The October 2015 wines for the New York Cork Club will be on there way soon, so it’s time to give you peek at the picks.

(If you missed our announcement about the rebirth of New York Cork Club, check it out here.)

The 2015 grape harvest season continues. Just about all of the white wine grapes are in across the state and now growers are deciding what they should do with their red wine grapes — pick before the heavy rains that could come with Hurricane Joaquin, or wait it out and hope for the best?

I’m glad they have make those decisions and I don’t.

I’m pretty excited about this month’s New York Cork Club selections because we’re honestly lucky to be able to get either of these wines into the club.

Roanoke Vineyards 2013 BOND — I’ve known the folks at Roanoke Vineyards for many years and without that relationship, we wouldn’t be able to offer you this red blend. They sell almost their entire production out of their two North Fork tasting rooms, and the bulk of this wine sold out to the winery’s wine club before it was even released — but we were able to pry away just enough for this shipment. This cabernet franc-dominated blend (with some cabernet sauvignon, petite verdot and merlot in the mix) is one of the best sub-$20 Long Island reds I’ve tasted this year. Have it with that first beef stew of the fall.

Randolph O’Neill Vineyard 2014 Riesling — You might recognize the name Randolph O’Neill Vineyard — Silver Thread has produced a single-vineyard riesling from its fruit before — but in 2014 owner/vineyard manager/winemaker Kelley O’Neill decided to keep the fruit and make a couple rieslings. There isn’t a tasting room yet. Only a few shops in the Finger Lakes have this wine — and luckily one of them is The Cellar d’Or, my partner in this club. Explosively aromatic and expressive, there is a subtle sweetness here but it’s impeccably balanced. This is a vineyard and producer to watch for sure. I’ll be pouring this with Thanksgiving dinner — if I can wait that long.

I hope you enjoy these picks. If you haven’t yet,  sign up today…

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