the latter article, but the one in the Times I definitely can. In fact, I was interviewed for it, even if none of my quotes made it in. As I read the story for a second time, I’m disappointed on several fronts. First, I’m disappointed that people act like that in tasting rooms. But, in some…

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A Forgotten Winemaking Past in Central New York

By Finger Lakes Correspondent Jason Feulner Wine is found in many interesting places, and sometimes it says more than we expect. Every 4th of July, my wife’s extended family on her father’s side has a large picnic at The Farm, referred to as such because it is the origin of her family’s history in Central New York. Just after the turn-of-the-century, the Sgroi family migrated to the Canastota, New York farm and took up a living as onion farmers, owing their trade to the muck lands that abound in the area.  The family’s language was Italian, and the first generation…

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Duncan Ross Interview at AppellationAmerica.com

So what have you heard about the wines coming out of the Niagara Escarpment? Isn’t it way too cold up there to grow grapes? Actually no and I didn’t know much about the region either until I really started to research the region as I prepared for my interview with Duncan Ross, founder of and winemaker for Arrowhead Spring Vineyard. It turns out that the Escarpment itself–the geological feature, not the region–is the very reason why they can ripen grapes fully so close to the Canadian border. In fact, it’s the second warmest region in New York state. Long Island…

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WTN: Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards 2002 Merlot (North Fork)

Sometimes I get completely and utterly sick of tasting merlot. It’s the most-planted grape on Long Island and every winery makes at least one varietal bottling–and often more than that. Hell, Wolffer Estate makes four ‘levels’ of merlot. And, despite growing conditions that are excellently suited to the grape, there is a lot of bad merlot being produced. It’s sad really, because when grown in the right way and treated the right way in the winery, merlot leads to this regions most consistently delicious wines…even if the best ones will cost you at least $30 and up to $125. Osprey’s…

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