By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Photo courtesy of Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery Is this picture bud break? I'm not sure — I always think of bud break as when full, immature leaves separate from the bud and unfurl. By that definition, this would be bud swell, but it barely matters — the 2010 growing season is underway in New York. Yesterday, I stopped at Roanoke Vineyards on the North Fork and their vines looked much the same… the buds were extremely swollen but I didn't see any separation. I've heard that Shinn Estate Vineyards and Benmarl Winery have experienced official break,…
Posts Written OnApril 2010
Op-Ed: Why NOT Chardonnay? (By Jim Silver, Peconic Bay Winery)
Story and photo by Jim Silver, General Manager, Peconic Bay Winery I have been around the wine business long enough (22 years) to have seen many wine trends and fashions played out in the public arena: Australia's incredible rise and stunning fall; Germany's reawakening; France’s fall from grace; pinot grigio’s leap from obscurity to most popular import from Europe; California wines at 12.5% and now at 15.5% alcohol. There are others of course, but today's topic is that curious love-hate relationship some of us have with chardonnay. When I was a young tenderfoot in the wine business, I was fascinated…
Home Brewing in Ellenville
By Kevin Burns, Beer Columnist I grew up in tiny Ellenville, New York and while it is a great little town with lots of local attractions, it is not exactly a booming metropolis. Despite being a small town, there is a group of passionate craft beer drinkers who tour the country to visit breweries, drink from a world class beer lists, and most importantly homebrew. When the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed in 1919, prohibition banned the sale of alcohol but also made homebrewing illegal. When prohibition was lifted in 1933 with the passing of the 21st…
Next Week: A Write Up of the Per Se “American Table” Dinner Featuring Channing Daughters Winery
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief A full write up is coming next week, but last night I was lucky enough to be a guest of Channing Daughters Winery at Per Se in Manhattan for their latest "American Table" dinner featuring Channing Daughters wines. I'll get into this more in the forthcoming post, but in many ways, this was a historic moment for New York — and really East Coast — wines. It's a big deal that a restaurant of this caliber chose to showcase winemaker Christopher Tracy's wines with its sophisticated, artfully prepared food. I'm glad I was able to be…
Tweet & Taste Michigan With Shady Lane Cellars on April 13
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Man cannot live on New York wine alone. Okay, that's a lie. I could survive drinking only wines from New York — there are enough wines in enough styles to suit just about anything on my dinner table and for just about any situation, but there are a great many quality wines being made throughout America (and abroad of course). With that in mind, I've agreed to take part in Tweet & Taste Michigan next Tuesday night, organized by Shannon and Cortney Casey of Michigan by the Bottle and featuring three wines from Shady Lane Cellars. …
News and Notes (April 8, 2010)
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief A few news items from New York wine country this week. Hudson River Valley Hudson Valley Wine Country Announces Passport ProgramThe “Hudson Valley Wine Country Summer Passport Ticket." offers holders free complimentary wine tasting at 14 Hudson Valley Wineries between June 1 and August 31, 2010. The cost is $30 per ticket. According to Debbie Gioquindo, director of the Hudson Valley Wine Country promotional organization “Since Hudson Valley Wine Country extends from just south of Albany to 60 miles north of New York City, having the summer to explore the wineries and vineyards will give you…
Hermann J. Wiemer 2008 Dry Riesling
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Hermann J. Wiemer is what I call an "any vintage" winery. What I mean is that, regardless of the conditions throughout the growing season, this is a winery that can be counted on for good wines. They truly do the best with what Mother Nature gives, even if she doesn't give much. Making good wines even in lesser years is a testament to co-owner and winemaker Fred Merwarth's talents and attention to detail. So what happens in good years, like 2008 for Finger Lakes rieslings? Wines like this one happen. This Hermann J. Wiemer 2008 Dry…
Martha Clara Vineyards 2007 Malbec
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Look for a post on the future of malbec on the North Fork soon. It's been a long time coming and this Martha Clara Vineyards 2007 Malbec ($24) is the last bit of inspiration I needed to finally write it. Once a major component in the wines of Bordeaux, this large, fairly easy-to-ripen black grape is now best known in Argentina, where it is most often bottled varietally. It’s also a big player (along with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot) in Meritage and other blended red wines in the United States, Australia and…
What We Drank (April 6, 2010)
We've had a good wine-filled run, but it was only a matter of time before beer worked its way back into "What We Drank." As always, this is what our editors and contributors are drinking. Julia Burke: Shongweni Brewery Robson's West Coast Ale (South Africa) Just when I was ready to give up on South African beer, I noticed something new on the shelves at the local supermarket: cute jug bottles, Red Stripe style, from Shongweni Brewery in KwaZulu Natal, an eastern South African province. I immediately snatched up a bottle of each style. All were delicious, but the Robson's…
Taste Live on April 14: Finger Lakes Gewurztraminer
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Hot on the heels of an extremely successful pinot noir event last week, the fourth in a series of Finger Lakes-themed Taste Live events will take place next week on Wednesday, on April 14 at 8 p.m. ET. I'll be moderating again on behalf of Finger Lakes Wine Country (FLWC). For April's event, we'll be comparing four Finger Lakes-made Gewurztraminers: Keuka Spring Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer Lakewood Vineyards 2007 Gewurztraminer Red Newt Cellars 2007 Sawmill Creek Vineyards Gewurztraminer Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer Riesling gets all of the attention in the Finger Lakes, but it's far from…