By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief This website, under the LENNDEVOURS name, has been nominated for a few awards over the years, often in the "single subject" arena because of our singular focus on the New York wine industry. Last year, we even won the single subject category. Today, I was humbled to learn that the NYCR was named a finalist in three separate categories in the 2010 Wine Blog Awards: "Best Industry/Business Wine Blog,"Best Single Subject Wine Blog" and "Best Overall Wine Blog." With so many outstanding wine blogs being published and worked on by so many smart, passionate people, we're…
Posts Written OnMay 2010
The New York Cork Club’s May 2010 Selections
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Today I'm happy to announce our New York Cork Club selections for May: Shinn Estate Vineyards 2009 Coalescence and Standing Stone Vineyards 2008 Riesling Ice. Before I say a bit about the two wines, you can read about the NYCC if you'd like, but the quick and dirty of it is that we've partnered with BacchusWineOnline.com to build a wine club that features only wines made in New York — making more accessible to people around the country. The Shinn Coalescence is one of the state's great white wine values. It's a steel-fermented blend of chardonnay,…
Loving Local in South Africa: What We Can Learn From a Nation of Locapours
By Julia Burke, Niagara Correspondent A while back I wrote about the difficulties of being a single wine taster in South Africa’s wine country, arguing that New York has a general edge when it comes to tasting room service for singles. In the interest of balance, I’d like to discuss something we can learn from the South Africans: the art of supporting local wine. Here in New York, we look for restaurants that have one or two local wines on the list – and by “local,” we’ll settle for “within the state.” Winery employees hit the road relentlessly in an…
Pumped Up With Petrol: TDN and Riesling
By Tom Mansell, Science Editor At TasteCamp, bloggers were generously treated to many library selections of riesling. Peter Bell guided us through two vertical tastings of Fox Run Vineyards rieslings (one pictured at right), of the dry and semi-dry persuasion. Bob Madill poured a library flight at Sheldrake Point Vineyard, and the Tierce brothers poured three years of Fox Run, Anthony Road, and Red Newt rieslings (and their collaborative effort, Tierce Riesling). The oldest variations poured for the masses dated back to 2001. One character in particular that stands out in many aged rieslings from around the world is…
Peconic Bay Winery Nautique Esprit Rose (2010 Release)
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief May is two-thirds over and so is Run for the Roses, but we're going to jam a lot of rose reviews into the last 12 days of the month, including this wine from Peconic Bay Winery's Nautique second-label line. Much like Lieb's Merlot Blanc, this Nautique Esprit de Rose ($16) is a charitable double-whammy. First, a dollar from each bottle purchased goes to CancerCare as part of Run for the Roses. Then, Peconic Bay Winery, in collaboration with the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. (NBCF), to fight breast cancer. A portion of the proceeds, about a…
Red Newt Cellars 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Over the weekend, we reviewed Red Newt Cellars' entree into the $12 riesling market. Today, we review their Red Newt Cellars 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling ($14) which is only a couple bucks more. And I like it a bit better as well, and despite being labeled semi-dry I think the residual sugar (1%) and balancing acidity make this a wine that will appeal to those who prefer their riesling on the drier side. The nose effusive and shows ripe peach and apricot primary aromas with citrus blossom, vanilla-mint and anise notes beneath. Juicy peach and pear flavors…
Guest Post: Hermann J. Wiemer Stands Out at TasteCamp 2010 (Remy Charest, The Wine Case)
Hermann J. Wiemer winemaker Fred Merwarth discussing his winemaking philosophy By Remy Charest, The Wine Case This may not come as that much of a surprise to those familiar with the Finger Lakes, but the region does make really great riesling. For participants in the second edition of Tastecamp EAST, however, this three-day, three-lake stint in the region was a great opportunity to confirm that the region indeed lives up to its reputation in that respect: just like merlot in Long Island – Tastecamp’s first destination, last year – the Finger Lakes' flagship grape consistently delivers. Throughout the weekend, we…
TasteCamp Takeaway: To Continue Climb, Finger Lakes Must Close the Gap
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photos by Morgan Dawson Photography It took no more than seven minutes for me to see one of the defining stories emerging from TasteCamp East 2010. There in the Heron Hill Winery tasting room, with several dozen writers from around the country, a gap came into view. It was so wide, so severe, that it could not be ignored. And if the Finger Lakes is going to continue its climb to wine world prominence, the gap will have to close. Specifically, I'm talking about the gap in quality from the top producers to the…
TasteCamp EAST 2010 Interview: Joe Roberts | 1WineDude.com
Joe Roberts tasting Lamoreaux Landing rieslings, while John Witherspoon (r) stares blankly By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Photo by Neil Sjoblom Joe Roberts, also known as 1WineDude in the wine blogging world, was one of the first people to sign up for TasteCamp — this year and last. He's enthusiastic about tasting wines from around the world and even talks up some of his local Pennsylvania wineries if you corner him (I have). He's also a fellow Pittsburgh Steelers fan, so he'll continue to be invited to events. So, without further ado, here is his TasteCamp 2010 Q&A: Was this your…
Op-Ed: Don’t Turn Up Your Nose at the Sweet White (Carlo DeVito, Hudson-Chatham Winery)
Story and photo by Carlo DeVito, Owner, Hudson-Chatham Winery The other day, my wife Dominique and I were sipping a lovely, chilled Vouvray Demi-Sec. A fabulous wine we shared over assorted cheeses and some sliced French bread. I especially liked the aged camembert, with its edgey, tangy finish juxtaposed to the sweet white wine. What a combination. I thought to myself. “This is heaven.” Another one of my favorite such combinations is Sauternes or a good Barsac or even a good sweet Jurancon with foie gras or pate. Maybe a little gooey brie thrown in for good effect, on a…