Posts Written OnMarch 2011

By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor I recently made my first visit to the region's newest winery, Black Willow Winery, in Burt. The tasting room for is housed in a newly renovated barn that sits right on Lake Road (Rt. 18) less than a mile from the southern shore of Lake Ontario. There isn't an adjacent vineyard yet, but with all the orchards surrounding the property, it has the quaint rural feel that you associate with wine country. Once inside, I was immediately impressed with the crisp and delicate nature of the whites. With grapes sourced from Cayuga Lake, the…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Sherwood House Vineyards 2005 Merlot ($25) shows classic Long Island merlot aromas of black raspberry and black cherry, hints of tobacco leaf and dried thyme, toasty oak and and earthy undercurrent. Made by Gilles Martin, this medium-to-full bodied merlot offers both fresh and dried cherry flavors with underlying tobacco and dried herb character. There is a dose of toasty oak here too. It's almost too much, but ultimately doesn't cross the line, spicing the wine rather than overwhelming it. The tannins are of medium intensity and are well integrated. Acidity brings a certain freshness. Earthy…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor The more wines I taste from Red Tail Ridge on Seneca Lake, the more impressed I am with co-owner/winemaker Nancy Irelan's wines. If Red Tail Ridge isn't in the top tier of Finger Lakes wineries already, it will be very soon. As with many wineries in the region, the rieslings are the stars of the portfolio, but Ireland isn't a one-grape pony, as evidenced by wines like this Red Tail Ridge 2008 Sparkling Teroldego ($35) — as unique a wine as you'll find in the Finger Lakes. Hailing from the Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige,…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Our post last week introducing our "Brian Sedgwick" email project certainly generated a reaction — good and bad — from inside and outside the New York wine community. We knew it would get peoples' attention and we knew we'd likely ruffle some feathers. That wasn't the goal, but it was inevitable, really. Before I get into some of the details and the findings, I'd like to set the record straight. We didn't do this to "get" anyone. When I conceived of this idea, I realized it would simply include a single email sent to wineries…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor This is a selection of New York 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. Note that these were not tasted all in one sitting/flight but instead over the course of several weeks: Kings Garden Vineyards 2008 Chardonnay ($14): Dried apple, pippin apple and subtle vanilla-oak on the nose. Medium bodied with some oak character — not over the top. Nice, fresh-but-gentle acidity. Fruit tastes sweet. Short finish. Rating: 83…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor On Saturday, April 30 from 1-4 p.m. the New York Cork Report, Peconic Bay Winery and Lacrosse for Autism are partnering for a wine-tasting event to benefit The Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at Stony Brook University. I first met the founders of Lacrosse for Autism — a local non-profit that raises money for autism research — in September at our Angelman Syndrome event, and when my wife Nena and I were deciding what charity we'd like to benefit with our next event, it was a no-brainer. Tickets for the event are $40…

  By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor When you think about the Long Island wineries that have pioneered alternative energy and other "green" practices, do you think of Osprey's Dominion? If not, you should. They kicked off their wind turbine project in 2000 and converted all of their farm equipment (tractors, trucks, etc.) to biodiesel in 2004. They aren't organic in the vineyard, but 60% of their practices are according to winemaker Adam Suprenant. He refers the rest as "reduced risk" treatments. Suprenant (pictured right) also steers clear of most additives in the winery, only using SO2, acid — if needed…

By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor Photo at right shows the Data Layers map on NYVineyardSite.org; below is Professor Alan Lakso, courtesy Cornell If you have ever thought, even for a brief moment, that owning a vineyard and winery would be fun, consider this: The first decision often turns out to be the biggest mistake. That decision, of course, is what grapes to plant, and where.  With support from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, Cornell has launched an ambitious program and website dedicated to that pursuit. The site is NYVineyardSite.org.  "We're seeing more people who want to get away…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Here is a sampling of what our editors and contributors have been drinking. As always, it's a diverse grouping this week: Evan Dawson: Albino Rocca 1996 Barbaresco Vigneto Brich Ronchi A friend asked what this wine revealed, considering the fact that it had some age on it. The best I could offer was that the wine is still primary, still youthful, and yet it's not closed or tight. At all. It has opened like a flower and is generously displaying aromatics that could convert a Coke drinker. We all like to talk about older wine…