Posts Tagged“element winery”

Uncork the Forks: 6 reasons for North Forkers to visit the Finger Lakes

I’m working on several stories after my recent trip to the Finger Lakes — but in the meantime, I wanted to share my latest column for the Suffolk Times, which can be found online on northforker.com Over the past several years, my family has fallen head-over-heels in love with the Finger Lakes region of central New York. It’s a stunningly beautiful part of the country that offers spectacular sunrises and sunsets, fishing, boating, wine tasting, great food and farmer’s markets, a relaxed pace and plenty of relaxation. In some ways, it’s a lot like the North Fork — except it’s…

Continue Reading

New York #Tastemaker: Christopher Bates | Element Winery (Among Many Other Places)

“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 my new #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. There was one person I didn’t take into account when I set out to ‘take back’ the term tastemaker from writers and sommeliers with this weekly series: Christopher Bates. He’s also a sommelier — and well-regarded one at that. But…

Continue Reading

Appreciating the FLX Wienery: A Conversation with Christopher Bates

Here’s the scene: You are biting into a burger called The Local, made with goat cheese and miso mayo and lettuce and tomato and herbs, and you’ve just pillaged a bottle of 1988 Dunn Cabernet from the secret wine fridge, and you’re wondering if this high-end comfort food oasis is only for serious food lovers. And then a well-placed dick joke cuts through any concern about pretension. This is the FLX Wienery, a little food-and-wine joint on Route 14 that has been open for a year. It’s already become a regional treasure, a must-visit for wine tourists on Seneca Lake.…

Continue Reading

New York Cork Club: June 2015 Selections

We’re getting ready to ship the June 2015 wines for the New York Cork Club, so I wanted to tell you a bit about them. (If you missed our announcement about the rebirth of New York Cork Club, check it out here.)In the next week or so, members will get:Element Winery 2011 Syrah ($36) — Wow. This wine pushes the boundaries of what we want to include price-wise, but it’s so limited (90 cases) and so delicious (think Northern Rhone meets Finger Lakes) that we just had to include it. Bellwether Wine Cellars 2014 Dry Rose ($16) — A blend of cabernet franc, gamay…

Continue Reading