eWineCentral
Heron Hill Winery 2007 Old Vines Riesling

Heronhill_07ovrieslingBy Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief

Vintage variation is a fact of life in any cool-climate region, including the Finger Lakes. And now that I've tasted several vintages of Finger Lakes riesling, it never ceases to fascinate me how apparent those variations are in these wines.

Riesling is a direct window into the vintage.

I tasted this Heron Hill Winery 2007 Old Vines Riesling ($25) not long after tasting a set of 2008s from the region and the differences were almost jarring.

This wine's nose still had significant citrus character, but it was overlaid with ripe, almost overripe, peach aromas with lemon balm and subtle petrol notes.

Broad and dry but lacking a bit of focus, the palate filled the mouth with peach jam flavors with lemongrass and citrus zest on the mid-palate and a distinct slate note on the finish.

What We Drank (March 8, 2010)

Just like every other week, there's a great deal of diversity in what our editors and contributors are drinking. We're geeks. That's what we do.

PhotoEvan Dawson: Paolo Bea 2007 Santa Chiara, Montefalco (Umbria, Italy)

Equal parts Grachetto, Garganega, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Malvasia

If you truly value character and you like a wine that's unique, here you go.

It smells like a Lopez de Heredia, but with a science experiment edge added in. You've got the baked peach, caramel, almond paste... and then a fascinating layer of sun-dried tomato bread.

It's like the professor stepped out of the lab and the students tossed everything into the beaker, with psychedelic-ly wonderful results.

It pours a copper color and brings a motor oil viscosity. The flavors rush forth in unpredictable fashion. Assigning points would be absurd wrapped in ridiculous. But it's wonderful and stimulating, and I'll be buying more.

Missing the New York State of Mind in South Africa

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By Julia Burke, Niagara Correspondent

I think I’m the only person I know who actually enjoys visiting wineries alone. To me, there’s nothing better than taking off in my car with no agenda, stopping wherever I want, chatting with the employees and making new friends. Sure, tasting with friends is fun. But aside from a few fellow wine geeks with whom I’ll drop everything for a wine tasting jaunt, I genuinely prefer going solo.

Part of it is the fact that I’ve been writing for a long time and I’m used to doing interviews and research solo. Furthermore, I genuinely enjoy going on adventures by myself. But I’ve also had some incredible experiences tasting alone: it’s often easier to get into a conversation with the winemaker, I can spend as much time as I want on each wine, and I’ve often been lucky enough to get goodies like barrel samples and personal tours.

Looking for Affordable Pinot Noir?
The idea of affordable Pinot Noir is a guaranteed attention-grabber. Blame it on the movies, the delicacy of the grape, or its status as a fashionable tipple. No matter what you blame it on, there's one thing for sure: Pinot Noir is pricey.

And, in my opinion, deservedly so. When Pinot Noir is well made, it is a joy to drink. It's juicy, fresh, and silky. It pairs beautifully with a wide variety of foods. And there is something elegant about the grapes that are made with this wine that always leaves me wanting more: more of it on my dinner table, more in my glass, more in my cellar.

Many of the things I love best about Pinot Noir, however, can be hard to find in less expensive bottlings. Which is why these two selections are such finds--and both cost $20 or less.
If Your Wine is Organic, Don’t Tell Consumers

Apparently, organic wines taste better but consumers don't think they're worth as much money as conventionally produced wines. At least, that's a plausible interpretation of a study conducted by a UCLA professor and her graduate student that was recently published in Business and Society, the official journal of the International Association for Business and Society.

Professor Magali Delmas and PhD candidate Laura E. Grant conducted an analysis of 13,426 wines from 1,495 California wineries for eight consecutive vintages from 1998 to 2005. The two tracked correlations between the scores of the wines, their prices, whether they were made from certified organically grown grapes, and whether the wineries broadcast their organic certification on the label.

An overview of the study published last week in Science Daily suggests they found some very interesting results. Wines made with organic grapes during the time period they studied scored higher in the Wine Spectator by a point, on average, than wines made with conventional grapes. Whether this means, in fact, that organic wines taste better is open to some debate, but the statistics seem quite clear.

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief

TasteliveWe've had to reschedule it a couple times, but today I'm excited to announce the third in a series of Taste Live events I'll be moderating for Finger Lakes Wine Country (FLWC) in conjunction with their newly launched TasteLive page.

We've already covered Finger Lakes cabernet franc and sparkling wines, so this time around -- on Wendesday, March 31 -- we're going to be tasting five pinot noirs:

As you may have read yesterday, pinot noir is showing great potential in New York, so this should be an interesting tasting that will undoubtedly open up some eyes.

And, it's that two of the winemakers so core to my story have wines in this lineup.

Kitty and Augustus
Heron Hill's Kitty Oliver with her son Augustus

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief

This edition of NYCR Q&A focuses on someone I consider a leader in social media promotion on the New York Wine world -- Kitty Oliver from Heron Hill Winery.

Kitty joined the Winery in January 2009 after working in design, marketing and PR at one of the most esteemed architectural firms in Los Angeles as well as teaching graphic design at Finger Lakes Community College. Since joining Heron Hill, she has embraced social media as a way to get the word out about Heron Hill's wines and -- in my opinion anyway -- really "gets" it. She's a real person on Twitter, expertly mixing her real personality with her job promoting the winery.

Upcoming spring brunches--check.
Celebration of first flowers blooming--check.
Toasting friends who just got engaged/married--check.
Toasting friends who just had new baby--check.
Mother's Day--check.
Graduation--check.

See how many celebrations you have coming up in the next few months?

That's why you need to know about this wine. It costs under $15 a bottle and is absolutely yummy. Buy it by the case, and you will have bubbles to see you through into June (provided you don't toast too many Tuesdays along the way...).

The NV J. Laurens Crémant de Limoux Brut is one of the best sparklers--if not the best sparkler--I've ever had for under $15 and represents excellent QPR. Available in lots of markets for between $9 and $13, this wine from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France has a lovely, creamy taste. Abundant fresh citrus pith and brioche dough make a point-counterpoint of zest and richness in the flavors, with fruit notes of pear, apple, and lemon. A great feature of the wine are the tiny, frothy bubbles which make for a delicate impression. The wine is dry (brut), but it's a soft, gentle brut like spring itself. You can enjoy this wine with a wide range of foods and for this price, why wouldn't you??

I consume a lot of wine news. When I say a lot, I mean literally almost everything that's published for free on the Internet about wine "passes by my desk" courtesy of Google Alerts, Technorati, a massive collection of RSS feeds, and more. Increasingly I get the opportunity to see how wine stories develop and spread through the Web's news outlets, and it's quite amazing to watch.

Recently I've been watching with fascination as the mainstream press does its usual unraveling of some recently released research results focused on wine drinking in women and weight gain. Specifically, I've been giggling at the complete lack of understanding we seem to have of the difference between correlation and causation, combined with the creative liberties of headline writing:

Moderate Drinking 'Can Keep Women Slim': The Chosun Ilbo

Glass of wine may keep women from gaining weight: New York Daily News

Redsoftheyear
3 Pinot Noirs and 1 Merlot: The New York Cork Report 2009 Red Wines of the Year

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief
Photos by Morgan Dawson Photography

Is pinot noir the next great red for upstate New York?

Given how difficult pinot noir is to work with in the vineyard -- especially in cool-climate regions like New York -- as well as in the cellar, it may seem a silly, easy-to-answer question. But the New York Cork Report Wines of the Year tasting back in January resulted in pinot noir winning three out of four regional flights.

Merlot taking the Long Island flight wasn't a surprise, but I think we were all surprised that pinot noir won the other three. Where was cabernet franc, a grape that shows well consistently across all regions?

Lieb_07bridgecabfrancBy Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief

Many wineries have second labels -- wines that tend to be branded differently, employ less oak in their making and cost less -- but with its "Bridge Lane" line Lieb Family Cellars has done it better than most.

The wines -- a chardonnay, merlot, cabernet franc and sparkling wine -- are consistently good and offer great value in a local market filled with over-priced wines.

Cabernet franc is one of the newer additions to the line with this Lieb Family Cellars 2007 Bridge Lane Cabernet Franc ($18) representing only the second release. The first was a NV blend that I reviewed a few years ago and drank quite a bit of.

This 2007 shows blackberry and cherry aromas with some toasty oak, vanilla and sweet herbs. On day two a subtle mushroomy note emerged, which was nice.

Cellar entrance at Clos Roche BlanceMareuil, Touraine (Loire) The rain outside left these droplets on my lens, making this picture of the underground gallery look even better with this beautiful spider-web effect. When I set a foot in the entrance...

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series covering classical music and Iberian wine pairings by Burt Frink. To understand its origins, and why Burt felt a series was required on the subject, please read his first piece. His second piece covered classical music and chamber music.

I love the silence I share with myself and a glass of wine.
Often, but certainly not always, I bring music into the experience.
Invariably it is classical music Why? It fits.

Classical music roots are in the human voice. Instrumentalists often refer to their choices of technique in terms of emulating the voice. To see this importance recall that the jazz vocalists often emulate musical instruments. Is this a chicken and egg argument? Maybe. To me it is a very real difference.

© It'sGreg One of the nice things about wine is the way it blends so well with the many different aspects of life. Sure, you can drink wine from crystal goblets while eating agneau à l'ail et romarin (a lamb dish with rosemary and garlic) off of fine Haviland porcelain. But you can also drink it while you watch March Madness on ESPN and eat chips and salsa... I recently spent some time redoing the dining room of my home. It's a fine old ...
News and Notes (March 8, 2010)

A couple bits of news from the world of New York wine this week:

Hudson Valley

HBBT square logo

New Wine Trail Spans NY and MA
In establishing The Hudson-Berkshire Beverage Trail Carlo DeVito, owner of Hudson-Chatham Winery, has created a unique trail that brings together wine, cider, beer and spirits -- as well as two states.

Tucked between the Hudson River and the Berkshires, the Trail extends from southeast of Albany down to Germantown, New York, and out to Richmond, Massachusetts in the Berkshires.

The trail's founding members are Brookview Station Winery(NY), Chatham Brewing (NY), Furnace Brook Winery (MA), Harvest Spirits (NY) and Les Trois Emme Winery (MA).  

The trail will kick off on April 10 with a special event "Pasta & Sauce." For more information, visit the group's events page.

Finger Lakes

 
2004 Bodega Asenjo & Manso Ribera del Duero Silvanus


2004 Bodega Asenjo & Manso Ribera del Duero Silvanus - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero (2/13/2010)
Fruit and earth aromas explode from the glass. Extremely rich and sweet mouthfeel: dried cherries, ripe plums, bacon, cranberry(?), freshly-plowed wet earth. Liberal use of toasty oak but not off-putting in this package. Balanced. Just a touch of rustic character links a modern wine making style with simple vino tinto roots. Unfortunately wine-searcher doesn't show any availability because this one would tempt me. About $60 from a pricey restaurant wine list but I'd say it would be worth that retail. Excellent with a wonderful future. 92+ (92 pts.)


Posted from CellarTracker on GrapeStories.com



2007 Green & Red Vineyards Zinfandel Chiles Canyon

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2007 Green & Red Vineyards Zinfandel Chiles Canyon - USA, California, Napa Valley (2/15/2010)
This wine would have never been on my radar screen but I was about to pick another Zin from a restaurant wine list and the waiter recommended this one instead. He said it was drinking fantastically right now. He was right. Round sweet cherry with some wood smoke, bacon fat, a dash of pepper, and cloves. A fleshy, mouth filling wine without being heavy. Very understated for a Zin and excellent complement to the varied dishes around the table. About 50 bucks on the 350 Main (Park City) wine list seems like a deal. (90 pts.)


Posted from CellarTracker on GrapeStories.com


Why haven’t I eaten here yet?

Now I'll never get in. At least if anyone pays attention to Gayot.com (the self-proclaimed "Guide to the Good Life") and MSN.com

Bardessano (Yountville) makes list of 10 Best New Restaurants in the US.

What is the best restaurant in your town?

Winemaker Cary Gott discusses racking the 2009 vintage wines

This is the first of what I hope will be many updates straight from our winemaker Cary Gott. We're trying something new: since Cary is a busy guy who rarely spends time writing at a desk, he recorded a voice memo on his iPhone, emailed it to me, and I have transcribed it. If you'd like to "hear" more from Cary, please take a moment to click on "Like" or comment. And please let us know if there are topics you'd like Cary to talk about in the future.

From Cary:
I'm going to be racking the '09 Cabernets next week. So what we're doing right now is I've got them [Bin to Bottle -- where we custom crush our wine] set up to have the barrels down on Tuesday afternoon and we're going to rack it on Wednesday. I'll taste every barrel and make sure everything is fine. Once the wine's in tank, we'll take a big sample of it and send it off [to ETS laboratories] for full analysis plus Scorpion [test for wine spoilage microbes] and adjust the SO2 and then go back to barrel. So it's a very gentle process. This will be the first racking for the '09s.

A newbie’s reflections on a week of Loire Valley wines

loiremap.jpgI just finished a week trying some Loire Valley wines with fellow members of the wine board WineBerserkers.com. This was a virtual tasting. Board members around the country tried their Loire Valley wines during a one week period and wrote about them online.

If you want to increase your odds of buying wines that you will enjoy, get to know your local retailer and let them get to know you. Once he knows your tastes and budget, he should be able to help you navigate your options. If not, find another retailer. I didn't know much about Loire Valley wines and had to go shopping to be able to participate in the tasting. On the recommendation of a staff member at Paul Marcus Wines (Oakland), I bought a Cab Franc (my 83 points), a "dry" Chenin Blanc (flawed), a Sauvignon Blanc (my 78 pts), and a sparkling wine -- a very generalized sampling of the wines of the Loire. I'd never shopped at Paul Marcus so as a result, the staffer, who wanted to be helpful, didn't know me and was just guessing on what I might like. Unfortunately, his guesses didn't pan out.

A Carménère and a Cab… both 07s

Similar quality, but I only paid 12 bucks for the Carménère retail and paid $50 for the Cab off a restaurant wine list. BYOB is my friend.

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2007 Viña Ventisquero Carménère Root:1 [The Original Ungrafted] - Chile, Central Valley, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley (2/18/2010)
Aromas of baked fruit, pepper, and violets but rather simple sour cherry flavors in the mouth. Still, quite pleasant and recommended at $11.99 retail. (84 pts.)


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2007 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley (2/14/2010)
Expressive cassis and tobacco flavors backed up by a healthy dose of sweet new oak, however it finishes very short and thin. Disappointing given the vintage. (82 pts.)


Posted from CellarTracker on GrapeStories.com

2002 Round Pond Cabernet Sauvignon

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2002 Round Pond Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford (2/24/2010)
Generally, folks love the 2002 vintage from Napa. I love them too - they are big, fruity, rich, and fun. I've often called our own 2002 "our party wine." 02 Napa Cabs are loud music and colorful balloons. (And no small amount of alcohol.) The 2002 Cab from Round Pond fits right in with its peers: massive raspberry, currant, campfire, molasses, and vanilla. The thing holding this wine back - and what has held many Cabs from this vintage back - is a lack of developed, secondary, earthy flavors that can round out a wine and make it special. It's always hoped that these flavors will develop with time but at least with the 2002 Round Pond, I don't immediately perceive the necessary structure to develop further. (88 pts.)


Posted from CellarTracker
Part of a Wineberserkers.com 2002 Cali Cab Virtual Tasting


2008 Philippe Raimbault Sancerre ‘Apud Sariacum’

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2008 Philippe Raimbault Sancerre "Apud Sariacum" - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre (2/22/2010)
Strong lemon grass nose promised MUCH more than this wine delivered. Mowed grass is out of balance -- almost bitter weedy, melon, and some off flavor that I couldn't id. Certainly not recommended at $22 retail. Drank as part of the Wineberserkers.com Loire Valley exploration week. (78 pts.)


Posted from CellarTracker