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Macari Vineyards 2013 Reserve Cabernet Franc

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“Reserve” is a term without an official meaning in the American wine industry. It can be used by anyone on any wine. Some wineries only have a “Reserve” line — which means it’s more about marketing than anything else. They’d never admit it, but I’m convinced that some producers even put “Reserve” on a bottle just so they can charge more for it. For a while, here on Long Island, “Reserve” has meant bigger, riper and oakier. Sometimes wineries boast about long a “Reserve” wine is aged in oak barrels on the back label — as if that’s a sign…

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New York #Tastemaker: Nancy Irelan | Red Tail Ridge Winery

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“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. One of the true highlights of my trip to the Finger Lakes last month was meeting Nancy Irelan, co-owner of and winemaker for Red Tail Ridge Winery on the western side of Seneca Lake. Nancy (and correctly so) suggested that if we planned…

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Weekly New York Wine News — April 18, 2016

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Spring at Macari Vineyards NEWS Hudson Valley news Network - 4/13/2016 Recommendations on modernizing New York alcoholic beverage laws come down from the working group created in late 2015. New York Upstate - 4/15/2016 Shmaltz’s Brewing celebrates 20 years of “Beer with Shtick” in the Capital District. Examiner - 4/17/2016 William Dowd digs into the Wine and Grape Foundation archives to surface this list of states that receive shipments of New York wines, and the wineries who do the shipping. New York Times - 4/17/2016 Cold-climate wine making continues to gain ground in upstate New York, while Victory View and…

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Waters Crest Winery 2012 Merlot

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I keep reading a lot about 2013 Long Island reds lately. I’m sure you have too. Some are even calling it “Long Island’s Best Vintage.” Please take those proclamations with a grain of salt — at least for now. It was a great growing season, no doubt, but nearly every vintage is labeled “the greatest” at some point, either during harvest or once the wines start coming out. Keep in mind that no matter the vintage or its quality, wineries need to sell their wine. It’s to their benefit to laud a vintage as “the greatest ever.” Every year. Before…

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New York Cork Club: April 2016 Selections

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Editor’s Note: Okay, so I’m a little late posting this. Most of you have already received your shipments, but here is a bit about my April 2016 selections. I’m really excited about this month’s picks – one Finger Lakes riesling and a sparkling cabernet franc from Long Island. Yes, you read that right – sparkling cabernet franc. Macari Vineyards 2014 “Horses” Sparkling Rose Cabernet Franc is a sparkling cabernet franc that they may so little of that it’s not even on the winery’s website. Luckily, we were able to get a few cases for the club and I think you’re…

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Maryland #Tastemaker: Lisa Hinton | Old Westminster Winery

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“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. Chardonnay. Believe it or not, that’s the grape (and wine) that first sparked my interest in Old Westminster Winery. I was at a walk-around tasting at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD as part of Drink Local Wine 2013 when a…

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Weekly New York Wine News — April 11, 2016

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Photo credit: Nancy Irelan, Red Tail Ridge NEWS Wines & Vines - 4/4/2016 Interview tells more about Samuel Filler, incoming Director of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. Democrat & Chronicle - 4/6/2016 Holly Howell is ‘researching’ wining wines from the Finger Lakes International Competition and takes a shine to Thirsty Owl’s Diamond. Al Jazeera America - 4/7/2016 Hazlitt Vineyards featured in this report about the ongoing dispute over gas storage facilities on Seneca Lake. Examiner.com - 4/9/2016 Bill Dowd gives kudos to Adirondack Winery’s Meritage blend which went Platinum at the Critics Challenge. EVENTS Honoring the Hands: A…

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From the Archives: Finger Lakes Growers Begin to Check for Damage to Vines Following Brutal Cold Snap

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Editor’s Note: On Thursdays — call them 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’s jolt of frigid temperatures across New York — particularly in upstate New York — has those of us who care about and follow the wine and cider industries here worried about what damage was done. So, I thought posting this piece from January 2014 seeme appropriate. On Saturday, Steve Shaw of Shaw Vineyard spent about an hour carefully cutting buds from canes he pulled from his vineyard. It had been several days…

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New York #Tastemaker: Kelly Urbanik Koch | Macari Vineyards

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Photo credit: David Benthal for NorthForker “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. As August Deimel mentioned last week, there is precious little diversity in New York’s wine cellars. Head winemakers across the state tend to be white and they tend to men. I won’t pretend to know…

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Weekly New York Wine News — April 4, 2016

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Co-owner and winemaker Paul Brock pruning vines in the estate vineyard at Silver Thread Vineyard. NEWS Edible East End - 3/22/2016 Long Island vintners line up their 2013 reds for market, and believe that the vintage will be a long-lived one. Albany Times Union - 3/28/2016 Capoccia Vineyards & Winery of Niskayuna, opens a wine lounge in downtown Schenectady to showcase its products as well as ciders from around New York state. North Forker - 3/29/2016 NYCR Executive Editor Lenn Thompson pens a piece for the Long Island Wine Press in which he takes another look at Long Island Chardonnay.…

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