Posts Written OnSeptember 2008

Welcome Melissa Dobson to LENNDEVOURS

Please join me in welcoming Melissa Dobson as LENNDEVOURS’ newest contributor. You may know Melissa from her blog Family, Love, Wine, but I know her as a wine lover and aspiring PR consultant who is based in the Finger Lakes. Since moving to the Finger Lakes with her husband, she has become passionate about the emerging wine region and has jumped in to become an additional ambassador for the local wine industry. Her PR experience includes a stint at Deutsch, Inc. in Manhattan on PR teams that included Samuel Adams Beer, 7UP PLUS and Snapple. While in New York City,…

International Riesling Foundation: What’s the Point?

When I first got the press release announcing the International Riesling Foundation’s (IRF) newly proposed Riesling Taste Profile, I didn’t give it much thought. It seemed a bit frivolous to me. Just another act of oenological masturbation — only satisfying or useful for one or a small group of people. I dismissed it really. But then I started seeing more and more coverage of it. Sure, the stories read an awful lot like the press release I got, but I’m still left asking "What is the point?" The concept is simple enough and on the surface it makes some sense.…

WBW #49: Swedish Hill Winery 2007 Vidal Blanc (Finger Lakes)

Welcome to the 49th edition of the original virtual wine tasting event, Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted by 2 Days Per Bottle. The theme? It’s more of a question than a theme: "What will you drink to toast the end of the Bush era? Will it be something to honor the 43rd President, or are you just looking forward to 44? Will it be something from Texas, which Bush calls home, or Connecticut, where he was really raised? Maybe a nice French champagne, a bit of a poke in his eye? Or do you prefer Italian prosecco, since they supported the…

Vineyard Visuals: Channing Daughters Winery (Labor Day Weekend)

From our resident photographer, Ellen Watson: "I went by the vineyard on Saturday of Labor Day weekend. There is now wire fencing around all of the grapes that I have been documenting….heavy wire fencing that either needed to be opened up or crawled underneath. I did not want to do either one of these things without first speaking to Christopher or Allison. However, it was really busy with lots of weekend visitors and I did not want to bother the staff with my questions while they were busy selling wine! So, I left and emailed Allison about getting inside the…

Update: LENNDEVOURS Fall Wine Bar @ Roanoke Vineyards to Benefit Peconic Land Trust

Just a quick update about the first LENNDEVOURS Wine Bar event at Roanoke Vineyards on Sunday, October 19 at 2 p.m. We’ve sold a surprising number of tickets already, and we hadn’t even announced the charity involved…until now. I’m thrilled to tell you that we’ll be donating all of the net proceeds from ticket sales and the money we raise raffling off wine to Peconic Land Trust, an important local organization that strives to protect Long Island’s working farms, natural lands and heritage. Who: You, I hopeWhat: LENNDEVOURS Quarterly Wine BarWhen: Sunday, October 19 from 2-5 p.m.Where: Roanoke Vineyards (Map)Why:…

Penguin Bay Winery 2007 Gewurztraminer (Finger Lakes)

Riesling gets most of critical attention in the Finger Lakes, and with good reason. There are many world-class rieslings coming out of the region. But it’s not the only variety that thrives in that cool climate. The aromatic Gewürztraminer grape is another variety that, in the hands of the right winemaker, shines in the Finger Lakes. Penguin Bay Winery and Champagne House, located on Seneca Lake, opened in 1997 as a sister winery to Swedish Hill Winery, which was recently named "Winery of the Year" at the 2008 New York Wine & Food Festival. They focus largely on sparkling wines…

You’ve Got Hail

By Brian Calandrelli, Niagara Correspondent This summer has tested vineyard managers throughout Niagara County, NY with rainy, humid and sometimes dangerous weather patterns. Hail fell from the sky at least three times, which made many in the industry rethink their expectations for their crops this year. I’ve read several reports on bad weather in Bordeaux, Burgundy and even on this site about Long Island, so it’s not all that surprising that our cool climate in the Niagara region wasn’t spared. I walked through Martin Schulze’s vineyard after the last hailstorm and the damage was obvious. On the east side of…

The Bottling Line at Sannino’s Bella Vita Vineyard

Last Saturday, several members of the LENNDEVOURS Vintners Group descended upon Sannino’s Bella Vita Vineyard for one of the most exciting parts of our winemaking project: bottling. It may not be glamorous work, but it means that you get to take your wine home from Long Island’s only homewinemaker’s center. This is the group, and the Sannino’s bottling either our merlot or our meritage-style blend. That’s me in the black Steelers hat of course.

Sips and Slurps (September 15, 2008)

Sorry for the relative blog silence (maybe we can call it blog quiet this time?), but I’ve been extremely busy at work, which has led to more working during the evenings. The major project we’re working on should be released soon, so expect a return to regular blogging soon. In the meantime, here are a few notes from New York wine country: The beer and wine blog, Beer and Wine Blither, has a nice little report on a recent trip to the North Fork and a few wineries Jamesport Vineyards has launched a new wine club with two options —…

Diploma Dispatches: I Passed!

By Sasha Smith, New York City Correspondent Good news – I passed the Unit 3 exam! Friends have asked if I’m excited, but mostly I’m relieved. (Also slightly shocked that I passed the tasting portion.) Now I need to go through the same drill for spirits and sparkling and fortified wines and write four research papers. Piece of cake. Many thanks to Lenn for giving me the real estate on his blog – and thanks to all of you who wrote in with words of encouragement and support. Whoever thinks the blogosphere is full of only snark and vitriol has…