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From the Archives: Restaurant Turns Up Rare Bottle of 1966 Dr. Frank Riesling

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’ve pulled a story written by Evan Dawson that focused on a bottle of Dr. Konstantin Frank 1966 Johannisberg Riesling that we were lucky enough to taste before our 2009 Wines of the Year tasting.  I could barely believe the photograph, sent from a friend. The bottle in the picture said Dr. Konstantin Frank 1966 Johannisberg Riesling, but it did not make sense that a restaurant was selling such a bottle…

New York #Tastemaker: Autumn Stoscheck | Eve’s Cidery

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new regional #Tastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who actually makes the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we love. A “tastemaker” should make something, after all. I have yet to meet Autumn Stoscheck from Eve’s Cidery in Van Etten, NY, which is roughly 20 miles south of some of the primary wine districts of the Finger Lake region. But through her ciders and a handful of…

From the Archives: Finger Lakes Riesling: The ABCs of Riesling ABV, or, All About Alcohol

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, we look back to a post from November 2009 by Evan Dawson that takes a look at alcohol levels in Finger Lakes riesling — and what consumers want or expect. Are Finger Lakes wine producers insecure about alcohol? It’s a strange question, I realize. But it’s one that came to mind when my wife and I were out to dinner recently. We ordered a bottle of Joh. Jos. Prum 2007…

New York Cork Club: The Best New York Wine Delivered to Your Door

If you read this blog, you’re obviously interested in New York wine. But, depending on where you live, you may not have ready access to very much of it. If that’s you, we’ve got the solution. We’ve partnered with The Cellar d’Or — a great wine and cider shop in Ithaca, NY — for the New York Cork Club. Every month, I pick two great New York wines and they are delivered to your door. The wine itself never exceeds $50 for those two bottles (shipping costs vary) and by joining, you’ll get everything from classic wines from the top wineries in…

Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2013 Dry Riesling

Dry riesling (that is actually dry — but that’s another topic for another day) is harder to make that many people realize. Without careful, thoughtful decisions in the vineyard and in the cellar, you can be left with that I always refer to as “lemon water” — shrill, acidic wines that have a pithy, often-bitter citrus note but little else in terms of flavor or concentration. With Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2013 Dry Riesling ($16) winemaker Dave Breeden shows his deft touch. Aromas of lemon-lime, dried pineapple and just a bit of peach lead into a palate that is crackling with acidity…

#NYTastemaker: Peter Bell | Fox Run Vineyards

“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. Peter Bell, winemaker at Fox Run Vineyards, has been a reader of the New York Cork Report (and LENNDEVOURS before that) for many years. He’s also served as an informal proofreader, often sending…

Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard 2013 Josef Vineyard Riesling

It’s easy to get complacent when you taste a lot of Finger Lakes riesling — overall quality has risen to the point that even producers that historically fell below the median are now making wines I’m happy to drink. It’s almost to the point that one can take for granted that Finger Lakes riesling is going to deliver. Then you taste a wine like Hermann J. Wiemer 2013 Josef Vineyard Riesling ($39) and you’re reminded just how high the ceiling is for Finger Lakes riesling. The Josef Vineyard, located 10 miles north of the winery, is just south of the better-known Magdalena Vineyard.…

From the Archives: What We Learned From 656 Glasses of Cabernet Franc

Photo by Morgan Dawson 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 2009 story by managing editor Evan Dawson from about a cabernet franc tasting at the New York Wine & Culinary Center.    When the demonstration room at the New York Wine & Culinary Center filled up at 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning, 328 glasses of cabernet franc lit up the amphitheater like strands of single-color Christmas lights. It was a bit daunting for the 42 winemakers, winegrowers,…

Orange Wines in the Finger Lakes: What Was Old is New Again

Across the Finger Lakes, creative winemakers like August Deimel, Katey Larwood, Steve Shaw, Peter Becraft, Vinny Aliperti and others are employing traditional techniques with well-known grape varieties to produce innovative, new wines. Frequently referred to as “orange” or “amber,” these new wines are challenging establish perceptions of mainstay wines made from varieties such as chardonnay, gewurztraminer, vignoles and even riesling — the iconic grape of the region. What the wines have in common is that they are white wines that utilize extended skin contact during maceration and subsequent fermentation. This approach represents a major deviation from winemaking practices commonly employed…

Keuka Lake Vineyards 2015 Leon Millot Nouveau

And now for something completely different. Keuka Lake Vineyards 2015 Leon Millot Nouveau ($18) is the first 2015 red to cross the NYCR tasting table and perhaps not surprisingly, it counts Beaujolais Nouveau as its main inspiration, though it’s not made strictly in the same way. Leon Millot fruit grown in Dundee, NY at Tabora Vineyard was picked on September 9. It was de-stemmed, crushed and after four days fermenting on the skins was pressed and finished fermenting without the skins. Once fermentation finished, the wine spent a month in neutral oak barrels before being bottled on October 27. If you’re counting,…