Professor Bainbridge has proposed an interesting topic for discussion in the wine-loving blogger community.
He's purchased quite a bit of what he thought was cellar-worthy wine from a winery that uses synthenic corks in all of its wines these days. Recent information says, however, that wines closed with synthetic corks often become oxidized after two or three years.
So...does he need to drink these wines before three years? That's much sooner than he had hoped and planned.
Very few Long Island wines are trully cellar worthy beyond five or ten years (at least the ones I've had) but I know the ones that are always have natural cork.
I do have some really nice German Rieslings from Moore Brothers that I'm planning to age at least 10-20 years...and they have natural as well. But, that should come as no surprise I guess.
Jamesport Vineyards is one of the older vineyards on Long Island. In fact, founder Ron Goerler Sr. was the forth person to plant vines here...back in 1981. For years, they provided grapes to other winemakers, but, in 1986, Goerler purhased a 100+ year old barn and converted it into a winery and tasting room.
Jamesport Vineyards released its first wines in 1989.
Ron Goerler Jr. now runs the show, and in late January he hired Long Island native Leslie "Les" Howard as his new winemaker.
Howard started his career 11 years ago as a bottle boy for Pindar Vineyards, spending a lot of his time packing cases. Back then, it was a summer job and Les didn't have aspirations of becoming a winemaker. But, while at Pindar, the winemaker at the time, Mark Friszolowski (who is now at Childress Vineyards in North Carolina) saw something in Les, and told him so.
Eleven years later, after stops as assistant winemaker at Osprey's Dominion, Wolffer Estate and Bedell Cellars, Jamesport Vineyards snactched him up at age 30. Les is pictured at right, on the right with Ron Goerler Jr.
I've written a piece on his hiring for Dan's Papers that will be printed next weekend...and of course I'll post it here with some tasting notes of their current releases.
In a vineyard’s yearly life cycle, winter is probably one of the least exciting on the surface. Often called ‘dormancy’ because, well, the vines are dormant, vineyard workers are busy pruning, tying the vines and preparing the vineyard for the 2005 vintage. But tasting rooms are relatively quiet, making this a great time for serious wine drinkers to visit.
Without the swollen summer crowds or pumpkin-pickers, you can taste at a slower pace, chatting with tasting room staff and learning more than you probably could in the summer. Plus, if the winemaker wanders into the tasting room, he or she just might invite you into the back for a preview of upcoming releases.
If you go tasting this weekend, here’s a handful of wines you should try. Some I’ve written about before, but most are excellent wines that haven’t worked themselves into a column yet… but not because they aren’t delicious.
Okay. My post about adding an * next to the price of any wine I review that was a media sample has started a discussion that I think is beyond worthy of more time and thought.
Check out the comments I received on the post, and then head over to Joel's post about it.
I agree with both Tom and Joel on this. And if you check out Joel's post, you'll see a comment that spells out my feelings more completely.
I think we'd all like to hear from other wine bloggers and wine blog readers...this is an interesting topic. Ryan? Alder? Tiff? Beau? You guys out there?
At the end of the day, I want to maintain my integrity...so I ask you, my faithful readers, what do YOU think?
Growing up and spending my first 20+ years in and around PIttsburgh, PA, I don't think I ever saw a single Greek restaurant--not one. I guess large populations of Greeks never quite made it to Steel Country.
So, I never had Greek food until I moved to Long Island...and even then it was mediocre...certainly nothing I'd write about...even if I did crave it on occasion. I mean, who doesn't like a messy, greasy gyro now and then?
My impression of what Greek food is and could be changed not long after Nena and I moved to our new house...and discovered Alexandros just up the road in Miller Place.
My esteemed wine-blogging colleague, Professor Bainbridge, raises an interesting point when it comes to the ethics of "schwag" in the blogosphere, while linking to an article with one man's opinions.
Honestly, I never really thought much about it...especially because most of the samples I get are intended for my offline wine writing (though they always make an appearance here as well). I don't see any disclaimers in print publications....does anyone else?
Full disclosure is never a bad thing though. So, even though I know that I'm always honest with my reviews (regardless of where the wine comes from), I'm going to "borrow" Bainbridge's idea for indicating media samples.
In my Tasting Notes section, I'll simply add an * next to the price listed.
I read about it first in the New York Times over the weekend and then I received a press release this morning...but Bedell Cellars and Corey Creek Vineyards have hired Pascal Marty, formerly of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, as a consulting enologist.
This is big news around these parts and I'm quite curious to see how this all plays out.
After a successful trip to South Africa, Wine Blogging Wednesday is back, scheduled for March 9...this time hosted by none other than Andrew at Spitoon. The theme? Obscure Red Grape Varieties.
What does that mean exactly? No Cabernet Sauvignon. No Merlot. No Pinot Noir.
He does offer some suggestions on where to look and what to look for...so fear not!
Scour your wine shops for something unique...something weird...something you've wanted to try but never have!
Do you verjus? Literally translated as “green juice” and pronounced “vair-ZHOO,” it's the fresh, unfermented juice of half-ripe fruit, most often grapes. While quite common in the Old World (especially winemaking regions), I wasn't familiar with verjus until I moved to Long Island nearly six years ago.
On one of my first trips to the region's wineries, I found myself at Wolffer Estate Vineyards in the ritzy Hamptons. After tasting a handful of German-born winemaker Roman Roth's expertly crafted wines, I was offered a taste of an almost-colorless, pale chartreuse liquid poured from a wine bottle. The word Verjus adorned the label and I assumed it was just a proprietary white blend or something similar.
Boy was I wrong. Like a super-tart Sauvignon Blanc without the alcohol, Wolffer's verjus was mouthwatering and the perfect foil for the forthcoming taste of late harvest Chardonnay.
For $10 per 750ml bottle, this blend of half-ripe juice from Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes offers lemongrass and light herbal notes that frame refined green apple flavors.
Since that first taste, I've come to appreciate verjus more for its culinary uses than it's uses as a beverage, which do include a virgin verjus sangria recommended by Wolffer.
Basically, you can use it like you would vinegar…any time you need a little acidity to heighten the other flavors or cut through fatty richness. I've used it as a poaching liquid for chicken, added to marinades for some acidic zing, but I bet it would be great for ceviche. Apparently, you can even make a verjus sorbet.
My favorite, everyday use for verjus is in vinaigrette. Because it doesn’t have all the mouth-puckering acidity of vinegar, you don’t need to use as much oil, leading to lighter, healthier dressing for fresh field greens.
Because it's non-alcoholic, Wolffer can actually ship this tasty condiment anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. For more information or to order, visit www.wolffer.com.
To see all of the awards, visit the festival website.
For obvious reasons, I enjoy my visits to The Lenz Winery in Peconic, NY even if I don't actually own it, haha.
Frankly, I used to be disappointed by the basic, second-label wines that they usually pour in their tasting froom. That all changed when I visited to tast their superb sparkling wines and had an experience I'd wish upon any wine lover. It was then that I could finally understand how some of their wines were rated better than Petrus in a blind tasting.
Along with an impromptu vertical tasting of sparkling wines, winemaker Eric Fry popped open a bottle of their 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon. On our way out, that was the only wine we purchased...it was that good.
Everyone reading this knows of my affection for Long Island wines, but I can admit that most of the Cabernet Sauvignon available is green, thin and rather lifeless. While our microclimate is well suited to Merlot and Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon doesn't always ripen fully in all vineyards and I honestly think that fewer varietal Cabs should be made here.
This, however, is not one of those weak Cabernet Sauvignons.
I've written previously about Laurel Lake Vineyard's 2002 Chardonnay (see the post for more information on the winery) and I found it to be a pleasant wine at a great price.
Their 2002 Syrah ($20) is extremely possible in their tasting room and the last vintage sold out sooner than they expected, so I was looking forward to tasting it. Lucky for me, they sent me a bottle...two actually (the first was "off" and they wanted me to review it again).
I’ll admit it. I’m completely obsessed with wine. I love drinking it, talking about it, reading about it and, obviously, writing about it. Even thinking about it brings a smile to my face.
Why has wine seemingly taken over so many aspects of my life? It’s a challenge, because no matter how much I know, there’s always more to learn. Every time I taste a new wine, talk to a winemaker or talk to a fellow wine lover, I pick up something new and exciting.
Where are the affordable wine classes that will teach people about wines in a relaxed, un-intimidating setting?
Look no further than Stony Brook University’s Center for Food, Wine and Culture. They’ve put together a “Discovering Wine Series” of classes, both in Manhattan and at Stony Brook’s main campus, that bring together some of our regions’ most knowledgeable wine people with approachable, interesting wines in a relaxed, fun setting.
I recently attended a session titled “Important White Varietals,” which was hosted by Gary Madden, general manager at Lieb Family Cellars and Louisa Hargrave, the Center for Food, Wine and Culture’s interim director and the founding mother of Long Island wine.
The class was an absolute delight. After discussing wine-tasting basics for the uninitiated, we tasted three Pinot Blancs, three Sauvignon Blancs and four Chardonnays from various regions (including Long Island), comparing the different tastes and styles.
These kind of side-by-side tastings are some of the best educational tools around and I encourage anyone to try it. You can read every wine book at your local book store, but you really learn by tasting. And tasting some more.
March 10th: An Italian Heritage of Flavor From America’s Secret Wine Region with Sal Diliberto of Diliberto Winery in Jamesport.
March 17th: Seeing Stars: Romancing Champagne with Michael Cinque of Amagansett Wines and Liquors.
March 24th: From Aroma to Bouquet: How Wines Age with Eric Fry, winemaker at Lenz Winery for the past 16 years.
April 14th: Creating a Regional Cuisine with resident chef Michael Meehan and winemaker Greg Gove, both from Peconic Bay Winery.
Each class is $55 and you can bring a friend with you for an additional $45, making it ideal for couples that are interested in wine. And, if you sign up for three or more classes, each one is only $40. The classes each offer at least six different wines and light food pairings for each.
For more information and for a complete list of upcoming sessions, email Ginny Clancy at gclancy@notes.cc.sunysb.edu or call her at 631-632-9404.
First...let's all thank Jeanne of CookSister for forcing us on a trip down to her homeland, South Africa, to enjoy a slurry of delicious red wines.
Because she just loves to write so much (and is quite good at it), she broke the round-up post into two...the first batch and the second batch.
25 people participated...which is a good number given the quick turnaround from the previous edition!
We'll be traveling once again for the 7th vintage of WBW...stay tuned for the annoucement!
When Jeanne of CookSister emailed me about hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday, I'll admit I didn't know much about her. Given her choice of themes, I quickly learned that she's a South African living in the U.K. -- and after reading her site I was hooked on her blend of knowledge, adventure and good humor.
Her theme, South African Reds, takes us all back to her homeland.
My entree in WBW #6 is 2000 Porcupine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon from Boekenhoutskloof Estates. Boekenhoutskloof is a fairly well-known winery in the Franschhoek region of South Africa. Porcupine Ridge is actually winemaker Mark Kent's second label. Given the wineries full name, I can see why they went with something a bit easier to pronounce and remeber.
South Africa has been a wine-producting region for much longer than I realized, over 350 years. Before this wine, most of the bottles I'd tried from S.A. have either been oddly funky Pinotage or simple, but tasty whites made from Chenin Blanc and called "Steen."
For WBW, I was determined to try something new and something different...that's the point after all isn't it?
So, when confronted with mostly Pinotage and the Rhone-style Goats do Roam...I picked up this bottle.
As any of you TypePad services users out there know, you can find out what Google searches are bringing people to your site pretty easily.
Most of the time, mine involve restaurants, wines or recipes I've written about...not stuff that is all that interesting.
Please say it ain't so. I can only assume that somewhere someone has actually done this...seems kind of specific to have been invented by the Googler.
You guys know that I'm pretty anti-snobbery when it comes to wine, but first Bush's supporters are drinking Texas Sangria and now people are mixing wine with milk and sugar?
Why not add some vanilla ice cream and some ice in a blender?
I'm a touch disturbed by this...has anyone heard of this? Is it all just a bad dream?
A couple hours after first sipping the 1993 vintage, we uncorked the Wolffer Estate Vineyards 2000 Cuvee Sparkling Wine as another part of our early Valentine's Day celebration.
57% Chardonnay and 43% Pinot Noir, we enjoyed this sparkler with seared scallops with lemon-chive butter Saturday night. More accurately, Nena enjoyed the two together. I just sipped the bubbly and prepped the next course.
Muscadet is a wine I don't know a whole lot about, so I was glad to pick this one up for around 10 bucks. The hand-written note at the wine shop (usually a good sign...if hand-written) mentioned melons, minerals and crispness...so I paired it with penne with cauliflower, sweet petit peas and parmesan cream sauce.
I've recently discovered a local wine shop that has some older vitage Long Island wines...something I've not really seen anywhere else. So, when I saw the 1993 vintage of Wolffer Estate Vineyards sparkling wine, I figured I'd give it a shot.
Don't Forget...Wine Blogging Wednesday is in Two Days!
WBW #6 -- South African Reds is right around the corner...this coming Wednesday in fact.
I'm sure many of you forgot...but NO EXCUSES. Get out and buy your S.A. red vino...be it Cabernet, Shiraz or even Pinotage.
One of Nena's good friends from work got engaged last week.
So...congratulations go out to Lisa and Greg.
But you might be asking why would I post about this event on LENNDEVOURS?
They want us to cater their engagement party. That's why.
Lisa has been 'stealing' our recipes for quite a while now (to the point that Greg thought they were hers!) and when they decided to have a cocktail party to celebrate their engagement, Lisa asked Nena if we'd do the food. When asked if she was serious, she said she was. Cool eh?
Apparently we're going to meet with Lisa and her mother sometime in March to discuss the menu. Maybe I'll even be able to do a little wine pairing as well...not sure how much they know about vino.
Just thought I'd share the news. LENNDEVOURS has its first catering gig.
Later this week, I'll do a full post on the Valentine's Day dinner I cooked for Nena Saturday night...but I thought some of you would enjoy seeing a few pictures.
Let me just come out and say it. I don’t drink white Zinfandel. I’ve tried several and always found them to be syrupy sweet and one-dimensional. And, for years, I let these candy-in-a-bottle wines skew my image of any blush, pink wine or Rosé, regardless of name or origin.
I was guilty of the very wine snobbery I campaign against whenever possible.
But I’ve since learned that, when done right, a Rosé can be crisp, nuanced and absolutely delicious. Quality Rosé is the perfect wine for sipping with friends all spring and summer long, by the pool, at the beach, wherever.
With spring still a month away, let me suggest another time to enjoy a top-notch Rosé: Valentine’s Day.
With food-friendly acidity and light berry fruitiness, these wines are great with a wide variety of foods. I wouldn’t serve one with filet mignon or venison, but most anything else is fair game. More importantly, is there anything more romantic and fun than a pink wine?
So, where should you look for Rosé that’s “done right”? Bonny Doon in California makes a great one. So do several producers in France. But why look so far away when one can find supple, decadent Rosé right here on Long Island?
I, along with a dozen or so friends, tasted 14 different Rosés from 12 Long Island wineries and one from the Finger Lakes. To help us avoid any winery-bias, we covered each bottle with a brown paper bag and numbered them, a practice often referred to as “blind tasting.” Tasters, whose wine experience ranged from complete newbies to aficionados, were asked to give every wine a letter grade, A through F.
Lucky for me, Nena shares my feelings on Valentine's Day...it's just not that big a deal to either of us and we typically don't do anything too exciting or involved.
However, a few years ago...when "wooing" was still happening (hey, at least I'm being honest about it!) I cooked her a great little dinner at my old apartment and she absolutely loved it.
So, this year we're going to revisit that theme...I'm making dinner tomorrow night.
The menu? It's a secret and my lovely lady reads LENNDEVOURS...so I can't reveal anything just yet. But, I will mention that I've got two vintages of sparkling wine from Wolffer Estate Vineyards that we'll be enjoying, a 2000 and a 1993.
To all of you out there...Happy Hallmark Day!
February 21 - 27 Bedell Cellars will be pouring it's unreleased 2000 Bedell Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon as part of Winter Wine Month. It will also be available for sale in the tasting room for that week only.
Obviously, I've never tasted this Cab...but Bedell's winemaker, Kip Bedell, is well known in these parts for his talents with red grapes...particularly Merlot.
For more information, call Bedell Cellars directly at 631.734.7537.