Posts Written OnDecember 2004

I’m always on the look out for new (and interesting) wine blogs. This morning, I stumbled upon a fairly new one worth keeping an eye on: cultured wino. From what I’ve read already, I like and can appreciate how Tiffany (the owner/writer) looks at wine and the wine world. "And that’s the problem so many have with wine and wine drinkers. Like jazz, cigars and single-malt scotch, wine comes with the baggage of class — or, rather income. As soon as people get a little bit of change in their pockets and some “exposure to The World,” they start to…

Here’s to a happy holiday season to all of my readers and fellow bloggers around the globe. I hope that your Xmas (if you celebrate) and New Years celebrations are filled with great food and even greater wines. And by all means, post about it so we can all see! It’s been one hell of a fun year, and I’m sure 2005 will be even more so, with LENNDEVOURS’ birthday in the late winter, my 30th birthday in April and, of course, my wedding to Ms. LENNDEVOURS herself, the lovely and tolerant Nena. I guess that will make her MRS.…

(This column appeared in the 12/17 edition of Dan’s Papers) When someone says “Long Island wine,” what comes to mind? Cheap, syrupy-sweet blends and blush? Over-priced plonk from large producers that is more hype than heaven? Well…you’re right, but not completely. While there are plenty of wines out east that fall into those two, less-than-complementary categories, there are almost as many that don’t. Visit the right wineries and try the right wines, and you’ll find delicious, bright Chardonnays that are far from California in style but not quite Burgundian either. Merlot, as you’ve probably heard, does exceptionally well in our…

This week I did a story that included some of Long Island’s "high-end" wines (in terms of price)…and it required quite a bit of tasting in a short period of time. But…there were some great wines in the lot (and some that were quite overpriced). I’ll post the story once it’s published (tomorrow morning), but here’s a few of the pictures I took for it. Left: Macari Vineyards Alexandra ($75) Center: Alexandra, Martha Clara Vineyards 6025 ($35), Lieb Family Cellars Meritage ($50) Right: 6025, which is named for the street address of the vineyard

One of the things that can be tough about living in one place (Long Island) when your parents live somewhere else (Pittsburgh) and your fiancee’s parents live in yet another place (Near Albany) is making sure that you see everyone for the holidays, not to mention the transportation of gifts to and from various locales! Despite the extra effort…there are some pay offs. I’ve already posted about my wine fridge, an early gift from my parents that was easier to have shipped directly to me (instead of wedging it into the backseat of our car on the way back to…

(This column appeared in the 12/24 issue of Dan’s Papers) Picture this: it’s the 1970s and IBM sends you to Kuwait, a country where you couldn’t buy alcohol, to live and work for seven years. What do you do for fun? If you’re Charles Massoud, co-founder of Paumanok Vineyards, you learn to make your own wine – and then later decide to make winemaking a second career, along with the help of your wife Ursula, who comes from a German winemaking family.

Recently I discovered a cool website PoppingCorks.com that compiles wine reviews from all over the place into one site. You’ll find reviews from major newspapers, small newspapers and even some of your favorite wine blogs. Of course by promoting it I’m being a tad self serving. This afternoon they started including my wine reviews as well. The inclusion of bloggers if very forward thinking and PoppingCorks.com should be applauded. I think people are sick of having major wine publications as their only source for wine information. I know I learn much more reading wine blogs…because I can easily relate to…

I drink a lot of New York wine, particularly from Long Island. It’s right in my own back yard and over the past few months I’ve developed some nice relationships with some of the GMs and winemakers in the region. I think it’s always fun to drink a wine when you know the people behind the scenes. But, there are some varietals that just don’t do well (or as well) here…and to expand my wine knowledge (a continuous process I expect to last the rest of my life), I’ve decided it’ time to look west to California more often (and…