Posts Written OnMay 2010

Croteaux Vineyards 2009 Sauvage (Merlot Rose)

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief When Croteaux Vineyards began producing its own wines in 2006 using the fruit grown in its 10-acre vineyard, it made (at least) two important decisions. First, owners Michael and Paula Croteau hired veteran winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich from Raphael to make the wines, and they decided to only make rose — and make several different ones. Spend any time with Olsen-Harbich and he's going to talk to you about how he's moved away from yeast inoculations in his the cellar. Instead he relies entirely on ambient yeast these days, making him one of only a handful of…

Dr. Konstantin Frank 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Easily the most recognizable name in Finger Lakes wine, Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars has been making quality riesling on the shores of Keuka Lake since its founding in 1962. Classic and familiar, Dr. Konstantin Frank 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling ($15) offers aromas of Golden Delicious apple, golden raisin and peach.  Off-dry, the palate is ripe with apple, peach and citrus flavors, with a subtle almond note. The acidity is fresh and citrusy but not electric — balancing the the RS, but not quite reaching that tense, nervy level. A long, citrusy finish shows light sweetness,…

TasteCamp EAST 2010 Video: Sam Argetsinger Shares the Iroquois Tale of the Thundering Voices

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief As part of TasteCamp, one group of attendees visited Argetsinger Vineyard with long-time grower Sam Argetsinger. During the course of an hour-plus walking the vineyard with Sam, he shared many insights into how he manages his vineyard as well as several Iroquois tales, including this one about the Thundering Voices — which was absolutely appropriate given the thunderstorm that had rolled through the night before.

TasteCamp 2010 Visuals: I’m On a Boat

With the passage of time we'll be able to give it a fuller evaluation, but for now, I'd vote for this photograph as the Best Picture Ever Taken. The man in the tuxedo, proudly displaying a magnum (what, no methuselah?) of Red Cat, is our Science Editor, Tom Mansell.  See, if you missed TasteCamp 2010, you might not have had the opportunity to join us for the Saturday night after-party on The Boat. Perhaps more will be said of this. Perhaps it should pass quietly into legend. But the bottom line is: We were on a boat, climbing buoys, in…

TasteCamp East 2010 Visuals: Argetsinger Vineyard Walk

I haven't been to every lake-view vineyard in the Finger Lakes…but it's hard to imagine there is any vineyard in the region that is more beautiful to stand in on a sunny Saturday morning than Argetsinger Vineyard on eastern Seneca Lake. It's just a special place. One worthy of it's ever-growing legend. It doesn't hurt that Sammy Argetsinger is one of the more charming, interesting people I've ever met.

TasteCamp EAST 2010… The Morning After

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief The post-TasteCamp hangover has set in — a Meritage-style blend of relief, happiness and sadness, because it was such a great weekend with great people tasting great wines. I (along with Nena and Jackson) head back to Long Island later today after an evening here outside of Albany celebrating Mother's Day with my in-laws. Everyone drank Finger Lakes wine, of course, though I did focus a bit more on some beer. As my teeth enamel recovers from all that wine and I reflect just a bit on the weekend, I think the event was a tremendous…

Recovering From a TasteCamp Weekend

 By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor This week, we'll have plenty to say about a fascinating and successful weekend here in the Finger Lakes. While our palates un-nuke and our brains re-solidify, we'll be posting occasional photos to illustrate the events and memorable locations. This shot shows Damiani Wine Cellars grower Phil Davis, leading a vineyard walk on Saturday morning. The photo fails to capture how steep this particular vineyard site is. It was an educational and physical workout.  Cheers, stay tuned, and rest well, fellow TasteCamp folks. 

TasteCamp EAST 2010 Continues Through the Weekend

TasteCamp attendees tasting Tierce riesling (and components of) at Red Newt Cellars yesterday evening. By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Why am I up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday when I'm technically on vacation? Easy — I'm up early getting ready for what I'm sure will be an incredible day two of TasteCamp EAST 2010. Yesterday was a stunningly wonderful day in the Finger Lakes — one filled with the kind of passion and top-flight wines that makes the Finger Lakes a wine destination. I'm sure that we'll see a lot of blog posts come out of the weekend's events, but…

TasteCamp EAST 2010 Begins Today

 By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief If the Twitter chatter is to believed, many of this year's TasteCamp attendees are either in the Finger Lakes already or are on their way. It's an exciting morning for me, Evan and all the Finger Lakes wineries who are taking part in this weekend's festivities. John Witherspoon (Anything Wine) and I kicked off the fun yesterday with a visit to Village Tavern in Hammondsport, not to eat, but to drink some older Finger Lakes riesling. After perusing the list for a long time (it's a long list) only to learn that our first choice (a…

Gramercy Winery 2008 Rose

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Don't feel bad if you've never heard of Gramercy Vineyards. I hadn't either until I was walking through the barrel cellar at Wolffer Estate and saw "GRAMERCY" on a few barrels. Of course, I figured that Roman Roth, winemaker at Wolffer, was making a private label for Gramercy Tavern or something. Turns out that Gramercy Vineyards is a little 3 1/2-acre merlot vineyard on the North Fork, planted in 2003 by Carol Sullivan and Erich Moenius. They haven't released any of their wines yet, save this Gramercy Vineyards 2008 Rose ($18). Roth is the winemaker, of…