In the midst of the NYCR’s brief hiatus, we still have some work to attend to — announcing wines that will be included in the January shipment of our wine club. If you aren’t familiar with the club, you can learn more here. “Hello New York” Wines Macari Vineyards 2013 Early Wine Chardonnay: I’ve already enjoyed at least half a case of this super-fresh first taste of the 2013 Long Island vintage. It bursts with citrus — think lemons and grapefruit — aromas along with notes of green apple and apple blossom on the nose. Juicy, citrusy and just plain fun on the…
Posts Written OnDecember 2013
Happy Holiday Season from the New York Cork Report
It’s Christmas Eve here at NYCR Worldwide Headquarters and it has just started snowing — two days after nearly reaching 70 degrees. Long Island weather is nothing if not interesting. Our grape growers know that well. Before my wife and I spend the next couple of hours filling in for the North Pole’s most famous resident, I just wanted to offer each of you a happy, fun and safe holiday season filled with great friends, family and of course delicious local libations. I’ve given the team the rest of the year off and plan to mostly take the next week…
Should the Long Island Wine Industry Police Itself More Effectively?
As you may have seen earlier this week, the New York State Liquor Authority revoked Vineyard 48’s liquor license. It’s hard to know exactly what happens next, but in the meantime, wineries on Long Island and beyond are now free to openly discuss a difficult subject — an industry and community policing itself. It’s rare for wineries to speak in support of one other when speaking to power — being beholden to so many regulatory agencies, banks and the public can make a winery owner fearful on many levels. It is rarer still for them to openly criticize one another’s…
Decanting Wine: Too Often, We’re Doing it Wrong
A pair of Finger Lakes pinots offered a stark reminder about the potential value — and the potential dangers — of aeration. And it reminded me that it’s easy to make mistakes when it comes to decanting. Recently, we opened a bottle of Bloomer Creek Vineyard 2008 Pinot Noir and a bottle of Fox Run Vineyards 2001 Pinot Noir Reserve. I don’t do a whole lot of decanting, but there are wines that seem to require more air to open up. Our Science Editor can probably fill me in on whether decanting has as much impact as we think, and I don’t…
What We Drank (December 17, 2013 Edition)
Here is a weekly sampling of some of the interesting — good or bad — libations that the New York Cork Report team has encountered over the past week. Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor: La Trou Du Diable La Saison du Tracteur As you may glean from some of the contributions below, a few NYCR folks were together (with some other folks) on Sunday for some food and libations. When a good friend from Quebec offered to bring some local saisons for the gathering, we ran with the theme tasting more than a dozen versions. Some were super-citrusy. Others were vinous…
Channing Daughters Winery 2011 “Sylvanus Vineyard” Tocai Friulano
You don’t see a lot of tocai friulano on the east coast — or even in the U.S. — but it seems well suited to Channing Daughters Winery’s home vineyard in Bridgehampton, NY. They make a second version from fruit grown on the North Fork, but I preferred the Sylvanus Vineyard bottling in a tasting last week. As with many of New York’s top white wines, texture and mouthfeel are what set Channing Daughters Winery 2011 “Sylvanus Vineyard” Tocai Friulano ($24) apart. Whole cluster pressed and fermented in both stainless steel (68%) and old oak (32%), the nose is pretty and…
Moved by a New York Wine: Aged Finger Lakes Riesling (Uwe Kristen, DerKellermeister.com)
Editor’s Note: Thank you to our friend Uwe Kristen of Der Kellermeister for the second story in our “Moved by a New York Wine” series. If a New York wine has moved you, let us know. White wine is still considered to be less age-worthy than red wine. Which, of course, is not true. Riesling, in particular, can age for decades. Once bottled, wine is not a finished product. It is still very much alive. Give it some years to fully express itself and you shall be handsomely rewarded. I had been holding on to two Finger Lakes rieslings from…
Teroldego: The Story Behind a Red Wine Curiosity
When you’ve worked in the wine industry for years, it takes a little bit more to excite you. You’ve tasted great wines; you’ve seen beautiful landscapes. But if you’re Nancy Irelan, you couldn’t help but be inspired by the scene in front of you: teroldego vines climbing the terraces of Alto Adige, seeming to stretch toward the sky, or at least high into the Dolomites. “It’s just incredible,” Irelan said to no one in particular. On that crisp April day, Irelan felt re-energized by the experience. She has become a kind of red wine pioneer in the Finger Lakes, but…
What We Drank (December 10, 2013 Edition)
Here’s a sampling of what our contributors have been drinking… Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor: Rocky Point Artisan Brewers Harvest Pilsner Our daughter’s birthday December 5. Our son’s is January 31. Sandwich the holidays in between the two and all of the school and social chaos that ensues — and you get non-stop activity from Thanksgiving until the Super Bowl. It’s important to my wife and I that we give each event its due — no lumping either birthday into the holidays in any way. Part of our strategy is to make sure we create and maintain traditions along the way. This…
Shinn Estate Vineyards 2010 Wild Boar Doe
At their best, Long Island reds straddle the line between fruity and earthy. Shinn Estate Vineyards 2010 Wild Boar Doe ($30) is on the fruitier side, but still hits the mark. This playfully named blend of 40% merlot, 23% cabernet sauvignon, 17% malbec, 15% petit verdot and 5% cabernet franc is effusively aromatic with ripe black and blue berry fruit, violets, peppery spice and a pleasant meaty note. Mouth filling and plump, the palate shows dark berries, violets, black pepper, Chinese five spice and earthy, nutty oak notes. Drinking well today, it should reward another few years in the cellar…