Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board has decided that as of November 1, Pennsylvania wineries will no longer be able to ship directly to consumers…even those within PA. Why am I not surprised? I’ve often referred to my home state as a "communist-run police state" because of it’s outdated and ridiculous liquor laws. Rather than allow out-of-state wineries to ship in…they’ve decided to shut it all down. Nice move guys…real nice. Again, I’m not shocked, but I’m disappointed. I have a lot of friends and family back home in Pittsburgh that would love to order the wines I write about here on…
October 10: Wolffer Estate Vineyards Harvest Party
Want purple feet and delicious wines?? On Columbus Day (October 10th), Wolffer Estate Vineyards is hosting its Harvest Party. Attend and you’ll spend an afternoon picking grapes, stomping them, enjoying hay rides and pony rides, taking part in a barrel rolling competition and dancing to live music. Tickets are $75 and there will be and abundant feast of country fare, and plenty of Wolffer’s wines. For tickets, contact Sue Calden at (631) 537-5106 ext. 20
NY Media Following in LENNDEVOURS’ Wake?
It’s got to be a coincidence, but since my piece on Jason’s Vineyard was published on Friday, two major New York newspapers have published stories on them as well. Could it be that their editors are LENNDEVOURS readers? New York Times: The New Kid in Jamesport Newsday: 2nd Generation Comes of Age Okay, so maybe the Newsday piece isn’t really about the wines or even Jason’s Vineyard. It’s about Jason Damianos (and his brothers) taking over at Pindar for their father. That bit of news is great for the region I think. I expect it to increase the number of…
Next Generation: Jason’s Vineyard’s Delicious, Affordable Wines
You’ve probably seen Jason’s Vineyard on the right hand side of the Main Road (Route 25) heading east in Jamesport. But have you ever tasted the wines made from those grapes? I first encountered Jason’s Vineyard wines about a year ago when I was going from tasting room to tasting room looking for the North Fork’s best sparkling wines. My journey took me to Pindar, where I was able to taste a few Jason’s Vineyard wines. I was so impressed that his wines were the only bottles I purchased that day. So who is Jason and why are his wines…
Three Things I Like About the House We’re Thinking About Buying
There’s a peach tree in the back yard There’s a fig tree in the back yard There’s grapes growing back there too (no idea what kind…I’m guessing some native variety) Those aren’t the only three things of course…but they are the most LENNDEVOURS-appropriate things
Atwater Estate Vineyards 2004 Dry Riesling
There’s no doubt about it — my favorite white varietal is riesling. Of course, I don’t like every one I try. They need to have that that zing of acidity that ‘forces’ me into another sip (and another and anoter and another). New York’s Finger Lakes region is pretty well known for it’s riesling, with Dr. Konstantin Frank probably the most well known outside of the state. This relatively winter-hardy varietal has done very well in the region becuase it ripens even in the cool Finger Lakes climate and because good wines can be made from riesling that isn’t at…
Finally…a Story About NY Wines That I Can Commend
About a week ago, there was a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about New York Wines. If you’ve been reading LENNDEVOURS for a while, you know that I typically find lots of problems with stories written about New York wines. They either unfairly compare them to California or Bordeaux (and basically say they suck because they aren’t the same) or focus only on the "big name" wineries that the same people write about again and again and again. Dave McIntyre’s piece, however, will not draw the ire of this NY wine writer. In fact, I really liked it. While…
The “Line 5 of 23rd Post” Meme
Even if Fatemah considers me the "most likely to blow me off" (without reason I might add) I’ve decided to take part in this meme. Basically, I’ve been asked to dig back into the LENNDEVOURS archives to find my 23rd post and the fifth line of that post. So…looking back, my 23rd post happens to have been done on April 26, 2004…my 29th birthday. It wasn’t a ground-breaking post by any means, but the fifth line is interesting: "Hopefully I’ve ‘cellared’ it well and it’s still good…" What exactly am I talking about here? It was a bottle of 1996…
Long Island Merlot Makers Form the Long Island Merlot Alliance
In this week’s "Long Island Vines," New York Times writer Howard Goldberg announced the formation of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. He does a nice job introducing the endeavor…which has come of often when I’ve spoken to winemakers and winery owners. People tend to feel very strongly about the LIMA…on both sides. I’ve written before that I’m not sold on pushing merlot as "the region’s flagship wine" mostly because I’m not sure that all of the best wines here are merlot or that the one-varietal push is what Long Island needs to stand out. Proponents point to Oregon starting as…
A Great Family Photo
Nena sent me an email this morning that just said: "You’re really slacking with LENNDEVOURS lately." You know, she’s right. Between my day job demanding more full-time attention, various print writing projects I’m working on and (oh yeah) us dealing with mortgage brokers, home inspectors and the like as we try to buy our first Castello di Thompson…I’ve just not has nearly as much time as I’d like. But, as you can see in the above picture, we’ve still made time to enjoy some vineyard trips. My parents were in town last Friday through Monday morning and we spent Sunday…