Posts Written OnSeptember 2010

2010 Harvet Update: Chardonnay at Oak Summit Vineyard

Photo Courtesy of Hudson Valley Wine Country Oak Summit Vineyard, producer of what I consider the best pinot noir in the Hudson Rivery Valley AVA, also grows chardonnay and cabernet franc in their little vineyard. Over the weekend, they harvested the chardonnay — which they sell it Millbrook Winery — picking 1.5 acres by hand at 23.5 degrees brix, TA at 8 g/L and a pH of 3.25.    

Wine Judging Follow-up: What We Got Wrong, and Why Palate Fatigue is Not a Myth

Photo courtesy of Dave Falchek By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor "Who decided that the purpose of wine competitions was to deliver valuable information to consumers? Other than Tasters Guild, I cannot think of any." -Chris Cook, Michigan Wine Competition Superintendent, attacking our premise that wine competitions are supposed to assist consumers "Every competition I judge begins with me or some other chief judge reminding the judges we are there to help consumers find wines to drink." -Bob Foster, director of three wine competitions and judge at many others, clearly disagreeing with Cook in the same discussion thread, after explaining that…

HARVEST EAST END is This Weekend

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief This weekend HARVEST EAST END, a wine auction and celebration of Long Island's East End, will take over wine country on both forks to benefit the Peconic Land Trust and East End Hospice. The event has been organized by the Long Island Merlot Alliance and Long Island Wine Council with support from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. The day-plus event kicks off on Friday with ten 10-Mile Dinners, which take place at private locations — homes, yachts, etc. — with locally sourced food cooked by a local chef and hosted by a local winemaker.…

A Tale of Two New York-Brewed Oktoberfest Beers

By Julia Burke Fall is in the air in a big way here in western New York, and as far as I’m concerned, fall is beer season. Oktoberfests, pumpkin ales, harvest ales, bocks…the styles brewed during this time of year are some of the most delicious and exciting in the beer world. I tasted two Oktoberfest beers of note this week: one from Buffalo’s recently reopened brewery Flying Bison Brewing Company, the other made across the state at Brooklyn Brewery. I enjoyed both beers outside, in the crisp fall weather, with an appropriately large sweater and snacks involving obscene amounts…

2010 Harvest Update: Pinot Noir at Jamesport Vineyards

Jake Perdie reports that Jamesport Vineyards harvested 4 tons of pinot noir from owner Ron Goerler's "Early Rising Farm" on Cox Lane yesterday morning. Those vines are 22 years old and the fruit came in at 24.5 brix with TA of 7.5 g/l and pH of 3.6 "Ron was concerned with the rain yesterday and was anxious to get it in yesterday before the storm. More importantly the ph and TA is in balance!" said Perdie in an email earlier today.  

The Science of Biodynamics, Part 5: Field Spray Preparations: Stirring Controversy

By Tom Mansell We now come to some of the most famous and well-known preparations in biodynamics, the field sprays. Cow manure or silica fermented in the ground in cow horns is practically the very symbol of biodynamics. These preparations are highly representative of the movement, but what, if anything, do they do? Field spray preparations Preparation Main Component Fermented in… Proposed function (Steiner) Proposed function (JPI) 500 Cow manure Horn of a cow "We preserve in the horn the forces it was accustomed to exert within the cow itself, namely the property of raying back whatever is life-giving and…

2009 Proving to be the “Fooler Vintage” for Finger Lakes Riesling

By Evan Dawson Winemakers love to tell you that wine is made in the vineyard. Sometimes it's schlock. Sometimes it's humility. Often it's true. But in vintages like 2009, when the vineyard has been challenged, wine is also made in the winery. And there are some wonderful surprises beginning to surface. That doesn't mean it was a vintage that demanded a heavy hand for manipulation. It just means that common decisions took on more gravity in 2009. The thoughtful winemakers are seeing it pay off. We can begin with the understanding that 2009 in the Finger Lakes was a complex…

Macari Vineyards 2009 “Katherine’s Field” Sauvignon Blanc

By Lenn Thompson You just can't discuss Long Island sauvignon blanc without a mention of Macari Vineyards in Mattituck. For years they've put out consistently good renditions. In recent years, they've added a second sauvignon with subtle oak influence, but the Katherine's Field is the classic, all-steel edition that I've enjoyed for several years. The Macari Vineyards 2009 Katherine's Field Sauvignon Blanc ($23) is a bit lighter on the nose compared to some other local sauvignon, but is still fresh, grassy and citrusy — particularly showing white grapefruit and a little lime. Lithe and showing more grass-over-grapefruit character, the palate…

Blind Tasting at Shinn Estate Vineyards: Proof Blind Tasting is Fun… and Humbling

There are far worse things that blind tasting on the porch at Shinn Estate Vineyards By Lenn Thompson It's great when a plan finally comes together. David Page, co-owner of Shinn Estate Vineyards (that's him with the pony tail on the left in the picture above) and I had talked about blind tasting some of his wines against comparably scored wines from the rest of the world for months and months. A couple weeks ago, it finally happened. David and his wife Barbara Shinn invited Nena and me out to the winery/inn/their home for dinner with some of their friends…

What We Drank (September 14, 2010)

 This is what our editors and contributors were drinking last week… Lenn Thompson: Persimmon Creek Vineyards 2008 Cabernet Franc (Georgia) Anyone who knows me — or at least my wine tastes — knows that I'll at least try cabernet franc from just about anywhere. So, when Persimmon Creek Vineyards in northeastern Georgia (the state, not the country) asked if they could send me theirs, I jumped at the opportunity. I don't know much about wine in the southeastern United States — in my mind it's often blocked off together as scuppernog country — but Persimmon Creek has riesling, merlot, seyval…