News aggregator

Home-turned-professional winemaker  Jim Waters owns one of Long Island's smallest wineries -- it's the storage/bay area behind his tasting room in a small industrial strip mall in Cutchogue. Jim, through his wines and through his personality, helps his small winery stand next to the big boys of Long Island wine.

2006 was a so-so year for most growers, but this Waters Crest Winery 2006 Private Reserve Cabernet Franc ($35) doesn't show any of the barely or underripe flavors some 2006s I've tasted present. 16 months aging in new French oak probably helps in that regard.

Dark crimson red in the glass, this 100% cabernet franc displays ripe red raspberry aromas with tobacco leaf, star anise and vanilla on a true-to-the-variety effusive nose that fills the room quickly.

The oak is much more apparent on the medium-bodied palate. The same intense, ripe black and red raspberry fruit flavors are there, but they are hidden a bit behind young, still-raw oak flavors and vanilla. The tannins are ripe, though more significant than usually found in Long Island cabernet franc, and the finish is spicy, earthy and long, ending on a licorice note.

This is a wine that I'd like to taste again in a year or two. If the oak smooths out and takes a half-step back so that the fruit and secondary flavors can shine, this wine could really impress.

Producer: Waters Crest Winery
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
ABV: 13%
Price: $35
Rating: (2.5 out of 5 | Average-to-Very Good)
(Ratings Guide)

Tomorrow morning, Nena and I leave from her parents' house in rural Schoharie, NY and head down to Corning to attend a couple days of PALATE, a  food, wine and art showcase  in Finger Lakes wine country. Organized by Finger Lakes Wine Country, Corning’s Gaffer District and The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes the week-long festival starts today and promises to be a fun event for the cold-this-time-of-year region.

We're going to have a fun- and wine-filled couple of days.

Before we even join the PALATE festivities, we're heading to Anthony Road Wine Company to taste with winemaker Johannes Reinardt and assistant winemaker Peter Becraft. From there we'll drive down Route 14 to our hotel at the southern tip of Seneca Lake, the still-new Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel.

In the afternoon, we'll be attending a food and wine pairing seminar led by

Shannon Brock, wine coordinator at the NY Wine and Culinary Center. Shannon will be stepping us through the art of tasting wine and cheese and pairing several locally made cheeses with Finger Lakes wines.

In the evening, I'm very happy to be having dinner with Evan, Jason and Melissa, the LENNDEVOURS Finger Lakes staff, with spouses, at Blue Point Grille. The wine list features many great local wines and I'm bringing a few of Long Island's best with me.

Wednesday, we'll be even busier, starting the the tasting I'm co-hosting at Atwater Vineyards with winemaker Vinny Aliperti. You can read more about the tasting in a previous post about it. From there, we're probably going to shoot up the eastern side of Seneca Lake to attend a barrel tasting at Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards. Does anyone have any lunch recommendations for that area of the Seneca wine trail?

After lunch, we'll probably stop at another winery or two before driving back to Corning for a wine and cheese tasting at The Cellar at 5 p.m., which will give us just enough time to enjoy a glass of wine with Katie Marks, co-owner of Atwater Vineyard, and assistant winemaker Justin Boyette, before walking to Tony R's Steak and Seafood for a PALATE wine dinner featuring wines
from many of my favorite wineries, including Dr. Konstantin Frank, Heron Hill, Sheldrake Point, Wiemer and Atwater.

Expect some blog posts during the day (assuming I can connect to wifi at a couple of the events) and I'll also have my video camera with me.

I hope to see some of you at the goings on. Please make sure that you introduce yourself if you come, and really, why wouldn't you?

By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Correspondent

Lately, it’s been frustrating for me to keep fresh information about Niagara wines flowing to the readers of LENNDEVOURS. I’ve written about a handful of wineries producing dry wines that I’ve been excited about, but I’ve dealt with some trepidation concerning some of the others in the region.

It’s the same feeling you might get when a new girlfriend comes home with you to meet your family. There’s always that one aunt or uncle that you haven’t quite mentioned before everyone meets face to face. Well, it’s about to get awkward as I introduce you to the Niagara region’s Aunt Hybrid and Uncle Vitis Labrusca.

I personally don’t find anything exciting about vitis labrusca, while at the same time, at least 1/3 of the wineries up here have more of these wines than vinifera. I’m sure there are more than a few great ones up here, perhaps the best in the state, but I just don’t know how to judge such things.

The bottom line is that they can be instant profit for these wineries. They can be quickly turned around, don’t require barrels and don’t demand the same attention as their vinifera cousins. When these wineries create a good sweet blend and market it with a catchy name, it can result in instant brand loyalty among its drinkers. I’ve seen wineries scrambling to keep them on the shelves when they’re done right.

Indeed, the sweet producers aren’t losing any momentum. How can they ignore this ability to shave years off the marathon race toward profitability? What do you do if those ubiquitous bus loads and limo trains tend to bring out the sweet drinkers (as is often the case here in Niagara)? Do you start sweetening your Riesling? Do you buy a few tons of Niagara or Catawba to satisfy the demand?

I’m not sure what the answer is yet. I do know that twenty years ago the Ontario government used subsidies to encourage pulling out native grapes and replanting with vinifera. They also formed the VQA (Vintners’ Quality Alliance) to brand and regulate dry wine to boost consumer confidence. And I still see plenty of sweets in the Finger Lakes, but they have so many wineries now, you could spend a week there just stopping at wineries that feature only vinifera.

Like I’ve said in recent posts, the best to come out of the Niagara region may still be in oak, stainless steel or on the vine. Young vinifera vineyards are coming online at an exponential rate, but if you do make it up here and only drink dry wines, be warned that you should do your research to see who’s pouring what. And if you forget to do that, just ask the tasting room employees where you can find what you’re looking for.

I mentioned earlier this week that I've been impressed by some 2005 Finger Lakes cabernet francs. Well, this is the one that I liked best in that recent blind tasting.

From the moment I pulled the cork, I knew this wine was going to be interesting. Once in my glass, complex aromas of camp fire, black pepper bacon, sweet vanilla, cocoa powder and intense black fruit fill the room. When I re-tasted this wine the next day, the smokiness had stepped back a bit, with fruit coming to the forefront and subtle herbal qualities emerging.

Smoke and spice lead on a palate that is medium-to-full weight, but rich, mouth-filling black raspberry and blackberry flavors follow closely. The finish is very long, lingering with distinct notes of basil and thyme.

By the second day, the basil and thyme notes had woven their way throughout the wine, with more black pepper spice showing as well.

This is definitely more a Bordeaux-style cab franc, as opposed to Loire. It's also one of the best Finger Lakes reds I've had.

Producer: Fox Run Vineyards
Grapes: 77% cabernet franc, 15% merlot, 8% cabernet sauvignon
AVA: Finger Lakes
ABV: 12%
Price: $40
Rating: (3.5 out of 5 | Very good-to-Delicious).
(Ratings Guide)

Gewurztraminer is a love-it or hate-it sort of grape. I love it. Nena -- most of the time anyway -- hates it. The sometimes-overwhelming rose petal perfume that the grape exhibits turns her off.

But Sheldrake Point's 2007 Gewurztraminer ($20) is one wine that we both enjoyed during a recent tasting of New York whites.

A brilliant medium straw yellow in the glass, the nose is only lightly floral -- rather than overwhelmingly so -- and is spicy and gingery with classic lychee and pineapple aromas. Make sure that you don't over-chill this wine, or the beautiful aromas will be muted.

Sweet pineapple flavors are accented by light hints of white flowers, ginger, sweet spice and citrus zest. The flavors marry harmoniously on a medium-bodied, nearly dry (.3% RS) palate that shows terrific acidity and balance.

Spicy and zesty, the finish lingers with apple and apple skin on the very end.

Producer: Sheldrake Point
AVA: Finger Lakes
ABV: 13.3%
RS: .3%
Price: $20
Rating: (3 out of 5 | Recommended) 
(Ratings Guide)

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent

The issue has become so heated, so emotional, that some wineries feel threatened. Liquor stores are predicting widespread closures and job losses if the bill passes. And while New York wineries figured this was not their war to wage, they increasingly find themselves dragged into the debate. What's going on?

Is everyone playing fair?

There is no doubt that wineries feel threatened by liquor stores. After speaking to 15 winemakers and winery owners in the Finger Lakes, only two agreed to speak to me on the record. All said they've felt pressure from angry liquor store owners to support the liquor stores vs. grocery stores. Six told me they were surveyed by phone for an official position on the issue, with the warning that the "wrong position" could result in a boycott of their wines among liquor store owners.

Fox Run Vineyards owner Scott Osborn testified in Albany last week in support of the bill. Since his testimony, Fox Run has been flooded with angry phone calls and emails, like this one from Frank Salamone of Hoosick Street Wine in Troy:

I saw you on the news yesterday. Thanks for trying to put me out of business. I used to like pushing your wines but now just looking at them makes me want to puke. I'll never sell any of your wines ever again! When we beat this proposal I hope it's you that goes under.

"It's unfortunate, and it's been hard," Osborn said, noting that Hoosick Street has not carried Fox Run wines for at least the past year. "I want a solution that will allow liquor stores to thrive, and I think they still can. We've had great relationships with stores around the state, and we're committed to helping them in any way we can. Having our wine in grocery stores does not mean we want other stores to fail." The new law would not allow grocery stores to host tasting events, and Osborn said that Fox Run will continue to hold regular tasting events in liquor stores. "They provide a great service to customers, and it's in all our of interests to see that continue."

There is a difference, however, between pressure and illegal coercion, and some winery owners are wondering if the Attorney General's office will investigate the behavior of some liquor stores. That's because Doug Miles, owner of Miles Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake, released an email he received last week from a liquor store owner in the Rochester area. It came from Jim Lepore, owner of Chili Liquor in Chili, NY. After Miles testified in Albany in favor of selling wine in grocery stores, Lepore wrote to Miles

The liquor store association is going to list on their Web site all the wineries that are on our side. I feel sorry for those that are not. Most stores are not going to support those not on our list.

"I took that as a very clear threat," Miles told me today. "And the threat has already materialized. We work with 77 liquor stores in this state. Several have already called me to tell me they are pulling my wine off their shelves. Others are declining to order more. I've even gotten calls from liquor store owners who never carried my wine, and they call to warn me to change my position or they'll never carry it in the future."

I spoke to Lepore today, who said the email was a big misunderstanding. "It was absolutely not a threat," Lepore said, explaining that the disputed part of the email was just a small part of a long back-and-forth with Miles. "I still carry his wine. I will continue to carry his wine. The reason I wrote what I wrote was because I wanted to help him, as a small business owner, see what might happen in other stores. But that doesn't mean I want people to boycott his business."

Lepore said that since his email to Miles was released to the public, liquor stores owners from across the state have been calling. "I tell them to carry what sells," Lepore said. "You have to take care of your customers first. But I can't control what other store owners do, because we're all independent. Are they going to drop Miles? Some will. Are they going to carry new Miles wine? Some of them won't. But I don't think anyone is coercing anyone. You have the right to carry what you want to carry. I'll carry Miles and 400 other New York wines because that's what sells and that's what I believe in."

Miles told me he's already heard from customers who can't find his wines where they are normally carried. "We want customers to call us or email us directly if they can't find our wines anymore, and we'll ship directly to them. We'll provide free shipping. We want people to have access to our wines."

Miles said that if liquor stores coordinate a boycott, "They could hurt wineries very badly. I don't deny that. But I'm just surprised at this reaction. I don't want to hurt liquor stores. I think liquor stores deserve more rights to sell other products if grocery stores get wine. I strongly support liquor stores in getting more opportunities to sell."

But Jim McKenzie of the New York Liquor Stores Association told me that's not what liquor stores want. "We want the system kept the same," he said. "We're going to lose a thousand liquor stores if this goes through. We don't want to negotiate for other things." McKenzie also denied that there is a coordinated effort to boycott New York wineries that don't support his side. "We don't want to make enemies with anyone. There might be an owner here and there who decides to pull certain products, but that's uncontrollable. There might be store owners who feel like they're getting screwed, for lack of better term, and maybe they don't know how to respond. But we are certainly not encouraging (a boycott)."

At risk are not just the liquor stores, McKenzie says, but small wineries likes Miles.

"Small wineries grow by eventually getting their products in liquor stores. Their wines are sold by knowledgeable people who specialize in wine. Customers hear their stories and learn about who they are and what they do. If grocery stores get wine, small wineries will suffer."

Miles appreciates the sentiment, but he points out that only 3% of liquor stores in the state carry his wines, and of those 77 stores, "Maybe about a dozen are actively selling our wines. We appreciate it so much. Our relationships with liquor stores is important. But it's still a very, very small number of liquor stores that are showing interest in small wineries like us."

And yet most smaller Finger Lakes wineries are either neutral or in support of the liquor stores. Bob Madill of Sheldrake Point thinks liquor stores need to prepare for the bill's passage. "I'm very concerned about liquor stores closing," he said. "But 35 states sell wine in grocery stores. I think it's going to happen here. And if it's going to happen, we need to work with stores to make sure we're preserving jobs and maintaining the outstanding work that they do for customers. We can't be making enemies -- this is an important time to work together."

Note: We know that this is only a part of the governor's proposal, this isn't meant to be a comprehensive story.

Thought you might be interested in watching this IntoWine TV epsisode featuring Hunt Country Vineyards 2007 Late Harvest Vignoles.