Posts Written OnJanuary 25, 2010

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes EditorPhotos by Morgan Dawson Photography We were getting nowhere. Our initial evaluations of the Finger Lakes white wine flight had produced no clear choice for Wine of the Year. We had summoned only one conclusion: These were excellent wines and choosing one seemed nearly impossible. Slowly we began to pare down the six wines (everything was done blind), and our conversation focused on the search for balance. Which wines showcased the regional strengths most profoundly? We never did reach a unanimous conclusion, which I found healthy. But we were pleased with the selection of Billsboro…

The white wine winners, including our 2009 New York State White Wine of the Year By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Photos by Morgan Dawson Photography As I mentioned earlier today, we tasted 54 wines (a shipping snafu meant that one didn't arrive in time) in 19 flights. For the most part, the wines really showed extremely well  We blind tasted through each regional flight within a category (sparkling, white, red and dessert), voting on a winner in each. The winners, sorted by region are: Chautauqua-Lake Erie White Wine: Vetter Vineyards NV Riesling Finger Lakes Sparkling Wine: Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine…

The New York Cork Report Editors at work during Saturday's 2009 'Wines of the Year' tasting. By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Photos by Morgan Dawson Photography 5 tasters. 8 hours. 19 flights. 54 wines. That was my Saturday as I joined most of the New York Cork Report team for a tasting that would determine our 2009 Wines of the Year. It was an incredibly fun, exciting day, but it also an extremely challenging one. But above all, it was an incredibly satisfying day — the culmination of months of planning and coordination. A tasting like this one — a tasting…