Posts Written OnDecember 2009

By Kevin Burns, Beer Columnist Old Man Winter is Southern Tier Brewing Company's winter seasonal. Southern Tier is known for their huge-flavored beers in 22 oz. bottles but their line of twelve ounce beers are just as good. Old Man Winter poured a clear, light brown color with a finger width of off-white head. The aroma was hoppy with light malt underneath and hints of raisins. The body is thinner, with malt up front, and a faint sweetness. A crisp, hoppy bitterness comes in towards the middle, leading to a lingering hop finish that leaves a very pleasant dryness on…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief A handful of wines from the NYCR Tasting Table. As always, these mini-reviews are more or less typed directly from my tasting notebook. Macari Vineyards 2007 Block E Cabernet Franc ($40): Made with commercially frozen cab franc. Strawberry preserves dominate the nose, with subtle spice and sweet herbs beneath. Sweet up front, but dry on the finish, with good acidity for balance. Straightforward strawberry flavors. Simple but balanced and tasty.  (2.5 out of 5 | Average-to-Very Good) Paperbirch Highlands Fine Ruby Dessert Wine ($18): Blackberry and boysenberry jam on the nose. Simple, fruity. Decent balance of…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief With four editors from four different regions of the state, trying to crowbar this tasting into the holiday season has proven impossible, so the final tasting for the New York Cork Report 2009 Wines of the Year has been rescheduled from December 30 to January 23. That's the bad news. The good news is that this delay opens up the possibility of including some wines from the Chautauqua – Lake Erie region and will give us an opportunity to taste even more Hudson Valley wines before choosing those finalists as well.  The rest of the details…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Originally, I had promised myself that I'd not mention what wines were the final "cuts" as I pared down all of the 2009-released wines to select my finalists for the NYCR 2009 Wines of the Year. But in the end, this was the final cut in the red category, and I'm mentioning that fact because I really wish I could have squeezed it in. Cutting it was the hardest decision that I had to make, in fact. It's that good. Pellegrini Vineyards 2005 Reserve ($70) is the first such "Reserve" made by winemaker Russell Hearn, a…

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor The standard for choosing the Finger Lakes finalists was rather simple: If you could only send a small number of wines to someone who doesn't believe this region can make world-class wines, which wines would you choose? Yes, more than 100 wineries now produce wine in the Finger Lakes. But this compilation isn't about spreading the love; it's about choosing that wines that might convert the non-believers. Some might find the price of these wines to be an issue. As we've discussed before, it's important to offer wines that can compete with wines from…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Doing a "Wines of the Year" is something that I've wanted to do on this site for a long time, but until the past year or so, I didn't think we had the people in place to do it and do it well. But, with Bryan and Evan on board and covering their beats so enthusiastically (with the help of people like Tom, Jason and Julia) I felt comfortable announcing the project and taking it on. With our intrepid band of wine geeks in place, I looked through the wine reviews I've published here on the…

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Today's review is going to be a quick one, but it's a wine that I know several of my readers enjoy — and with good reason. One of the better under-$20 wines made on Long Island, the Macari Vineyards NV Sette ($17) is a blend of 50% merlot and 50% cabernet franc. Its plummy on the nose with spicy oak, tarragon and a briny, minerally streak that, depending on who you ask, has something to do with their vineyards being adjacent to the Long Island Sound. Medium-bodied, the palate features more plum and some cherry flavors…

By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Escarpment Editor While there were many notable wines released this year in the Niagara region, I chose mainly vinifera selections as the regional finalists based on the fact that all these wines are major accomplishments for such young vineyards and wineries. You can’t help but notice that my picks for the best whites of the year are chardonnay heavy. It’s not a coincidence; we are in a cool climate and chardonnay seems to ripen consistently on the Escarpment bench land as well as on the lake shore. The editors have been asked to write a bit…

Uncork New York was extremely well attended at City Winery yesterday afternoon. By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Yesterday afternoon, with the help of my parents (who were imported from Pittsburgh for the weekend for childcare purposes) Nena and I were able to get into Manhattan to attend Uncork New York: Sip, Savor and Shop at City Winery downtown. We had a great time and the organizers have a lot to be proud of. The two-tiered room was packed — packed to the point that it wasn't easy to move around at times — and the organizers should be congratulated for putting…