Posts Tagged“white”

Lakewood Vineyards 2012 Riesling

Lakewood Vineyards can always be counted on for good value rieslings — affordable wines that typically over-deliver for the price. Lakewood Vineyards 2012 Riesling ($13) goes even further — offering quality well above its $13 price-tag. Fruity and forward, the nose offers pear, peach and dried apricot notes right out of the refrigerator that turn a bit more musk melon-y as the wine warms. Driven by stone fruit — peaches and apricots — the slightly sweet palate shows a drip of honey and crisp, citrusy edges. Finishing nearly dry with apple and lime notes, this is the kind of Finger Lakes riesling…

Shinn Estate Vineyards 2009 Coalescence

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief This is the last of the value whites I tried during a recent tasting, and guess what? Not only was it the unofficial winner, it's also the wine priced the lowest. Shinn Estate Vineyards 2009 Coalescence ($14) is a unique steel-fermented blend of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling and — get this — merlot blanc. The riesling that went into this wine comes from Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes, by the way. The nose is citrusy but showed a bit more nuance than the other two values whites in the lineup, delivering minerally seawater character and…

Red, With Envy: Assessing 2007 Finger Lakes Reds

Evan Dawson, our intrepid Finger Lakes wine guy, working the bottling line at Fox Run Winery By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes CorrespondentPhoto by Peter Bell Men — married men, especially — are all too familiar with the unforeseen blunder, the deleterious effects, of saying something like this: "Honey, you look really nice today!" What begins as a compliment is quickly met with, "And what do I look like most days?" This is essentially the problem facing Finger Lakes wineries regarding the 2007 reds. The palpable excitement is met with caution, especially from business owners and marketers. Many would love to…

Martha Clara Vineyards 2007 “Five-O” White

Continuing with the white blend theme from yesterday, today's review is for Martha Clara Vineyards' 2007 Five-O White ($18), yet another wine that displays the potential of these wines for Long island. Winemaker Juan Micieli-Martinez used a bit of every white grape MCV grows for this blend, which is 32% sauvignon blanc, 25% viognier, 15% chardonnay, 10% semillon, 8% riesling, 7% pinot grigio and 3% Gewurztraminer. It might sound like a 'kitchen sink' wine, but don't be fooled. Each grape brings something unique to the table and the result is delicous. The nose is aromatic and somewhat riesling-like with scents…

Bedell Cellars 2007 Taste White

Chardonnay is the most-planted white grape on Long Island, covering around 30% of local vineyard land. That's a lot of chardonnay, relative to the white grape that I think holds the most potential for the region, sauvignon blanc, which covers far less than 5%.  That's also a lot of mediocre chardonnay. A lot of chardonnay that (usually) isn't going to do much more than fill the white wine columns on tasting room sheets. Don't get wrong, there are some outstanding, well-made Long Island chardonnays — made both with and without barrels — but Long Island is never going to be…

WTN: Bedell Cellars 2005 Gallery (White Blend)

This week on Appellation America, I have recommended a white wine that I think captures the unique terroir of Long Island’s North Fork as well as any I’ve tasted. 2005 Bedell Gallery ($45), from Bedell Cellars is a complex, richly textured blend of 52% chardonnay, 32% sauvignon blanc and 16% viognier. This is a unique blend for the North Fork, or most anywhere else for that matter. Five separate lots of chardonnay were barrel fermented in French oak with primarily native yeast, and were blended with the viognier and sauvignon blanc. Pale straw yellow in the glass, the aromas immediately…