By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Rich Pisacano, co-owner of Roanoke Vineyards, is a cabernet sauvignon guy, and he and consulting winemaker Roman Roth make some of Long Island's most consistently good cabernet-based wines — no small feat in a cool climate region. But as good as those cabernets can be, this is still Long Island, where merlot still rules. Not surprisingly, the Roanoke Vineyards merlots can be standouts as well. Even in its youth, this Roanoke Vineyards 2005 Merlot ($45/sold out) shows depth and complexity on a nose where black plum, blackberry and blueberry fruit aromas mingle with those of licorice,…
Posts Written OnNovember 2009
Picking Cabernet Franc: A Family and Friends Affair
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Sunday morning, I was joined by several New York Cork Report readers, other bloggers and their families to pick cabernet franc grapes at Raphael as a part of the 'Sonis Cellars 2009 harvest (read more about my ongoing 'Sonis Cellars project). It was a truly perfect, sunny, mild day for picking and I think the group had a great time. I shot video throughout the day and put together this clip that I hope captures the fun of the day — especially the fun that my son, Jackson, had helping out. You'll no doubt notice a…
What We Drank (November 10, 2009)
As I, and no doubt you, have come to expect, we're drinking a wide array of beverages from a diverse group of locales. Some were better than others of course. From Lenn Thompson: Shinn Estate Vineyards 2008 Haven The folks from Shinn Estate Vineyards are good at proving me wrong. Okay, that's probably an overstatement, but they sure are good at keeping me honest about making generalizations. I shouldn't make them at all. I thought that some wineries went overboard in 2005, trying to make wines that aren't true to the region and its signature style. Shinn's 2005 show restraint…
Standing Stone Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief As you learned in Jason Feulner's recent post, Standing Stone Vineyards stands today where Gold Seal Wine Company and two Frenchmen, Guy DeVaux and Charles Fournier, first experimented with vinifera varieties on Seneca Lake. As Jason said, the winery has built a reputation in a few categories. I know them best from tasting several of their dessert wines over the years, many of which are tremendous values. This is the first pinot noir I've tasted, and there is a lot to like here. The heat of the 2007 is on full display here, the nose is…
New York Cork Report Tasting Table November 6, 2009
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Some quick-hit reviews from the New York Cork Report Tasting Table over the last week or two. Dr. Konstantin Frank 2007 Pinot Noir ($20): Toasty vanilla, cherry, plum and dried leaf earthiness a nice, aromatic nose. Medium body, black cherry and plum, oak, leather, vanilla and spice. Low acid and low tannin. Soft, earthy on medium finish. Rating: (2.5 out of 5 | Average-to-Very Good) Macari Vineyards 2005 Estate Merlot ($19): Leaf tobacco, red cherry and mulberry, with nice herbal component and a surprising amount of black pepper on the nose. Medium-light bodied and well balanced.…
Spring Lake Winery at Varallo Vineyards: Betting the Farm on Late Harvest Wines
By Julia Burke, Niagara Escarpment Correspondent Riesling (in some form) shows up on nearly every wine list on the Niagara Wine Trail – after all, it is New York’s signature white grape. But for Spring Lake Winery, located just east of Lockport, riesling isn’t just a standby white grape. It’s the only variety planted on their eight acres. The Varallo family, owners of Spring Lake, have been making wine for three generations, but it was only a few years ago that they decided to try their hands at growing grapes. After researching the land and consulting with Finger Lakes and…
He’Brew Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah
By Kevin Burns, Beer Columnist Shmaltz Brewing Company is one of the more interesting breweries in the country. The Jewish-themed company is based in California, but the beer is brewed in Saratoga, New York, so it's technically a New York beer. The brewery produces two lines of beer, the He'Brew line and the Coney Island Craft Lager line. The He'Brew line consists of Jewish-themed beers such as Messiah Bold and Genesis Ale, while the Coney Island Lager line consists of strong lagers whose names and labels feature members of the world famous Coney Island Freakshow. The He'Brew line also features the Jewbelation series, which consists…
Billsboro Winery 2007 Pinot Noir
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Don't let Vinny Aliperti, co-owner and winemaker at Billsboro Winery, fool you with his humble, laid back personality. He makes serious wines, both at Billsboro and at his 'day job' as winemaker at Atwater Estate Vineyards. Maybe its that laid-back personality that somehow keeps him and his wines just under the radar, but his are wines worth drinking and keeping an eye on. Of the half dozen 2007 Finger Lakes pinot noirs that I tasted recently, none showed a balance of fruit, oak, tannin and acid the that his Billsboro Winery 2007 Pinot Noir ($22) did.…
Technological Innovations at Red Tail Ridge
By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent Standing in Red Tail Ridge Winery's new facility recently, it occurred to me: The entire geothermal machine area looks like something out of a Star Wars movie. Can it get any cooler (or hotter) than that? I stopped by Red Tail Ridge on Seneca Lake the other day with the primary goal of getting a harvest report. I was also excited about the winery's new production facility, which I assumed would have some interesting features. The facility and its winemaking innovations blew my mind. While I knew that owners Mike Schnelle and Nancy Irelan…
2009 Harvest Update: Peconic Bay Winery’ Rose Components are In
Vineyard manager Charlie Hargrave brings rose-bound 2009 cabernet franc to the Peconic Bay Winery crush pad. By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief "It’s barely ripe. It’ll be awesome rose, or mid-line quality red. We went with rose." That's why, according to Peconic Bay Winery's general manager Jim Silver, the 2009 edition of their second-label Nautique Esprit de Rose will be 60% cabernet franc. He added "The cabernet franc was beautiful and clean, but not ripe enough for red wines." Yesterday, they sorted 16 tons of cabernet franc (just under 4 tons per acre) that came in at 20 brix from a neighboring…