Posts Written OnJune 18, 2010

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I promise we'll get back to Tasting Table as a weekly feature here on Fridays, but in the meantime, I'll put them together when I can — like today. As always these are short notes taken almost directly from my tasting notebook: Brimstone Hill Vineyard 2008 Vidal Blanc (Hudson River Region | $10): Honey, golden raisin and pool water on the nose. Light apple flavors but also a lot of honey, like Bit o Honey candy. Not overly sweet, but needs acidity. Rating: 77 Croteaux Vineyards 2009 Cuvee Sparkle (North Fork | $24): Grapefruit, strawberries…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Now here is something unique on the local wine scene. Look at a bottle of Bouke 2009 Perlant ($17) and it might not seem like a one-of-a-kind. Scan the back label and you'll learn that it's a blend of pinot gris, pinot blanc and pinot noir — interesting maybe but not unheard of. To understand what is so unique about this wine, you need to either know a little French, or crack open the screwcap closure and pour. You see, in France, "perlant" refers to a wine containing a faint amount of CO2 — not…

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor I dig brettanomyces in beers as long as it’s not overpowering, so I picked up the 2009 edition of this “Funkhouse Ale with Brettanomyces” from the self-proclaimed little slice of Belgium in Cooperstown, Brewery Ommegang. A yearly specialty brew, it was cellared at the brewery; Ommegang recommends aging this and many of their beers so I had no qualms about trying it at 13 months old. Ommegeddon pours a four-finger head with fair lacing retention and a cloudy peaches-and-cream color.    The nose doesn’t show a lot of brett – mostly citrusy yeast esters and a…