A view from Koenig Vineyards in Marsing, Idaho last fall. (Credit: Linda Paul/Flickr)
There are a lot of regions in the United States that have been anointed “the next big thing.” Long Island is on that list, of course. I’ve seen it said about the Finger Lakes and northern Michigan, too. And Idaho.
Yes, Idaho. It’s not all potatoes and trout streams, after all. (more…)
Some of my favorite columnists — in wine, sports and beyond — occasionally write columns that touch on a variety of topics, quick-fire style, rather than writing about a single topic. I like those columns, but have rarely written one myself.
However, as local vineyards swell with ever-ripening fruit that is soon to be picked, I have a lot of things I want to write about. So I’m going to give it a shot this week. (more…)
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel up to Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake to judge this year’s New York Wine Classic — colloquially known as the Oscars of New York wine. It was a great and eye-opening experience, and something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the chance to do.
Bedell Cellars sparkling rosé. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
This time of year, dry rosé and crisp white wines get a fair amount of press. I find myself writing a lot about those wines, too. Long Island wineries produce some great rosé, sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc, unoaked chardonnays and even rieslings. All are well suited to summer sipping, either with food, on your patio, at the beach, by the pool or on the boat. (more…)
It’s an incredible time to be a writer. Anytime I write anything about anything, there will always be direct feedback. Some of it is positive. Some of it is inevitably negative. But I find all of it valuable. OK, maybe I find most of it valuable. Trolls are never worth anyone’s time.
Ripening grapes at Palmer Vineyards in the rain. (Credit: Grant Parpan)
You’ve probably noticed that over the past month or so our local vineyards have gone from brown and drab to green and vibrant, with shoots reaching farther toward the sky every day. That’s because bud break arrived in early May, starting with early varieties during the first week of and others since then.
Bud break is the first stage of the grapevine growing cycle that — if all goes well — results in ripe, flavorful grapes in the fall, which our local vintners then turn into the wines we all enjoy. (more…)
It’s spring in Long Island wine country — and for many of you, that means rosé. And if you’re drinking Long Island rosé, there’s a good chance it’s a Wölffer rosé. Winemaker Roman Roth makes a handful of them — including sparkling and dessert wine — and he makes a lot of them. In fact, Wölffer makes more bottles of rosé than many local wineries make of all their wines combined. (more…)
