Posts Written OnSeptember 2010

Another Look at Fall Beers

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor More fall seasonals are trickling into my local shops, so the search for the best examples continued this week with another opposite-ends-of-the-state comparison: Blue Point Oktoberfest and Southern Tier Harvest Special Ale. I’d heard raves about both from beer friends, so it was amazing to find them as different as they were. Southern Tier harvest pours clear amber into my awesome Old Toad Pub tulip glass from an epic dinner there on Wednesday (stay tuned for that story!) with a delicate head and minimal lacing. The nose is hops. Yup, hops. No nutmeg, no clove,…

Byebrook Farm’s Raw Milk Gouda

By Aaron Estes, Cheese Editor I was not familiar with Byebrook Farms or its location, Bloomville, NY (in Delaware County) prior to this past weekend. However, after tasting one of their cheeses, I would like to learn more about it. After doing a quick Google map search, I saw that it is to the southeast of Oneonta, right in the middle of the Catskills. There are quite a few farms up that way, and several of these dairy farms are figuring out ways earn more money for their milk.  The price that dairy farmers are paid for a gallon of milk, as…

Kelso of Brooklyn’s Kelly Taylor: The Beer Maestro of Brooklyn

By David Flaherty, NYC Correspondent  After turning down a rather desolate block of Brooklyn, and not totally sure of my directions, I was greeted by a man wearing a t-shirt that said “Beer Helps.” I knew I was in the right place. I had found Kelso of Brooklyn and I had found Kelly Taylor. One of the largest breweries in New York State lies in the heart of Brooklyn. It’s right under our noses and much to the surprise of many New Yorkers who stroll by; they stop dead in their tracks at the sight of an army of massive,…

2010 Harvest Update: Sauvignon Blanc at Shinn Estate Vineyards

By Lenn Thompson Over the last two weeks, Shinn Estate Vineyards has done something that no one else has on Long Island — harvest their first 100% organically grown grapes — their first year working towards organic certification. Pictured at right is co-owner and vineyard manager Barbara Shinn holding a lug of just-picked sauvignon blanc for a wine they call "Haven." According to her husband, David Page, the grapes were "Field blended with 15% semillon, and are now on extended skin contact in refrigerated press. They will get pressed after 48-72 hours. Brix is 23.6. pH is 3.35. 2.81 tons…

What New York Wine Needs Now: “The Good News and the Bad” With Charles Massoud, Paumanok Vineyards

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor When Paumanok Vineyards' Charles Massoud planted his vineyard in 1982 with his wife Ursula, there were only a handful of vineyards on Long Island. Over the subsequent 20-plus years, Charles, Ursula and now their sons — this is a true family-run winery — have worked hard to put and keep Paumanok Vineyards in the upper echelon of wineries on the East Coast. Charles takes a very pragmatic approach to running his winery and, over the years, he has seen wineries come and wineries go. He's seen wineries, including his own, succeed not only with critics…

Peconic Bay Winery 2009 Riesling

By Lenn Thompson Back in July when I wrote about a 10-year riesling vertical tasting I attended at Peconic Bay Winery, I described riesling on Long Island as "a bit player, a character actor that will never take center stage in any sort of meaningful way." That is still certainly the case, but for whatever reason (post coming soon) 2009 has proven to be an excellent vintage for riesling on the North Fork, leading to some of the best riesling I've tasted locally. Winemaker Greg Gove has a special affection for riesling and the Peconic Bay Winery 2009 Riesling ($24)…

Roanoke Vineyards 2007 Gabby’s Cabernet Franc

By Lenn Thompson Every wine has a story behind it. All too often, those narratives are joyless and dispiriting ones filled with nefarious characters, corner-cutting, over-manipulation and mass-production. Then there are the tales of incredibly meticulous artisans, their dedication and their dillgence. These are the stories than inspire us and drive us to act — or buy in the case of wine. I've told the story of Roanoke Vineyards Gabby's Cabernet Franc before. It's story of a man, Gabby Pisacano, tending the 12 eastern-most rows of cabernet franc in his son's vineyard. Sometimes the best wine stories are born at…

What We Drank (September 21, 2010)

 This is what our editors and contributors were drinking last week….   Lenn Thompson: Wolffer Estate 2005 Reserve Chardonnay (Hamptons) If you have any of this knocking around in your cellar, chill it only lightly and open it tonight. It's nearly impossible to know if it's truly peaking (and this was my last one) but it's tasting so delicous right now, that I don't want you to miss it. I've been a vocal advocate for less (okay, usually no) oak in Long Island chardonnay, but Wolffer's winemaker, Roman Roth, has been crafting well-balanced chardonnays of varying styles for years. He…

McCall Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir

Visitors to Long Island's North Fork have been driving right by the McCall family's Corchaug Estate  for years — without even knowing it. Located directly across the road from Pellegrini Vineyards in Cutchogue, the 21-acre vineyard is planted with 11 acres of pinot noir (the region's largest planting) and 10 acres of merlot. Until 2007, Russ McCall sold all of his fruit, but in started keeping some of it for his own McCall Wines label. McCall Wines 2007 Pinot Noir ($24) was made in the Hudson Valley by at Millbrook Vineyards by winemaker John Graziano. Millbrook Vineyards has been buying…