Posts Written OnJanuary 2013

Mystery Man Behind the Finger Lakes’ Best Winery Website Reveals Plans for Boundary Breaks: Only Riesling

Some time around the first of the year, word started to spread in Finger Lakes wine circles about a remarkable new website for a winery most people had never heard of. Within hours, questions were flying: Who did that amazing photography? What is Boundary Breaks? Who owns it? With a little digging I was able to uncover some answers, but only after the owner secured a promise from me not to reveal his identity. It’s not that he’s a celebrity — you’ve almost certainly never heard of him — but he has business reasons to keep his name out of…

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Raphael Winery 2011 Riesling

Offers aromas of slightly bruised pear, apple, white flowers and spice. The palate is less interesting — showing generic fruitiness that is somewhat stale — with a bit of a floral note and sharp acidity seems a bit disjointed. Finishing a bit sour and medium-short, this wine just isn’t particularly good — probably the result of a difficult growing season. Producer: Raphael AVA: North Fork of Long Island ABV: 11.8% Price: $20*

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TasteCamp 2013 Heading to Québec

TasteCamp 2013 heading to Québec Fifth edition of event will take place May 17-19, widen scope to cider, beer and food The organizers of TasteCamp are proud to announce that the fifth edition of the event will take place in Québec, Canada, on May 17-19, 2013. After visiting Long Island and the Finger Lakes, the Niagara Region and Virginia, this weekend of regional discovery will visit the regions around Montreal in search of great wine, but also of cider, beer and various food specialties. Over 35 bloggers and writers are expected for TasteCamp Québec, which will provide participants with the…

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New Series: Celebrating 40 Years of Long Island Wine

Long Island wine country turns 40 this year and some of the writers who write about the region most often — people like Howard Goldberg and Eileen Duffy — have already written pieces to mark the occasion. Mostly, they examine the region’s evolution and current state. That makes a lot of sense of course — we often look back on birthdays. But I’ve struggled for the past week or two to figure out how I’d mark the occasion here on the site. You see, I’ve felt a special connection to Long Island wine almost from the day I moved here more than…

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Macari Vineyards 2008 Estate Merlot

You’ve probably read that 2008 wasn’t a superlative vintage on Long Island. Compared to 2005, 2007 or 2010 that’s probably true, but over time I’ve found that with an extra year or two of bottle age, many 2008s come together nicely — offering far less intensity than those lauded years, but also a bit more complexity and a lot more food-friendliness. And as if that weren’t endearing enough — very few 2008s fall victim to the “let’s see how much we can charge for this” pandemic. Macari Vineyard Estate Merlot ($19) is a well-priced red that will improve an array…

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Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars 2011 Semi-Dry Riesling

Located on the eastern side of Seneca Lake, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars can always be counted on to deliver good values in under-$15 riesling — and this Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars 2011 Semi-Dry Riesling ($14) continues that tradition. Very fruity on the nose, it offers aromas of green and yellow apple, sweet juicy musk melon and golden raisin. Though noticeably sweet, the palate packs a fruit cocktail-like melange of apple, peach, melon and honey flavors, with subtle grapefruit and golden raisin notes with enough balancing acidity to keep it from being cloying — though a bit more verve through the mid-palate would…

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Gibson Campbell Joins NYCR as Long Island Beer Correspondent

Gibson Campbell, known in Long Island wine country as the man behind the tasting bar at Macari Vineyards, joins the NYCR team today as our new Long Island Beer Correspondent. He’ll be a familiar face to many who read this site. After graduating from Binghamton University in 2007with a bachelor degree in English, Literature, and Rhetoric, Gibson returned home to Mattituck, NY to work in a winery’s tasting room. Since then, he has worked full-time in the Long Island Wine Industry, but had already developed a passion for craft beer and basically all things local. His affinity for (good) beer started with a…

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A Handful of Food, Wine and Spirits Resolutions for 2013

I’m not big on traditional New Years resolutions. Sure, I know that I could stand to lose a few — okay, 20 — pounds. I need to eat better. I need to exercise more. It’d be good if I watched less TV and read more books. Oh, and of course I’d like to find (make?) more time for writing as well. Those aren’t really resolutions though. That’d just setting myself up to fail. I will work to do all of those things though. Really. I will. I do like to have somewhat-more-formal goals when it comes to my food and…

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Lenz Winery 2008 Gewurztraminer

Lenz Winery 2008 Gewurztraminer ($20) is — just about every year — Long Island’s best gewurzt and at $20, is typically one of the lowest-price gewurztraminers as well. Aromas of musk melon, black tea, lychee, pineapple, rose petal and spice combine to create a complex, varietally correct nose. Less singularly floral than some gewurzt, this one combines richness with freshness for perfect balance. Melon and pineapple fruit flavors are accented by notes of jasmine, ginger, lychee and a sprinkling of baking spice. Dry, concentrated and with a medium-long finish, this is a classic example of winemaker Eric Fry’s gewurzt. Producer: Lenz…

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Happy New Year from the New York Cork Report

As 2013 begins, we’d just like to wish all of our readers a Happy New Year — and of course thank you for reading NYCR and being a part of the New York wine community. Not a day goes by that I’m not amazed with what we’ve created together here in this corner of the rnet. 2012 was a challenging year here on the site — but for the best of reasons. Newborns in the Thompson, Dawson and Flaherty homes made writing time difficult to come by on occasion. Not everyone realizes it, but NYCR is a true labor of…

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