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Earlier this week, I introduced you to Windham Vineyards and the unique hybrid grape St. Pepin. Today, I've got another new-to-me grape to talk about: Frontenac Gris.

Wikipedia doesn't have a specific listing for Frontenac Gris (just Frontenac), but I was able to dig up a little information about it on the University of Minnesota site (where it was developed):

Frontenac gris, the white wine version of Frontenac, started as a single bud mutation yielding gray (thus named gris) fruit and amber-colored juice. The vine exhibits the same optimum growth characteristics as Frontenac, and requires the same cultural practices. Arching canes and minimal tendrils provide easy training and pruning to simplify vine management. In Minnesota, Frontenac and Frontenac gris ripen in late mid-season, and are good sugar producers with 24-25° Brix not uncommon.

Frontenac is a crossing of the Landot 4511 hybrid and a very cold hardy selection of Vitis riparia. It was released in 1996. Apparently, if you leave the juice on the skins for a while, you can make a rose with it.

This Windham Vineyards 2008 Estate Select Frontenac Gris ($15) wasn't made in that style. Instead, winemaker James Bateman made a medium-bodied, semi-sweet wine with good acidity.

The nose shows a lot of pineapple with a little bit of underripe peach. Like I said, it starts off a bit too sweet on the palate, but there is enough acidity to keep it from being syrupy. Simple pineapple and other tropical fruit flavors are a vaguely reminiscent of Vignoles (as is the acidity). The finish is surprisingly long and not as sweet as I expected.

This is another interesting wine made from an interesting grape. With that acid, sugar and the flavors, I think a late harvest/ice wine made from Frontenac Gris might be delicious.

Producer: Windham Vineyards
AVA: Hudson River Region
Price: $15
ABV: 11%
Rating:    (2 out of 5 | Average)

(Ratings Guide)

I'm a bad, bad founder of Wine Blogging Wednesday. Because the LENNDEVOURS household was plagued by a stomach virus last week, we weren't able to pitch in with our contribution for WBW #55.

But, I wanted to direct you over to host Remy Charest's roundup for those who did take part in one of the better themes we've had in a while: North vs. South. Remy asked participants to compare wines made from the same grape, but from different regions.

I had planned to taste riesling from the Finger Lakes, Long Island and Chile and also cabernet franc from the same regions. It would have been a fun comparision and I may still do it as a post-WBW endeavor.

Thanks for the great theme, Remy and sorry that I couldn't join the fray.

And keep an eye out for the announcement for WBW #56. It's going to be another interesting one that, I hope, will surprise some people.

I've mentioned before that Atwater Estate Vineyards is really the winery responsible for sparking my obsession with Finger Lakes wines, particularly riesling and other aromatic whites.

I first discovered winemaker Vinny Aliperti's desicious, well-priced whites when they were being poured at Roanoke Vineyards here on the North Fork. Roanoke co-owner Richie Pisacano only had a 2000 merlot of his own to sell upon opening and, because he worked with Vinny at Wolffer Estate, offered a handful of Atwater wines in the tasting room as well.

I picked up this bottle of Atwater Estate 2007 Dry Riesling ($18) after the tasting Vinny and I co-hosted a while back and I finally got around to tasting it last weekend.

Pale yellow in the glass, this dry riesling from the warm 2007 vintage has intense Godlen Delicious apple, peach and lime juice aromas with hints of something a bit more tropical.

Fresh and fruity, the medium-bodied palate is ripe with peach, apple and lime zest, with some interesting Thai basil flavor as well. The .9% residual sugar is barely perceptible because of well-integrated, citrusy acidity. The finish is medium-short and dry, with a distinct tart citrus zest note.

This seems like a great riesling for Easter ham. I'm glad I have a couple more bottles in the cellar.

Producer: Atwater Vineyard Estate
AVA: Finger Lakes
ABV: 12%
Price: $18
Rating: (3 out of 5 | Recommended)

(Ratings Guide)

Four library reds at Bedell Cellars

Bedell Cellars is one of the true jewels of the North Fork wine industry. You have history — it was founded in 1980 by Kip Bedell who still serves as founding winemaker. You have an influx of new capital — the result of Michael Lynne purchasing the winery in 2000. And you have terrific wines coming out of a state-of-the-art winery and modern tasting room.

One thing seems to be a constant through the many changes Bedell Winery has gone through in recent years — quality wines that are among the region’s best.

On a recent visit that sleek, modern tasting room I tasted a bit of the winery's past — nine different reds from the 1993, 1994 and 1995 — and the winery's present, meaning current and new releases.

Out of the two dozen wines I tasted, there wasn’t a single wine that I’d call a clunker. Yes, some of the library wines are clearly past peak, and some of the current releases aren’t good matches to my palate stylistcally (aka barrel-fermented chardonnay and reds showing too much new oak). But none of these wines will make you head for the hills.

Today, we'll focus on the older wines, many of which seemed much younger than they are. The merlots in particular seems to be aging gracefully, taking on beautiful secondary flavors that are earthy and minerally. The 1995s in particuarlly really stood out, which is that surprising.

Before there were the celebrated vintages of 2001, 2005 and 2007, there was 1995 the best vintage ever for Long Island wine to that point.

As I tasted them, I found it hard believe that I was a junior in college when these wines were harvested. That just seems like a lifetime ago, and these wines were still lively. You already know that I don't do full reviews and scores based on at-winery tastings, but here are my notes on three reds from 1995.

The Bedell Cellars 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon ($N/A) is still showing lots of dark, ripe blackberry with sprinklings of black pepper and spice. Mouth-filling with a long, extremely earthy finish, this wine still has enough structure to last another few years. I wrote the word “wow” three separate times in my notes.

I also scribbled “wow” multiples as I tasted the Bedell Cellars 1995 Merlot Reserve ($N/A) a wine that really shows the cellar-worthiness of Long Island merlot with its dense plum, black cherry and black raspberry fruit character with layers of leather, minerally graphite and spice. Here's proof that Long Island merlot can age gracefully —improving rather than just surviving.

Bedell Cellars 1995 Cupola ($N/A) a blend of cabernet and merlot, is that last "wow" wine from the tasting. Tasted blind, I challenge you to guess that this wine is 13 years old. The nose brings a basket filled with berries — black and red ones — with a pretty floral quality. That fruit tastes almost sweet on the palate, and while the tannins have faded some, there is still acidity to provide structure.

It's not easy to get your hands on these wines, but if you can, I can't recommend it enough. 

Sometime soon, I'll post about some of the current releases that impressed, including a couple 2007 merlots that are going to surprise a few people. One just might be a new benchmark for Long Island merlot.

Note: This actually wasn't the first time that I had tasted some older Bedell wines. Way back in 2004 when my blog was just a few months old, I tasted 17 years of merlot with Kip Bedell.

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent

While the basic strategy for opening a functional winery differs from region to region, in the Finger Lakes the trend seems to follow a path that calls for the opening of the tasting room first with production facility and vineyard coming later.

While this might be a generalization of sorts, it makes sense in many respects. Nearly 75% of wine sales in the Finger Lakes occur on site; many larger wineries lease production space; and a vineyard takes quite a few years to produce grapes.

A winemaker or entrepreneur can purchase grapes, make wine at a different facility, and then sell it in a tasting room to raise capital for the eventual construction of the production facility and vineyard. I can think of several newer Finger Lakes wineries that have gone this route. Most importantly, the tasting rooms are placed prominently next to main roads so that wandering tourists will stop inside and spend their money.

Not so at Red Tail Ridge. When I visited this new winery last summer on the western shore of Seneca Lake, the progression of the operation struck me as unique. The well-marked entrance from Route 14 invites visitors up a long, winding dirt road, but there is no sign of a tasting room at all. In fact, all one can see up and over the rolling hill are acres and acres of vines.

These are impressive rows of young vines, well spaced and groomed with thick trellises anchored so securely that it looks like a raging tornado would leave the plants intact.

As the dirt road deposits you in the midst of this 30-plus acre vineyard, it's difficult not to be surprised by the small, temporary-looking building that serves as the tasting room. The building looks so out-of-place in the middle of the vast vineyard because it is indeed temporary. Red Tail's owner and winemaker, Nancy Irelan, has bigger and better plans for the facility. She and her co-owner and husband Michael Schnelle want to try something a little different.

A 15-year veteran of the California wine industry and a Ph.D.-holding geneticist specializing in oenology, Nancy Irelan did not invest first in her vineyard based on a whim. She believes that wines are made in the vineyard, and while this may be the ultimate winemaking cliché, Irelan is very specific about what she means. 

To find the fruit and aroma characteristics she is looking for, Irelan created the vineyard to be something akin to an experimental station, with several varieties under examination to gauge their promise in the region's cool growing climate. One such experiment is Teroldego, a rare red grape from northern Italy.

Irelan has planted many different clones of more popular varieties to see how to best find the flavor profiles she desires. The many rows of pinor noir are made up of several different clones, as Irelan feels that the right mixture of these clones might unlock the key to a wine that shows a lot of potential in the Finger Lakes at times, but in many instances falls a little flat.

The vineyard appears well-designed aesthetically, and this impression is not superficial. If prompted, Irelan can explain in detail all the decisions that were made concerning drainage (the property is extensively tiled), moisture control, erosion control, row spacing, etc. She emphasizes that the methodical nature of the design plan creates a sustainable vineyard that has a minimal environmental impact.

In this spirit, Red Tail Ridge has retained Edge Architecture PLLC to design a tasting room and production facility that carries the ultimate seal of environmental sustainability, LEED-platinum certification (Learn more about LEED certification). If built to the specification of its current conception (see the graphic at the top of this post), the Red Tail Ridge winery will be the only LEED-certified facility in the heart of the Finger Lakes and one of only a handful of environmentally advanced buildings in all of upstate New York.

Nancy Irelan and Michael Schnelle hope to break ground on the foundation of the new facility this spring.

So, does what does a unique building like this have to do with making good wine? Well, everything and nothing, as Irelan explains: "No, it will not have an effect on the wine, but that’s not why we are doing this. This may be 'just a building' to most folks, but it's probably the only winery that Michael and I will ever build, so it needs to be representative of us and our values.  Sustainability is a part of our mind set and something that we believe in."

Admittedly, Irelan came to the Finger Lakes with an extensive capital plan (she originally assumed she would be investing in California's expensive industry) but she has taken the opportunity to use the region's flexible market to enhance her business. I have yet to taste samples of Red Tail Ridge's newest vintage, but I am excited about the dedication the owners are making to the region as well as the spirit they exhibit in creating a unique sense of place.

Red Tail Ridge as a destination will be something to behold, and that's never a bad thing.

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent

The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace is, quite simply, the fastest and most enjoyable wine-themed book I've ever read. It is not, to use a rather nebulous term, the "best" book about wine I've read -- that distinction rests with Neal Rosenthal's Reflections of a Wine Merchant -- but it reads like fabulous and fabulist fiction, and that's a real credit to the author, considering it's not fiction at all.

The Billionaire's Vinegar tells the story of the most infamous bottle of wine ever sold, but it tells much more than that. In fact, I've spoken to several readers who found themselves let down initially that the story of the Thomas Jefferson bottle was wrapped up rather quickly. However, they all changed their minds after witnessing how Wallace employs the Jefferson bottle as a launch pad to take us deep into the world of the rarest and most avidly sought wine. Tasting a 1784 Yquem? You'll find not only the tasting notes, but the elaborate parties (some that lasted days) that were put together simply to affirm the majesty of such a bottle.

Wallace's sharpest skill is his tireless and proving research. He tells the stories of the wine world's most celebrated names -- Robert Parker, Michael Broadbent, Jancis Robinson -- drawn into the intoxicating chase for the rarest and most glamorous wines. The background, interviewing, and document digging alone must have consumed hundreds of hours for the author. Woven together, the story plays like The Da Vinci Code of wine, with one important exception: When you have finished reading you won't feel embarrassed to have been so captivted with the material.

Wallace's weakest moment as a writer comes when he strangely glosses over a hugely important point. The rare bottles were inscribed with the initials "Th. J.," but there were doubters out to prove that someone had faked the inscription -- that Thomas Jefferson himself had nothing to do with the bottles. There is a connection to the Finger Lakes here, and I was surprised to see it covered so loosely. Without giving anything away, I can mention that Wallace writes, "Elroy had the bottles examined by two experts, one an engraver who worked near the Corning Museum of Glass in upstate New York." The subject gets a scant two paragraphs and is then dropped. Wallace should have identified the moment as the zenith of the investigation; the reader wonders from the beginning of the book whether those initials were legit or not. And as a bonus for New York state readers, the answer is revealed by local specialists!

Alas, not even the Corning Museum of Glass can provide more detail. A spokesperson told me that the expert cited in the book was not an employee of the museum: "The museum makes a point not to assess other people's objects," the spokesperson told me. "But we're happy to refer folks to other experts." Given that, I'm not sure why mentioning the museum was relevant to Wallace, but no doubt the folks in Corning are happy to have the free PR.

Hollywood is busy crafting a movie out of The Billionaire's Vinegar, but I'm not sure it will work. There is a delicious villain, but there is not a single "hero" worth cheering. Schadenfreude is not a lead character on the silver screen (though it plays gorgeously on the page).

In the end, ignoring the provenance of the wines, the reader has learned a great deal and enjoyed the lesson, thanks to sterling quotes uncoverd by Wallace -- this one from the dean of California winemakers, Andre Tchelistcheff: "Tasting old wine is like making love to an old lady. It is possible. It can even be enjoyable... But it requires a leetle bit of imagination."

The wines for the New York Cork Club's March 2009 shipment left Greene Grape today, so I wanted to tell you a bit about them.

I always have a lot of fun when I pick the wines that we send out to our members, but this month's selections are two that I'm particularly happy that we were able to get for the club. I wouldn't call them hard to find per se, but you have to go to the winery to get them when we did.

First is a wine from Anthony Road Wine Company, their 2007 Martini-Rienhardt Selection Riesling ($22), a wine that I tasted during my visit last month. The M-RS wines are only made from certain estate vineyard blocks in years when the fruit shows something truly special and unique. This isn't some bs alternative to "reserve" labeling. Trust me.

This riesling is just beautiful. It has floral, lime and pear aromas and flavors, amazing balance and has such great acidity that it tastes less sweet than the 2.1% residual sugar might indicate. Why was it kind of hard to get? Well, they don't make much of it and it isn't sold wholesale anywhere. To get it, we had to convince John Martini to bring a case down with him when he visited New York City last weekend.

I was lucky to taste our second wine, Bedell Cellars 2007 Merlot ($25) a couple weeks ago during a visit to the tasting room (post coming soon). It had actually just been shipped to their wine club as a pre-release. As you probably know if you read this blog very often, 2007 was a warm, dry and long growing season on Long Island and this wine shows amazing intensity in its mouth-filling dark fruit flavors, firm-but-ripe tannins, and long finish. If you want to drink it now, decant it for at least an hour. Or, hold it for up to 10 years I'd guess.

>> Learn about the New York Cork Club
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Never heard of the St. Pepin grape? I hadn't either until James Bateman, owner, vineyard manager and winemaker at Windham Vineyards in Windham, NY sent me a couple of his wines -- including this Windham Vineyards 2008 Estate Select St. Pepin ($15).

Windham is perhaps best known as a skiing town and not surprisingly Bateman, an Englishman, presides over the highest elevation vineyards in the east -- at 2000 and 2200 feet above sea level. As you can probably guess, it gets cold up there in his vineyards, which is why he is growing varieties like St. Pepin, which is a cold hardy hybrid.

There isn't a lot of information available online about the grape, but Wikipedia has some info:

St. Pepin is a modern hybrid variety of wine grape, mostly grown in North America. It produces grapes suitable for making fruity white wines similar to Riesling or as a base for blended wines. The grapes also make a good seeded table grape for eating. It has the benefits of early ripening and when hardened properly in the fall it is winter hardy to at least -25 F. As such it best suited to growing in more northern climates.

St. Pepin was produced and patented by Elmer Swenson circa 1970. It is a hybrid of the male Seyval blanc crossed to a seedling of Minnesota 78 by Seibel 1000 (aka Rosette). Unlike most modern grapes it is a pistillate female and so needs to be planted next to male vines from a close sibling variety to achieve pollination.

Windham's version, which is 11% ABV, has a fresh, somewhat riesling-like nose with notes of honeysuckle, citrus and underripe peach. There is a slightly musky, almost-foxy note too.

Feather light on the palate with crisp acidity, it's a simple white with bright citrus and citrus zest flavors. There is a little residual sugar on the attack, but it finishes dry with a citrus pith tartness. In some ways, it reminds me of an un-oaked seyval blanc blended with vidal blanc. 

I'm curious to get my hands on some other St. Pepin. There does seem to be some potential here.

Producer: Windham Vineyards
AVA: Hudson River Region
Price: $15
ABV: 11%
Rating:    (2 out of 5 | Average)

(Ratings Guide)

For now, this qualifies for the "strong rumor" folder, but I've heard that Jim Silver, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Bedell Cellars, will be leaving soon to take over as the new general manager at Peconic Bay Winery.

Jean Partridge, currently Bedell's wholesale account executive, will become the VP of sales and owner Michael Lynne's son, Jonathan Lynne will join the team as Executive VP of Sales.

Peconic Bay Winery's current GM, Matt Gillies, is leaving on "great terms" and is planning his new future "quite enthusiastically." Matt brings a wide array of winery and vineyard experience to the table, so I have no doubt that he'll find himself back in the game very quickly. In an email, he told me that "A little more time for life is going to be the most appreciated element in my departure -- that's for sure."

Jim, who I met for the first time in person a couple weeks ago, has vast experience in selling wine, both as a sommelier and from the winery side. He's a man with great ideas for the region and where Long Island needs to go. I think he'll be good for Peconic Bay Winery as it looks to its future.