New York Cork Report

Vineyard Visuals: Leonard Oakes Estate 2012 Icewine Harvest

By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor

Jonathan Oakes and his crew were in the vineyard early this morning collecting frozen vidal blanc grapes for Leonard Oakes Estate Winery's 2012 Icewine of Vidal Blanc.

With a call time of 4 a.m. the crew got the last grapes into bins by 7 a.m. and have already begun pressing.

Vineyard Visuals: A Storm Rolls in at Wagner Vineyards

Photo by Stu Gallagher

Vineyard Visuals: A Foggy Morning at Schulze Winery

Our Niagara region editor, Bryan Calandrelli shares this picture from Schulze Winery on a foggy morning. These are some of the oldest cabernet franc vines in the region.

This is actually a screen capture from footage Bryan is shooting for a documentary about the region.

2011 Harvest: Chardonnay for Sparkling Wine at Paumanok Vineyards

Photo courtesy of Paumanok Vineyards

I received this picture in an email from Kareem Massoud, winemaker at Paumanok, saying that they've picked chardonnay for sparkling this morning.

Kareem is busy processing this fruit at the moment, but I'm hoping to get some tonnage and other numbers on the fruit.

Vineyard Visuals: Merlot Verasion at Arrowhead Spring Vineyards

Photo courtesy of Arrowhead Spring Vineyards

Photos From 2011 Roanoke Vineyards Winemakers' Smackdown

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

I spent a beautiful pre-rains Saturday evening at Roanoke Vineyards this past weekend to attend the latest in their series of "Smackdown" events; events where wine industry folks blind taste wines head-to-head while attendees taste along with them.

It was great fun to see old friends, make new ones and meet journalist and author George Taber (pictured above center), who hosted the evening.

Blind tasting is hard. Very hard. And also extremely humbling. But, the panelist seemed to have fun with it, engaging playful trash talk throughout the evening.

Rather than give a blow-by-blow or sip-by-sip account, which I don't think would be that interesting for anyone who didn't attend, I thought I'd simply share some pictures from the evening.

The crowd getting ready to begin tasting.

 

Around 120 people attended this year's event.

 

The U.S. tasting team (from left to right): Christopher Tracy, Channing Daughters Winery; Louisa Hargrave, VinGlorious; and Michael Cinque, Amagansett Wine and Spirits.

 

Team Europe (from left to right): Miguel Martin, Palmer Vineyards; Roman Roth, Wolffer Estate Vineyards and Pascal Zugmeyer, Z Wine Guy.

 

As the tasting wound down, a beautiful evening became a perfect night.

Vineyard Visuals: Syrah Verasion at Bedell Cellars

Photo courtesy of Bedell Cellarsl' Steve Carlson who writes:

"Not sure if it’s a first but its early. Syrah from the block adjacent to the Bedell Tasting room, it’s only the west facing row on the end, which I suspect is significant because it receives no shade from that side and long days make it sunnier than end rows facing the east."

Vineyard Visuals: McCall Wines

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

We had picture-perfect weather in Long Island wine country this weekend. In fact, these were some of hte only clouds I remember.

This is a shot from the parking lot at McCall Wines where I tasted not only some delicious pinot, but some of the best 2010 sauvignon blanc I've had so far. Story coming later today or tomorrow.

 

Vineyard Visuals: Established Chardonnay Becomes Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc at Peconic Bay Winery

From Jim Silver, General Manager, Peconic Bay Winery:

"Here’s a picture of our Block 1 Chardonnay on Oregon Road being grafted over to Pinot Noir 777 and Pinot Noir 667 (2.2 acres), and Cabernet Franc #2 and Cabernet Franc #4 (2.3 acres) by a two man crew flown in from St. Helena, CA.

They can graft 500 vines per day and were the same crew that replaced an underperforming block of merlot with beautiful new malbec and petit verdot tops.

We’ll see fruit as soon as next year, and the survival rate of the vines is 90% or better. Any casualties are replaced next year."

The pinot will become a part of winemaker Greg Gove's new methode champenoise program (the first -- made in 2009 -- will be released in 2013). The cabernet franc will nearly double the winery's acreage of the grape.

This site has a easy-to-understand explanation of the t-bud grafting technique being employed by Peconic Bay.

Vineyard Visuals: Chardonnay Bud Break at Macari Vineyards

Photo by Gianna Volpe

Vineyard Visuals: Bud Break in Riesling at Paumanok Vineyards

Photo courtesy of Paumanok Vineyards

Vineyard Visuals: Bud Break in Chardonnay at Bedell Cellars

Photo courtesy of Bedell Cellars

It's that time of year again in New York wine country -- bud break season. This is a photo of Dijon-clone chardonnay in the Bedell vineyard.

If you're seeing bud break in your vineyard, send us a picture and we'll post it.

Vineyard Visuals: Early Spring at Channing Daughters Winery

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

Bronchitis has kept me from doing any tasting over the last week or so, but on Sunday we stopped by Channing Daughters to pick up some wines -- including Long Island's first-ever Lagrein.

It was a gorgeous-but-chilly day -- perfect for wine tasting had I been feeling better.

 

Images From the Last Great Saturday* of 2010 in the Finger Lakes

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor

*Editor's Note: Title subject to change based on whims of nature

My wife and I spent a peripatetic day racing down one side of Cayuga Lake, then through Ithaca, then up Seneca Lake and back to Cayuga. We had the chance to revisit some of the candidates for the New York Cork Report 2010 Finger Lakes Wines of the Year (more on this year's program this week, by the way).

I also was fortunate to convince some producers to stop long enough to chat, pour new wines and talk harvest.

Soon you'll see a handful of fresh stories as a result:

• Changes at Damiani - in the wine and in the new tasting room
• The story of the brand new Finger Lakes Wine Center in Ithaca
• The profound success of the dessert wine program at Standing Stone

And that's just the beginning. Here are some images from a glorious fall day in the Finger Lakes - one that was packed with thirsty crowds at every stop. 

 

 
Image 1: The new Damiani Wine Cellars tasting room, located directly next door to Finger Lakes Distilling, was so packed that the extra space downstairs had to be opened for visitors

Image 2: Atwater Estate Vineyards recently knocked down a wall in the tasting room to make space for an additional tasting bar -- which was only barely enough to handle the surge of Saturday tasters

 

Image three: A near-perfect sunset as seen from the east side of Seneca Lake

 

Image four: A group of customers decides there's nothing wrong with enjoying dessert first, as they close the long and successful day at Standing Stone Vineyards.

2010 Long Island Harvest is Underway: Pinot Noir for Sparkling Wine at Macari Vineyards

Photo courtesy of Kelly Urbanik, winemaker at Macari Vineyards

Vineyard Visuals: Malbec Verasion at Peconic Bay Winery

Photo courtesy of Peconic Bay Winery

Vineyard Visuals: Pinot Noir Veraison at Macari Vineyards

Photo courtesy of Macari Vineyards

Vineyard Visuals: Syrah Veraison at Bedell Cellars

Photo courtesy of Bedell Cellars

Pinot noir isn't the only grape going through veraison in New York. Syrah and malbec both are in the vineyards at Bedell Cellars.

Focusing specifically on the syrah, Bedell's vineyard manager Dave Thompson says "The season today is about 10 days to two weeks earlier than average -- but it's no indication that we will ripen two weeks earlier. It all depends on what the weather does over the next few weeks. Syrah is typically one of the first to go through veraison and it goes through fast and with lots of drama but it also needs a lot more time to ripen and it one of the latest varieties we harvest. Our vineyard is poised and ready."

Vineyard Visuals: Pinot Noir Veraison at Freedom Run Winery

 

Photo by Bryan Calandrelli

Vineyard Visuals: Pinot Noir Veraison at Hobbit Hollow Vineyard

Photo courtesy of Tom Higgins, Heart & Hands Wine Company

By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor

Two weeks ahead of the regular schedule,and four weeks ahead of last year.

Think winemaking doesn't change year-to-year? Growers in the Finger Lakes almost never see veraison in July, and yet some berries were already turning when August arrived. This shot was taken in one of the cooler (but meticulously maintained) vineyards in the region: Hobbit Hollow vineyard on Skaneateles Lake.

The fruit from this vineyard goes to some of the strongest producers in the region, including Ravines Wine Cellars and Heart & Hands Wine Company. Tom Higgins of Heart & Hands says this vineyard didn't reach this point of development until the very end of August in 2009.

This is the time of year when every day's weather plays an increasingly larger role in the story, but so far the season has almost been a dream. Producers will have the option of picking at varying stages of ripeness, assuming some wickedly cold weather doesn't muddle the remainder of the growing term.

Vineyard Visuals: Fruit Wine Harvest in the Hudson Valley

Black currants being harvested at Good Farm.

Photo courtesty of Carlo DeVito, Hudson-Chatham Winery

It's easy to forget that fruit winemakers don't have the same schedule that grape winemakers do... but Carlo reminds us with this picture and a note saying:

"While many wineries' busy time of year is fall, many fruit winemakers are out already toiling at this time of year. Currant and raspberry season are at their high point. In the Hudson Valley, where cassis is one of the fastest-growing categories, and with good reason, Hudson-Chatham, Tousey, Brookview Station, and Clinton Vineyards are all in the middle of fruit wine production."

Vineyard Visuals: Wind Power at Shinn Estate Vineyards

Photo courtesy of Shinn Estate Vineyards

After a longer-than-it-needed-to-be battle, the wind turbine at Shinn Estate Vineyards has finally been installed. Congratulations to owners David Page and Barbara Shinn.

If you're winery is doing alternative energy installations, let us know. We'd love to let our readers know about it.

Vineyard Visuals: A Pinot Noir Vineyard is Born (Heart & Hands Wine Company)

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

If you follow Heart & Hands Wine Company co-owners Tom Higgins and Susan Higgins on Twitter you already know this, but they've had a long week. You see, they planted their vineyard this week, so in a few years they'll being producing wine from estate-grown grapes. 

This is a shot of one of their baby pinot vines overlooking Cayuga Lake as the sun sets. 

TasteCamp East 2010 Visuals: Argetsinger Vineyard Walk

I haven't been to every lake-view vineyard in the Finger Lakes...but it's hard to imagine there is any vineyard in the region that is more beautiful to stand in on a sunny Saturday morning than Argetsinger Vineyard on eastern Seneca Lake.

It's just a special place. One worthy of it's ever-growing legend. It doesn't hurt that Sammy Argetsinger is one of the more charming, interesting people I've ever met.

Vineyard Visuals: Cabernet Franc at Roanoke Vineyards

Photo courtesy of Roanoke Vineyards