Posts Written OnJanuary 2016

New York Cork Club: January 2016 Selections

Happy New Year! Our friends at the Cellar d’Or are packing up my January 2016 picks for the New York Cork Club this week, so it’s that time again — to tell you about the wines I picked. To kick off 2016, we’re thrilled to include wines from two of the Finger Lakes’ premier producers. Red Tail Ridge Winery 2014 Pétillant Naturel — A few of my friends have started calling me “Mr. Pet Nat” because I keep writing about them and putting them into the club — but I can’t help it. They are so fun and refreshing and a pleasure to…

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Pellegrini Vineyards 2014 Sauvignon Blanc

Pellegrini Vineyards 2014 Sauvignon Blanc ($25), one of Zander Hargrave’s first releases as winemaker at Pellegrini Vineyards — a job he took over just before the 2014 harvest — offer a bit of Long Island wine’s past, its present and it’s future. The Hargrave name goes back as far as Long Island wine history can go. Zander’s parents, Louisa and Alex Hargrave, founded Hargrave Vineyard, Long Island’s first commercial winery, in 1973, and Zander’s uncle, Charlie Hargrave, has been a vineyard manager on the North Fork for more than a decade. In 2011 Zander was hired as assistant winemaker at the now-closed…

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#NYTastemaker: Steve Casscles | Hudson-Chatham Winery

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — typically either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new “NYTastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who is making the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we taste. The traditional “tastemaker” doesn’t really make anything, after all. Not really, anyway. I’ve known Steve Casscles and have written about him and his wines — particularly his baco noir-based wines — for many years now. What has always struck me as most interesting about Steve, though,…

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Weekly New York Wine News — January 4, 2016

This week’s featured photo is from co-owner and winemaker of Red Tail Ridge Winery, Nancy Irelan’s Facebook page. NEWS Syracuse.com – 12/23/2016 Locals look back at their favorite Finger Lakes wines of 2015. Syracuse New Times – 12/23/2015 The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail encourages consumers to try bubbly from the region at the holidays, but their are plenty to enjoy them year round. Finger Lakes Times – 12/29/2015 Dr. Frank prepares to release a new line of wines honoring the important women of the family, who have been crucial to the winery’s success. TODAY Show – 12/30/2015 New York gets some love…

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The Road Forward: What You Can Expect from the New York Cork Report in 2016

Happy New Year! After a great week-plus largely away from my laptop, it’s time to dive back into things for the new year and that includes a slight change of focus and direction here on the New York Cork Report. In March, this site will turn 12. That’s far longer than I expected it to last, but as I look back on 2015, I think I’ve lost my way a bit. For a variety of reasons, the site has become largely a wine review site — something I never expected or wanted. Wine reviews, while valuable, are nothing more than a snapshot of…

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