LENNDEVOURS

Now Available: The Beer Hall Guide to Long Island

You've probably noticed that our resident beer guru, Donavan Hall, hasn't been contributing to LENNDEVOURS much lately. Well, he had a good reason for that. He was putting the finishing touches on The Beer Hall Guide to Long Island, one book that every beer lover on Long Island needs in his or her library.

Donavan knows more about beer on Long Island than anyone I know. Plus, he's one heck of a writer, so no one is more qualified to write such a book.

I haven't picked up my copy yet, but I will this weekend at the North Fork Craft Beer, BBQ and Wine Festival, where he'll be selling them.

About the book:

"This guide brings together the best that the Long Island craft beer scene has to offer. Anything listed in this guide is a top rated craft beer destination. All of Long Island's breweries and brewpubs are listed, as well as the top taprooms and beer stores. Each listing is accompanied by an informative (and entertaining) article.

By writing this beer guide, Donavan hopes that craft beer enthusiasts will learn more about the incredible and growing beer culture here on Long Island, and that you might find out about a place or two that you haven't visited yet. In addition to covering all of the best breweries, taprooms, and beer stores, you'll find information about amateur craftbrewing and about how to become more involved in local craft beer culture.

Donavan Hall regularly writes about beer, brewing, and pub culture on The Beer Hall. He is also the voice of Radio Beer Hall a twice monthly podcast about brewing and slow living."

Congratulations on finishing the book, Donavan. I look forward to raising a pint or five with you the next time we meet up.

You can buy the book over at Lulu if you can't make the beer festival this weekend.

Save the Date: LENNDEVOURS Wine Bar (October 19)

This event has been a long time coming, but I'm happy to announce that LENNDEVOURS and Roanoke Vineyards will be co-hosting an event on Sunday October 19 at Roanoke's tasting room in Riverhead.

The concept is a quarterly wine bar event that will include a preview of an unreleased Roanoke Vineyards wine, local wine celebs/speakers, light Mediterranean fare and discounts on wines by the glass. Best of all, proceeds from ticket sales will go to a different charity each time.

We'll also be inviting one or two other wineries to pour one of their wines as well.

And to make it a little bit more fun, we'll be doing some videos and blogging on-site for LENNDEVOURS during the event.

By the end of the week, I should have confirmed information in terms of what wine we're going to be previewing, how much tickets will be, and what the charity will be for this kick-off event.

In the meantime, mark down October 19th in your calendar/planner/Blackberry/iPhone.

I'm hoping to be able to sell tickets ahead of time online (at a discounted rate) too. Stay tuned.

The Art of Balance: Day 1 Pictures

Day one of The Art of Balance was great yesterday. Winemakers from Friuli, the Rheingau, the Finger Lakes and Rías Baixas. Lots of information was shared, the panel discussion in the afternoon (moderated by Paul Grieco, co-owner and sommelier, Hearth, Insieme, and Terroir in New York City was interesting (and a bit controversial at times) too.

I'll post more about the information in coming days. But for now, a few pictures:

"The Symposium" Starts Today

In about an hour, I'll be hopping into the car and driving out to Stony Brook University's Southampton campus for The Art of Balance: Cool Climate/Maritime Wines in a Global Context, a symposium that I hope will be as educational as it will be fun.
Looking at the agenda, which is filled with lectures, tastings and panel discussions led by prominent winemakers and vineyard managers from top cool climate/maritime wineries, I can't imagine that I'll be disappointed.

I had planned to do some live blogging on-site, but organizers weren't able to pull WiFi access together for me because I'm not a student at Stony Brook (annoying), but they have set up a "blogging area" in the back of the theater where I will be able to plug in. Now I just need to find an ethernet cable before I leave the house. I know that fellow LENNDEVOURS contributor Bryan Calandrelli got to the Island last night, and that Eileen from Cellarette will be attending but I'm curious to see what other bloggers will be there.

Sorry that the blogging has been so thin of late. Some of you know why, but things are returning to normal at LENNDEVOURS headquarters, so blogging will commence throughout the week.

New Finger Lakes Winery: Anyela's Vineyards

Keuka Lake, Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake are the three Finger Lakes most wine lovers know about, but Skaneateles Lake, west of Cayuga, has it's first winery: Anyela's Vineyards, which will be hosting its grand opening tomorrow, August 2.

According the the winery's website, the vines, planted in 2001 by owner Jim Nocek and his family, are treated to some labor-intensive work every fall after harvest:

"Unlike other vineyards along neighboring Finger Lakes, we protect our vines from the cold after the fall harvest. One by one, we carefully remove them from the trellises and bury them in the rich earth to insulate the sensitive primary buds, which eventually become the fruit."

I've heard of wineries doing this in extremely cold states like Minnesota and Wisconsin but not in New York, where it's not usually necessary. Then again, every decade or so, Finger Lakes wineries deal with a cold snap that kills some of their vines.

Anyela’s Vineyard will be releasing varietal bottlings of chardonnay, pinot grigio, rose of pinot noir, riesling, Cayuga white, Petite Noir, cabernet franc and noiret, along with a couple blends.

Anyela’s tasting room will be open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.  Soon, their Friday hours will be extended for the busy summer and fall seasons.

Visit their website for further details.

Diploma Dispatches: The Exam

By Sasha Smith, New York City Correspondent

So, it's been a while. No, I haven't been trapped under a large, heavy object, nor was I so discouraged by my performance on the exam (although I don't think I did super well…more on that later) that I decided to never again speak of the subject.

Mostly, since June 10 I've been really, really sick of wine and the idea of writing about it makes me want to put my head down on my desk and cry. (Do you see what you're making me do, Lenn?!)

The same thing happened to me after I took my advanced certificate test and after I finished the first two units of the diploma, although this time my post-exam ennui has been particularly severe. All of a sudden, I went from reading 15 wine blogs a day and writing test practice paragraphs on topics like the Lenz Moser training system to just not caring anymore. I'm sure I'll snap out of it by the end of the summer, but at the moment, it's a little disconcerting.

OK, the exam. It was a full-day extravaganza. The morning was the tasting portion, with four flights consisting of three wines each. The afternoon was the “theory” part of the test, i.e., five essay questions. Each is graded separately, so that if you fail one portion of the exam you only have to retake that section. Results come back in September, and the next exam date is in January.

The good news is, I'm pretty sure I passed the essay portion of the test. The first mandatory question asked us to compare and contrast two wines, Mouton Cadet and Chave Hermitage. They might as well have tied a bow around this one. I was glad that my obsessive reading and re-reading The Wines of the Northern Rhone paid off – I was actually able to name specific climats, which I have to believe will win me some serious brownie points. As for the rest of the questions – we had a choice of four out of six – it was pretty easy for me to decide which ones to answer: yes to examining terroir in the Loire, the future of New World chardonnay, recent innovations in Rioja, and comparing/contrasting Nuits-St-Georges and New World pinot noir…and no to a multi-part question on Germany and another on the role of brands in South Africa.

Given the number of off-the-beaten path wine regions we had to study (Bulgaria, Switzerland, Thailand etc.), I was surprised to see that you could complete the exam – and do well – without venturing outside Western Europe and California. My advice to future Unit 3 test-takers: get the classic wine regions down cold, stay abreast of what’s going on in California, and, for good measure, make sure you’re well-versed in a few obscure wine regions. (Of course, take that advice with a grain of salt considering my results haven’t come back yet.)

On to the bad news: I'm 99% sure that I failed the tasting portion. I choked, big time. To give you but one pathetic example, I identified a Carneros pinot noir as a saumur champigny. Seriously. Remember those exam period anxiety nightmares you had in college where you found yourself taking a test in a subject you never studied or giving an oral report in a language you didn't speak? It was like that, except real. Whatever store of knowledge I had accumulated over six months of intensive tasting suddenly evaporated. I've never experienced anything like it.

While it was painful at the time, right now I’m not too broken up about failing the tasting portion  – there are worse things than committing to a few more months of serious wine tasting in preparation for the next exam. I’m also trying to think of it as a learning experience. My ultimate goal with all this high-falutin’ wine education is to develop a series of smart, fun, and intuitive classes for people who are new to wine. If nothing else, my tasting botch was a good reminder of how perplexing wine can be.

Right now I’m focused on fine-tuning my curriculum and my business plan. (If you have any ideas for a good name for my company that doesn’t involve a wine-based pun – no “Grape Expectations” please – I’m all ears.) I also need to cure my wine malaise. If the past is any guide, one day soon I’ll stumble upon a random bottle that will make me deeply, inexplicably happy and I’ll remember why I decided to do all of this in the first place. 

Vineyard Visuals: Channing Daughters Clusters, Week 2

Merlot: "These hanging merlot grapes at Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton, NY, are picking up the light from the Sunday morning sun. The remnants of rain from the night before slowly evaporate or drip down to the soil below." - Ellen Watson

Chardonnay: "Basking in the morning sun, this cluster of chardonnay grapes at Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton, NY still appears to be defying gravity. I wonder about this bunch of grapes in particular; I am curious to see if at some point, it will begin to hang down towards the earth." - Ellen Watson

Pinot Grigio: "In the past 2 weeks, these pinot grigio grapes have begun to plump up at Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton, NY.  It appears there are fewer leaves around this bunch than before.  The grapes are robust looking and appear very fresh after a night of rain." - Ellen Watson

Pompous Ass: Yes to the Latter?

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent

After seeing a reference on the Finger Lakes Weekend Wino's site, I was in a state of disbelief. Could this news be for real?

Last week, as I drove south on Route 14 on the west side of Seneca Lake, I kept my eyes peeled, and then I saw it for myself...yes, there is a winery opening on Seneca named Pompous Ass. The sign out front says the winery is opening this summer, although a lot of summer has already passed us by.

Is this name funny? Is it appropriate? More importantly, what role will this brand of humor play in the Finger Lakes?

It is obvious that the proprietor of this new winery wanted to create a stir, and whether to make a statement or simply to make money, the choice of name has certainly succeeded in grabbing the attention of the region.

My immediate thoughts are that this name picks up on the brands we have all seen in the wine stores with names like Old Fart and Fat Bastard, two wines made by French conglomerates for international distribution and consumption. I do not lament the existence of these wines at all and I'm sure they have resulted in some hilarious gift-giving (I myself purchased some Old Fart for an uncle's birthday).

What is important to consider, however, is that mass-produced and marketed wines do not leave the buyer with a distinct sense of place. No one buys Old Fart or Fat Bastard as a prime example of French wine, nor is the origin of these wines part of the marketing scheme in any significant sense. Basically, it is all about generic wine humor.

There will be nothing generic about Pompous Ass and the origin of its products will not be a mystery to consumers. The winery will have a tasting room right along the Seneca Wine Trail. In addition, one can assume that many of the bottles will be labeled as Finger Lakes sourced wines.  Pompous Ass will become a Finger Lakes winery and represent the region to potential consumers and critics.

Let us now consider the Finger Lakes wine industry as embodied by a cartoon donkey.

Long Island Vodka: LiV Vodka

Before the North Fork became the epicenter of the Long Island wine industry, it was covered in potato fields. Long Island potatoes were famous long before the Hargraves planted grape vines in the early 1970s.

Of course, many of those potato fields have been replaced by grape vines, but there are still hundreds (thousands?) of acres of potatoes grown on Long Island.

You might think about French fries or mashers when you think potatoes, but Rich Stabile, owner of and head distiller at Long Island Spirits, sees the ultimate raw material for making vodka.

"Long Island has a long history and tradition for producing world-class potatoes. Potatoes also produce the world's finest vodkas," he told me in an email last week.

The distillery, on Sound Avenue in Baiting Hollow, occupies a restored barn on an 80-acre potato farm. It's there that Stabile uses 9,000 pounds of locally grown potatoes to make a single batch of vodka in two German-made 650-liter copper stills. Eventually, the barn will serve as a tasting room too, Stabile just isn't sure when. "We are waiting on the State for the tasting room, so I have no firm date on when we will be able to open."

Lieb Cellars 2007 White Merlot (North Fork of Long Island)

What do you think about if someone mentions "white merlot"? For me, it's sickly sweet blush made by Forest Glen or Beringer that comes mind. Not exactly a pleasant thought.

Given that, I hope that the fine folks at Lieb Cellars can forgive me if that is where my brain went when I heard they were making a white merlot in 2007. I didn't love their rose last year and I didn't think I'd love this wine either. (Note: They made a rose in addition to this wine in 2007).

This is the whitest of any white merlot I've ever seen -- it's pale even by white wine standards. Nena actually thought I was rinsing my glass with water in between samples. But with the first sniff, this wine reveals its origins -- 90% merlot and 10% sauvignon blanc. Light cherry aromas mingle with lemony grapefruit notes and just a touch of lemongrass.

It's dry, medium bodied and refreshingly crisp. It's a little less interesting on the palate, showing mostly cherry and lemon, but the merlot brings a certain breadth and a gentle roundess that makes it mouthfilling without being a 'big' wine.

The first time I tasted it, blind, I wasn't quite sure what I thought. It tasted good, but was it just a novelty wine? What 'category' if any does it belong in?

But tasting it again, I realized that none of that matters. Yes, it's intriguing for its uniqueness. But, it also transcends its quirky no-skin contact red wine-ness. I've enjoyed a few more bottles since that first one, and I'll be enjoying it again.

Rumor has it that they are planning to devote a lot more of their merlot to this wine in 2008. It's surprisingly easy to see why.

Grape(s): 90% merlot, 10% sauvignon blanc
Producer: Lieb Cellars
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
Price: $15
Rating:  (3 out of 5 | Recommended)

(About LENNDEVOURS' Ratings)

Vineyard Visuals: Channing Daughters Pinot Grigio, Week 1

From the photographer, Ellen Watson: "Nestled into the leaves on abundant vines, these pinot grigio grapes look like a lush, Dutch still life painting, at Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton, NY."

The Finger Lakes Wine Festival

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent

Finger Lakes Wine Country graciously invited me to a "sneak peak" media event last Friday to preview some rieslings that would be featured during the Finger Lakes Wine Festival throughout the weekend. The event was held in the media building on the grounds of the Watkins Glen International raceway, a sprawling circuit-style course that winds its way through a hill overlooking the Seneca Lake valley below.

Wineries that presented their 2007 rieslings during the media event included Dr. Frank's, Fox Run, Glenora, Hazlitt 1852, Lakewood, Lucas, Red New Cellars, Sheldrake Point, and Swedish Hill. Chefs from restaurants associated with participating wineries provided food pairings, including Chef Frank Caravita from Fox Run (pictured at right), Chef Deb Whiting from Red Newt, Chef Orlando Rodriguez from Glenora, and Chef Sam Izzo from Sheldrake Point.

As I had encountered in mass tastings before, the 2007 rieslings leave a strong general impression. The dry versions, at this point, seem to lack balance and while ripe and flavorful they leave the mouth confused throughout the tasting. The semi-dry offerings are usually more balanced at a sweeter level, and despite the fact that I do not enjoy the semi-dry style as a rule I found much more to hold on to with these rieslings.

"2007 was a very ripe year, so composing these rieslings from different lots was almost like a gamble," Bob Mindall from Sheldrake Point explained to me. Without strong acidity, the ripe flavors interplay very differently from each producer. I suspect that some 2007s will build well in the bottle, and others may fall flat over time.

Vineyard Visuals: Channing Daughters Chardonnay, Week 1

From the photographer, Ellen Watson: "Appearing to defy gravity, these robust Chardonnay grapes are growing heartily at Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton, NY."

New York Cork Club: July's Selections

I try not to spam my own readers here on LENNDEVOURS with talk about the New York Cork Club, the wine club that I run with Greene Grape Wine in Brooklyn. I could (and probably should) tell you much more often about how I pick the wines independently, without the wine shop telling me to pick wines that they can make a ton of money on. I could tell you how I'm able to get wines that aren't available to any other clubs or retailers. But I don't nearly often enough probably.

But this month, we have two wines that I've enjoyed quite a bit recently and neither are easy to get your hands on.

First up is Bouke Wine's 2007 White Table Wine ($18), which I wrote about last week. It is the first release from one of the North Fork's newest producers. It's 40% chardonnay, 32% pinot gris, 18% sauvignon blanc, and 10% Gewurztraminer and has a surprisingly complex (at this price) nose showing predominant apple and citrus aromas accented by those of white flowers, pineapple and spice. The fresh, satisfying palate is medium-light in body and offers green apple, peach and lemon zest flavors with more spice. There is just the right acidity here to keep it lively. Make sure that you don't over-chill this wine. You'll miss out on some of the depth and complexity. It's only available at The Tasting Room, a co-op tasting room for tiny producers that don't have their own tasting rooms. We were able to get some for the club though, so you won't have to drive out to Peconic.

 

The second wine, Ravines Wine Cellars' 2007 Argetsinger Vineyard Dry Riesling ($24), is even harder to get your hands on. You might remember that sent winemaker Morten Hallgren's regular 2006 Dry Riesling to members last year, but this wine is even better... and it's his first-ever single-vineyard wine, with 100% of the fruit coming from the Argetsinger Vineyard on Seneca Lake, one of the region's oldest. A pale yellowish green in the glass, this riesling from the hot 2007 vintage offers lightly floral aromas along with those of dried apricots and fresh lime with a great minerally quality. The palate is lighter bodied and lithe, but still fills the mouth with intense minerality, bursting citrusy-lime flavors and an undercurrent of apricots. Several 2007 riesling I've tasted were flat and lifeless, but this one is anything but. The acidity is almost electric in its liveliness and the finish is lengthy, lingering with lime and slate notes. Morten only made 150 cases of this wine, so it's only available at the winery. But, I was able to convince them to sell us enough for our club.

To learn more about the New York Cork Club, you can either visit the website or just email me. I'm more than happy to tell you about it. I don't make a penny from it, so it's clearly something that I'm passionate about.

Our First Video: Rich Pisacano @ Roanoke Vineyards

Rich Pisacano at Roanoke Vineyards (July 20, 2008) from Lenn Thompson on Vimeo.

Over the weekend, my new Flip Mino arrived and mostly, I've taken videos of Jackson. He's pretty entertaining and that was the point -- to take short clips that we can share with our families (since no one is local). But, I did take it along with me as we visited a few wineries with my parents and I shot this short clip at Roanoke Vineyards as my parents tasted their 2007 chardonnay.

This might be the only video I ever post... I'm not sure. It starts off a little hard to hear (the mic isn't great on the Mino, but once I learn it more I think I'll be okay). The loudest voice, obviously, is mine but I don't say much.

Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think. Do you want more video? Might be a fun added dimension to the blog, certainly. I wasn't planning to post this, so I don't ask any thought-provoking questions. Perhaps that will come in the future.

Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Argetsinger Vineyard Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes)

When Nena, Jackson, Ben and I traveled to the Finger Lakes back in August, one of our favorite winery visits was at Ravines Wine Cellars on the eastern shore of Keuka Lake. We found the owners, Lisa and Morten Hallgren, charming, passionate and very friendly. And of course the wines were among the best we tasted as well. Clearly, Morten has learned how to get the best out of Finger Lakes grapes and is continuing to do better and better things.

I even enjoyed a couple of his reds, and you all know how I feel about most Finger Lakes reds.

This wine, Ravines 2007 Dry Riesling Argetsinger Vineyard ($25) had just been bottled when we visited, so we couldn't taste it. It's Morten's first single-vineyard wine at Ravines and the fruit comes from one of the region's oldest vineyards, the Argetsinger Vineyard located on Seneca Lake.

A pale yellowish green in the glass, this riesling from the hot 2007 vintage offers lightly floral aromas along with those of dried apricots and fresh lime with a great minerally quality. The palate is lighter bodied and lithe, but still fills the mouth with intense minerality, bursting citrusy-lime flavors and an undercurrent of apricots. Several 2007 riesling I've tasted were flat and lifeless, but this one is anything but. The acidity is almost electric in its liveliness and the finish is lengthy, lingering with lime and slate notes.

Morten only made 150 cases of this wine, so it's only available at the winery. Unless you're a member of the New York Cork Club, which means you'll be getting it this week.

Grape(s): 100% riesling
Producer: Ravines Wine Cellars
AVA: Finger Lakes
Price: $25
Rating: (4 out of 5 | Delicious, Distinctive ) 

(About LENNDEVOURS' Ratings)

Blind Bat Brewery Blogs

You might remember me mentioning Blind Bat Brewery back in March, when I profiled brewmaster Paul Dlugokencky in canvas Magazine.

Well, as Paul continues his quest to become Long Island's smallest brewery (he's still awaiting label approval now) he's making test batches to get back into the brewing zone. And, he's started a blog on his website.

A writer/editor-type by day, Paul will certainly be a welcome addition to the local blogging world.

Check it out and see what he's up to.

Vineyard Visuals: Channing Daughters Merlot, Week 1

As I mentioned last week, Ellen will be visiting Channing Daughters weekly to follow three bunches of three varieties (merlot, chardonnay and pinot grigio) throughout their lifecycle.

Instead of putting all three picture into a single post each week, I'm going to space them out a bit, starting with the merlot this week.

From Ellen: "An overflow of Merlot grapes, cascading off the vines on a summer afternoon, at Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton, NY."

LENNDEVOURS Q&A: John Zuccarino, Silver Springs Winery

John Zuccarino, who owns Silver Springs Winery in the Finger Lakes, is the subject of today's LENNDEVOURS Q&A. In addition to his duties in the vineyard and in the winery, John also does some online wine education videos and is one of the only New York winery owners to use Twitter.

What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? 

Growing up in a European-cultured family, you drank wine as far back as you can remember. One memory comes to mind when I was very young sitting at the table in the summer having red wine poured into a bowl and slicing up fresh peaches that went into the bowl. After eating the peaches and drinking that wine... I told myself this will someday be my life too following the family tradition making wine.

What event/bottle/etc made you decide that you wanted to be in the wine industry?

I can remember a friend brought over a very nice bottle of wine. I was with my grandfather at the time...he opened it and all I could think of was after tasting it that our wine has life, body and spirit and this expensive bottle was just okay...at that point I knew our family with hundreds of years producing wine could do things better.

Which of your current wines is your favorite and why?

Bold Merlot because you can age it for well over 20 years and it spent 2.25 years in older French Allier oak. The wine just keeps building in the glass.

What has surprised you most about being a member of the Finger Lakes wines community?

The lack of coordination between the lakes. You have three wine trails and then UncorkNY.org all running redundancies. If you were to combine the whole operation you could save over $500k a year in redundancies and spend that money on a well-coordinated program and work all as one. It's simple -- they are using Adam Smith's flawed economic model rather that Dr. John Nash's economic model that won him the Nobel prize in economics...the movie "A Beautiful Mind" tells it all.

Other than your own wines, what wine/beer/liquor most often fills your glass?

Zinfandel. it's just in my blood as I was raised on copious amounts of this wine. The wine is very dynamic and very under valued.

Is there a 'classic' wine or wine and food pairing that you just can't make yourself enjoy?

All wine can be paired properly... but don't serve me a Gewürztraminer unless it's an ice wine. There is a chemical in that wine grape that just doesn't hit me right.

Wine enjoyment is about more than just the wine itself. Describe the combination of wine, locations, food, company, etc. that would make (or has made) for the ultimate wine-drinking experience for you.

Wine is the catalyst for very good conversations. I find it brings out the best in people...so most any wine anywhere with or without food, but with a good conversation there nothing close to it.

Announcing Wine Blogging Wednesday #48: Back to Your Roots

Four years. That's a long time... especially in the world of the Web and blogs. But, next month's edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday will mark the event's 48th edition. Four years of tasting wine together, virtually. Over the years, we've explored many regions and grapes We've had fun themes. We've had more academic ones.

As the founder of this little thing we affectionately refer to as WBW, I'm going to host the 4th anniversary celebration and I'm going to ask you to go back to your roots... your wine drinking roots that is.

We're all wine lovers, but we have gotten where we are today in a variety of ways on a variety of paths. These long, windy paths are littered with wines the world over. I just want you to pick one of the wines from the beginning of your journey, taste it again for the first time in a while, and tell us about it.

Maybe you remember the very first wine you ever tasted. Try it again.

Or maybe there was one wine that you drank a lot of when you were still a wine neophyte. That'd be fun too and I think that's the route I'm going. I don't remember the first wine I ever tasted (though it may have been MD 20/20 and who wants to drink that again?), but I do remeber two other wines from my past that I might revisit. One was the first wine that made me say "A-HA!" and the other is one that I drank a lot of when I was in graduate school. I've seen it a few times in some local shops, so hopefully I can get my hand on a bottle.

To give everyone a bit more time to think about, and dig out a wine for, WBW 48, let's do it on Wednesday, August 13. Post your entry to your blog and either shoot me an email, find me on Twitter, or leave a comment to this post. Don't have a blog? Go over to the Wine Blogging Wednesday site and you can post there.

Go back to your wine-drinking roots people.

Diversity in the Vineyards of Niagara, USA

By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Correspondent

When pinpointing the origins of the Niagara Wine Trail, there will always be a few wineries recognized as the granddaddies of the region. Certainly Niagara Landing, formerly Cambria Wine Cellars, will be mentioned as well as the pinot-pushing Warm Lake Estate as the local pioneers. Others have followed their lead, and over the last two years, another handful have popped up. The differences in winemaking style, farming background and overall business strategy is quickly evident when you visit.

Their diversity is most noticeable when you take a look at who's planting what in their vineyards. While some are sticking to their vinifera guns, others look to hybrids and natives to pay the bills, with a few relying heavily on fruit wines. The upside of this is that pretty much there's something for everyone on the trail. The obvious downside is that if you are a vinifera wine drinker, you may be let down in your search for estate grown fine wines.

Luckily the newest vineyards are not only focusing on vinifera but expanding the playing field with varietals that will distinguish them from the others. Currently it seems that the most common plantings include pinot noir, cabernet franc, merlot, riesling and chardonnay. Of the wineries currently open for business, Arrowhead Spring's gamble on syrah is what I think is the most exciting, but it's the new vineyards where the diversity is most evident. Jim and Kathy Baker's West Creek Road vineyard in Newfane includes gewürztraminer, theirs of which is the first planting of that varietal on this side of the border.

Perhaps the most unique overall vineyard selections are those being grown by Don Demason. Don, who's been farming for decades on Lower Mountain Road in Cambria, has planted pinot Gris, lemberger and sauvignon blanc. I think his decision to include sauvignon blanc will be remembered as a groundbreaking step for the grape in the area. I've tasted several Ontario examples and they have been jaw-dropping.

Each of these growers are bringing their own vision to the wine trail. Sure there's a little risk involved, but the payoff is being able to produce a unique bottle of wine -- not to mention becoming pioneers for those varietals on the Niagara Wine Trail. I've made the comparison of the Niagara region with the Loire Valley, in that the range of grape varietals grown is widely diverse. I'm just wondering who's going to be the first to try chenin blanc.

August 5 & 6: The Art of Balance: Cool Climate/Maritime Wines in a Global Context

With this pesky day job, I don't get to go to as many wine event as I'd like. They tend to be during the work week, either during or right after work hours, and in New York City. I have to pick and choose the ones that I take vacation days to attend. Well, on August 5 & 6, I'll be taking a couple days to drive east to Stony Brook University's Southampton campus for The Art of Balance: Cool Climate/Maritime Wines in a Global Context, a symposium that will feature advanced educational presentations and wine tastings led by prominent winemakers and vineyard managers from top wineries in cool climate/maritime winegrowing regions around the world.    

The first groundbreaking conference of its kind, “Maritime Climate Wine Growing: Bringing Bordeaux to Long Island,” which was staged in Riverhead 20 years ago in the summer of 1988 and drew participants from Chateau Margaux, Chateau Pichon-Lalande, and Institut Technique de la Vigne et du Vin, Montpelier.

This year's symposium will highlight the renewed (I hope) appreciation of balanced, elegant, lower-alcohol wines.

You can see a list of the wineries/winemakers involved and also get a look at the agenda on the website. Tickets for the symposium lectures (days 1 or 2) are $180.00 per day, which includes breakfast, lunch and lecture tastings. For both days it's $360.00 includes and you get the grand tasting for free. Otherwise, the grand tasting is $75.

I'm really looking forward to this event. It is going to be very educational and it will be great to meet some of the great winemakers who are coming. Plus, LENNDEVOURS' Niagara region correspondent will also be coming down for the event. As seems to be the norm in the blog world, I've never met Bryan before in person.

Baby's First Winery

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent

Being a father is wonderful, but the interrupted nights and the chaos of getting baby from point A to point B made extraneous activities -- like drinking and writing about wine -- nearly impossible at first. 

But, now that six weeks have passed and the Feulner family is in a bit of a groove, albeit a shallow and bumpy one, I'm ready to try and scratch my way toward some new posts on LENNDEVOURS. I'm attending a press event for the weekend's Finger Lakes Wine Festival at Watkins Glen tomorrow evening, so hopefully I'll be able to follow up with a report soon thereafter.

In the meantime, enjoy a photo of young Elizabeth at her first winery.  I was visiting my parents in Corning last weekend when I received and email from Ravines Wine Cellars on Keuka telling me that they were serving food in their tasting room inspired by Provence cooking. 

Hey, I love food!  Lisa Hallgren, winemaker Morten Hallgren's wife, is a tremendous chef and her food paired well with the new release of Ravine's 2007 Pinot Rosé, a flavorful rosé with a touch of strawberry and playful minerality. I would definitely recommend this rosé as a solid summer wine. It is a fine demonstration of what can be done with rosé in the Finger Lakes.

I would have taken some notes on the food, but as you can see by her grimace in the photo Elizabeth took little time to make it known that she was hungry, her cries forcing my wife and much of my family to retreat to the front porch for a feeding.  During Elizabeth's lunch, Morten was kind enough to show me the brand new vines he's planted on Ravines property which should be producing grapes in 3 years or so.

We ended the Finger Lakes trip with a lunch at Snug Harbor near Hammondsport. The lunch menu was simple but delicious, but even more importantly little Elizabeth slept through the entire meal and allowed us to take in the breathtaking views of the long blue water surrounded by the glaciated hills.

Bouke 2007 Rose Table Wine (North Fork of Long Island)

From late spring through the end of the summer (and even into the fall) we drink a fair mouth of rose in our house. Good rose is extremely versatile. You can enjoy it on it's own as an aperitif, of course, but it's also great with salads, fish, light meats and I even like it with sweet-spicy barbecue.

Styles vary of course. Some of my favorite local pinks are blends of both red and white grapes. Most tend to be heavy on chardonnay (which is the most-grown white grape in these parts) and it shows. They are light, super-refreshing and can stand in for wines like steel-fermented chardonnay and sauvignon blanc at the table.

Bouke's 2007 Rose Table Wine ($15), however, is made from 60% cabernet sauvignon and 40% merlot. And, rather than tasting very much like a white wine, this is truly a light red wine.

It's a bright cherry-pink in the glass and the nose is both fruity, with red cherry and strawberry coming through, and earthy, with dried leaves and hay aromas. It is medium bodied and offers straight forward, satisfying flavors that mimic the nose.

It is well balance and damn near ideal for BBQ chicken. I really like that you can tell this was made with North Fork red grapes — it's that earthy character that gives it away. In that sense, I guess it captures Long Island's terroir, not something that many roses do.

It's available both on Boukewines.com and at the co-op The Tasting Room, on Peconic Lane.

Grape(s): 60% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot
Producer: Bouke Wines
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
Price: $15
Rating: (2.5 out of 5 | Average-to-Recommended) 

(About LENNDEVOURS' Ratings)

Ellen Watson Points Her Camera at Channing Daughters Winery

You might remember that last year, Ellen Watson, the East Hampton photographer who serves as the resident photographer for LENNDEVOURS, took a series of pictures at Wolffer Estate Vineyard. In the series, she chronicled a two specific rows of chardonnay as they changed throughout the seasons. The series is available online.

This year, Ellen will be taking on a slightly different project for LENNDEVOURS at Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton.

Rather than following the evolution of two rows, she'll be following the changes that three clusters of three different grape varieties make throughout the growing season. Specifically, she has identified a cluster of merlot, a cluster of pinot grigio and a cluster of chardonnay that she'll be photographing.

About the project, Ellen says:

"Similar to the Wolffer study of rows 18 & 19, this will be a study of one cluster of grapes over the growing season. Then, Christopher Tracy (the winemaker) came out to show me around, and suggested photographing three varieties of grapes, because as the grapes mature, their appearance gets quite different from each other. We chose merlot, pinot grigio and chardonnay.  At this point, the grapes are all very small and a yellow-green color.  Upon arrival, I was also happily reminded by the posted signs, that Channing Daughters is part of the Peconic Land Trust.

I went to Channing Daughters for my first visit on July 10th.  This day should go down in history as one of the loveliest Summer days ever. The temperature was in the mid-70’s, the sky was a perfect blue with gorgeous cirrus clouds and there was a breeze that was heavenly. It could not have been more perfect. In fact, I said to Chris that it would be a great day to lay down in the grass and take a nap! The day reminded me of being a kid and doing something carefree like that. There was a hush over the acres of vineyards; the only real sound I could make out was the breeze blowing thru the vines (you can see them blowing in some of the photos) and once in a while, the far away drone of a plane overhead. I could not even hear the traffic on the road.

Having arrived at Channing Daughters with the idea of shooting landscapes in mind, I did not have my macro lens with me for close-ups of the grape clusters. So, I decided to shoot the front of each of the rows that I will be documenting. These images are intended to give you a sense of place."

 

From left to right: merlot, pinot grigio and chardonnay

Bouke 2007 White Table Wine (North Fork of Long Island)

There's a lot to like about Bouke Wines, one of the North Fork's newest wine producers. On first glance alone, the labels are clean, sleek and different from most local producers. Then, there's founder Lisa Donneson. I met her for the first time at Brooklyn Uncorked and found her both passionate and charming. It doesn't hurt that her wines are made by Gilles Martin, a genuninely nice guy who has been making wine on the North Fork for about 20 years. 

In an email recently, Donneson told me that she wants to create "Wines that showcase the best of Long Island — the ripe fruit forward style of the New World, the structure and high-quality grape varietals of the Old World, and the harmonious balance of fruit, acidity and alcohol that can be achieved in a maritime climate."

Even better, she's done that without making her wines expensive, luxury items that can only be opened on special occasions. Instead, she wants you to open her wines every day and enjoy them.

As she worked on the blends with Martin, Donneson was looking for, generally "quality, personality, complexity, great taste, balance, and compatibility with food." Those attributes are nothing new. One would hope that any producer is striving for those things. But she continues on, telling me she sought "a gorgeous color, seductive aroma and smooth mouthfeel —  a sensual experience!" That isn't something that you hear ever day.

To make her Bouke 2007 White Table Wine ($18) she used grapes purchased from growers on the North Fork, relying on Martin's experience working there, beliving that he is "intimately informed with the local vineyards and knows the best resources." For now, she doesn't have any immediate plans to plant a vineyard, but it could happen someday, telling me in an email "Who knows? It's a dream."

The Bouke 2007 White Table wine is made by blending 40% chardonnay, 32% pinot gris, 18% sauvignon blanc, and 10% Gewurztraminer. The expressive nose is surprisingly complex at this price point, showing predominant apple and citrus aromas accented by those of white flowers, pineapple and spice.

The fresh, satisfying palate is medium-light in body and offers green apple, peach and lemon zest flavors with more spice. There is just the right acidity here to keep it lively. Make sure that you don't over-chill this wine. You'll miss out on some of the depth and complexity.

Grape(s): 40% chardonnay, 32% pinot gris, 18% sauvignon blanc, and 10% Gewurztraminer
Producer: Bouke Wines
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
Price: $18
Rating:  (3 out of 5 | Recommended)

(About LENNDEVOURS' Ratings)

Can (and Should) Wine Critics Eschew the Subjective?

Anyone who has been reading wine blogs for a while knows about Vinography, the granddaddy of all wine blogs. It's publisher, Alder Yarrow, is one of the wine blogosphere's most thoughtful, talented people and this post from last week Subjectivity, Aesthetics, and the Evaluation of Wine is one that you should check out.

After you read it, answer this question for me: What do you look for in a wine review?

I try to balance the objective traits of a wine (color, aromas, flavors) with the type of subjective commentary that Alder argues cannot (and should not) be absent from reviews. But, maybe I'm wrong. Should I focus more on the sensory evaulation and write less about my own opinions and experiences with each wine?

Local With Local: Local Beet Carpaccio With Catapano Farms Goat Cheese Ravioli Paired With Macari Vineyards 2007 Katherine's Field Sauvignon Blanc

This edition of "Local With Local" features two (actually three) ingredients that I'm passionate about: local beets, Catapano Dairy goat cheese, and local sauvignon blanc.

When I asked my partner in this project, chef Doug Gulija from The Plaza Cafe in Southampton, to create a dish to serve with Macari Vineyards' 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, he first thought about seafood, a natural companion and the protein with which he does his wizardry at the restaurant. But, after tasting the wine in the dining room, with Joe and Alexandra Macari who were eating there, chef was blown away, telling me afterwards that he "really believes that it is one of the best sauvignon blancs the Island has produced."

But instead of pairing it with seafood, he went a different direction, coming up with Local Beet Carpaccio With Catapano Farms Goat Cheese Ravioli, to "accentuate the freshness, liveliness and touch of herbaceousness" in the wine."

Recipe after the jump.

LENNDEVOURS Q&A, Jared Skolnick, President and Co-Founder, Grand Cru Classes

Today we put the LENNDEVOURS Q&A questions in front of Jared Skolnick, president and co-founder of Grand Cru Classes, in Mattituck. Grand Cru Classes is the East End's only dedicated wine education company and, along with his wife Tracy Ellen Kamens, I think Jared is onto something. He's also a fellow lover of earthy local cab franc and the Steelers. Clearly this Q&A is long overdue.

What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking?

La Fiole du Pape, Chateauneuf du Pape from Pere Anselme over a holiday dinner in around 1980. It was a typical family holiday, but for some reason, the mood was just right, that my dad pulled two of these from his small collection. The wine on our dinner table otherwise was usually in a box, and these bottles were given to my father years earlier as a gift, so he was holding them for a special occasion. 

I can remember precisely the wine because it was twisted and dusty -- and I found it again a few years ago. Apparently, the "old" bottle is just a marketing trick! But, either way, it was memorable in the way many wines are -- because of the festivities and company as much as the wine.  (BTW -- I was about ten years old and took one sip.  I hated it!)

What event/bottle/etc made you decide that you wanted to be in the wine industry? 

Two things led me and Tracy down this path. The first was how we always found vineyards on every vacation.  Finding a vineyard in France or Italy is hardly a surprise. But North Carolina? Rhode Island? That did it. So probably Sakonnet Winery in Rhode Island.

The other more direct catalyst was January 2005. I was at a new job and was absolutely miserable... so much that I felt ill each morning from negative anticipation. Tracy suggested that I simply quit, "we'll figure it out," she said. So I did. On the L.I.E. that night out to spend the weekend in Southold with Tracy's parents we considered options, including "moving to Oregon to buy a vineyard." Sanity took over and we came up with a more calculated way to enter the industry. And possibly even make a profit. 

Billsboro Winery 2006 Pinot Noir (Finger Lakes)

Red wine from the Finger Lakes. Most of the time, they are mediocre at best. My tasting notebook is littered with descriptors like thin, green and under ripe when it comes to these wines. The best ones, almost without fail, tend to be made with fruit grown on Long Island, where achieving ripeness is less of a worry.

Then again, with the way our global climate is changing, they might be able to ripen cabernet fully in even the coolest years within our lifetimes. Let's hope not.

But I digress, we're not talking about cabernet today. Today we're talking pinot noir, a grape that does okay in the Finger Lakes... at least during the warmer years in the best vineyard locations.

When we visited the region in April, we tasted a fair number of pinots and most were only okay, mostly because they were just so simple which cherry fruit flavors with only oak-related secondary characteristics.

Billsboro Winery's 2008 Pinot Noir ($16) doesn't fall into that simplicity trap, though.

In the glass, this 12% ABV wine is a very light, slightly brick red. There are rose wines I've tasted lately that are darker, in fact. The nose is similarly light and not very expressive only showing light cherry and earthy mushroom aromas... even with vigorous swirling and a few hours in the glass.

Light bodied and extremely earthy on the palate, the primary flavors are grilled mushrooms, black pepper and black cherry. The acidity is also nice and the tannins low. The finish, which is medium-length, is very mushroomy as well. All in all, I think lovers of Old World pinot will enjoy this a lot more than people who are enjoying the super-fruity style of syrah pinot so popular out west right now.

Producer: Billsboro Winery
AVA: Finger Lakes
Price: $16
Rating: (2.5 out of 5 | Average-to-Recommended)