Keuka Spring Vineyards 2013 “Humphrey’s Vineyard” Riesling

Keuka Spring Vineyards 2013 “Humphrey’s Vineyard” Riesling ($22) offers a nice balance between fruity and floral character. The nose opens with Mandarin oranges and Meyer lemons with notes of peach, honey and fennel frond. Juicy and dry, the palate welcomes Golden Delicious apple flavors to the party along with more-pronounced, zesty citrus notes. Finishing with notes of apple skin and citrus blossom, this is a pretty classic Finger Lakes dry riesling, minus the minerally slate notes you might find from other vineyard sources. Producer: Keuka Spring Vineyards AVA: Finger Lakes Designation: Humphrey’s Vineyard Variety: Riesling Alcohol: 12% Production: 360 cases Price: $22 (sample)…

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Weekly New York Wine News — March 9, 2015

We try to keep an eye on the intertap flow of New York libation information, and even in a slower news week, we know that there are probably stories out there waiting to be surfaced. You can help us. If you know of a tale that needs to be told, tell us. If there’s a New York wine scene that needs to be seen, then show us. We know that event announcements can get lost in the noise, so we’d be glad to try and share them here ( disclaimer:  given fair warning and public service motivations – shameless profiteers need not apply ).  Contact…

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Coming Soon: A Not-Yet-Named Podcast

The USB microphone has arrived. The theme music has been acquired.thanks to a long-time reader and friend. Now I just need a name for it and to learn how to use Garageband to put it all together — and we’ll have a brand-spanking-new podcast available. Keep an eye here for updates. We’ll interview grape growers, winemakers and people from every corner of the wine world. And not just from New York. It should be fun and it’ll certainly be different.  

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Long Island Merlot Alliance Names Amy Zavatto as Executive Director

Press releases are not something we usually get too exited about at the NYCR desk, but in this case we are very pleased to to share the news that our own contributor, the very talented Amy Zavatto, will be taking the helm of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. As an eastern Long Island native, Amy is returning to her roots both literally and figuratively. We look forward to seeing her great energy and fine word-smithy directed at promoting wines that are a signatures for Long Island wine country.   LONG ISLAND MERLOT ALLIANCE KICKS OFF 10th ANNIVERSARY  AND WELCOMES ITS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,…

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Weekly New York Wine News — March 2, 2015

NEWS Hunt Country Vineyards – 2/25/2015 The Hunt family, founders and owners of Hunt Country Vineyards in Branchport (Keuka Lake), are pleased to announce the promotions of Brian Barry to Winemaker and Jim Alsina to General Manager. West Seneca Bee – 2/26/2015 West Seneca, NY has a new source for local beverage products at Best Value Wine and Liquors Edible Finger Lakes – 2/26/2015 A chat with former Red Newt winemaker Brandon Seager about the by-the-glass offerings at the recently opened Coltivare. Mountain Lake PBS – 2/27/2015 Army Veteran couple continue work on renovating the historic Old Stone Barracks property in Plattsburgh, NY into…

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Uncork the Forks: These Long Island wines aged gracefully (northforker.com)

For a few months now, I’ve been writing a wine column “Uncork the Forks” for northforker.com — one of the few local outlets that shows any real interest in Long Island wine coverage. It’s been a fun project and I figured I should start pointing out my columns here on NYCR. My most recent column focused on a tasting of four North Fork reds from 2002-2006. You can read it here.  And if you have any Bedell Cellars 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon in your cellar, we need to be friends so we can drink it together. Uncork the Forks: These Long Island…

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Dining Among the (2014) Wines at Anthony Road Wine Company

The winter weather outside was frightful, but inside the production building at Anthony Road Winery the scene was warm and inviting for the recent “Cellar Sampler: Dine Among the Wines” event. Wine cellar dinners have been gaining in popularity, and a crowd of nearly three dozen food and wine lovers attended the sold-out event that was hosted by Anthony Road Head Winemaker, Peter Becraft. The evening featured four of Anthony Road’s unreleased wines that were artfully paired with dishes that had been prepared by chefs Rune Hilt and Guilietta Racciatti of Red Dove Tavern in Geneva, NY.  Unlike most formal wine tasting…

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Weekly New York Wine News — February 23, 2015

NEWS Syracuse.com – 2/19/2015 Wine review: Tasting Swedish Hill’s award-winning pinot grigio (Video). Poughkeepsie Journal – 2/19/2015 New York State ranks as one of the biggest producers of grapes and apples in the country again this year. Democrat & Chronicle – 2/20/2015 Fermentation and Distillation businesses are booming in the Rochester region, but is still a fraction of it’s historical peak. Daily Voice – 2/20/2015 Wine Doing Good – Wine Tasting Dinner in Tarrytown raises $300,000 for Food Bank. Wine Spectator – 2/20/2015 James Molesworth releases his comprehensive 2014 report scoring of more than 200 Finger Lakes wines. Troy Record – 2/21/2015 Industry…

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Forge Cellars 2013 Pinot Noir “Classique”

Assumptions and generalizations. In recent weeks they have crept into more than a couple wine-related discussions I’ve had. As with regular, every-day life, they are silly, even dangerous, things that can make us appear ignorant or worse. In wine, they are crutches that even the most intrepid writer/critic/thinker will fall back on in a pinch. Of course many of them are based in fact — at least tangentially. Take the idea that red wines from the 2013 Finger Lakes vintage can’t or won’t be good. I haven’t heard anyone laud the season for any grape. The growing season was a wet…

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Weekly New York Wine News — February 16, 2015

NEWS San Francisco Gate – 2/9/2015 American AgCredit Sweepstake Winemakers – Peter Weis gets the wine making props for the Dr. Konstantin Frank 2013 Semi Dry Riesling. Democrat & Chronicle – 2/11/2015 Keuka Lake wines take top slots at the Florida State Fair International Wine Competition, Dr. Frank and Arbor Hill among other New York medal winners. Ithaca.com – 2/14/2015 Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards plans 30th anniversary celebrations throughout the 2015 season. Examiner – 2/15/2015 Bill Dowd gets the scoop on the new release of the Herman J. Wiemer 2011 Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine the first in nine years. Examiner –…

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