Now that I’m doing regular writing for Dan’s Papers (see links at left), Nena and I find ourselves out east, in Long Island Wine Country, more and more. Baiting Hollow, a small town on the western edge of the vineyards is considered the ‘gateway to the wineries’ by many…and tonight we’re eating at a restaurant there–Cooperage Inn. It’s been a long time since I did a restaurant review here on LENNDEVOURS…mostly because we’ve cut back on our dining out, both in number and in $ spent…but we decided to try somewhere new…so a review will appear in the next few…

(This column will appear in an upcoming issue of Dan’s Papers) Over the Barrel…with Lenn Thompson New Releases from Lieb Family Cellars If you love Long Island wines like I do, you might have a love-hate relationship with autumn on the East End. You love it because its grape harvest season, often called “crush” in California. The wineries and tasting rooms are filled with the smells of fresh grapes and winemaking. But, especially on the North Fork, roads are packed and parking lots are overflowing with people snatching apples from orchards and scurrying through corn mazes. More time in your…

Bernard Cannac, consultant winemaker, Lisa Julian Cannac, assistant winemaker, and Theresa K. Dilworth, Esq., owner and winemaker of Comtesse Therese Winery before our tasting began. It’s not every day that you get to spend an entire evening with the people that make some of your favorite local wines. I’m lucky enough to say that it happened to me and Nena on Saturday night. After a quick tour of Premier Wine Group (the custom-crush winemaking co-op where they make their wine) and her vineyard, Theresa Dilworth, owner and winemaker of Comtesse Therese, hosted a tasting of their new releases…inside an old…

I’m a 29 year old male…so you’d probably assume that I’d had the pleasure of dining at one of the many Hooters that dot the American landscape. You’d be wrong. My first visit to Hooters didn’t happen until…well…last night. There’s one right around the corner from my office and just up the street from my softball game last night (which was at 8 p.m.). So, when John called and wanted to head over there after work to kill some time before the game…how can any self respecting man say no? It was a good time. The wings were actually pretty…

Opening a bottle of Riesling is always fun for me, especially if it’s one I’ve never tried before. I love Riesling…and I’m always curious to see what direction a particular winemaker takes this grape in. Will it be bone floral, flinty and bone dry? Will it be fruity and off-dry? Plus, for the most part, they’re quite affordable and, I think anyway, always much more interesting than a Pinot Grigio. New York State and the Finger Lakes Region in particular are well known for making great Rieslings. In fact, many wine “experts” think that some of the Finger Lakes Rieslings…

One of the best parts of our long weekend on Cape Cod was that we did a cocktail hour each night…with wine tastings set up by yours truly. I really liked this picture…taken the first night we were all there. We compared Wolffer Estates Rose and Comtesse Therese Rose. I love them both, but Wolffer won out as the favorite for serving with food…but as an apertif, Comtesse Therese won going away.

(This column will appear in an upcoming issue of Dan’s Papers) Winning Wines for the Season Wolffer Estates Fall Releases By Lenn Thompson As a wine lover, I often say “I love it all.” California Cabernet Sauvignon, Australian Shiraz, Argentinean Malbec, Alsatian Gewürztraminer…the list is seemingly unending. I can always find something to love about most any varietal and wine region. But, as summer’s warmth fades and autumn takes hold, two wines always grab and keep my attention — Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir. Luckily, with Wolffer Estate artfully producing world-class examples of these varietals in Sagaponack, I don’t have…

(This story recently appeard in Dan’s Papers) “Drinking the Stars” at Vineyard Weddings By Lenn Thompson The Benedictine monk Dom Perignon, when drinking the first Champagne in the late 1600s, is reputed to have exclaimed, “It’s like drinking the stars!” Sparkling wine, whether you call it Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, or just bubbly, is the perfect wine for romance…and for a wedding. It really is the most romantic of wines and it is a time-honored tradition to toast the new bride and groom with a twinkling flute of Champagne or another sparkler. But far too often, the sparkling wine served at…