It’s hard to believe that Wine Blogging Wednesday has taken off the way it has. What started as an idea that I thought would appeal mostly to the blogosphere’s wine geeks has grown and pulled in some of the best food blogs and made wine mini-geeks out of wine neophytes. Now, a year later, it’s time for Wine Blogging Wednesday #12…and I’m taking the reins back as host (mostly because there was a scheduling snafu and I was left with an empty slot!). We’ve visited many lands and sampled many varietals in WBW’s brief history…so for the one-year anniversary edition,…
Posts Written OnJuly 2005
LENNDEVOURS on Hiatus
Starting today, LENNDEVOURS will be on hiatus until July 22nd or so. You see, Nena and I are getting married Friday…and I’m heading to upstate NY in about an hour to begin the festivities. Part of my family arrives tonight with the rest coming tomorrow…just in time for the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner at the George Mann Tory Tavern. Then, after getting married on a covered bridge in Nena’s hometown, we’ll be whisked away to the Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia, NY for our reception. And, after a casual BBQ on Saturday for our out-of-town friends and family, we’ll drive home…
James Beard Foundation Chefs & Champagne — July 23rd @ Wolffer Estate Vineyard
A mere three days after returning from our honeymoon in Jamaica, Nena and I will be attending The James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne 2005 event on July 23rd at Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, NY. They are billing it as "A lavish tasting party featuring Champagne Charles Heidsieck and Wölffer Estate Vineyard wines with a sumptuous silent auction." Tickets are $150 for members of the foundation and $200 for guests. Or, if you’re a real high roller, pay $5,000 and get a private table for ten. The list of participating chefs is impressive and Michael Romano, executive chef/partner of…
Wine Blogging Wednesday #11 — Chateau Lafayette Reneau 2004 Johannisburg Riesling
Get off! No, Wine Blogging Wednesday is not paying homage to The Artist Formerly Known and Again Known As Prince — Beau of BasicJuice is just hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday #11 with Off-Dry Wines as the theme. Two things about my entry into this vintage of the global wine blogging festival will come as no surprise. First, I chose a riesling, my favorite of white varieties. And, I chose one from New York. But, instead of staying close to home with a wine from Long Island, I looked a bit further west to the Finger Lakes Wine Region. They’ve been…
Long Island Whine
Long Island Whine: Are LI Wines Really Over-Priced? Or are We Looking at Them From the Wrong Perspective? Just like the wines we drink, any discussion of wine prices and price-to-value ratios is always a complex and layered one. There are dozens of factors that help a winery’s management decide what to charge for its wines, including land costs, labor costs, market pressures, and supply and demand. The list goes on and on. The idea of “value” is even tougher to pin down as it’s so subjective and affected by things like the media, mood and personal perception. So before…
Lenz is a Lenn’s Favorite
(This column appeared in the 7/1/05 issue of Dan’s Papers) Over the Barrel…With Lenn Thompson Contrary to popular belief (okay, maybe just in my own wine-induced fantasies), I don’t own Lenz Winery in Peconic. That would be Lenn’s Winery anyway, even if the “z” would be a much more MTV-esque spelling. Lenz Winery is one of the North Fork’s most respected producers and employs one of the regions most gifted and charismatic winemakers – Eric Fry. If you’re at the Lenz tasting room and see a guy in overalls with a long ponytail and beard, that’s Eric. Say hello and,…
Music Among The Vines
Power. Grace. Complexity. These words, often used to describe our favorite wines, are also used to depict the nuances and wonders of great music. Standing alone, wine and music are two of life’s great pleasures, but blend the two and you have an event and experience with few peers. Last Sunday night Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack hosted just such an event: “Salon at Wölffer Estate – A Romantic Liederabend to Benefit the Music Festival of the Hamptons.” Those in attendance enjoyed glasses of Wölffer’s award-winning wines as Katya Sonina, an extremely talented pianist and student at Julliard, played selections…
The Greenport Garagiste
(This story appeared originally in the 07/01/05 issue of Dan’s Papers) Ivy League Professor-Cum-Winemaker Harold Watts’ Approach: Small Production, Big Wines Garagiste, translated from the French, means “garage owner,” not something usually associated with wine country. But it’s a term often used in regions like Bordeaux to describe a winemaker who produces small lots of high-quality, handcrafted wines – sometimes right in his or her own garage. Harold Watts, Ternhaven Cellars’ owner and winemaker, also started out at home, but instead of making wine in his garage, Watts made wine in his Manhattan apartment. Today, with an unintentional though…