WINE

Rivendell Winery in New Paltz, NY (Seafarer John's hometown)
has won the 2004 Governor's Cup for BEST WINE IN NY STATE.
The wine is Rivendell's 2003 Dry Riesling - made from grapes from the Finger Lakes region.

The wine won over 635 entries from about 93 wineries in the state. This is a prestigious competition and puts the Hudson Valley appelation on the national map for wine lovers.

Yesterday I went to the winery with the intention of purchasing a case of the Riesling. Alas, they let me have only three bottles. It seems there are only about 130 cases available for sale and they are rationing it to the public.

Feminists in our ranks may be pleased to learn that the wine maker was a woman- Melanie Neucall.

Once again New Paltz makes the national news!

Cheers, John

A good Dry Riesling is a wonderous thing----one of my absolute favorites. Thanks for the info, John----do they ship? Out here I get Claiborne and Churchill Dry Riesling. It is excellent. I would enjoy however trying a New York wine---have never had one.

On trips south to visit friends in Jersey and New York City we always make a 2 day trip and stay in the Finger Lakes area. Love the country, love the wines. I'm a big fan of Alsatian varietals as they go with food so well. Gewurtz stands up to curry and BBQ, Reisling depending on the type can go with just about anything including itself, muscat lets me have another portion of ham, sylvaner with grilled lake fish and the late harvest dessert sweeties put a final glow on the meal.

Its funny, we are not that far away in Ontario but we don't see a lot of wine from Upstate NY showing up in our stores. Mind you our stores are run by the government. I rely on picking stuff up as I go through of course having to sample them as my other drives. Dr. Konstantin Franks stuff has always impressed me. We are doing a trip this fall, any suggestions as to route to new things? Wines and foods. U.S. crossover is usually at Gananoque ON heading down to Watertown NY on towards the Penn Gap.

rumbelly, I had a neat dessert wine where the grape was harvested after frost which apparently concentrated the sugars making it exceptionally sweet. I bought it in the Finger Lakes area and i am sure you will know what it was.

Being in Tennessee, such a treat is not readily available. Please advise what to ask for.

Thanks
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

This is called Eiswein, the German word for ice wine. Allowing healthy grapes to freeze will double the amount of sugar. Be aware that in North America, sometimes grapes are frozen after harvest to obtain a similar effect. Eiswein is sweet as is wine from grapes with "noble rot", botrytis. These are not the same. In Germany, grapes are often left on the vine to freeze if that particular vintage is not known for botrytis.

Linda

Paul;

What you speak of is called eiswine(icewine). They make a ton of it in Ontario. Its like a glass of sunshine in the bottle. Of course that glass of sunshine will cost you. Prices start here at around 50.00 CAN a half bottle, so its not your everyday post dinner tipple. Eiswine started over in north Germany and with immigration found its way here. Some of them are good but as usual with high priced things lotsa people jump on the grapewagon with handblown bottles, rare wood boxes and the like.
The conditions in southern Ontario and northern New York State are ideal for the production of the nectar. Europe and other unmentioned areas of the world will not allow it in for resale. Loooooong story. So if you travel with a bottle of eiswine to say Asia or liberal parts of France you might trade it for a car.

Cheers

Rumbelly

Ed Sails: Try Rivendellwine.com . I'm sure they ship, but there has been recent litigation about shipping to some states, so I'm not sure where they can ship. The wine is $12.99/ bottle.

We've had some very nice Rieslings from Washington and Oregon, but the stuff from the better producers in the Finger Lakes is , in our opinion, the best made in the New World, and better than equally priced wines from Alsace and the Rhine. The fact that a Hudson Valley winery won the competition is really surprising. But they were using Finger Lakes grapes. I have never considered any of Rivendell's wines (with the exception of a couple of dessert wines) to be anything special, but this particular Riesling is really quite pleasant.

Cheers, John

I definetly have to go up there again. The last time I was up that way near the wineries, I was pregnant and couldn't drink! There are nice wineries on Long Island, but is is so pretty up in the FInger Lakes. We have friends in Accord NY, but they are in the coffee business.

A few years ago, Herman Wiemer, probably the best producer in the Finger Lakes ( Constantin Frank is right up there with him) offered a magnificent icewine at $80 a half bottle . They were offering tastings at the winery for $5 a shot- we tried it and it was great, but we did nor put up the bucks for a bottle. I'm not sure he is offering any such wines now- it is something that happens every few years.

Dessert wines are something different, althought the best of them are right up there with the icewines. They are less expensive - like $25 for a half bottle, and they are usualy made from lesser grapes, like Rivat,
Vidal blanc, and other French/American hybrids. They are produced from late harvest, but not frozen ,grapes, and have a high concentration of natural sugar. They are never never artificially sweetened with added sugars- like some of those things from the 60s - Annie Greensleeves, Nighttrain Express, ect.

We have a local winery, Baldwin Vineyards, in Pine Bush, NY that makes an excellent Raspberry dessert wine and a pretty good Strawberry dessert wine - they run about $16 per half bottle. Don't confuse this with icewine- it is very good, but different.

Danmel; Accord is just about 15 miles over the Shawangunk Mountains from New Paltz, and I blush to admit that all I know of the place is a neat Chinese Restaurant, a noisy racetrack, and very good sweet corn.

Some Finger Lakes producers I would recommend anyone visiting that area should visit are: Constantin Frank, Herman Wiemer, Red Newt,
Fox Run, MacGregor, and Bully Hill (the wine is awful, but the party is not to be missed- nor is Walter Taylor's artwork to be overlooked).

If you are in the Hudson Valley, I would recommend Rivendell, Baldwin,
Clinton vineyards, and Millbrook winery. Brotherhood, in Washingtonville
is worth a visit if you want to visit the oldest winery in America - I havn't been there in years , so I don't know if the wine has improved from the crap thay used to produce- but the place is still worth a visit. Warwick Valley Winery is a must stop if you like apple and pear ciders- I'm not crazy about that stuff.

Cheers, John

Originally posted by seafarer john

Rivendell Winery in New Paltz, NY (Seafarer John's hometown)
has won the 2004 Governor's Cup for BEST WINE IN NY STATE.
The wine is Rivendell's 2003 Dry Riesling - made from grapes from the Finger Lakes region.

I just called the winery to order three bottles, and was told it is completely sold out.

I guess he or she who hestitates drinks Two Buck Chuck Shiraz...

Seafarer John is Walter Taylor still makeing wine out in Hammondsport?
If I remember correctly he was a real charecter and fought Coke for the right to use his own name on his Wine. Some of his Red's were very good. I used to get a kick out of his label...funny.

People out here in California do not know of the very good wines from the Finger Lakes of New York, they miss out.

For beauty of nature there is no place like the Finger lakes in any season.

For Christmas my hubby bought me a bottle of Inniskillin Icewine from Canada.. nectar of the Gods indeed! I adore this stuff.
My other new wine fave is the 2002 chardonnay from Frank Family Vineyards in Napa.. can you tell I like my wines white and sweet.. (kinda like me!
Sundancer, if you have a BevMo store near you, you can find Inniskillin icewine there along with a couple of other brands.

I once took a Niagara Valley (Ontario) wine tour with a group of visiting wine-makers from Bordeaux. They pooh-poohed and harrumphed at 90% of the local wines we tasted, but when we got to Inniskillin and tried the Icewine they got _real_ excited and many of them bought bottles of to take home.

I can't believe I missed this thread earlier in the month! Seafarer John (and others who are interested!)- we go to the Warwick Winery all the time - we live just a 1/2 hour or so from there! Have you gone lately on the weekends? They now have some entertainment and a cafe menu (the cheese & fruit platter is very good!) It's a nice way to spend a Saturday or Sunday-in the winter they have woodstoves burning and in the summer you can sit outside and picnic. We have also been to Rivendell and loved it -picked up about $200 worth of ports/sherry/wine - that was fantastic! Brotherhood is still the same crap in my opinion. And we also have been to -Demarest winery, which was nothing to write home about but worth the visit just to hear the alien like recordings and gunshot sounds they use to keep the birds out of the orchards. The neighbors must love them! While at Warwick a few weeks ago there was a notice that in December there is a special tour that will take you to the different wineries in the region and you receive a special wreath from each of them. If anyone from the boards would be interested in doing this - we sure would too!

quote:

Originally posted by aleswench
And we also have been to -Demarest winery, which was nothing to write home about but worth the visit just to hear the alien like recordings and gunshot sounds they use to keep the birds out of the orchards. The neighbors must love them!

I believe they are the only Hudson Valley winery to have their own vineyards( is that true? ). She is right it is worth the trip especially to hear the little Italian man imitate the gun noise "ABOOMA!!! and the birds they fly away"

Could someone suggest a light, fruity red? I haven't found a red I like yet, but then again when it comes to red I'm completely clueless.. I keep getting these heavy, tannic reds that just turn me off.

In my college days in Western PA my then-beau and I would take the weekend drive up to the finger lakes region and had the pleasure of meeting Constantin Frank and Walter Taylor. This was back in the Dark Ages when wine lists consisted of Mateus,Lancers, Blue Nun and Gallo in the gallon jug. Dr. Frank and Walter Taylor were producing some awesome wines. Taylor never did get to use his name on the label and ended up using "Bully Hill"......and yes, he is quite the character!
A suggestion for Jennifer_4, while it's not from New York,(from CA) Rodney Strong makes a lovely Pinot Noir that is neither heavy nor tannic.

thank you ileechef, I will drink a good wine no matter from whence it comes!

Robert Louis Stevenson once said, "Wine is poetry in a bottle."
How true. Enjoy that Rod Strong, Jen!

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

Robert Louis Stevenson once said, "Wine is poetry in a bottle."
How true. Enjoy that Rod Strong, Jen!

Sundancer Sezs:

Not to knock off Ogden Nash

Wine is fine
Most of the time
Candy is the elixiour
But Liquor is quicker.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

"Wine, Madam, is God's next best gift to man." Ambrose Bierce, 1907.

Walter Taylor died about two years ago. He was a wonderful man and i especially admired him for his principled fight with Coca Cola
over the use of his own name - "They can steal my name, but they can't get my goat", said Walter on his labels. And I love his artwork - his labels are worth collecting. Sorry, but I never had a taste of any wine he made that I considered worth purchasing. (You can buy packets of his labels at the winery party room without suffering over the questionable product of his winery. Interestingly, Walter Taylor
went to great effort to encourage Finger lakes producers to make better wine - he was talking up the potential of the region long before anyone else - yet he failed to ever bother to follow his own advise and make any quality wine.

As to Hudson Valley vineyards: Clinton, Millbrok, Adair and Whitecliff
are some I know that grow their own grapes. I'm sure there are others. Rivendell has extensive vineyards that have been neglected in recent years and I'm not sure that they grow any grapes at all any more- they produce wine from grapes and juice imported from other regions - mostly Long Isand and the Finger Lakes - as do a lot of of our local producers.

I'm sure lleechef's suggestion for a light fruity Pinot Noir is fine, but i'd like to suggest a Merlot, one that has a couple years of age. My wife, who finds most reds too heavy and tannic, has learned to really like Merlot- personally, I find it kind of dull - which doesn't mean I havn't had a lot of fun drinking the stuff with my wife and friends

aleswench: We've never done the tour, but just might if we got together a few other interested roadfooders - someone want to try to organize it? BTW: they dont give a wreath at each winery - they give an ornament to put on a wreath.

We were at Constantine Frank's winery one day a few years ago when a busload of German tourists showed up. They all loaded up on his Gevertz and Riesling to bring back to Germany!!!

Cheers, John

I don't claim to be wine savy but I was served a wonderful Australian Shiraz this evening. mmmm

Ah, wine wonderful wine. Being an old Californian, I have been drinking wine all of my life. As a child wine was all right for children at our house. My Grandmother and Grandfather knew most of the vintner in the Napa valley. We would do a tour and come home loaded with cases of wine. Rex in expensive, San Diego.

quote:

I'm sure lleechef's suggestion for a light fruity Pinot Noir is fine, but i'd like to suggest a Merlot, one that has a couple years of age. My wife, who finds most reds too heavy and tannic, has learned to really like Merlot- personally, I find it kind of dull - which doesn't mean I havn't had a lot of fun drinking the stuff with my wife and friends

Seafarer John, Thanks for the suggestion, but I've yet to meet a Merlot I like or can even tolerate.. can you suggest a vineyard for that?

We've had an inexpensive Merlot from Georges DeBeouf (sp?) that seems to be essentially a Rhone blend that was pretty easy drinking.

Last night we had a bottle from Pindar, a Long island, NY , producer that was not very tannic - it was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. We liked it.

I'm not sure that NY producers are easy to find on your coast, but why not just keep on trying various blends ( those labeled "Meritage" are usually better and more expensive) - you just might find one that you will like. It's just my opinion, but I think reds, unlike whites, are an aquired taste and you have to keep trying till you get it. Or, what the Hell, who needs reds at all if you don't really like them - there's a world of great whites out there that you can drink with anything - including your rare roast beef .

Cheers, John

Good morning. I have enjoyed reading these forums for a while now - everyone is so nice! I live in Virginia and love to visit wineries on the weekends. Linden, Rappahanock, Tarara, and Chrysalis top my list of favorite places to go. The white wines are excellent, especilly the Viogniers and Chardonnays. Linden even has a Virginia cheese and sausage selection.

Jennifer_4 - if you are still looking for a lighter red, Osborne makes a wine called Solaz that is a tempranillo (a Spanish grape) and cabernet sauvignon blend. In wine stores here it's only about $7 a bottle.

quote:

Originally posted by seafarer john

aleswench: We've never done the tour, but just might if we got together a few other interested roadfooders - someone want to try to organize it? BTW: they dont give a wreath at each winery - they give an ornament to put on a wreath.
Cheers, John

I'm on that! I'll get the details and post a new thread soon!

Mariaehelena's mention of Spanish Tempranillo reminds me that we had a delicious Spanish red at The Narrows. The brand is LAXAS. There was no grape or region mentioned on the bottle, but maybe there was - the restaurant was dark and we'd alredy had a couple of Martini's so I'm lucky I even remember the brand name...

Cheers, John

Today's NYTimes has an article on Long Island wines. I've always had a problem with the price of LI wines. Here's what the Times had to say: "In the past LI wineries have had to struggle with pricing. The $42 that we paid for the Raphael could no doubt buy two bottles just as good. For consumers it is hard to justify paying so much for wines without a track record." AMEN!!!

Also the Times described one wine as having "lovely flavors of tar earth and mushrooms". Pour me some of that stuff and I'd send it back as spoiled.

They also praised the "taste of leather, graphite, and tobacco" in another wine. Wouldn't it be nice if they told us it actually tasted like it had been made from grapes?

Cheers, John