November 19, 2011

             New York Gold, Thanksgiving Wines, and miscellaneous tidbits.  Have a wonderful feast!

            Cheers!          

            Jim Trezise

 New York Gold from AWS

                  New York wineries won 187 medals at the recent American Wine Society competition, including 6 Double Gold, 10 Gold, 75 Silver and 96 Bronze awards.

               Double Gold medals went to Casa Larga Vineyards 2010 Vidal Blanc; Chateau Frank 2006 Blanc de Noir; Leonard Oakes Estate Winery 2008 Vidal Ice Wine (which won Best Dessert Wine in our New York Wine & Food Classic); Lucas Vineyards 2010 Vidal Blanc Iced; Swedish Hill Winery 2010 Delaware and Viking Red.

               Gold medal winners included Atwater Estate Vineyards 2009 Riewurz; Casa Larga Vineyards 2010 Muscat Ottonel; Goose Watch Winery 2010 Diamond and Golden Spumante; Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards White Stag; Lakewood Vineyards 2010 Chardonnay; Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2010 Riesling Ice Wine; Swedish Hill Winery 2010 Marechal Foch, Riesling Cuvee, and 2010 Late Harvest Vignoles.

               That's a common question at this time of year, and there are many different answers from different people, but my response is simple: The wines you like best. 

                Thanksgiving is special (and my favorite holiday by far) not just due to the gatherings of family and friends but also the rainbow of colors, aromas and flavors of the foods, from cranberry sauce to turkey and stuffing, on to pecan or pumpkin pie--and many variations on those themes.  So a rainbow of wines is in order as well.  This was reinforced by a Reuters news article titled, "Best wine for Thanksgiving?  Not one but many", which included "Rieslings from New York's Finger Lakes region" as an example of a category.

                For example, all of the "Best of Category" wines from our 2011 New York Wine & Food Classic would fit beautifully: Bedell 2006 Blanc de Blancs, Martha Clara 2010 Riesling, Owera 2010 Cazenovia Blush, Keuka Lake Vineyards 2010 Leon Millot, and Leonard Oakes 2008 Vidal Ice Wine.  One problem: Most are sold out, which always happens with our big winners.

                But there's also a fall back: the "New York Gold" section on our web site (www.newyorkwines.org) which lists all of the other Double Gold and Gold winners from the Classic, along with more than 500 Gold medal (or better) wines from major international competitions this year.  And you can search it by varietal--the ultimate New York wine shopping list.  Buy New York wines because they're good--and also feel righteous because they're local.

                In any case, the key is to consume wine (and food) in moderation, even during this festive holiday.  I hope you, your families and friends will have a warm, wonderful Thanksgiving.  Cheers!

              Wine Shipping by the U.S. Postal Service would be allowed under a new bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate.  If it passes, the post office would join FedEx and UPS in delivering wine directly to consumers, which is now legal in at least 38 states including New York.  Anything that provides more consumer choice and convenience is a good thing. 

                 Maple Syrup mislabeling would become a felony (up from a misdemeanor) if legislation sponsored by New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer eventually becomes law.  This is as it should be: Our colleagues in the maple syrup community produce some of the highest quality syrup in the world, and that product should not be diminished by fraudulent labelling when it's just cane sugar or a batch of chemicals.

                  Mystery Wine found in Hong Kong--10,000 bottles of it--turned out to be water and food coloring.  That's all.  You may recall my mention in last weekend's Wine Press about fraudulent wine produced in China, and this development is just coincidence (and it's not certain it was made in China).  But it was labeled as a brand from Chile, leading that country's embassy to suspect this was a move by someone to damage the reputation of Chilean wine in Asia.  Ah, the romance of the wine business...

                  Alcohol Consumption in the U.S. reached record levels in 2010 despite--or maybe because of--the recession, according to a major article this week in USA Today. One-third of Americans never drink alcohol, but the two-thirds who indulge have increased their wine intake since 1994 by 35% and spirits by 18% while beer dropped 7%, mostly in recent years.  Interestingly, in terms of per capita consumption, New York doesn't make the top ten states in any beverage category, which in the case of wine included (from #1) Washington, DC, NH, VT, MA, NV, NJ, DE, CT, CA, and RI.  In other words, our neighbors to the east and south (except PA) all consume more wine per person than New Yorkers. I wonder why that is. 

                  The Wine Press may not appear next weekend due to the Thanksgiving holiday.  I hope yours is very special. 

  "A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry."

                                                   --Ecclesiastes