Posts Written OnAugust 16, 2010

Two weeks ago the Niagara Wine Trail hosted its second annual Niagara Wine and Culianry Festival at Artpark in Lewiston, NY, welcoming close to 1,100 guests to taste local wine and eat local food during a weekend that saw perfect weather. In its second year, the event drew twice as many people as its first. I had an insider’s look at this year’s festival as I spent all day Sunday pouring wine and schmoozing with food vendors. Having just participated in the much larger Finger Lakes Wine Festival I was impressed at how coordinated the Niagara event was despite its…

These are some wines that have crossed the NYCR tasting table recently but will not be reviewed as part of a stand-alone post. As always, these are notes almost verbatim from my tasting notebook: Atwater Estate Vineyards 2008 Big Blend ($15): Cab sauv, lemberger, syrah and merlot. Peppery medium-intensity nose with a little oak/vanilla. Black cherry and blackberry fruit aromas. Medium-light body, black cherry and cranberry flavors with sweet spice. Juicy mouthfeel with low tannins and maybe a bit too much acidity. Caramel coffee and chocolate flavors linger on the medium finish. Rating: 82 Channing Daughters Winery 2008 "Clones" ($29):…

Photo courtesy of Vineyard 48 According to winemaker Matt Berenz "I'd say we are 2-2 1/2 weeks ahead this year. I can see us bringing in riesling around mid-September"