Posts Written OnMay 01, 2012

Screwcaps at Paumanok Vineyards — Not Just for White Wines Anymore

Photo courtesy of Paumanok Vineyards Kareem Massoud, winemaker at Paumanok Vineyards, has a thing for screwcaps. I wouldn’t say that loves them — that’d be kinda weird — but believes in them and loves talking about them. Just trying talking to Kareem for any length of time without alternative closures coming up. It’s damn near impossible. Kareem, like his father Charles before him, takes a very thoughtful, logical approach to the family’s wines. “My parents bought this farm in 1983 and planted grapevines on bare land,” he says “Many years were spent establishing the vineyard until the vines bore fruit for the…

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Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2010 Syrah

With all due respect to Long Island and the Finger Lakes, the most exciting wines on my tasting table over the past month or so have been from the Niagara region of New York. Generally speaking, they are well-made wines that are well priced and show the kind of distinctiveness I look for. This Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2010 Syrah ($35) is on the higher end of the pricing scale, but it delivers today and has the stuffing to improve in the bottle over the next five to ten years. The intense, layered nose shows dark, brooding fruit — blueberry, blackberry…

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