Browsing CategoryFinger Lakes

Red Newt Cellars 2008 Glaciers Ridge Vineyards Merlot

Living on Long Island, I drink a fair amount of merlot. It’s every where you look in wine country — literally and figuratively. I don’t need to look north to the Finger Lakes for merlot. And honestly, I don’t. Merlot is well down the list of what I’m looking for in the Finger Lakes. In fact, it’s probably not on the list at all. That brings us to Red Newt Cellars 2008 Glaciers Ridge Vineyards Merlot ($45), a wine that I decided to write up for Wine Blogging Wednesday #75, hosted by Joe Roberts of 1WineDude. The theme? “Singles Night” — focusing…

Continue Reading

The Finger Lakes Come to Astoria, Queens — Winegasm Brunch

Sunday, in my fair neighborhood of Astoria, Queens—on a day more reminiscent of a sunny Spring afternoon in May—a wee gathering of Finger Lakes winemakers met at Winegasm, a local wine bar I’ve only hit up once in its 4-year tenure. After seeing their support for New York wines, however, and despite its rather unfortunate name, I’ll be headed back to support them. The space is charming and rustic, with a massive skylight flooding the wooden tables and a winelist that gives a few nods to our New York brethren. Popping bottles at the long, wooden communal table were principals…

Continue Reading

The Piggery Deli and Butcher Shop: Making Meat Cool Once More in Ithaca

Piggery-Ithaca

“Do you want to meet the butchers?” Heather asked me as we rounded the corner of the kitchen. In the middle of next room two men intricately worked knives into the ribs of a pig, severed in half and propped on a table. Its skin was carnation-pink, and its bones were clean as a whistle and creamy white. Yes. I wanted to meet the butchers. Heather Sanford and Brad Marshall never intended to run a full-scale butcher shop and deli in one of the Finger Lakes’ most vegetarian-friendly towns. They started their organic pig farm seven years ago with the…

Continue Reading

Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars 2009 Rkatsiteli

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I was first introduced to the Rkatsiteli grape when I tried the 2006 vintage bottling from Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars. I was quickly hooked by the aromatic white that can be described as riesling-meets-gewruztraminer-meets-sauvignon blanc in its aromas and flavors with a beam of beautiful natural acidity. Since then, Dr. Frank’s Rkatsiteli has been a bit up and down for me — always drinkable, but sometimes without the verve and length of that first taste. Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars 2009 Rkatsiteli ($15) is lemony on the nose with notes of citrus…

Continue Reading

Not Your Average Riesling: The Story Behind the 2011 NYCR Finger Lakes Riesling of the Year

To understand why the Hermann J. Wiemer 2010 Dry Riesling Reserve is such a special wine, it’s important to understand that not all rieslings are created equally. Nor are all wines created easily. Winemaking at Wiemer is more difficult, more patient, more risk, more reward. There is perhaps no better wine to exemplify this than the NYCR Finger Lakes Riesling of the Year. “For me, the 2010 Reserve is the finest riesling I’ve made,” says winemaker Fred Merwarth. That’s an extraordinary statement for a winemaker who prefers euphemism to hyperbole, and who has built a prolific portfolio in 10 short…

Continue Reading

At 171 Cedar Arts, Real Culinary Education by Finger Lakes Chefs

By Rochelle Bilow, Finger Lakes Food Correspondent Most celebrity chefs guard their secrets closely, denying consumers and fans their recipes and techniques. And why should they share? It’s their repertoire, after all. There’s a certain unspoken fear in the restaurant world that if clients can replicate dishes on their own, the banquettes and bar stools will slowly empty as home ovens steadily warm to a roaring fire. The chefs in the Finger Lakes believe otherwise. For years, a core group of culinary professionals in the region have been teaching specialized and themed classes to laypeople, unraveling the mystery and mystique…

Continue Reading

The 2011 New York Cork Report Wines of the Year

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I think I can speak for my fellow editors and contributors when I say that our 2011 Wines of the Year tasting was a fun, challenging and inspiring day of 16 wine tasting flights. I always come away with myriad story ideas swirling in my head after this tasting. This year is no different. Look for pieces from the team over the next few weeks. But today, we announce the winners — including our first-ever New York Wine of the Year, Peconic Bay Winery 2007 Lowerre Family Estate. Our 2011 Regional Wines of the Year…

Continue Reading

A Magical Finger Lakes Red, and Why it’s Gone Too Soon

It had been two years since I last tasted the Damiani Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc, and I was down to my last bottle. On release, it was an impressive wine with depth, if a tad besmirched by oak. I liked it enough to buy three bottles. Earlier this month my wife and I went to dinner and decided to open this wine one more time. Sometimes we talk about transformation that can occur in a complex wine, but no one really knows what to expect. If I harbored high hopes for the Damiani Cab Franc, it turns out those…

Continue Reading

Damiani Wine Cellars 2010 Semi-Dry Riesling

I first tasted this wine as a part of Riesling Hour and it was one of the more popular wines amongst the Long Island wine industry folks who joined me for the tasting. This review is based on a subsequent tasting in my home. Light hints of apricot and lime bring nuance to a nose driven by sweet pear and green apple. Juicy, ripe and off-dry, the palate shows more sweet pear character along with flavors of peach and white grape — with snappy acidity that brings focus and verve. There is an interesting floral, green tea note on the…

Continue Reading

Sheldrake Point at Seneca: What’s New for a Classic Finger Lakes Winery

By Rochelle Bilow, Finger Lakes Food Correspondent Photos courtesy of Sheldrake Point winery Mention Sheldrake Point Winery on Seneca Lake and, chances are, you’ll be corrected. “It’s on Cayuga Lake,” I heard a half-dozen times over the course of the last month from friends and Finger Lakes wine fans. They aren’t wrong, but neither am I. On September 26, 2011, Sheldrake Point opened a second tasting room on Route 414 along the southeast side of Seneca. The tasting room has opened quietly, not for lack of marketing and outreach on their part, but because they were just getting started as…

Continue Reading