Posts Tagged“keuka lake vineyards”

klv-2014-leon-millot-nouveau

Given the popularity of Beaujolais Nouveau every fall, it’s long surprised me how few New York wineries (or American wineries for that matter) have embraced the concept. I mean, most Beaujolais Nouveau is terrible. I’m sure New York wineries can do better. Enter Keuka Lake Vineyards 2014 Leon Millot Nouveau ($18). Keuka Lake Vineyards has a bit of a cult following for it’s non-nouveau Leon Millot — an inky dark, chewy red unlike many from the Finger Lakes. On the other hand, this nouveau is soft and fruity, which red cherry note and just a little little cassis. There is a…

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For most New York Cork Report readers the name Ian Barry probably isn’t a new one. Barry, most recently winemaker at Villa Bellangelo has also held winemaking positions in the Finger Lakes at Keuka Lake Vineyards, Swedish Hill Winery and Heron Hill Winery and thus has made a number of appearances across these pages. Many may not know however that Barry started out at a small vineyard in the Hudson Valley near SUNY New Paltz where he was pursuing a teaching degree and where he also worked on the retail side of the wine industry as a wine shop manager…

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The July 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 Ravines Wine Cellars 2011 Dry Riesling: Winemaker Morten Hallgren favors dry wines as the best way to express Finger Lakes terroir. This riesling is precise and pure, with crunchy acidity and pretty floral, pear and lime peel flavors and a minerally vein throughout. Suhru…

KLV

Daniel Martin, a member of the vineyard crew at Keuka Lake Vineyards, died in an accident on Monday. The 51-year old was pinned underneath a tractor, which he had been operating on the hill of the property. “He will be greatly missed,” KLV owner Mel Goldman said in an email. “It is deeply shocking. I knew him quite well.” Martin had worked for KLV for the past ten years, and was familiar with the vagaries of the property. Keuka Lake Vineyards is perched on some of the steepest vineyard sites in the region; it’s the kind of terrain that is…

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor This is apparently a controversial or surprising thing to say, but I'll say it anyway — the writers and editors for this blog like hybrid wines from New York state. I have voluntarily purchased vignoles. I have consumed an entire bottle of Cayuga without convulsing. I do not believe that hybrids cause sterility, senility or loss of agility. There is, however, plenty of room for hybrids to improve. One way that some local wineries are trying to get more mileage from their hybrids is by going with a much dryer style. That's the plan…

I think that Vignoles, a French-American hybrid grape, gets a bum rap. Sure maybe Ravat 51, as it is often called (J.F. Ravat was the creator), probably does its best work in late harvest/dessert-style wines. Take high sugar and natural acidity and add tight clusters that make it susceptible to noble rot and you have a grape well suited to sweet dessert wines that are well balanced and even complex. But Vignoles isn't a one-trick pony. While it's true that Vignoles is never going to have the elegance, delicacy or grace of a well-made riesling, this Keuka Lake Vineyards 2007…

This week's Q&A victim is Staci Nugent, the winemaker for Keuka Lake Vineyards in Hammondsport, NY. She's a Finger Lakes native and a studied genetics in grad school, before discovering wine as her true calling. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? Back in my college days at Cornell, I was a huge fan of the Bartles & James wine coolers. Do they count? I don't remember my first one, but I'm sure something like wild berry was my favorite varietal. My senior year I took the "Introduction to Wines" class and remember being blown…