Posts Written OnNovember 2009

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief What a difference a few years can make. I know why most New York wineries release reds within two years of vintage. Many producers sell out quickly and need to have something on the shelves to sell. Others need to move product through because they need the cash flow or lack long-term storage space. This all means that most Long Island wines are being tasted in tasting rooms (and purchased and consumed) long before their peak. A quick look around the Island shows that most wineries are pouring 2006 and 2007 reds now. One of the…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief The 2009 harvest drew to a close at Shinn Estate Vineyards on Wednesday, ending what was surely the wildest, wackiest — and longest — growing season the winery has experienced on the North Fork. Wildest and wackiest because of the the cool, cloudy, wet start. Longest because they finished up a full 12 days later than they ever have before. A look at the final numbers might make you think that it was just another year on Oregon Road: Cabernet franc: 24-25 brix and 2.1 tons per acre Cabernet sauvignon: 23.2 brix and 1.5 tons per…

By Julia Burke, Niagara Escarpment Correspondent Now that the 2009 harvest is finally drawing to a close, I can power-wash my hiking boots, B-Brite the wine stains on my shirts, scrape the grape residue out from underneath my fingernails, and get ready to do it all over again as an intern in South Africa in two months (assuming all goes well with the infinite bureaucracy of the visa system). Compared to my fellow correspondents, I’m quite new to the wine industry and unqualified to analyze the technical nuances of this vintage. However, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned from…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Stevens, winemaker at King Ferry Winery/Treleaven Winess grew up in the Finger Lakes region and she went to college there as well, earning her bachelor’s degree in Food Science, concentrating in Fermentations, in the fall of 2004 at Cornell University just before they began enrolling students into their Enology curriculum. During her years at Cornell she worked part-time in the vineyard and tasting room of Sheldrake Point Vineyards. After completing her schooling, she served as the full-time cellar assistant at Sheldrake for two years. In August 2007, Lindsay moved on to King Ferry where she…

Kristin Vanden Brul shows off her new offerings from Long Island By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor If you walk into a wine shop on Long Island, will you find Finger Lakes wines? How about the other way around – do you expect to find Long Island wines in Finger Lakes shops? I recently discovered the shuttered mentality up close in a wine shop on Keuka Lake. The employee said, "We can't sell Long Island wines. People would get upset with us." This assertion was backed by only the flimsiest logic, that somehow the Finger Lakes is competing with Long…

By David Page, Shinn Estate Vineyards and Shinn Farmhouse I first tasted Peconic Bay Scallops in the early 1990s on a weekend getaway to the North Fork. In late autumn, Barbara and I would leave our restaurant after dinner service and head east with great anticipation of visiting Charlie Manwaring at Southold Fish Market. After getting a good night's sleep we would head over to see Charlie in the early morning and would often find him still shucking the succulent meat from the scallop shells. We have since had the chance to harvest scallops in Hallock's Bay and then eat…

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photos courtesy of Keuka Spring Vineyards By late August it was obvious to the Wiltberger family at Keuka Spring Vineyards that 2009 had become a challenging vintage. They had to make decisions on how to ensure ripe grapes, particularly the red varieties. Checking out the cabernet franc, they made the kind of call that can save a vintage: They decided to cut yields in half. "It's made all the difference," owner Len Wiltberger said on a quiet day with most of the grapes in. "We went from nearly five tons an acre to about…

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photo, of grapes ripening before harvest, courtesy of Hunt Country Vineyards What is harvest like as we cross into November? Hunt Country Vineyards owner Art Hunt wrote about the back-breaking work, the beautiful images and the speed of the harvest crew. Instead of excerpting it, I'm posting Art's entire vivid description below. The day started out at 27 degrees.There was an incredibly thick white frost on everything, making the roofs look like it had snowed. The sun comes up earlier now that we are back on EST and the fog lay thick on the…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Photos courtesy of Lieb Family Cellars A quick harvest update from Lieb Family Cellars marketing director, Melissa Schwartz: "We brought in 3 tons of merlot on Tuessday, November 3 around 3:30 p.m. The fruit came in at 21.5 brix. We had previously harvested 10 tons for white merlot and rosé on October 5 at 20 brix. In total we harvested 13 tons of merlot, down from 30 tons last year. Although, after the white merlot harvest we did drop fruit to try and help quality." I'm sure that Lieb Cellars isn't the only winery to bring…