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Posts Written OnFebruary 2007

Wine Library TV Meets the New York Cork Club

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New York Wines are Taking Over The World! Overstated, sure. But the wines I am so passionate about are working their way around the Internet pretty nicely. On today’s episode of Wine Library TV everyone’s favorite Chad Pennington wannabe tastes wines from the New York Cork Club’s February shipment. When I found that that Gary, who surely has a better arm that Pennington, was going to taste the wines, I was excited. I don’t think he’s featured any NY wines on his uber-popular vlog. But would he like them? Would he think these wines like Joe Namath…or would they be…

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WTN: Osprey’s Dominion 2005 Vin Gris (North Fork of Long Island)

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Today we’ll continue with a quick tasting note on Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards 2005 Vin Gris. I’ve written here numerous times about local rose wines and how diverse they can be. I guess the same can probably be said for many wine regions, but it always amazes me anyway. You’ve got your sweet, flabby versions that taste more like Koolaid than anything made with wine grapes. You’ve got fresh, clean, crisp wines that are just awesome on a hot summer day or with a picnic lunch. And of course there’s everything in between too. This rose, made with cabernet sauvignon grapes,…

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‘Casts with my Coffee and my Kid

Well, not exactly. I don’t drink coffee. I’m a tea guy and lately I’ve been really enjoying Trader Joe’s Organic Green Tea Chai. Anyway, I’ve quickly realized in Jackson’s first month that one has to squeeze in "time" wherever possible. By "time" I mean things like "quiet time" "family time" "wife time" and the like. Even though he’s only four weeks old, the Jackyl as I’ve started calling him, and I have a  little ritual that we’ve started the last few days. He usually gets up around 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. and I get up with him to let Nena…

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LENNDEVOURS and Wine Blogging Wednesday in the Baltimore Sun

Hey guess what? LENNDEVOURS and Wine Blogging Wednesday both got a little print publicity over the weekend in the Baltimore Sun. The article, which ran in the paper’s "Ideas" section, was written by Troy McCullough and it’s a nice piece about everyone’s favorite virtual wine tasting. He does say this about WBW though: "A collection of blog posts, no matter how well-written, surely is a cold, cruel substitute for an actual wine event." Perhaps he’s overstating for effect, and it’s hard to argue that any virtual wine event is as fun as a similar event in the "real world"…I don’t think…

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WTN: Osprey’s Dominion 2002 Blush de Noir (North Fork of Long Island)

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Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards reminds me a little bit of a winery like Beringer. One one hand, they make some sweet, entry-level wines that I assume are meant for the trailer park set. But, they also make some of my favorite red wines on the other end of their portfolio. Perhaps it’s a matter of making wines for the masses to pay for the wines winemaker and U.C. Davis grad Adam Suprenant really wants to make? Anyway, I recently tasted through some of their new and upcoming releases for a column I’m writing, so you’ll get to see my notes here…

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My New Steak Marinade

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about my adventures and exploits in the kitchen. Mostly that’s because for the past month I’ve been focusing on food that I can get on the table quickly and easily as Nena and I juggle diapers, bottles, pacifiers and car seats. Oh, and did I mention Jackson? But, I think I’ve stumbled upon a new "go to" marinade for steaks. It’s based loosely on one I read in one of Stephen Raichlen’s books (I’ve got three of them) and it was great on Saturday night. Ginger-Soy Marinade for Steak 4 garlic cloves,…

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Naming My 2006 Cabernet Franc

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Well it looks like I’ll be bottling my 6-8 cases of 2006 cabernet franc sometime in mid-to-late March. With all that has been going on, I’ve been a neglectful winemaker, but luckily Rich has been keeping a well-trained eye on my vino. Of course, once the wine is in bottle, I’ll need to label it, right? So, I’ve been knocking around some name ideas for the wine and thought I’d throw them out for discussion: PlumpJackson. Obviously this bring my recently born son and a well-regarded California red wine together. Handle-Jackson. This one is Rich’s idea actually (playing off of…

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Save the Date: May 16 — Brooklyn Uncorked

Details are still to come, but if you’d like to sample a lot of Long Island wine in one place at one time, Brooklyn Uncorked is going to be a great place to do it. Windows On Long Island used to be the big New York City tasting for Long Island wines, but they haven’t held that event in a couple years. Sponsored by two publications that I’ll be writing for starting this spring — Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End — and the Long Island Wine Council, Brooklyn Uncorked is happening May 16th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music…

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WTN: Jamesport Vineyards 2004 Late Harvest Riesling (North Fork of Long Island)

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Long Island, and the entire state of New York really, offers a surprising number of succulent, delicious dessert wines. In upstate New York, there is an endless array of ice and ice-style wines-some of which are frozen commercially while others freeze right on the vine in the more traditional way. But, on Long Island, late harvest temperatures rarely dip down to the point where the grapes freeze naturally, locking in water so that only the richest, most flavorful liquid oozes from each berry when pressed. Instead, many of the top dessert wines are made using grapes picked at peak ripeness…

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Lisa Granik’s Op-Ed Discussed in the Long Island Business News

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I missed this while I was out of the blogging game for a couple weeks, but Jeff Miller of Long Island Business News wrote a piece about Lisa Granik’s semi-recent op-ed in the New York Times. I’m heavily quoted in the piece, even though I wasn’t interviewed directly. Instead, Miller  used quotes from my own response to the op-ed. He also used information from responses sent to the Times by local vintners. Regardless, his story sure doesn’t make Ms. Granik look like she knows what she’s talking about-particularly given the quote from Richard Olsen-Harbich (who also contributes to this blog)…

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