November 7, 2015

More great ratings for Long Island wines, a fabulous Blue Hill dinner, Wine Enthusiast loves New York wines, new mobile web site, Finger Lakes solar award, and more from New York country.

Cheers!

Jim Trezise

The Wine Advocate: High on Long Island Wines

Paumanok Vineyards, which received our Winery of the Year award from the 2015 New York Wine & Food Classic, led a strong showing of Long Island wines in The Wine Advocate, with Raphael and Mattabella Vineyards highly rated as well.

Paumanok received scores of 93 for its 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon (Tuthills Lane Vineyard) and 2013 Merlot, Grand Vintage; 92 for 2013 Cabernet Franc, Grand Vintage, and Petit Verdot, Apollo Drive Vineyard, Limited Edition; 91 for 2014 Chenin Blanc, Minimalist; and 90 for 2013 Assemblage, 2010 Blanc de Blancs, 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013 Merlot, and 2010 Petit Verdot, Apollo Drive Vineyard, Limited Edition.

Raphael got scores of 90 for 2013 Cabernet Franc Reserve, 2013 Malbec Reserve, 2013 First Label Merlot, 2013 Petit Verdot Reserve, and 2013 Primo.

Mattabella Vineyards had scores of 92 for 2010 Old World Blend, and 90 for 2011 Old World Blend and 2007 Old World Blend.

Other scores of 90 went to Anthony Nappa 2013 Reserve Merlot; Lieb 2013 Sparkling Rose and 2013 Cabernet Franc Reserve; Martha Clara 2013 Malbec Estate Reserve and 2013 Merlot Estate Reserve; and Onabay Vineyards 2012 Night Heron Cabernet Franc and 2010 Night Heron Cabernet Franc.

The article and ratings focused on wines from the superb 2013 vintage, as well as several producers which had not been covered before, with more to come in a future edition. Congratulations and thanks to our friends on Long Island for boosting the reputation of New York wines.

Fabulous Finger Lakes Farm & Vineyard Dinner at Blue Hill

Blue Hill is one of New York City's most iconic restaurants, and Chef/owner Dan Barber one of the world's most famous, especially in terms of discovering and featuring local products. Located just off Washington Square near NYU, Blue Hill is a mecca for locavores and foodies from around the world.

On Tuesday evening, we enjoyed a fabulous six-course Finger Lakes Farm & Vineyard Dinner featuring key FLX ingredients in each course paired with two different wines. It was the latest event in our NY Drinks NY program orchestrated by First Press Public Relations and made possible by a grant from the Genesee Valley Regional Market Authority, with support from the Department of Agriculture & Markets.

Finger Lakes Chef Brud Holland started the evening off with a sampler of Riesling & Honey Cured Pork, Heritage Duck Pate, Custom Aged Goat Cheese, and Wide Awake Bakery Bread, paired with Fox Run 2014 Dry Riesling and Red Newt 2012 Riesling Tango Oaks Vineyard.

Subsequent courses included Cornell Squash, Mushroom Tacos, Risotto of Klaas's Grains, Blue Hill Farm Pork, and Grapes from Keuka Lake. The dessert course fittingly was paired with Sheldrake Point 2014 Wild Ferment Riesling Ice Wine, which a month ago was named world's best Riesling at the International Riesling Challenge in Australia.

Other participating wineries included Anthony Road, Atwater Estate, Bellangelo, Boundary Breaks, Chateau Frank, Dr. Frank, Heart & Hands, Hosmer, Keuka Lake, Lamoreaux Landing, and Standing Stone. Between courses, several winery representatives described the unique "terroir" of their particular lakes, including the significant variation in specific areas and even among adjacent vineyards.

In addition to our winery industry colleagues, we were joined by representatives of key media specializing in wine, food, and travel. The word is getting out about Finger Lakes wines!

Lots of 90+ for Rieslings in Wine Enthusiast

Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard led the way for lots of great scores in the current Wine Enthusiast, including 94 for its 2013 HJW Vineyard Riesling and 2013 Josef Vineyard Riesling; 93 for 2013 Magdalena Vineyard Riesling; 92 for 2013 Dry Riesling and 2013 Reserve Dry Riesling; and 91 for 2013 Semi Dry Riesling. All the wines carry the "Seneca Lake" appellation.

Scores of 91 went to Anthony Nappa 2013 Luminous Riesling (Finger Lakes); Paumanok 2014 Dry Riesling (North Fork of Long Island); Silver Thread 2014 Semi-Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes); and The Grapes of Roth 2014 Virgin Berry Dry Riesling (Long Island).

Ratings of 90 were given to Bellwether 2013 A&O Vineyard Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes); Billsboro 2013 Sawmill Creek Vineyards Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes); Imagine Moore 2014 Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes); Knapp 2014 Riesling (Finger Lakes) and 2014 Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes); Raphael 2014 Virgin Berry Riesling (North Fork of Long Island); and The Grapes of Roth 2014 Dry Riesling (Long Island).

Wine Enthusiast's reviewer Anna Lee Iijima has a great appreciation for superb Rieslings, and obviously found many in the Finger Lakes and Long Island regions. Last year New York State was named Wine Region of the Year by the magazine.

Free Run...

Solar Champion Award was recently given to the Finger Lakes Wine Region for its work in strengthening solar power in America. The presentation occurred during a special event involving several wineries that are "going solar" at Hunt Country Vineyards. Suzanne Hunt, daughter of founders/owners Art & Joyce Hunt, has her own consulting business (Hunt Green LLC) specializing in various renewable energy sources and projects. In addition to Hunt Country, Dr. Frank, O-Neh-Da and Wagner Vineyards are involved in the current project, with many more expected in the near future as the many benefits of solar energy become clear.

www.newyorkwines.org just got a lot friendlier on your smartphone, thanks to a grant from Empire State Development under Governor Cuomo's Craft Beverage Marketing and Promotion Program. While it has long been possible to access it, the site was not user-friendly on phones, but that has now changed. The reformatted version was tailor-made for smart phone dimensions, so scrolling isn't necessary. Come visit us often.

New York State Discovery Center was just opened by Governor Andrew Cuomo in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and includes an I Love NY and Taste NY store where visitors may purchase various items, including wine. We may need to go there in February to see how it's going.

Farm-based craft beverages are a gold mine for New York's upstate economy at a time when some other businesses are faltering or leaving. Just this week, four companies (Entergy in Oswego, Alcoa in Massena, Sentry in Rochester, and KraftHeinz in several locations) announced plans to close plants and lay off workers in communities dependent on those businesses.

Meanwhile, thanks largely to the strong support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and his Administration, the craft wine, beer, spirits, and cider sectors are all growing strongly--luring new investments, creating new jobs, boosting tourism, and increasing taxes. Our industry is a great investment for the State economy.