Posts Written OnMay 2014

Anthony Road Winery Teams with the New York Yankees for 2013 Riesling

It wasn’t in the morning box score, but the 2014 season marked the Major League Baseball debut of a Finger Lakes native. Seneca Lake winery, Anthony Road Wine Company, teamed up with the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball to introduce New York YankeesTM Reserve Dry Riesling, a custom-bottled version of its Dry Riesling. Yes, it’s the same wine as the standard Dry Riesling. But labels have drawing power, and the New York Yankees offer one of the most powerful brands in the marketing world. In addition to the Yankees, a handful of major league franchises, including the Boston…

What We Drank (May 14, 2014)

Lindsay Prichard, Finger Lake Correspondent: Pappy Van Winkle 15-year-old Reserve Bourbon I was recently in Nashville to visit my son who lives there. The city is famous for lots of things: music, food, history – and an abundance of southern bourbon. I’m not a whiskey aficionado and my normal drink of choice would be wine or beer. But I decided to take a “when in Rome” approach and sample some of the South’s finest. I had heard about “Pappy” from my whiskey-drinking friends, but had never tried it myself. When our server brought it out, he said “if heaven was a whiskey,…

There’s a Lot Happening At Macari Vineyards: But Don’t Let That Scare You

Barrel Tastings are cool. There’s something unique about the experience that makes you feel like you’ve got membership to a secret club, even for those of us who are in and out of working wineries. A welcome chill in the air, necessary for stabilization but still goosebump-promoting regardless of the season, commands your attention. Take notice! Something interesting is happening here! Steel tanks stand next to endless rows of neutral oak barrels, each with unique with chalk scribbles that mean almost nothing to bystanders. It makes you wonder wonder what’s happening to the liquid inside. This is wine in its…

Anthony Nappa Wines 2013 “Bordo” Cabernet Franc

With aromas of red raspberry and cherry, roasted poblano, savory herbs and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, Anthony Nappa Wines 2013 “Bordo” Cabernet Franc ($20) shows the interplay between fruity and savory that this unoaked, spontaneously fermented cabernet franc always shows. Soft and similarly savory, the medium-bodied palate shows the same berries-meet-herbs character — un-adored cabernet franc in all it’s glory. The medium-length finish brings some graphite and turns almost tinny before returning to the herbal and slightly vegetal notes. Many winemakers would manipulate that green edge out of this wine — whether through oak aging or some other bit of winemaking…

Brooklyn Brewery Black Ops (2013)

According to Brooklyn Brewery’s website: [box_light]“Brooklyn Black Ops does not exist. However, if it did exist, it would be a robust stout originally concocted by the Brooklyn brewing team under cover of secrecy…Supposedly Black Ops was aged for four months in bourbon barrels, bottled flat, and re-fermented with champagne yeast.”  [/box_light] This stout is a limited production, vintage-labeled beer that is fervently sought after by Brooklyn Brewery enthusiasts. The Imperial Stout’s short supply and known aging potential creates a demand that evaporates Black Ops before it hits the shelves. I’ve had the opportunity to drink a 2008 vintage with four…

At What Point is a Winery Not Really a Winery Anymore?

I get dozens of promotional emails from New York wineries each week. I can’t read them all, honestly, but it does help keep me abreast of the goings on in New York wine country. Last week, something really stuck out as I was scanning my inbox. Here’s a sampling of recent subject lines: “NEWS: 2013 Riesling Released” “Ship Wine Today for Mother’s Day – Or Visit the Winery” “The Whites of <Winery Name> Tasting” “Don’t Miss Our 28th Anniversary Sale” “Free Case Shipping from <Winery Name> Today” “Taste Our New Wines at Brooklyn Uncorked” Now, what do these have in…

5 Questions with… Ami Opisso, Lieb Cellars

Ami Opisso, General Manager, Lieb Cellars

The New York Cork Report is back on the North Fork of Long Island for this edition of our “5 Questions With…” series. We recently had a virtual sit down with Ami Opisso, North Fork native and General Manager of Lieb Cellars. Opisso, a former city dweller living a fast paced life in New York City and Chicago working in advertising and marketing, made the brave jump into wine leaving her six figure salary behind for a small hourly tasting room job, something many of our readers (myself included) likely daydream about but are unwilling to risk themselves. Ami spent the…

In the Finger Lakes, Finally, Female Winemakers are Becoming More Common

It was inevitable that women would conquer wine, and winemaking, as a small-but-not-unrelated stop on their way to conquering the top government posts that they have long been owed, in this country and others. Men have ruled for too long, and look where that’s gotten the world: on the brink of nuclear annihilation, or financial ruin, or The Singularity, or some such embarrassing way to ruin this improbable oasis in a heretofore barren universe. From the Russian satellites to Syria to the job markets to the pathetic level of political discourse, blame the men. We’ve proven ourselves incapable stewards. Anyway,…

Reconnecting With What Drives Schulze Vineyards & Winery

Wine’s ability to enable us to metaphorically travel through time and space just might allow me to grasp all that’s happened in the months (or years?) since I’d last been a regular contributor to the NYCR. As I look back through what resembles a hazy glass of unfiltered, sediment-laden chardonnay, there’s a lot I’ve missed or just never got around to verbalizing. This minor disconnect from the region left me wondering where to jump back in: An expansion of the official Niagara Wine Region Route? Or maybe a vintage report card which, after all is said and done, will just…