Posts Written OnSeptember 2010

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor A month ago, Hurricane Earl threatened East End vineyards with its high winds and rain — only to pass off to the east and have little impact on developing grapes. Now, an un-named line of storms is threatening to drop several inches of rain on local vineyards and bring wind gusts of up to 60 mph. Most of the white wine and sparkling wine grapes have been picked. As have most of the grapes intended for rose production, so those wines won't be affected by this storm system, but 2010 red wines could be. That…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor The Red Tail Ridge 2008 Dry Riesling I reviewed a while back was one of the best dry rieslings I tasted over summer, showing great balance while also delivering depth and focus. That balance is on display in winemaker Nancy Irelan's Red Tail Ridge 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling ($16) too, with even more length. Juicy, dripping-down-your arm peach and pear fruit flavors mingle on the nose with notes of Golden Delicious apple, lime and river rock in the background. Apple, peach and lime highlight a fruity, forward palate that shows great acidity. The finish is long,…

By Lenn Thompson The NYCR's Niagara USA contingent — regional editor Bryan Calandrelli and beer editor Julia Burke — talk a lot about their home region's pinot noir, and with good reason. I've only had a few, but at least one impressed already. After tasting Freedom Run Winery 2007 Cabernet ($25), I'm much even more excited about cabernet franc's potential in the region. Made with 65% cabernet franc and 35% cabernet sauvignon — all estate-grown fruit — was a standout wine in a recent tasting of New York reds. This is a cabernet franc-lover's kind of wine and was the…

In what will likely be our last two-white wine shipment, I'm happy to announce this month's New York Cork Club selections: Paumanok Vineyards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and Atwater Estate Vineyards 2009 Dry Riesling. If you haven't herad of the New York Cork Club (NYCC), it's pretty simple. We've partnered with BacchusWineOnline.com to create a wine club that features only wines made in New York — making them more accessible to people around the country. We can't ship to every state, shipping laws being what they are today, but we can ship to a lot of them. For more information and…

  By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor HARVEST East End, last weekend's two-day celebration of Long Island wines and foods organized to raise money for East End Hospice and the Peconic Land Trust, was an absolute success by any measure. Congratulations are due to everyone involved in putting the event together, including the Long Island Wine Council, the Long Island Merlot Alliance (LIMA) and presenting sponsor, Wine Spectator. Pulling so many wineries, restaurants and people together is a challenge — and it was met expertly. Donnell Brown, executive director of LIMA and event director for HARVEST, told me an email "HARVEST…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor It's raining outside this morning and it's supposed to do so on and off for the next few days. With rain arriving just as the red wine harvest was about to begin, it's hard not to remember 2005 when some local vineyards were soaked with twenty-plus inches of rain over the course of eight days — after a near-perfect summer. We're not getting that kind of rain this week, but growers and winemakers are still spending a lot of time watch weather reports and staring doppler radar. I've found 2005 reds inconsistent and the variation…

By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor Photo by Morgan Dawson Photography If there is a more loaded, more controversial, more debated word in the world of wine than "terroir," I don't know what it is. Well, perhaps you could argue that "natural" can provoke such conversation, but that's about it. The Old World, roughly defined, tends to view terroir with some propriety. The New World seems determined to ignore the word while simultaneously establishing that we, too, can produce wines with a sense of place. Wines with "somewhereness," as the great writer Matt Kramer once said.  So if you prefer, we…

Corinne and Mike Oleksyn, owners of Kings Garden Vineyards, report that they’ve picked the chardonnay and pinot noir from their estate vineyards. Both grapes were harvested on September 18, with the chardonnay coming in at 2.5-3 tons per acre, 22 degrees brix, 7 g/L of TA and pH of 3.2. The pinot crop was much lighter at 1.5 tons/acre. Brix was at 22, TA at 6 g/L and pH of 3.4 In explaining how they decide when to pick the pinot, Corinne says “We don’t like to let our pinot noir get above 22 or 23 brix. It just raises…

These are a some wines that have crossed the NYCR tasting table recently but will not be reviewed as part of a standalone post. As always, these are transcribed almost directly from my notebook with little editing: Atwater Estate Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer ($16): Candied ginger, peach, lychee and pear on the nose with restrained floral character. Very gingery on the palate with pear and citrus flavors. Tastes dry at 1.2% RS because of good acidity. Medium finish that is a bit hot. Rating: 83 Brookview Station NV All Aboard Red ($12): Unknown blend of hybrid and vinifera grapes. Nose is…