By Lenn Thompson, Publisher and Editor When Anthony Nappa, winemaker at Shinn Estate Vineyards, interviewed for the job, he had two questions of his own for the owners, could he bring his dog to work, and could he make his own wine? I've seen his dog at the winery myself and with the release of Anthony Nappa Wines 2008 Anomaly ($18), the second question is answered as well. His second wine, the Anthony Nappa Wines 2008 Nemesis, will be released this weeked. Both are available at Shinn's tasting room and both wines are 100% pinot noir sourced on the North…
Posts Written OnMay 2009
Is Southold Holding up Wind Power at Shinn Estate Vineyards?
By Lenn Thompson, Publisher and Editor I hope that we can all agree that alternative energy sources are a good thing — and that they are a large part of our future. Things like solar and wind power can, and will, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. And they are sustainable. The wind will always be there. So will the sun. We hope so anyway. So these are renewable, persistent sources of energy. Not surprisingly Shinn Estate Vineyards has already started to use these alternative sources, putting solar panels on top of their barrel storage building. Owners David Page and…
Holding Back: the 2009 Riesling Rendezvous
By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent Last year, at the 2008 Riesling Rendevouz event at the beautiful New York Wine and Culinary Center, I had the distinct pleasure of tasting a great many 2007 rieslings. In fact, few of the 40 plus wineries at last year's event were not pouring their 2007 rieslings. I was able to sample so many 2007 rieslings at this single event last year that I felt confident enough to proclaim familiarity with the vintage before summer even started. The 2009 Riesling Rendevouz provided a slightly different story. All of the trappings were the same: the nice tasting setups,…
When a Song Tastes Like a Riesling. Finger Lakes Riesling.
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes CorrespondentPhotos by Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent Something special happened Friday night at the New York Wine Wine & Culinary Center, and the effects are likely to echo for a long time. Every wine lover has a special bottle or two that stir vivid memories. Simply gazing at the label is enough to transport the owner to the time and place when the bottle was consumed. For me, there is one bottle of wine so special that I can picture the room in which I drank it when I see the label. When I hear…
Billsboro Winery 2007 Dry Riesling
By Lenn Thompson, Publisher and Editor May is Riesling Month in the Finger Lakes, but somehow this is my first Finger Lakes riesling review this month. Look for more riesling reviews this week and next (I'm tasting a lot of them lately, just haven't written them up yet). Before we get to today's wine, a little background on Billsboro Winery. It's located on the west side of Seneca Lake, just south of the city of Geneva, NY and is owned by Kim and Vinny Aliperti. Vinny, who makes the wines, also serves as winemaker at Atwater Estate Vineyards, which is…
New Blog of Note: Wine Conscience
For a variety of reasons, I don't read nearly as many wine blogs as I used to. For one, there are seemingly dozens of new wine blogs popping up very month. There are the good, the bad and the ugly of course, so not all of them make it into my daily or weekly rotation. But, some of those good ones force their way into my Google Reader. Wine Conscience, created by Megan Witherspoon (who happens to be the wife of Anything Wine's John Witherspoon) is one such blog. Megan, whose family owns a small winery in Virginia, is both…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Becky Borichevsky
Becky Borichevsky, who is better known in some circles as Taster B, is our TasteCamp interviewee this Monday morning. Becky started Smells Like Grape with her husband Steve (Taster A) in 2007 to document their exploration of wine. Becky felt that wine and blogging were a natural fit because good wine is endlessly inspiring. When not twittering, or blogging, Becky works in QA on Boston’s North Shore. Was this your first time to Long Island wine country?Yes, it was. Had you ever had any Long Island wines before? And if so, what was your impression of them?Yes, I’d had a…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with John Witherspoon
The TasteCamp interviews continue today with John Witherspoon, a blogger I met last fall at the 2008 Wine Bloggers Conference. He publishes Anything Wine from his home in Richmond, Virginia, and it's a highly appropriate name for him. When he's not blogging, he manages a local wine shop and helps with cellar rat and winemaking duties at his in-laws' winery in Virginia, Woodland Vineyard. John also achieved his Certified Specialist of Wine certification earlier this year. Was this your first time to Long Island wine country? Yes. Had you ever had any Long Island wines before? And if so, what…
Video from the 5th Annual Hudson Valley Wine Competition
My friend Debbie, better known as the Hudson Valley Wine Goddess, has posted a video from the Hudson Valley Wine Competition that I judged a few weeks ago. My ugly mug appears a few times and she gives a little peek into the inner-workings of the event.
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Remy Charest
I keep forgetting to mention that TasteCamp EAST 2009 was actually an international wine-tasting event… thanks to today's interviewee, Remy Charest. While doing a gazillion other things, Remy began writing about wine in 1997, with a monthly magazine column on Canadian wine and spirits, and kept on writing about food and wine since, notably as the Quebec City restaurant critic for Montreal daily Le Devoir. He started blogging about wine in July 2007, both on The Wine Case, in English, and on À chacun sa bouteille, in French. Remy lives in Quebec City where he works as Arts Editor for…