By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief In the hotter, riper years, one of my favorite local cabernet francs almost always comes from Raphael, where winemaker Richard Olsen-Harbich eschews oak completely with his franc. Of course without oak, the fruit is forced to stand alone. You can't cover up underripe fruit. Without oak, you can taste the season — good or bad. I found the 2006 vintage of this wine, from that cool, rainy growing season, thin and underwhelming. Not so with this Raphael 2007 Cabernet Franc ($16), made from fruit grown during what might be the best one ever for…
Posts Written OnSeptember 04, 2009
Finger Lakes 2009 Vintage: Working Hard for a Happy Ending
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photos by Morgan Dawson Just as hailstorms and cold snaps are destructive to a vineyard, sweeping generalizations are destructive to a harvest report. This year, more than any in recent memory, it is nearly impossible to describe the Finger Lakes pre-harvest conditions in one or two declarative statements. That's because Mother Nature did some — let's just call it like it is — weird, weird stuff this year. Take the case of Hermann J. Wiemer, which utilizes three vineyards on Seneca Lake. One of them, the HJW vineyard behind the winery itself, endured a recent…