Posts Written OnMay 2007

In Case You Missed It: Grand Cru Classes Has Planted Their Vineyard

Memorial Day weekend was a big weekend for the folks at Grand Cru Classes, the only wine education organization in Long Island wine country.  You see, not only have the renovated their barn and converted it into a classroom, but last weekend they finished planting their educational vineyard. The basics of the as-yet-unnamed vineyard are: Rows: 9 rows spaced 5-1/2 feet apart Vines: 11 per row spaced 4-1/2 feet apart Varietals: Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Merlot Varietal Count: 3 rows (or 33 vines) each Total Vines: 99 Fruit Yield: Roughly 2-gallons per row or a 6-gallon batch per varietal **…

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Just because it’s been a while…

I think I’ve done an admirable job of not posting too many pictures of our little guy. But in celebration of the holiday weekend that has just passed, here’s a quick shot of my little buddy.  And, we got some good news today. Jackson can start with infant cereal this week and if all goes well, green vegetables can be added to his diet next week. We, of course, are planning to make our own baby food, so that is yet something else that I’ll be writing about here. You know, in all my ample spare time.

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LENNDEVOURS Q&A: Barb Smithen, Co-Owner of Sherwood House Vineyards

What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? My first glass or bottle of wine was Chateau Latour 1949. My mother received a case for Christmas and I remember her saying it was a real treat. This was in 1973. The next week I had a friend who was barbecuing. We had the best hamburgers with this wine. I didn’t realize how expensive this bottle was, but everybody else did!What event/bottle/etc made you decide that you wanted to be in the wine industry? My husband and I were in France visiting the vineyards and we went…

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A Response from Howard Goldberg

The following is an email I received from Howard Goldberg, a well-known wine writer who I read most often in the New York Times in his "Long Island Vines" column. As you will see, he offered it up for publication here on LENNDEVOURS, so that is what I’m doing. Below his email is my response as well. Dear Mr. Thompson, Your Web entry of April 25, which recently came to my attention, suggests a failure to respect such elementary principles of professional journalism as fairness and accuracy. The question in the title, “LI Wineries Shutting Out Howard Goldberg?”, is never…

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LENNDEVOURS Q&A: Gary Madden, GM at Lieb Family Cellars

What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? I was in grad school working at an expensive downtown restaurant in Chicago (called Nick’s Fishmarket, originally from Honolulu), managing the service bar where all the wine was stocked, and the conductor of the Chicago Symphony came in with guests, ordered two each of spectacular wines and left half the wines for the staff — a Lafite Rothschild (1976 maybe?), a Chevalier Montrachet, and a German Bernkastel Docktor. I was only 22 and could never afford wines like that! What event/bottle/etc made you decide that you wanted to…

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Beer Podcast: Recap of Beer Dinner at Deks

On today’s show you’ll get a quick update about what’s happening in Long Island’s beer scene.  Check the calendar often if you don’t want to miss a beer event. Featured Beer: Our featured beer is the Southampton May Bock.  We taste that and give you our impressions. Beer/Food Pairing:  Then, Rich and I talk about the beer dinner at Deks in Rocky Point.  The story behind this beer dinner is this: Together with podcast regular, Mike, I encouraged the owners of Deks to stage a beer dinner.  Beer dinners are something that I know a lot about.  My wife Denise…

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Some Thoughts on Brooklyn Uncorked

I’ve mentioned it a couple time already, but on May 16, Long Island wine invaded Brooklyn. “Brooklyn Uncorked,” organized by the Long Island Wine Council, Edible East End and Edible Brooklyn, offered Brooklynites (and Manhattanites really) the unrivaled—and long overdue—chance to taste Long Island wines without trudging out to the East End. Thirty-plus wineries and a few other vendors descended on the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAMcafe for a walk-around tasting event. I was lucky enough to attend the press and trade portion of the event. The crowd wasn’t huge, but it was steady and it seemed like people were…

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LENNDEVOURS Q&A: Theresa Dilworth, Co-owner and winemaker, Comtesse Therese

For today’s edition of LENNDEVOURS Q&A, we sit down with Theresa Dilworth of Comtesse Therese. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? I do not remember the first bottle of wine that I ever drank. I do remember though, when I was in law school in NYC, becoming very interested in the Sherry-Lehman wine shop on Madison Avenue, and especially the Sherry-Lehman wine catalog. I used to read every issue from cover to cover, studying all the descriptions of wines, the prices, the scores, trying to figure out which ones might be good. The wines…

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WBW #34 Announced: Washington Cabernet

Washington wines…we’ve all ready about them in books, magazines and blogs, but have we really taken a hard look at them? I know that I haven’t, though I’ve had some terrific ones over the years. The 34th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted by Through the Walla Walla Grape Vine will force us to look at Washington wines — Washington cabernet sauvignon in particular. Originally, Catherine wanted to focus soley on her bread and butter — Walla Walla wines. But, that can be tough for people outside of metro areas. Besides, If I don’t get to do Long Island, she…

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