Browsing CategoryNiagara

Coming in June: The Cork Report’s 2015 Eastern Rosé Tasting

New York wine remains the core of this website, but — as you’ve probably noticed — I’ve started to stretch my legs a bit. I’ve been learning about and tasting wines from other eastern states, which I’m arbitrarily defining as any state that isn’t California, Oregon or Washington, more. My time organizing TasteCamp up and down the east coast, as well as my time on the Drink Local Wine board, taught me something: there are some seriously delicious wines made in places even a local wine advocate might not expect — places like New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado, Michigan, Virginia, Vermont,…

Weekly New York Wine News — March 21, 2016

NEWS Drinks Business – 3/4/2016 Bibendum adds Finger Lakes producer Forge Cellars to it’s U.S. portfolio, as British interest in American wine and dining increases. ABC News – 3/16/2016 In a new development to the story of last year’s Long Island wine country crash that resulted in four fatalities, the truck driver met with DUI charges, limousine driver has been indicted on counts of criminally negligent homicide and other charges. Suffolk Times – 3/17/2016 Southold Farm and Cellars is denied the zoning variance they would need to bring them into compliance and keep them in operation. Westchester Magazine – 3/18/2016…

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…

#NYTastemaker: Zack Klug | Liten Buffel

“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 #NYTastemaker 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. You may not know the name Zack Klug, but I have a feeling you will. After a few years working in various cellars in and around the Niagara Escarpment AVA he — along with business partner Patrick Vaughn — has…

Get the Best New York Wine Delivered to Your Door — The New York Cork Club

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…

Leonard Oakes Estate Winery 2014 Petillant Naturel Riesling

Pet nat — shorthand for Pétillant Naturel — wines are all the rage these days, particularly in New York City. These are lightly sparkling wines made in a style that, while new to the New York wine industry, is far from trendy or new. In fact, the method is as rustic and old as the wines are fun to drink. Unlike sparkling wines made using methode champenoise (as with Champagne), where yeast and sugar are added to a fully fermented base wine for a secondary carbonation in the bottle, pet nat is made via méthode ancestral, where the wine is bottled before primary fermentation —…

Leonard Oakes Estate Winery 2013 Reserve Series Sauvignon Blanc

Lightly saline on the nose, with notes of lemony citrus, fresh-cut hay and grapefruit, Leonard Oakes Estate Winery 2013 Reserve Series Sauvignon Blanc ($17) is a snappy, refreshing sauvignon. The palate lacks a bit of concentration, but is bright, citrusy and mouthwatering — with a savory minerality that peeks through on a medium-long finish. Producer: Leonard Oakes Estate Winery AVA: New York State ABV: 12.5% Price: $17 (sample) (3 out of 5, Very good/Recommended)

Leonard Oakes Winery 2012 Reserve Series Syrah

“I’m not convinced about its place up here — but we had to give it a shot.” That’s one of the first things winemaker Jonathan Oakes told me when I asked about his soon-to-be-released syrah. Syrah is far from widely planted in the region, but most of what I’ve tasted has been delicious. And, after tasting Oakes’, I’m more convinced than ever at the grapes potential in and near the Niagara Escarpment AVA. Aged in heavily toasted American oak — even if the majority was two and three years old — Leonard Oakes Estate Winery 2012 Reserve Series Syrah ($23) shows a…

At Liberty Vineyards, Family Tradition Turns Into Fine Wine

Chautauqua County has been known as the one of the best places in the world to grow concord grapes for generations. That is why many family farms have been growing grapes there for well over one hundred years. Some farms that started growing mostly Concord and native grape varieties over time added vinifera grapes to their fields to sell to home winemakers. Recently, the region has seen an increase production of vinifera grapes and received acclaim for its success in growing them. These small blocks have grown into acres and acres of vinifera grapes that supply a burgeoning winemaking scene…

Reconnecting With What Drives Schulze Vineyards & Winery

Wine’s ability to enable us to metaphorically travel through time and space just might allow me to grasp all that’s happened in the months (or years?) since I’d last been a regular contributor to the NYCR. As I look back through what resembles a hazy glass of unfiltered, sediment-laden chardonnay, there’s a lot I’ve missed or just never got around to verbalizing. This minor disconnect from the region left me wondering where to jump back in: An expansion of the official Niagara Wine Region Route? Or maybe a vintage report card which, after all is said and done, will just…