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Harvest 2012: Chardonnay in Niagara USA

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Harvest has ramped up here in Niagara this week as the time for chardonnay had come in several local vineyards. Leonard Oakes Estate Winery had already taken Vignoles before pulling chardonnay in addition to pinot noir for sparkling wine. Freedom Run Winery’s custom crush operation had already brought in Brianna, Edelweiss and Leon Millot before they began their estate chardonnay picking on Monday. The picture at left shows the bounty of chardonnay collected at Eveningside Vineyards yesterday where the yield looked larger than normal and the quality looked to be very good. In the coming days I’ll post the film…

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Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2008 Vidal Ice Wine

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Late harvest and ‘iced’ wines — those made with grapes frozen in commercial freezers before processing — are common in New York. Real deal ice wine is not. This is the real deal and you can certainly taste the difference. Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2008 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine ($38) smells like juicy ripe peaches and apricots drizzled with floral lavendar honey. The nose is intense and ever-moving as the wine warms to room temperature. The palate is explosive in its concentration and complexity, bursting with stone fruit flavors along with those of hay, honey, cooked sugar, golden raisin, dried apricots and lavender…

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Hop Harvest Party in Niagara County!

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McCollum Orchards hosted an old-fashioned harvest party this week to enlist the helping hands of their Niagara County neighbors, willing homebrewers in search of “U-Pick” hops, and any folks interested in experiencing the farm’s first commercial hop harvest. As guests helped owners Rich and Bree Woodbridge cut down Cascade bines and pluck hop cones, then sort them and lay them out on drying racks –– all in 90-degree heat –– the community got a taste of the life of a hop farmer. They also got a taste of banana bread, homemade brownies, pie, hot dogs, and a fresh batch of…

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Harvest Update: Cascade and Centennial Hops at McCollum Orchards

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McCollum Orchards, Niagara’s new hops farm and orchard in Lockport, New York, kicked off its first commercial harvest this week with Centennial hops. Bree Bacon Woodbridge, co-owner of the farm with her husband Rich, reports that the crop “looks pretty good, all things considered. We picked several cones that are the size of my thumb.” Woodbridge says the very hot, dry 2012 season brought “more pest pressure than last year. We were back on our heels and then were able to put in irrigation, with inline fertilizer, which helped regulate a lot. We have done a lot of hand-picking of…

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Empire State Cellars Wine Club: September 2012 Selections

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The September shipment of the Empire State Cellars Wine Club, won’t ship for another 3 or 4 weeks, but I want to tell you about them today so, if you’re not already a member but want the wines, you’ll have time to join. If you’re not familiar with the club, you can learn more here. “Hello New York” Wines Keuka Spring Vineyards 2011 Riesling: Most 2011 Finger Lakes rieslings are marked by incredible, snappy acidity and this off-dry example shows near-perfect balance. Showing apricot, nectarine and lime flavors and hints of fig, this is a great value. Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2009 Arrowhead Red: This…

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Vineyard Visuals Niagara: Riesling Down at Eveningside Vineyards

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Eveningside Vineyards in Cambria saw a storm pass through last weekend that literally took down a row of riesling vines next to their tasting room. I arrived the next day to see it for myself and ask owner Randy Biehl how things looked. Bryan Calandrelli: So when did this happen? Randy Biehl: About 6:30 Saturday evening we were in the tasting room closing up and the building started rumbling. We looked outside and saw shingles in the yard and our lawn chairs flying around in front of the vineyard and then I saw our first row of riesling was down…

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New Releases at the Niagara Wine Trail Wine and Culinary Festival

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Last weekend’s Niagara Wine Trail Wine & Culinary Festival was a chance for the trail to raise money for promotions while extending its bottles to a wine drinking audience that may still be a little shy about stepping foot into an actual winery. The site — Academy Park in Lewiston, NY — seemed like perfect setting to appeal to the summertime festival-going crowds that know the town for its jazz festival, peach festival and the live shows at Artpark Performing Arts Center. My hope that the event would be a great opportunity for me to catch up with winemakers and owners…

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Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2009 “Arrowhead Red” Meritage

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Many complain that there just aren’t enough New York reds under $20 that are worth of daily drinking. If you’re one of these malcontents, this wine — Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2009 “Arrowhead Red” Meritage ($16) is for you. A blend of 61% cabernet franc, 29% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot and 2% malbec, this $16 red simply over-delivers. In fact, it would over-deliver at several dollars more too. On the nose, ripe red cherry aromas are layered with notes of dusty chocolate, tobacco, bay leaf and hints of crumbled sage. A bit fruitier — red cherries and blackberries — on the medium-bodied…

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Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2010 Semi-Dry Riesling

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Made using Finger Lakes fruit, this Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2010 Semi-Dry Riesling ($16) is a friendly, fruity wine with aromas off green apple, lime zest and just a touch of blanched almond. The palate is juicy, with gentle residual sugar that is balanced by solid acidity, with fruit cocktail flavors of green apple, peach and citrus. Producer: Arrowhead Spring Vineyards AVA: New York ABV: 12% Price: $16*   (2.5 out of 5, Average-to-Very Good)

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Recipe: Cherry-Creme Beer Float

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After a hot summer bike ride, nothing tastes better than a good root beer float. But why not substitute sarsaparilla for stout? I like my floats with all sorts of malty, sweeter beers, and after a morning bike ride over the weekend my boyfriend and I hit on what might be the world’s greatest beer float. The beer: Southern Tier Brewing Company Creme Brulee Stout Unlike many brews by the Stout Kings of New York, Creme Brulee doesn’t have any chocolate flavor –– instead, it’s bursting with vanilla bean and caramel flavors thanks to real vanilla bean and dark caramel…

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