Posts Written OnMay 2014

Race Wines 2010 Merlot

Race Wines is the new label from veteran North Fork winemaker Greg Gove, who most recently served at Peconic Bay Winery’s winemaker. The current releases were made at PBW before it closed, but he is now making his wines at Lenz Winery. I expected Race Wines 2010 Merlot ($20) to taste a lot like Gove’s Peconic Bay Winery 2010 Merlot, and while there are some similarities, they are far from the same. Aromas of cherry cordial and strawberry preserves are backed by notes of cocoa powder, toasty oak and vanilla — all with a smoky edge. The palate is dense…

Winter Vine Damage Low Down

Word from the North Country has been relatively good as regards vine damage, based on early random bud samples and their reported survival rates after the deep cold that was delivered this winter. Once we get out into the vineyard to do the pruning, and we visit every vine, that’s when you get a true picture of what is going on. In this particular case, the visual I got was a real shocker. The buds may have held up,  but while working a couple of Lake Champlain Valley vineyards in NY and VT, we found some pretty significant trunk damage.…

Moustache Brewing Co. Ocelot 2.0 IPA

I recently visited the Moustache Brewing Co. during their ribbon-cutting ceremony and was able to taste through three of their current releases.  The One Drop Pale Ale, Everyman’s Porter and Ocelot 2.0 IPA were all impressive, but the IPA filled my growler and made the ride back home with me. The ale pours a bright orange-copper hue that just looks delicious. A bit too cold at first, the nose shows orange blossom, grapefruit rind and lemon. Once warmed, the aromatic hops are even more prevalent with a piney character taking over. A slight caramel note hints that the palate will…

What We Drank ( May 2, 2014 )

Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor – Domaine Chignard 2012 Fleurie “Les Moriers” My birthday was last weekend. I turned 39, so it wasn’t any sort of milestone. Not worth spending money on a birth-year wine. That’ll be next year. I did use my birthday as an excuse to go wine shopping though. I spend most of the house wine budget on local wines, but I decided to visit the only decent wine shop for 30 miles and came home with this beautiful Fleurie. Beaujolais is always a good bet in my house. It’s one of the few regions that my wife…

Empire State Cellars May 2014 Wine Club Selections

Diversity. That’s my one-word summary for May’s Empire State Cellars Wine Club selections — which really are a celebration of New York’s wine diversity. It would be easy to pick four Finger Lakes rieslings every month, add a couple Long Island merlots, a cab franc and a pinot and call it a day. And there are enough good wines to do that, but that’s not nearly as fun as exploring the hidden corners of New York’s wine regions.  Look for some even more hard-to-get wines in upcoming shipments, but it starts this month. We did include a couple rieslings, but…