By Lenn Thompson, Long Island Editor and Editor-in-Chief Not only is Les Howard, a Long Island native and winemaker at Pindar Vineyards, improving the wines at the winery, he's organizing some unique promotions for wine lovers. He has just announced that he has partnered with with Crystal Cruises and Food and Wine Travels to create “Wines and Food of the Mediterranean,” an exclusive Winemaker’s Cruise that sets sail on May 25, 2010 from Venice to Barcelona for twelve days aboard the six-star Crystal Serenity. The Winemaker’s Cruise includes educational wine tastings and seminars, a winemaker’s dinner, a private shore excursion…
Posts Tagged“pindar”
Pindar Vineyards 2007 Peacock Chardonnay
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher Because I have to taste several Kosher wines for WBW #56 tomorrow, today's review is going to be a quick one for a simple, but solid Pindar Vineyards 2007 Peacock Chardonnay ($11). This chardonnay was ermented in stainless steel and with an unknown amount of oak aging (the website doesn't say), this wine is very fruity on the nose with pineapple and pear aromas backed by hints vanilla and even some citrus blossom. As I said, simple, but solidly made, the palate is medium-bodied with more pear-pineapple flavors, a bit more vanilla and just…
Pindar Vineyards 2001 Mythology
One of the great things about fermented grape juice is that no matter how much you know or how much you think you know, you never know everything. Wine can and will surprise you. Take this Pindar Vineyards 2001 Mythology ($30), for instance. I don't think anyone would argue that Pindar is one of Long Island's top, quality-focused producers. They aren't, but they are great at introducing people to wine with their sweeter, simpler wines. Every wine region has their Pindar. And it could be said that every region needs their Pindar. Regardless of Pindar's place in the local industry,…
Pindar Vineyards Doesn’t Want Your Stroller in Their Tasting Room
Jackson, our one year old son, has been visiting winery tasting rooms with us since he was six weeks old. Since his first visit to Roanoke Vineyards as a wee little lad, we’ve visited several tasting rooms as a family, including Martha Clara Vineyards, Waters Crest Winery, Wolffer Estate, Lieb Family Cellars and Corey Creek Vineyards. He’s always well behaved. We’re always careful to make sure that he’s not disturbing other tasting room patrons. And, most importantly, one of us always spits/dumps our wine. Until yesterday, Long Island wine country was not only tolerant of young families, it was welcoming.…
WTN: Pindar Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Franc (North Fork of Long Island)
Last year, when this wine won "Best Cabernet Franc" and "Best Red Wine" at the 2007 New York Food & Wine Classic, I was inundated with emails from surprised readers, emails asking things like: "How can that possibly be the best red wine in New York?""Have you had that wine yet? How is it?""How can anyone take these results seriously no?" I didn’t have much in the way of answers. I hadn’t tasted the wine at the time and for a variety of reasons, I still say that it’s hard to take the event 100% seriously. But this wine impressed…
Les Howard: Building on Success at Jamesport Vineyards
Winemaker Les Howard’s 18-plus months at Jamesport Vineyards have been some of the craziest of his winemaking career. There was the stressful-but-successful 2005 harvest season that may prove to be one of Long Island’s finest. There’s how he’s developing his own style as head winemaker while maintaing the quality Jamesport is known for. And recently, he’s been able to enjoy impressive scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. "Things cannot be much better here at Jamesport," he wrote recently in an email. Howard, a Long Island native, "never thought of being a winemaker" when he first started at Pindar Vineyards over…