A bottle of 2016 Merliance rosé. (Credit: Lenn Thompson)
For some people, rosé is strictly seasonal . You start drinking it around Memorial Day and by Tumbleweed Tuesday (the day after Labor Day), you’re done. But you’ll also find some rosé-obsessed folks who drink it year round. (more…)
Martha Clara Vineyards winemaker and general manager Juan Micieli-Martinez (Credit: The Long Island Merlot Alliance)
The Long Island Merlot Alliance has elected Martha Clara Vineyards winemaker and general manager Juan Micieli-Martinez as its new president.
A bottle of 2012 Merliance, the cooperative blend created by members of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. (Credit: Chinese)
Long Island merlot has and always will have a place in my cellar and in my glass. I drink it a few times a week, usually with dinner. It’s dependable and consistently good — even in all but the most horrid of vintages.
For many, that’s the point. That’s why so much of it is planted in the ground and why several producers have hung their hats on a grape that isn’t very sexy these days. One local writer has gone so far as to say, “Merlots are now considered the highest expression of the Long Island appellation.” (more…)
2012 Merliance poured during the dinner at Scrimshaw on Saturday. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Six different clones of merlot, all expressing different characteristics of this Bordeaux-originating grape, are grown on more than 800 acres on Long Island.
But of all the tons of fruit those acres yield every year, there is only one wine that combines the thumbprints of some of the region’s best winemakers. (more…)
A map of the Merliance wine trail. (Credit: courtesy photo)
Wine journalist Amy Zavatto has been named the new executive director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance, the organization announced in a press release on Tuesday. (more…)
Workers harvest cabernet franc grapes at Macari Vineyards in Mattituck this past fall. (Credit: Carrie Miller)
In Long Island Wine Country, merlot has always been king.
As the island’s most widely planted and produced grape, the ubiquitous, sturdy varietal has certainly made its mark. (more…)
Robin Epperson-McCarthy at Premium Wine Group in Mattituck. (Credit: Carrie Miller)
The not-for-profit Long Island Merlot Alliance is ramping up marketing of the region’s merlot — a grape that often battles a lackluster reputation— by defining what makes Long Island’s signature varietal great and backing it up with hard data from the fields.