…and his new fiancee Bridget. John, who serves as the production winemaker at both Pellegrini Vineyards and Premium Wine Group (our regions only custom-crush facility) recently spent a few days in New Orleans for Mardi Gras with his then-girlfriend Bridget, who works at Palmer Vineyards…only to come home an engaged man. You can see the happy, and yet "crabby", couple at right. Congratulations once again, John and Bridget.

Now that the official press release has crossed the wire, I can finally formally announce that I’ve signed on with Appellation America as its regional correspondent/editor for my three local AVAs: Long Island, North Fork of Long Island and The Hamptons, Long Island. I’m excited about the opportunity to join an impressive roster of correspondent/editors and I look forward to helping them get their existing content up to date as well as providing my own content. You’ll notice that some of the pages are a bit sparse right now. That’s going to change greatly in coming weeks. For those of…

Long Island wine country is often compared to Bordeaux by many, and to Friuli by some but you rarely (okay, never) hear any Alsace comparisons…and with good reason. Riesling isn’t king here, merlot is…followed closely by non-Alsatian varieties like cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and chardonnay. But in a field on Oregon Road in bucolic Cutchogue, NY, you’ll find a 13 acres of what Lieb Family Cellars once thought to be chardonnay. Genetic technology has since proven that the grapes aren’t chardonnay at all. In fact, these vines, which were planted in 1983, are a much lesser-known variety in these parts…

If you’ve only tasted tasted a couple Finger Lakes wines in your life, chances are that at least one was made by Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Cellars. And if it was their dry riesling, you know how well they do it. Dr. Konstatin Frank was a pioneer, planting vinifera grapes in a region that was deemed too cold and unsuitable by many. The wineries rieslings are now legendary and considered among the best, if not the best, made in the United States. His son, winemaker Willibald Konstantin “Willy” Frank died Tuesday of a stroke. He was 80.Well liked and well…

When I wrote about the Long Island Merlot Alliance back in September, they were still getting their acts together in terms of brand identity (and their website is still not quite finished). But, it seems that they’ve finally settled on a logo, which will appear on their materials going forward and on their first wine — 2004 Merliance. I’ve also been invited to a barrel tasting of the first Merliance release in early April at Craft in Manhattan. I’ve never been to Craft, so that’s one incentive to go, but so is the wine, which is made using the best…

When I reported that both locations of The Tasting Room were closing their doors for the last time on March 2, I wasn’t able to dig up more more information. But, I have since learned that Comtesse Therese are now available for tasting and purchase at Vineyard 48, which is great…winemaker Theresa Dilworth makes one of my favorite local roses along with two different merlots, a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon. Also, I hear that the reason they had to close was that their retail license expired. Bummer.