By New York City Correspondent Sasha Smith I am about to start the most demanding — and exciting — phase of attaining the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) diploma, a hardcore wine qualification that’s held by about 100 people in the U.S. and is the stepping stone to the hardest-core wine qualification of them all, the Master of Wine. On January, 15 I start Unit 3, Light Wines of the World. (There are 6 units in all, with the others covering the wine business, viticulture, vinification, sparkling and fortified wine, and spirits.) As the extremely vague title would indicate,…
Posts Written OnDecember 2007
Dr. Vino Tells New York Times Readers to Drink Local
Dr. Vino, one of the best-known blogs and blog owners in the wine world has a real name. It’s Tyler Colman. And, he is the author of an op-ed piece that was printed in today’s New York Times. In it, he discusses the carbon footprint of wine (he’s done a lot of research on the topic) and ultimate suggests that we all drink local this New Years. You guys know that I’m in on that concept, heck, I doubt any blogger talks about drinking local more than I do, so I was glad to see Tyler get this important piece…
Merry Christmas from LENNDEVOURS
Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope that you’re all enjoying terrific food and drink today. Today is an especially great holiday for the LENNDEVOURS team because it’s Jackson’s first. He of course doesn’t really know what it going on and is more into the ribbons, bows and boxes than the presents themselves, but the wonder with which he is taking the scene in is something I hope everyone experience in their lives. Posting will be sporadic this week, focusing mainly on the food we’re eating at my in laws’ and the vino that I brought for us to enjoy.
The 12 LI Wines of Christmas: #12 Roanoke Vineyards 2004 Blend Two
his post is a part of my 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas series that will run from now until Christmas 2007. See the entire series here. It’s Christmas day, we’ve opened all of our gifts, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and I’m finally getting around to posting the final wine in my series of 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas. We’re rounding out this mixed case of Long Island wines with a blend that I’ve enjoyed on many occasions since its release, but has never tasted better than it did last night on Christmas Eve. Made from 71% cabernet…
The 12 LI Wines of Christmas: #11 Bedell Cellars 2005 Reserve Merlot
This post is a part of my 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas series that will run from now until Christmas 2007. See the entire series here. Two more wines to go I’ve chosen them for two different reasons. Today’s wine, Bedell Cellars’ 2005 Reserve Merlot ($40) was one of the first 2005 merlots to hit the market and it offers a peek at what that vintage might eventually mean for Long Island. This wine’s intensity tells the story of the hot, dry growing season quite well I think. Loads of dense blackberry preserves, fresh figs and cocoa-coffee aromas reach…
The 12 LI Wines of Christmas: #10 Shinn Estate 2006 First Fruit
This post is a part of my 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas series that will run from now until Christmas 2007. See the entire series here. As we enter the home stretch of my 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas, it’s time for another one of my favorite whites. In fact, it’s the last white in the mixed case. Shinn Estate Vineyards 2006 First Fruit ($23) was so tasty this year that it sold out before I could stock my cellar for the summer. But, the 2007 will be released this spring and I won’t make the same mistake…
The 12 LI Wines of Christmas: #9 Paumanok Vineyards 2004 Assemblage
This post is a part of my 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas series that will run from now until Christmas 2007. See the entire series here. When I woke up this morning, I realized that I only had a few more days to announce the final four selections for my 12 Long Island Wines of Christmas series. Like every year, and in every way, it seems that the holiday has sneaked up on me. The #9 wine in this mixed case of Long Island wines is one that is tasting well now, but should be even better in years…
The 12 LI Wines of Christmas: #8 Corey Creek 2006 Domaines CC Rose
This post is a part of my 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas series that will run from now until Christmas 2007. See the entire series here. As long-time reader reminded me this morning (thanks for the note Chris), there were a ton of great roses released this year. Regardless of varietal composition or style, it just seemsedlike Long Island winemakers just did a great job with rose from the 2006 vintage. In fact, much like choosing a Channing Daughters white the other day, choosing a rose from the plethora of great ones was difficult. So this time around, I’m…
The 12 LI Wines of Christmas: #7 Channing Daughters Winery 2006 Vino Bianco
This post is a part of my 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas series that will run from now until Christmas 2007. See the entire series here. It’s impossible to put together a mixed case of Long Island wine without including something from Channing Daughters Winery. Rather than focus on Bordeaux varieties like merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauavignon, winemaker Chris Tracy focuses on white varieties, some bottled no where else on the Island. Unlike most wineries, the white wines are definitely the stars at CDW, but which to pick? With so many interesting, unique wines, it wasn’t easy to…
Menu For Hope Ends Today: Donate Money. Win Prizes.
Menu For Hope, the annual event when food and wine bloggers the world over unite to raise money for the U.N. World Food Programme, ends today so make sure that you give till it feels good this holiday season. So far, people have donated nearly $60,000, which is amazing, but we all want more. Give people. Give. This year, LENNDEVOURS is offering two prizes for the fund raising raffle: WB19: Long Island Cabernet Franc Three-Pack A lot of people think that Long Island is all about merlot, but those in the know realize that some of Long Island’s best,…