Tomorrow morning, I'll be up early to be in the car and on the road to Rhinebeck, NY in the Hudson Valley by 5:30 a.m. Why on earth would I get up so early on a Saturday, especially now that Jackson typically sleeps in later than that? Well, there's a very good reason. One of the best reasons, actually — wine. I'm honored to be judging the Hudson Valley Wine & Grape Association's 5th Annual Hudson Valley Wine Competition at Terrapin. The festivities begin at 9 a.m. sharp, and I certainly don't want to be late. It will be a…
Posts Written OnApril 2009
Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher Of the 40 or so producers on Long Island, only a handful make pinot noir, and of that handful and even smaller group does it well. Osprey's Dominion Vineyards made one of the best in the 2005 vintage, one of the better vintages in the relatively brief history of Long Island wine. Winemaker Adam Suprenant didn't bother making it 2006 and with good reason, it wasn't a great year for reds. But Osprey's varietal pinot noir made a return with the warm, dry 2007 growing season. That ripeness certainly isn't hidden at all. This…
2009 Golden Nose Awards Suspended
By Melissa Dobson, Finger Lakes News Correspondent The Seneca Lake Wine Trail has quietly suspended one of their most popular events of the year, the 2009 Golden Nose Awards Weekend, scheduled for May 30, 2009. “Despite how enthusiastic past attendees have been, and ostensibly driven by the weakened economy, ticket sales were not quite as robust as in years past, so rather than try to run the event with measurably diminished attendance, we have opted to quietly suspend the event and focus on the 2010 Golden Nose Award event," stated Paul Thomas, executive director of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail.…
Martha Clara Vineyards’ Juan E. Micieli-Martinez is the Juan-Maker
Slowly but surely, Long Island wineries are getting into social media. There still aren't any blogs worth noting, but Juan E. Micieli-Martinez, the winemaker at Martha Clara Vineyards has launched a new YouTube video series, Juan-Maker. It's not the most educational video in the world, but its entertaining. Juan has already been good for MCV's wines, so anything he can do beyond that is really just a bonus. I'm curious to see where he takes Juan-Maker.
Fred Frank: We’re Open For Business Despite Fire
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent Frederick Frank, the president of Dr. Konstantin Frank Wine Cellars, said this morning that the loss of a spill-over tasting room to fire does not change day-to-day business. "We're open today for tastings. We're bottling wine today. Nothing has changed. We'll be taking part as planned in the wine trail event this weekend," Frank explained. He does not know the cause of the massive fire that destroyed the new tasting room building, but he praised the firefighters from Hammondsport and other departments who responded quickly last night. "They did outstanding work, and we can't…
What do Wine Critics and Bloggers “Owe” Wineries That Send Them Samples?
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher If you're in the wine industry and you're not on Twitter yet, I won't call you an idiot, but you're really missing out. There are great discussions going on almost every day and by getting involved in them, you can not only learn from other people in the industry but also connect with your customers in a whole new way. Sure, there is plenty of inane, useless banter too, but it's pretty easy to filter that out once you get your feet wet and understand the technology and the people. Anyway, yesterday there was…
Fire at Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars
Fire damage at Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars (Photo by Mike Linehan) By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher I just got an email telling me that there was a fire at Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars today that severely damaged the winery and/or the tasting room. I don't know any details yet, but hopefully some of the people who read this blog and offer some. Hopefully no one was hurt. UPDATE: David Spengler, tasting room manager at Ravines Wine Cellars just sent me a message on Facebook telling me: "About 8:45pm this evening Dr Frank's new tasting room…
Spring Brings Some Niagara Region News
By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Correspondent With only twelve wineries in the Niagara region, news just doesn’t happen everyday. During most of the winter, a few wineries may only open on weekends, or in one case, one weekend out of the month. So now that winter is loosening its grip, some good news has surfaced with the melting snow. The 2009 Finger Lakes International Competition was good to several Niagara wineries, and there was one standout result. Leonard Oakes Estate Winery was awarded a double gold medal for its 2007 Frontenac. If you haven’t heard of this grape, don’t worry, it’s…
Brooklyn Uncorked 2009: May 13 @ BAMcafe, Brooklyn
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher Over the last couple years, Brooklyn Uncorked has become the premier Long Island wine tasting event. There are very few opportunities to taste so many Long Island wines in one place. This year, the list of Long Island wineries pouring includes Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard, Bedell Cellars/Corey Creek Vineyards, Bouké, Bridge Vineyards, Brooklyn Oeneology, Castello di Borghese, Channing Daughters Winery, Clovis Point, Diliberto Winery, Grapes of Roth, Harbes Farm and Vineyards, Lieb Cellars, Long Island Merlot Alliance, Macari Vineyards, The Old Field, Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards, Palmer Vineyards, Raphael, Roanoke Vineyards, Sherwood House Vineyards, Shinn…
Red Newt Cellars 2007 Curry Creek Vineyards Gewurztraminer
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher I had a feeling that the new Gewurztraminers from Red Newt Cellars would illicit a response from a few readers. I just knew that some people would have a negative reaction to the prices, regardless of quality. The price of New York wines — the truths and the myths — is another topic for another time (and soon) though. Today, I want to tell you a bit about the other single-vineyard Gewurztraminer made in 2007 by Dave Whiting at Red Newt. After much deliberating, I can now say that Red Newt Cellars 2008 Curry…