Posts Written OnMarch 2008

Bedell Cellars 2005 Musée Launch Party Report

By Sasha Smith, New York City Correspondent If you’re going to name your prestige wine Musée and put a Chuck Close daguerreotype on the label, where better to launch it at The Modern? Last night Bedell Cellars hosted a party to officially introduce their newest, top-of-the-line cuvée. A blend of 78% merlot, 17% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% petit verdot from the Wells Road and Bedell Estate vineyards, the wine is aged for 15 months French oak, half of it new. Soft and supple with well-integrated oak and notes of plum and cocoa, the wine is incredibly easy to drink. (The…

WTN: Treleaven 2006 Gewurztraminer (Finger Lakes)

I had high hopes when I opened this wine from King Ferry Winery/Treleaven . I’ve thoroughly enjoyed their rieslings in the past and thought that their rose (made with cab franc) was pretty nice too. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t my favorite. Treleaven’s 2006 Gewurztraminer ($14.50) is an extremely pale straw yellow. The nose is tight and doesn’t offer much in the way of aromas — some light floral notes and just a little spice. Medium-light bodied, it is somewhat neutral tasting with just a little bit of the classic Gewürztraminer character that I love (rose petals, lychee, ginger spice). The…

To Drink or To Blog?

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent Jamie’s recent post about being a little "sick" of wine grabbed my attention, not only due to the fact that she chose to reveal the private nature of her own wine-related thoughts, but also because she hit upon a chord that I see reverberating throughout the wine blogosphere. I’m nowhere near the wine blog reader that is the guru Lenn, but I’ve noticed in my own limited searches that many blogs seem a bit, well, down recently, and some writers are making sentiments known that mirror Jay’s.  One blogger who I have come to…

Job Posting: Tasting Room Manager at Ravines Wine Cellars

Ravines Wine Cellars, a boutique Finger Lakes winery is seeking an experienced tasting room manager for its location on Keuka Lake in Hammondsport, NY.  The candidate must have excellent communication, administrative and sales skills as well as a real passion for fine wine and food. The Finger Lakes is an incredibly exciting and growing viticultural area and Ravines Wine Cellars is one of only a handful of wineries specializing in fine, dry European-style wines. You can read about them in this month’s issue of Life in the Finger Lakes Magazine (the story written by LENNDEVOURS’ own Jason Feulner), Wine Spectator…

More Reviews Coming on LENNDEVOURS, Even if They are Shorter

I taste a lot of New York wine. I mean a LOT of New York wine. In the past, I’ve only posted a small sampling of these wines, mostly because I don’t like to write one-paragraph reviews that only offer the smells and flavors of the wine. I like to provide a little history, a little context. Where does the wine fit into similar wines in the region? How are the growing conditions of the vintage displayed in the wine? What foods did or would I enjoy with it? These types of reviews take a lot more time to write…

Reminder: Wine Blogging Wednesday Logo Contest

I keep forgetting to post about this, but wanted to remind everyone that the Wine Blogging Wednesday logo contest is well under way. So far, about a dozen entries have been sent to winebloggingwednesday@gmail.com. Some of them are quite good, but I’d still love to see more come in before our March 31 deadline. You can read all of the details in the announcement. We are also still looking for contributions to the prize pack for the winner.  

Sips and Slurps (March 7, 2008)

Life has been a bit different of late, but in a good way. I’ve made a concerted effort not to spend as much time online when I’m at home, with the goals being reading more and getting more sleep, frankly. It’s worked pretty well, but now I’m painfully behind in my blog reading, blog posting, and wine tasting. The New York wine and food world doesn’t stop just because I’m not writing about it however, so here are a few notes on things going on that you may not have seen. * Hamptons Restaurant Week is coming up starting March…

Diploma Dispatches: Southern Italy

By Sasha Smith, NYC Correspondent This week we headed to Southern Italy, much firmer ground for me. I drink these wines more than their northern counterparts because, one, I love all those gutsy red varietals (Aglianico, Nero d’Avola, etc.) and pretty, summery white ones (Fiano, Greco, etc.) and two, they’re cheaper. It’s still a bit of alphabet soup with all the grape names, but this week I decided to relax a bit and just go with the flow, Italian style. Robert Scibelli taught this week’s class. A 2005 diploma recipient and International Wine Center staffer who’s now gunning for an…

Eric Ripert Digs Wolffer Estate’s 2007 Rose

I haven’t tried it (it hasn’t been released yet), but according to Forbes.com, Eric Ripert, well-known chef at Le Bernadin, has a thing for Wolffer Estate’s 2007 Rose. Apparently he’s pairing it with a tartare of black bass made with a tangy olive tapenade, saying that the combination of flavors "made me fall to my knees." It’s almost rose season, folks, one of my favorite times of year. Long Island wineries have really upped the quality of their roses in recent years, leading to some of the most food-friendly wines around. But, most of them are best consumed the same…