Posts Tagged“macari vineyards”

Macari Vineyards 2013 Reserve Cabernet Franc

“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 Cork Club: April 2016 Selections

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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New York #Tastemaker: Kelly Urbanik Koch | Macari Vineyards

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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New York Cork Club February 2016 Selections

Without writing a long essay about what it actually costs to grow grapes and eventually make a bottle of wine that can be sold – many of the things that go into wine are very expensive, and in New York, they are even more expensive on Long Island. Land and labor are the big ones. Why do I bring this up? Well, this month’s selections are both from Long Island, a rarity given the constraints (<$50 plus shipping for two bottles) of this club. It may never happen again, but considering that I live just a short drive from Long…

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Long Island Wine Press: At Macari Vineyards, fermentation in an egg

Step into most any Long Island winery — where the wine is actually made, not the tasting room — and you’re mostly going to see two types of vessels: stainless steel tanks and oak barrels. These containers are used for fermenting and aging wine. You’ll find some open-top bins that are used for fermentation too, but barrels and tanks are the cornerstone of any winery’s production facility. Macari Vineyards has a lot of these tanks and oak barrels of different sizes and ages, but they also have something unique to Long Island wine — concrete eggs. Yes. Really. The use…

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Macari Vineyards 2014 “Life Force” Sauvignon Blanc

(Photo via northforker.com) You can see a story I’ve written about Macari Vineyards’ use of concrete egg-shaped fermentation vessels later this month in the winter Long Island Wine Press — but in the meantime, I can tell you about a wine made using one of the two eggs found in the cellar right behind the tasting room bar: Macari Vineyards 2014 “Lifeforce” Sauvignon Blanc ($27). Of what is planted today, sauvignon blanc is clearly the white wine grape most important to Long Island’s future as a wine region. There’s more chardonnay in the ground, but more doesn’t mean better. Sauvignon blanc take well to our…

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Corks of the Forks: A holiday gift guide for the wine lover

The following are some of the wine-related gifts I’d love to receive this year, but this list isn’t going to do me much good. My wife is done with her shopping. She has been for weeks, maybe months. She’s done buying for my family, her family, our kids and me. I, on the other hand, have barely started shopping for her, but that’s not relevant for a wine column. Besides, that’s what Amazon Prime is for. Wine. Every year I’m surprised at just how few people buy me wine. I’m a wine lover! Wine lovers, by definition, love wine. And…

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Corks of the Forks: The Last Thanksgiving Wine Story You’ll Ever Need to Read

When considering your Thanksgiving wine choices, here’s the only advice you need: Drink good wine. Don’t complicate it any more than that. OK. You probably want to know why it’s that simple, and I’m happy to explain it. I’ve written Thanksgiving-related stories for at least a decade, just like every other wine writer — from local guys like me to national columnists in the big, glossy magazines. Some feel compelled to do so, but often we’re told to write these stories because they’re apparently popular, though I don’t actually understand why. None of my friends or family members stress about…

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Macari Vineyards 2014 Rose

Macari Vineyards 2014 Rose ($16), may be a bit of a kitchen sink of a wine, made with 49% merlot, 17% cabernet franc, 17% cabernet sauvignon, 10% chardonnay, 5% malbec and 2% viognier, but this dry, light pink wine is also fresh and delicious. On the paler side of local rose — not that it matters at all — it offers scents of citrus and citrus blossom, wild strawberry and watermelon with a little underlying earthiness as it warms. There’s more strawberry and citrus on the bright, balanced palate — but also a distinct peachy note. There’s good acidity but also a gently…

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Long Island Wine Press: Five Long Island Wines That Over-Deliver at Different Price Points

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the fall 2015 edition of the Long Island Wine Press It’s no wonder that from time to time you can see a chip on the collective shoulder of Long Island winery owners and winemakers. They pour time and money into their work and then they hear and read this with some regularity: “Long Island wines are over-priced.” Sadly, just about everyone in and around the local wine industry has heard that declaration – or some version of it – multiple times during their careers. Before we go any further, let’s clear up that misconception. …

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