Posts Written OnOctober 2007

Wine Blogging Wednesday #38: Casa de Santar 1999 Dao Reserva

Welcome to Wine Blogging Wednesday #38 hosted by Ryan and Gabriella of Catavino. The theme, as one would expect when the blog for Iberian wines is playing host, focuses on that region. More specifically, Ryan and Gabriella asked participants to choose a table wine from Portugal. Port and Madeira are off limits and they also challenged us to come up with something more interesting than Vinho Verde or  Douro reds. I have only tried a handful of Portuguese reds in my three or four years of serious wine drinking. All were okay, but nothing really grabbed me and said "pay…

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Pennsylvania Wine Laws and Winery Visits with an Infant

My parents were here visiting us over the long Columbus Day weekend. And, as per usual, we took one day to visit their favorite wineries on the North Fork. You see, they live in Pennsylvania and the archaic liquor laws of my home state make it impossible for them to get the wines I write so much about unless they come here. The wineries can’t ship to them. And the state-run liquor and wine shops don’t stock them either. So here was the back of our Jeep Cherokee as we finished up at our last stop. All told I think…

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Jackson Update: Life Just Keeps on Changing

Parenthood brings about a great many changes in ones life. First, there’s the sleepless nights and the resulting exhaustion. Then you realize that you have absolutely no free time anymore. Then you finally settle into a schedule, a groove really, where you start to feel like your life is manageable again. And then your son learns how to crawl, and your life changes once again. The days of sitting Jackson on the floor and being able to tend to other things are gone, folks. He’s mobile now and beyond inquisitive. He’s scooting all over, pulling himself up on anything (stationary…

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Long Island Community-Made Wine: Special for LENNDEVOURS Readers

I first wrote about Sannino’s Bella Vita Vineyard in late July, but I’ve got some news that I know at least a few of you will be interested in. Put simply, Sannino gives you the opportunity to make your own barrel of wine, either alone or with friends. They bill themselves as a home winemaker center, which is a pretty cool idea. They grow merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc and normally for $3500, you get a barrel of wine (23 cases of wine), bottles, corks, labels, three educational sessions and a harvest festival. Their first, biggest harvest festival is…

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WTN: Sherwood House Vineyards 2004 Cabernet Franc (North Fork of Long Island)

Sherwood House Vineyards, they of the tiny little tasting room, is known primarily for their chardonnay and — to a lesser extent — merlot. Those are the varietals they’ve focused on in the past and they remain the focus today. But, as a card-carrying member of the "I Dig Cabernet Franc" club, I’m glad to see that they are bottling that variety as well. This Sherwood House Vineyards 2004 Cabernet Franc is their second such release and is has the sorts of aromas and flavors I’m looking for in cab franc. The nose is earthy and mushroomy with a little…

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Winery of the Year?

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent Recently, the 2007 New York Food and Wine Classic named Red Barn Winery as the "New York Winery of the Year." Surprisingly, this winery is not located in the Finger Lakes, Long Island or one of the established New York wine regions. Instead, Red Barn can be found in Liverpool, a small suburb just north of Syracuse in central New York. Being a proud resident of Syracuse, I took it upon myself to visit Liverpool one afternoon and see for myself what Red Barn is all about. The winery is located in the far…

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Nice Stories on CSA and Greenwashing

I miss my CSA this year. I really do. With all of the crazy goings on this spring, what with an infant and all, we forgot to sign up either with Golden Earthworm or Garden of Eve. And I miss it. I miss getting that box filled with locally grown, organic produce. I miss pulling odd or different looking vegetables out of there and thinking to myself "What is this and what can I do with it?" Next year we’ll be back in one. Especially with Jackson eating more and more things every day. We’ll want him to have the…

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