Posts Tagged“new york wine”

New York Wine News and Notes (12/15/08)

Three quick items this in this weeks New York wine news roundup: The NY Wine Grape Task Force, chaired by Kareem Massoud of Paumanok Vineyards, has released it's first report to to Agriculture & Markets Commissioner Patrick Hooker. They offered more than two dozen specific recommendations to enhance the future economic viability of the state’s grape and wine industry. It will come as no shock to anyone who has dealt with the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) that that that agency was the first target, with the report stating: "The antiquated Alcoholic Beverage Control Law should be reformed in…

Quick Q&A with Lisa Donneson, Proprietor, Bouke Wines

To re-start the Q&A series here on LENNDEVOURS, I asked Lisa Donneson, proprietor of Bouke Wine, our standard set of questions. If you haven't heard of Bouke yet, check them out. Lisa, with veteran winemaker Gilles Martin, is making some interesting, affordable wines meant for everyday consumption. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? When I was on the Experiment in International Living as a teenager, my Italian host family poured red wine into my water glass as a natural course of events. They also introduced me to tripe and pigeon, but I didn’t know…

New York Wine News and Notes (12/8/08)

A few New York wine news items from the last several days: Shinn Estate Vineyards 2005 Estate Merlot was mentioned over on Eric Asimov's wine blog, The Pour, last week. Eric has long been a proponent for Long Island merlot and I think this wine, year in and year out, is one of his favorites. (Read my review) Shinn Estate also received an 89-point score from the Wine Spectator for their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that I've not tasted. Juan Eduardo Micieli-Martinez, winemaker at Martha Clara Vineyards, also let me know that Premium Wine Group, the custom-crush facility where…

Wine Chick Wednesday: I’m in a New York State of Disconnect

We New Yorkers are a weird bunch. To start, we can’t even agree on what being a New Yorker means. A former NYC resident myself, I always found it beyond comical that NY1 would devote an entire 60 seconds to the “World Beyond New York” – be it Long Island, Louisiana or Lithuania, it was all the same upon exit from the five boroughs. Is that, then, the true New York? Not likely. Despite the heavy tax-base and votership in that small speck of real estate, the rest of the state ends up feeling neglected and overlooked. For example, when…

Last-Minute Gift Idea: The New York Cork Club

Looking for a great last-minute Christmas gift? How about the New York Cork Club? I don’t mention the club very often here on LENNDEVOURS (I don’t want to clutter this blog up with sales pitches) but it’s something that I always enjoy picking the wines for. Basically, members receive two bottles of New York wines every month, delivered to their door. These aren’t wines that are in any way affiliated with the club, Greene Grape Wine (my partner in this venture) or me. These aren’t end-of-vintage wines that wineries are trying to unload. They aren’t mediocre bottles that no one…

Is Vintage New York Doing New York Wines Justice?

By New York City Correspondent Sasha Smith When Vintage New York opened in 2000, it seemed like a pretty remarkable gamble to open a wine store devoted entirely to New York wines — and in Soho no less. Even I, a longtime New York state wine booster, thought its best shot at survival was to play up the fact that it was open on Sundays, a rarity at the time. But thanks to some smart decisions like offering a $1-a-pop tasting of any wine in the store, as well as good timing — the store has certainly benefited from the…

New York Cork Club: September Selections

I have to tell you, I really love my job. Well, I like my day job too, but picking the wines for the New York Cork Club is a lot of fun. Wineries from all over New York are very excited about it and have been asking me to taste all sorts of wines–some good, some bad, some awful, some awesome. For September’s shipment, we’ve put together a duo that is perfect for this time of year. As we head into fall, we’ll still have the occasional hot, summer-like day. For those days, I’ve included Atwater Estate Vineyards Estate White…

Duncan Ross Interview at AppellationAmerica.com

So what have you heard about the wines coming out of the Niagara Escarpment? Isn’t it way too cold up there to grow grapes? Actually no and I didn’t know much about the region either until I really started to research the region as I prepared for my interview with Duncan Ross, founder of and winemaker for Arrowhead Spring Vineyard. It turns out that the Escarpment itself–the geological feature, not the region–is the very reason why they can ripen grapes fully so close to the Canadian border. In fact, it’s the second warmest region in New York state. Long Island…

New York Cork Club: June Selections

This month’s New York Cork Club selections bring together one wine you’d expect with something you might not.Treleaven 2006 Dry Riesling ($14.50) is the one you’d expect — a riesling from the Finger Lakes (Cayuga Lake to be more specific). I swear that I’m trying not to send you guys riesling after riesling. I could do so easily. But, when I tasted this one, I thought it was a fine example at a very good price. Apple, pear and that lime zing I find in so many Finger Lakes wines are all here, along with great acidity and a faint…

WTNs: Vetter Vineyards’ Current Releases (Lake Erie)

I obviously taste–and write about–a lot of different New York wines. The vast majority come from Long Island, but there are a lot of wines from the Hudson River Valley and Finger Lakes regions that pass my lips too. But, western New York state has proven a tough nut to crack. For one, I can’t get any of their wines locally. And two, few of them seem very press savvy. I’ve emailed all of them on numerous occasions asking for press kids and for a list of places where they sell their wine in the NYC metro area. Usually my…