My love of cabernet franc isn’t a surprise if you read this blog with any sort of regularity. They are among my favorite wines, are extremely versatile and the grape does quite well here on Long Island. But who can afford to ...

On the North Fork, there is an un-official red wine grape pecking order. Okay, maybe it isn’t even un-official. At the top is the almighty merlot grape, lauded by many observers as the king of Long Island grapes. And, it ...

Despite the obvious success of Merlot on the North Fork, there are many people – myself included – who get just as excited about Cabernet Franc. This grape, a more subdued, more feminine genetic parent of Cabernet Sauvignon...

I don’t mean any offense to Jack or anyone else who believes strongly in biodynamic farm practices. Really I don’t and I think that there are some great wines being made with biodynamic-grown grapes. Anyone who has ...

I just got an email telling me that Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort’s Blue Zoo restaurant will soon be pouring six, count em six, New York wines. So, now you can take your kids to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse...

As someone who was born and raised in western Pennsylvania, four things come to mind when I think about neighboring Ohio: Bad drivers Sea World Cedar Point amusement park The much-hated Cleveland Browns. I wouldn’t go so ...

Well everyone, all of the cabernet franc from my adopted vines at Raphael have been harvested, crushed and are now fermenting (with Lalvin M05, a Loire Valley isoloate yeast) in an open-top oak barrel. Average brix was around 2...

Sheldrake Point — both the geographical point and the vineyard — jut prominently from the western shore of Cayuga Lake and those vineyards stretch almost the whole way to the water. The combination of deep glacial s...