Fatemeh, everyone’s favorite, often-travelling food writer (and owner of Gastronomie) finally found a few spare minutes in her busy schedule to post about the fun she and C had when they explored Long Island wine country a bit with me a while back. F&C were a lot of fun to taste with and I definitely hope this was just the first of many culinary jaunts together, starting with my still-on trip to the Bay Area at the end of June. You all know that I think Long Island wines have a lot to offer, but don’t just take my word…

There wasn’t any wine involved, but Nena and I had a fun night anyway (I know, hard to believe that a wineless night can be fun!) I bought Nena tickets to Coldplay at Nassau Coliseum for Xmas and while there was wine available, who wants to drink Beringer from small plastic screwcap bottles? Not me. Nena even drank beer instead, which never happens. Richard Ashcroft (front man for the Verve) opened the show and was pretty good. I would have liked it better had he not finished his set with the Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony. I’m not a big fan of…

Ever had a wine from Napa Valley? Yes, you have. Ever tasted a Gamay Noir (as in a Beaujolais)? Yeah you probably have…but have you tasted a Gamay Noir from the Napa Valley? I have…check out my post this week on Wine Sediments.

Late last summer, I got my first taste of Vineyard 48’s first new wines(as opposed to the old Bidwell stock they sold under their label), all not-yet-released whites from the 2004 vintage. The best of the lot was a nicely balanced semi-dry Riesling, but the others seemed either taut and un-yielding, or a disjointed. A little over six months later, I decided to re-taste a few of the whites along with three newly released 2004 reds — and there is reason to keep an eye on Vineyard 48. The first of the re-tasted whites, Vineyard 48 2004 Sauvignon Blanc ($14)…

Vineyard 48’s 2004 Vignetta ($25) — a blend of 50% cabernet franc, 38% cabernet sauvignon and 20% merlot is the stand out among their 2004 reds. Much more approachable and elegant than either their 2004 reserve merlot or 2004 cabernet franc, it’s drinking very well despite its relative youth. The nose is complex, mingling tart cherry, cranberry and leather aromas with cinnamon stick and earthy dried leaves. Plummy fruit flavors greet the palate with soft, fine oak and tannins along with excellent earthy character.  

As I mentioned last week, I put together a wine dinner at Red Barn B&B with several wine-loving friends, including one of the Wine Chicks, a Wine Goddess and a local winemaker. Our hosts, Jim and Linda Slezak, were beyond gracious and warm. From the moment we arrived the when we stepped out the door we all had a great time. I’d highly recommend their B&B to anyone and intend to do so. We enjoyed a four-course meal with each of us bringing a bottle or two to pair with a specific course. The wines came from all over the…

As many of you know, last weekend I had the unique chance to blind taste several wines from The Lenz Winery against great (and much more expensive) wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux at an event held for Lenz wine club members. Lenz is well known for using blind tasting such as this one to advance its standing in the overall wine market. In a 1989 tasting against French heavyweights like La Grande Dame, Chateau Petrus, J. Drouhin, Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche, and Veuve Clicquot tasters were unable to single out the Lenz wines as inferior in quality. Saturday’s tasting wasn’t…

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone. Tonight isn’t a night for wine, so I think I’ll be drinking more than my share of Guiness, Smithwick’s and also some locally produced brews from Southampton Publick House. Or, maybe I’ll drop some green food coloring into some white wine 😉 Nah, I wouldn’t do that. At least not before drinking all that beer.

What an awesome weekend I have coming up. Sunday morning, I’m holding a rose tasting panel at Pellegrini Vineyards’ to explore the different styles of rose/pink/blush wine being crafted here on Long Island. Joining me on the tasting panel will be both Wine Chicks, Dr. Vino, the Wine Goddess and John, currently of Pellegrini Vineyards and soon-to-be head winemaker at Shinn Estate Vineyeyards. Right now I’ve assembled almost twenty wines for us to try. We won’t be grading or rating the wines. Instead, we’ll explore their differences and try to identify similarities (if there are any). The other exciting part…

Eric Asimov, chief wine critic of the New York Times has made the leap into wine blogging with a blog titled The Pour. Interesting. Very interesting indeed. I’ve always respected Eric’s writing and his knowledge of both wine and food (even if I don’t always agree with what he has to say) and I think it lends credence to the power of blogs that people like Eric are joining the fray. How is this going to change wine blogging as a whole? I think that remains to be seen, but I think that bloggers who want to make a name…