By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Correspondent As if grape growing in true cool climate areas wasn’t hard enough with extreme winter temperatures, early and late frost dangers and a constant battle with humidity, time after time severe storms add to the risk with hail outbreaks that can spoil an otherwise great vintage. The vineyard pictured above is owned by Schulze Vineyards & Winery in Burt, NY. These very same vines took a nasty hit from hail last year and left grower Martin Schulze with his share of damaged fruit. Martin, who came over from Germany as a child, has been…
Posts Written OnJune 2009
Southern Tier unearthly Imperial India Pale Ale
By Kevin Burns, Beer Columnist Southern Tier's unearthly is an Imperial India Pale Ale that checks in at a huge 11% ABV. Southern Tier states that unearthly offers and "an uninhibited infusion of hops." unearthly poured a semi-hazy, golden-orange color with almost no head. The aroma has some really ripe fruit, with a huge blast of hops. The body is creamy and smooth, with a decent amount of malt and strong sweetness from fruity esters. The hops start to show through in the middle and become stronger leading to an extremely hoppy finish that thoroughly dries out the palate. Overall,…
What We Drank (June 30, 2009)
I think this might be the most interesting edition of What We Drank so far. We've got big names, big wines and then wines of elegance and restraint. And for the first time, not a single New York wine. From Bryan Calandrelli: Chateau Montelena 2004 Chardonnay In today’s market place there’s a growing number of so-called celebrity wines. In this case the wine itself has become a celebrity thanks to “Bottle Shock” the movie. A friend of mine opened this 2004 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay from the Napa Valley recently and I was lucky enough to get a taste of a…
Q&A: Bob Madill, General Manager, Sheldrake Point Vineyard
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and PublisherToday's Q&A subject is Bob Madill, general manager at Sheldrake Point Vineyard on Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Bob was part of the team that founded Sheldrake Point in the spring of 1997 and he's a fellow tech marketeer, having spent over 20 years in international high tech marketing and sales, as well as work within the wine industry in Ontario, Canada. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? In the late 1950s we moved from a remote British Columbia coastal town to Montreal. There…
Shinn Estate Vineyards 2008 Rose
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher This isn't another one of those "rose is making a comeback" pieces, but dry rose is one of the under-appreciated pleasures of cool climate wine regions. The natural acidity that cool evenings and long, slow growing seasons retain is key. In the Finger Lakes, there are more dry roses (in addition to the sweet ones) being bottled every year, but here on Long Island, dry rose has been a part of many wine programs for years. Sometimes, they are made by blending red and white grapes, but some of my favorites are made primarily…
June 28: Jamesport Vineyards Wine, Beer and Oyster Festival
If you read this blog, there's a good chance that you like local beer, wine and seafood. This Sunday, from noon to 5:30 p.m. Jamesport Vineyards will have all three (along with music from Reckoning) as a part of their first of three Wine, Beer and Oyster Festivals. Admission is free and wines from Jamesport Vineyards, beer from Blue Point Brewery and oysters from local purveyors will be available for purchase. Jamesport Vineyards is well known for its seafood-friendly sauvignon blanc,and Blue Point makes some terrific beers (I like their Hoptical Illusion a lot). And remember, 10% of all…
What We Drank (6/23/09)
This week's What We Drank is pretty diverse, with a couple New York wines, a classic chardonnay from Burgundy and one of least-flavorful beers in the world. Sadly that beer is my contribution. From Bryan Calandrelli: Louis Jadot 1999 Le Montrachet Having Old World wine geek friends has its benefits too these days. This is a bottle I would never have swooned over and it's a wine that my New World attention span wouldn't have recognized over any of the other of those Jadot selections on the shelf. It takes an educated eye to pick out this vineyard, Montrachet, and…
Ithaca Excelsior! Series TEN
By Kevin Burns, Beer Columnist Ithaca TEN is an "imperial American Extra Special Double Red Ale" that was created to celebrate the Ithaca Beer Company's 10th anniversary. The beer was released in March of 2008 as part of the Excelsior! series and is described by the brewery as an "exploded version of CascaZilla". In 2008 at TAP-NY, Ithaca TEN was awarded the gold medal of the F.X. Matt Memorial Cup as the best beer in New York State. The bottle is labeled Batch# E!011. TEN poured a light brown color with a small, pen-width, tan head. The nose had quite a bit of rich malt, with a…
Video: Lemberger vs. Blaufrankisch — Members of Finger Lakes Wine Community Chime In
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent Following up on my earlier post today, here is some video where several in the Finger Lakes wine industry chime in with their thoughts on Lemberger vs. Blaufrankisch and the variety's future in the Finger Lakes.
What’s In a Name? If It’s Blaufrankisch, More Than You Think
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent When you meet Heron Hill's winemaker, do not make the mistake of calling him "Tom." That is not his name, and he'll correct you. Before I spoke recently with Thomas Laszlo, I was warned by a writer friend not to call him by the wrong name. "He's pretty serious about it," I was warned. To Thomas' credit, he acknowledges being a little edgy about his name. "My mother was very particular with names. She always pushed for Thomas, so it's Thomas!" he says with a subtle laugh. He's just as particular with names as…