Posts Written OnApril 2014

Finding Inspiration in the Finger Lakes, by Regan Meador, Southold Farm + Cellar

Getting past New York City with a trailer overloaded with 350 gallons of wine had been a major milestone. As the truck lurched and faded, lurched and faded, every bang of a pothole had me questioning my decision on this endeavor, but I still had four hours to go until the Finger Lakes. I was taking perfectly good still red wine to Bellwether Wine Cellars in Trumansburg so I could turn it into an ode to dry lambrusco (an endeavor that had given more than a few colleagues on Long Island a good laugh). I needed to use their pressurization…

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Villa Bellangelo and Winemaker Ian Barry Part Ways

Villa Bellangelo has decided to end its employment of winemaker Ian Barry, and the winery is launching a search for a new winemaker immediately. Barry was hired by Bellangelo in 2011 when the Missick family arrived from California to set in motion a dramatic change at the Seneca Lake facility. Known for a quirky Italian theme and a lineup of sweeter wines, the Missicks purchased Bellangelo with the intention of joining the regional elite. Barry, an award-winning winemaker with experience at several Finger Lakes producers, was hired to improve the wines. “Ian Barry assisted Bellangelo during an important transition,” said Chris Missick in a statement. “Most…

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Suhru Wines 2013 Sauvignon Blanc

  Though young (it seems like we’re seeing more and more new-vintage whites released before Memorial Day every year, aren’t we?) Suhru Wines 2013 Sauvignon Blanc ($19) showed well in a recent tasting with aromas of passion fruit, peach and pink grapefruit accented by a grassy spearmint note. Fuller bodied but still fresh, the palate delivers mostly lemon and grapefruit citrus notes with only subtle tropical fruit and grassy-herbal character. Though a bit hollow on the mid-palate, the finish is medium-long and balanced with ripe fruit notes lingering nicely. I like this wine enough that it will be in an…

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Announcement: “NYCR 2010 Reds Tasting Report” Tasting June 7 (CANCELED)

Note: We have decided to cancel this tasting. More information coming soon about our next tasting.  Over the winter, as the editorial board and I looked at NYCR and what we wanted to do with it in 2014, expanding our Tasting Reports program was to be a big part of it. The plan was to conduct six such tastings that would cover a wide range of grapes and styles from around the state of New York. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that pulling that many tastings together with a group of part-time volunteers (which is what we all are) would be exceedingly…

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Lieb Cellars 2013 Bridge Lane Chardonnay

  When Lieb Cellars’ new Bridge Lane 2013 Chardonnay ($15) is released this summer, it won’t be available in a 3L box (it’s white blend cousin is available in one) but at $15/bottle and $260/disposable keg (retail) — which works out to $10/bottle — it’s one of the best white wine values to be found on the North Fork. In fact, positioned and sold correctly, it could help get local wines on more by-the-glass wine lists across the metro area.  Not, it’s not particularly complex or nuanced, but it is a fresh, versatile steel chardonnay that is as at home on the beach as it…

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What We Drank (April 1, 2014)

Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor: Paumanok Vineyards 2012 Riesling Saturday night, we hosted three couples — new-ish friends we’ve made through our first grader, actually — for drinks before heading out to dinner together to our local BYO joint. I pulled nearly a case of New York wines from my cellar and I could easily have picked any of them for WWD this week. Instead, I’m going to write about this bottle that one of the couple brought for us as a “host/hostess gift.” It’s rare that someone brings wine to my house (why? I WANT it as a gift, always) and I hadn’t…

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