Posts Written OnOctober 2009

When Wine Geeks Drink Beer: Around the World in 80 Malts

By Julia Burke, Niagara Escarpment Contributor What happens when winemakers and winery employees get together to hang out during harvest? They drink beer, of course. And since wine people love to talk about “new world” versus “old world,” and since I’m fascinated by the intersections of the wine and beer scenes, I thought I’d throw a little beer tasting party to test the waters. After a long day of picking cabernet franc I collapsed on the couch with some of my favorite Niagara Escarpment winemakers and winery employees and enjoyed a lineup of five beer styles in their European and…

Rooster Hill Vineyards 2007 Estate Cabernet Franc

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Why do I taste wines over the course of at least two days before giving final ratings? Wines like this. That why. When I first opened and poured this 2007 Estate Cabernet Franc from Rooster Hill Vineyards on the east side of Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region, it was dominated by campfire and mesquite aromas and flavors. I didn't like it very much and I was cursing American oak yet again. I wrote my notes out anyway, and searched for fruit and non-oak attributes, finding some buried behind the bacon. The next day, this…

Giving Hybrids Some TLC Could Lead to Better Breeding

Artists' rendering of the methyl anthranilate molecule, responsible for "foxy" aroma in grapes and wine By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Interspecific grape hybrids (hereafter: hybrids) were initially bred in the late 19th century in response to phylloxera, an American grape pest that migrated across the ocean to Europe and began to decimate the less-resistant vinifera vines, almost wiping out wine production. Since an American pest was the problem, breeding vinifera with American vines was a potential solution (rather the American way, eh? Screw something up halfway around the world, then try to fix it?), and the result was original French…

Atwater Estate Vineyards 2008 Dry Riesling

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Atwater Estate Vineyards, located on the eastern shores of Seneca Lake is the winery responsible for introducing me to Finger Lakes wines. I've written the story before, so here it is in a nutshell: Atwater's winemaker, Vinny Aliperti used to work at Wolffer Estate. Roanoke Vineyards owner, Richie Pisacano worked there at the same time (and still works at Wolffer). When Richie opened his Roanoke tasting room, he only had a single wine of his own, so he tasted and sold some of Vinny's Atwater wine in the tasting room. The riesling, vidal blanc and estate…

New York Cork Report Video: Cabernet Franc Harvest at Freedom Run Winery

By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Escarpment Editor This video was shot last week at Freedom Run Winery in Lockport, NY. Cabernet franc and merlot were both pulled before another round of wet weather moved through the area. The vineyards are on the upper slope on the escarpment where there is a significant amount of clay in the soil and things can get very sloppy for days after serious precipitation. The vineyard was thinned to 2.5 tons per acre, with an initial sorting in the vineyard followed by another sorting seen on the video before crushing. From what I saw the sorting…

Sites For Sore Eyes: Why the Vines at Shinn Estate and Argetsinger Vineyard Can Thrive In Tough Years

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Editor's Note: This is the second of three trip reports following a recent visit to Long Island. Portions of the story on Sam Argetsinger are excerpted from my upcoming book. For just a moment, amidst the hum of harvest, we're going to depart from building brix and acid trips and first crushes. We're going to focus on the vineyard. And there, underneath the science of wine, lies a kind of viticultural spirituality that manifests in two of the most impressive sites in New York. If it doesn't impress you yet, it will — when…

Freedom Run Winery 2008 Estate Riesling

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief The first time I tasted this wine was at TasteCamp EAST 2009 and it was poured into my empty glass by our Niagara Escarpment editor, Bryan at some point during the wine-soaked weekend. I came away impressed with the effort and enjoyed a bottle that he gave me a few days later with some friends. Again, I liked it, enough to make this the first Niagara Escarpment wine to be a the New York Cork Club selection.  Bryan reminded me a few weeks ago that I still hadn't given it a formal review, so I pulled…

Q&A: Hans Walter-Peterson, Viticulture Extension Specialist, Finger Lakes Grape Program, Cornell University

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief With these weekly Q&A posts, we typically talk to a winery owner, winemaker, vineyard manager or someone else employed by an individual winery. This week, we pose our questions to Hans Walter-Peterson, someone who, though he doesn't work for a winery, is very much a part of the Finger Lakes wine community. He works for Cornell University as the Viticulture Extension Specialist for the university's Finger Lakes Grape Program. What does that mean exactly? It means that Hans helps grape growers with vineyard site selection and establishment, selection of grape varieties, rootstocks and training systems, pruning,…