Posts Written OnOctober 2010

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor This offering from Chelsea Brewing Company in NYC isn't seen too often in the Buffalo area, so when I saw it on tap at Blue Monk I had to give it a shot. Pouring a murky amber red into a pint glass with barely a one-finger head and no lacing whatsoever (likely a factor of the bar rather than the beer - I always give the benefit of the doubt with draft pints). The nose has a rather locker room-esque funk and a musky, grainy hop presence, with little other flavor.  At first sip the…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor This isn't a review, not even close. But, I got to taste this Peconic Bay Vineyards 1986 Cabernet Sauvignon last night, and it was bound to inspire a post of some sort, right? I guess I could have waited until next week's What We Drank post, but sometimes I'm just not that patient. Last night, I was joined by more than a dozen members of the local wine community at a tremendous dinner I helped organize at one of the North Fork's top restaurants, Luce Hawkins. Modeled after a dinner I attended in the Finger…

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor There is a reason that used car salesmen have a poor reputation with car buyers. "This car is practically in mint condition! And this one is a steal! You can't go wrong with this car, either! They're all gems!"   More and more you wonder if the wine industry is taking its cues from the used car industry. "Rough weather? No way — we reached optimal ripeness again! The growing conditions were ideal! The wines are all a dream!" But when you read the newsletters from McGregor Vineyard & Winery on Keuka Lake, and…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor The wine world is seemingly overflowing with technology sector refugees who have escaped the corporate grind for an agricultural life.It sometimes gives me hope that I may eventually make wine my career. Paul Deninno, owner and winemaker at BashaKill Vineyards is one such refugee. Formerly and auto mechanic and and IT manager, Dennino started BashaKill Vineyards, the first commercial winery in Sullivan County, in 2005. A year later, he planted his first vines — Noiret and Cayuga. Two years later, he added Marquette. There are two main reasons for choosing those grapes. First, Sullivan County,…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor As good as local cabernet franc can be, it's not easy to define the "typical Long Island expression" of my favorite red wine grape. At this point in the region's growth, there are nearly as many styles of cabernet franc here as there are wineries producing them. Some wineries make their cabernet franc without any oak at all — while others use lots of newer wood to cover up and mask the telltale "green" character of the grape. Some wineries try to keep their franc juicy with nice acidity while others strive for a richer,…

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor A year ago, for my first-ever NYCR post, I wrote about the Niagara Escarpment's first modern commercial hop grower, Mike Sieczkowski, who planted two rows of hops on Budd Road in Niagara County and found unexpected success. This week, I tried a Flying Bison Brewing Company pilot batch beer made from Sieczkowski's hops. "It is a fresh-hopped american pale ale made with my locally grown Nugget hops and has an ABV of 6.2%," he explained in an email. The beer is the first in a series that Flying Bison brewmaster Tim Herzog will brew to…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor For me, vintage variation is one of the real joys of cool climate, and of course New York, wines. Being able to taste the differences in weather from year to year has capture and kept my attention. I've also come to better understand that certain growing seasons aren't necessarily better or worse than others. They are just different. The resulting wines and how they evolve in the bottle is different too. Many of the 2007 Long Island reds available in tasting rooms today simply need more time in bottle. They just do. That's not to…

By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor The book about why wine is important is going to end up taking its place among the most important wine books ever written. Beauty, according to the brilliant importer and writer Terry Theise, is what we're ultimately seeking in life. Start there. Everything else is exposition. And the beauty in Theise's prose is his refusal to be ashamed or embarrassed by genuine emotion.  This is no insignificant point. If you're a man, you can probably think of many times in your life where you fought tears because revealing a soft spot would have been seen…