Posts Tagged“shinn estate vineyards”

Shinn Estate Vineyards 2009 Wild Boar Doe

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — Long Island wine lovers shouldn’t overlook the 2009 vintage. Sure, 2010 has been declared “the” vintage by many, but 2009’s long, warm, dry autumn rewarded those willing and able to let their reds hang into October and beyond. Wines like this one — Shinn Estate Vineyards 2009 Wild Boar Doe ($30), a blend of 40% merlot, 23% cabernet sauvignon, 17% malbec, 15% petit verdot and 5% cabernet franc — are proof. I’ve tasted several vintages of WBD and this might be my favorite. Layered and somewhat brooding, the nose offers blackberry, cassis and…

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Let Us Eat Local: ‘Just Food’ Celebrates All Things Locally Grown

For those who spend their disposal income on the edible artistry of Manhattan’s best chefs, Just Food’s Fifth Annual Let Us Eat Local was like being inside Willy Wonka’s Fancy Fall Food Factory. The event benefited non-profit, Just Food, which keeps civilians in five boroughs of New York City connected with farms and local products. They engage the community by teaching how to grow and identity healthy food through CSAs, classes, outreach and Farm School, a program giving students a framework to grow produce in the concrete jungle. Forty restaurants rolled out dishes for a walk-around tasting using seasonal ingredients…

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Shinn Estate Vineyards 2011 Rose

Simple aromas of watermelon and strawberry seem to fade on the palate, which lacks fruit, particularly for the amount of skin and seed tannin here. Though fresh, with nice acidity, it seems bitter and unbalanced. Better with food, this is decidedly not a beach or poolside sipper. Shinn Estate always goes for a bolder, ‘non-wimpy’ style of rose, but perhaps 2011 wasn’t the year to accomplish that. Producer: Shinn Estate Vineyards AVA: North Fork of Long Island ABV: 13.3% Price: $16*   (2 out of 5, Average)    

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Shinn Estate Vineyards 2011 “First Fruit” Sauvignon Blanc

You can learn a lot about a region’s vintages simply by tasting its unoaked whites wines — especially wines from producers that you trust and that aren’t big into in-winery manipulations or additions. Shinn Estate Vineyards 2011 “First Fruit” Sauvignon Blanc ($23) tells the story of a cool, wet and grey season most famously marked by the passing of Hurricane Irene right over Long Island. Herby and somewhat vegetal on the nose — think bell pepper — the nose also shows pear and pear skin, hints of grapefruit and hay aromas. Grapefruit flavors peek through a garden of herbs and green vegetation,…

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Distillling in Wine Country: Four Questions with David Page

David Page had his Newton-apple-falling-on-the-head moment in the basement bowels of a New York City restaurant. A chef by trade, he and his wife, Barbara Shinn, traveled east from California and washed into New York City in 1990. By 1993, they had scrounged enough money together to open Home restaurant, a rustic, cozy place that celebrates traditional American cuisine. Soon, their 60-seat restaurant (30 inside, 30 outside) was jammed to the gills with adoring fans feasting on Skillet Fried Chicken, Whole Grilled Trout and the like. Another restaurant would follow (Drovers Tap Room), a cookbook, prospects of more businesses in the neighborhood…it…

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Shinn Estate Vineyards NV Red

There are perilously few Long Island red wines under $20 that I find consistently palatable. Most often made from hard press fractions and leftovers, they can be incredibly inconsistent, bitter, under-ripe or just plain not very good. Shinn Estate Vineayrds NV Red ($17) isn’t always good — the blend, and even the grapes used in the blend — varies from version to version. And unless you’re buying it directly from the winery and can ask, it’s difficult to know which NV edition you’re buying. The current release, however, is a nice, carafe-style red well suited to casual meals. You can even…

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Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing (LISW) Announces Formation and Sustainable Vineyard Certification

Most wineries on the East End of Long Island like to talk about being “sustainable” in their vineyard practices and winemaking. There’s discussion about windmills and compost piles and this spray or that application, but let’s be honest, “sustainable” is a nebulous term… at least in the way they are using it, to denote a certain “green”-ness without formal biodynamic or organic certification. Those require strict adherence to defined rules over a set period of time. “Sustainable” is a bit of a “green” grey area without any local definition or certification. It is a term that is decidedly open to interpretation.…

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The New York Cork Report Tasting Table — April 17, 2012

I keep trying to retire the “Tasting Table” series, but my recently chaotic day job along with the all-consuming reality of an infant and a 5-year old have once again reminded me that no matter how obsessed I am with local wines, beers etc. and this website — it’s still a hobby. Add to that the fact that we’ll be cutting over to our new site design and platform soon (maybe even next week) and Tasting Table remains a valuable tool. I’d like to start things off at the new site fresh. Tasting Table will not be a part of…

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Shinn Estate Vineyards 2008 Nine Barrel Merlot Reserve

With so many communication channels at our finger tips these days (Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.) it feels like I’m discussing local wines with people almost constantly. It’s fun, but I’ve noticed something recently — great vintages can cause an interesting side effect. The other, ‘non-great’ vintages can very easily be looked down upon or ignored altogehter. 2007 and 2010 were among the best vintages ever for Long Island. We all know that by now. But, because many 2007 reds have come and gone, and 2010 reds are trickling into the marketplace, it’s almost like 2008 and 2009 didn’t happen. Don’t make…

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Merlot Bud Break at Shinn Estate Vineyards (April 6, 2012)

What was mere speculation and conjecture just a few weeks ago is now a reality on the North Fork. Shinn Estate Vineyards’ David Page sent me this photo this morning of bud break in their estate merlot vineyard, marking what appears to be the earliest bud break Long Island wine country has ever seen. The grape-growing process is a marathon, not a sprint, but the North Fork is certainly out of the gate early. Now local growers get to stress over nighttime low temperatures for the next month or so, hoping to avoid crippling frosts that could decimate their crops. Hopefully we’ll get…

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