Posts Written OnApril 2011

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor "It's too bad that Long Island cabernet is never any good — and can't age." I don't make a habit of quoting myself in blog posts, but this extremely sarcastic comment got quite a few laughs at a recent tasting of older Long Island wines. Just about every wine we tasted elicited metaphorical, if not actual, giggles actually — the giggles of people in on the secret. The secret? Long Island wines can not only survive a decade or two in your cellar, they can thrive. I consider myself lucky to be in on that…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Tickets are now available for our charity wine event on April 30 from 1-4 p.m. We are partnering with Peconic Bay Winery and Lacrosse for Autism  to benefit The Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at Stony Brook University. You can get all the event details in our previous post. Tickets are $40 with a significant portion of that going directly to the charity. Join us for an afternoon of fun and enjoy $2 glasses of wine (every penny going to charity), an array of wine-friendly snacks, 10% off bottle purchases and a silent…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Today I'm proud to announce that the next installment of our Twitter-based virtual wine tasting, TasteNY, will take place on Monday, April 11 at 8 p.m. ET This time around, we'll be featuring two baco noirs from Hudson-Chatham Winery in Ghent, NY.: 2009 Baco Noir Old Vines 2009 Baco Noir Reserve Casscles Vineyard I know that it's late notice, but if you're interested in joining us, the fine folks at H-C are offering these wines as a TasteNY pack for $38, including shipping.    Call the winery at 518.392 wine to get your TasteNY pack.…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Bronchitis has kept me from doing any tasting over the last week or so, but on Sunday we stopped by Channing Daughters to pick up some wines — including Long Island's first-ever Lagrein. It was a gorgeous-but-chilly day — perfect for wine tasting had I been feeling better.  

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Unless you're living under a rock, you've no doubt heard that my friend and colleague Evan Dawson has written a book about Finger Lakes wines and the people behind them, Summer in a Glass. Well, it's been a long time coming, but today is the official released day, and the entire NYCR staff would like to congratulate our brother in wine on the success he's already had and is sure to have with this book. It is virtually impossible for any of us to write an unbiased review of the book, so there won't be…

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor I spent last weekend at my best friend

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor This glistening lager pours a glowing well-hydrated-post-water-bottle urine color with no head or lacing to distract from the pure, unadulterated aromas bursting from the nose. A glorious flavor profile of sweat, tears and gonorrhea enlivens the palate and transports the drinker back to freshman orientation, with lascivious notes of latex, metal can and couch pizza supplanting the usual malt profile. The palate is akin to licking the undercarriage of a Hummer: fascinatingly steely and rusty with hints of kerosene and douchebag. A long, almost-too-long finish ensures the place of this memorable beer in the sense-memories…

By Aaron Estes, Cheese Editor Berle Farm in Hoosick, NY is a certified organic farm that produces seasonal and sustainable goods such as hand-stirred cheeses and yogurt as well as pastured beef. When Lucy