Posts Written OnNovember 2015

Weekly New York Wine News — November 30, 2015

Photo at Mcari Vineyards courtesy of Corin Hirsch NEWS Forbes - 11/24/2015 While we may not advocate using wine as an investment vehicle, we agree that the smart money is spent on New York products. Style Blueprint - 11/24/2015 Hip wine shop in Nashville picks Forge Cellars Riesling as a splurge in their list of holiday wine suggestions. Finger Lakes Times - 11/27/2015 Direct funding from the USDA will help the New York Grape and Wine Foundation expand marketing efforts on an international scale. Penfield Post - 11/27/2015 Finger Lakes Community College students and a full-spectrum wine making education from…

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Thanksgiving in New York Wine Country

It’s that time of year once again — the time when we ask our friends in the New York wine industry to share their Thanksgiving traditions as well as their wine (or cider or beer) pairing plans for the holiday. I’ve also asked the NYCR team to chime in with their plans. Here at New York Cork Report international headquarters, I’m feeling a bit behind schedule. Typically I’ve pulled all of the wines we’ll have on Thanksgiving Day by now — but I haven’t pulled a single one from the cellar yet. Perhaps not surprisingly, we drink mostly New York wines and…

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Weekly New York Wine News — November 23, 2015

Photo courtesy of Nancy Irelan, Red Tail Ridge NEWS Finger Lakes Wine - 11/15/2015 Meet the new Finger Lakes winemaker Nova Cadamatre, who comes from a big wine business to her own small winery. Leisure Group Travel - 11/18/2015 Canandaigua gets recognition as a well rounded tourist destination with wine and food at its hub. Henrietta Post - 11/20/2015 Finger Lakes Community College wine program is up and running in style, and will soon be producing commercial products made by students. Buffalo News - 11/20/2015 Five upstate NY wines to pair with the feasts…all under $20. WCAX - 11/20/2015 The…

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Corks of the Forks: The Last Thanksgiving Wine Story You’ll Ever Need to Read

When considering your Thanksgiving wine choices, here’s the only advice you need: Drink good wine. Don’t complicate it any more than that. OK. You probably want to know why it’s that simple, and I’m happy to explain it. I’ve written Thanksgiving-related stories for at least a decade, just like every other wine writer — from local guys like me to national columnists in the big, glossy magazines. Some feel compelled to do so, but often we’re told to write these stories because they’re apparently popular, though I don’t actually understand why. None of my friends or family members stress about…

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From the Archives: Our First NYCR Wines of the Year Tasting

Editor’s Note: Every Thursday — call it Throwback Thursday if you’d like — we’ll pull a story from the more than a decade of NYCR stories and republish it. This week, I pulled a quick story I wrote right after the first-ever New York Cork Report “Wines of the Year” tasting, back in January of 2010. 5 tasters. 8 hours. 19 flights. 54 wines. That was my Saturday as I joined most of the New York Cork Report team for a tasting that would determine our 2009 Wines of the Year. It was an incredibly fun, exciting day, but it also an…

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Uncork the Forks: Lieb Cellars and its Brand Makeover

Creating and building a successful brand is difficult in any industry. Building and nurturing a successful wine brand in a region without an established regional identity or reputation is even harder. When Ami Opisso, general manager at Lieb Cellars in Mattituck, and the new ownership team took over what was then known as Lieb Family Cellars in 2013, they had an even more challenging situation. They had to revitalize a somewhat established brand and decide where they would take it, and the company, in the future. They’ve pulled it off — perhaps better than any rebrand I can remember on…

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Weekly New York Wine News — November 17, 2015

(Photo via Kelby Russell/Red Newt Cellars) NEWS WXXI - 11/10/2015 Evan Dawson hosts a panel on his show “Connections” to discuss the significant investments that Finger Lakes wineries are making in renewable energy and how that bodes for the region’s future. FlipSidePA - 11/10/2015 Just south of the New York border they look to the Finger Lakes for white wine to pair with the turkey with Dr. Frank’s Riesling and Gewurtz this year’s selection. New York Times - 11/12/2015 Thanksgiving wine recommendations are abound in the run up to the holiday, and even the tasting panel at the Times gets…

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Macari Vineyards 2015 “Early Wine” Chardonnay

Le nouveau est arrivé is the official slogan for when Beaujolais Nouveau arrives every fall — the third Thursday in November. As much as I love Cru Beaujolais, I don’t rush out for the Nouveau anymore. It’s become more of a marketing spectacle than anything about the wine. I’d like to suggest a new, locally focused edition — “The Early has arrived!” I look forward to this wine’s release every year. I’ve been harassing asking the folks at Macari Vineyards about Macari Vineyards 2015 “Early Wine” Chardonnay ($18) for several weeks now — wanting to know when it would be available. Then…

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From the Archives: Some Finger Lakes Wineries Favor Synthetic Corks for Their Best Wines. Should They?

Editor’s Note: Every Thursday — call it Throwback Thursday if you’d like — we’ll pull a story from the more than a decade of NYCR stories and republish it. This week, I pulled a story that managing editor Evan Dawson and science editor Tom Mansell teamed up for about synthetic closures in the Finger Lakes.   Serious wine consumers are not, generally speaking, fans of synthetic cork. Most recoil at the sight of a plastic cork being pulled from a bottle they had otherwise been excited to open. Is this bias unfair? Maybe. Companies are working to improve the quality of synthetic…

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Shinn Estate Vineyards 2014 “Mojo” Cabernet Franc

I don’t want to jinx it, but it seems like Long Island winemakers have largely moved beyond the days of treating cabernet franc like cabernet sauvignon. Most winemakers really scaled back the amount of new oak they are using and are allowing cabernet franc be cabernet franc. They aren’t trying to beat all of the “green” out of the variety as often and as a result very few wood-and-chocolate-and-vanilla-dominated cabernet francs have crossed my tasting table over the past year. A handful of wineries put out unoaked versions now, and Shinn Estate Vineyards — long growers and makers of some of the best local…

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