Browsing CategoryLong Island

Coming in June: The Cork Report’s 2015 Eastern Rosé Tasting

New York wine remains the core of this website, but — as you’ve probably noticed — I’ve started to stretch my legs a bit. I’ve been learning about and tasting wines from other eastern states, which I’m arbitrarily defining as any state that isn’t California, Oregon or Washington, more. My time organizing TasteCamp up and down the east coast, as well as my time on the Drink Local Wine board, taught me something: there are some seriously delicious wines made in places even a local wine advocate might not expect — places like New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado, Michigan, Virginia, Vermont,…

Corks of the Forks: Long Island Wineries Should Act, Not Talk

The internet is a place of quick judgments and irrational over-reaction. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that when the Long Island Wine Council, led by executive director Steve Bate and marketing director Ali Tuthill, met with the Southold Town Board to discuss some recommended changes to how local wineries operate, people lost their minds. Lost. Their. Minds. Many supposed-longtime wine club members vowed in Facebook posts to never buy another drop of local wine. Others called the plans — which include things like eliminating live music on weekends, one-ounce tasting pours and requiring reservations for groups larger than six —…

New York Cork Club: May 2016 Selections

With summer just around the corner — despite the cool, grey weather blanketing most of the northeast right now — I wanted to pick some wines this month that are well suited to warmer weather occasions and foods. I think I’ve done that with these wines even if they don’t offer the same sense of discovery as some other picks have. These aren’t obscure producers or grapes or wines that you haven’t seen before. Instead, I’ve chosen two delicious wines from two of my favorite producers — one in the Finger Lakes and one on Long Island. My first pick is…

Uncork the Forks: Local Wines Should Be on Local Menus

(Photo Credit: David Benthal for northforker) Local wine people — both inside and out of the industry proper — have long lamented how few local restaurants support and offer local wine. Short of visiting every restaurant and asking to see their wine lists, it is hard to know precisely who is listing local wine and how much of it. Visiting restaurant websites — many of which aren’t updated very often, rendering them largely useless — does offer some insight, though. The results are still ugly, though there are some exceptions — restaurants doing good things with local wine. Some restaurants,…

New York #Tastemaker: Anthony Nappa | Raphael & Anthony Nappa Wines

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new #NYTastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who actually makes the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we love. A “tastemaker” should make something, after all. As a wine lover and a wine writer, I know that I can trust Anthony Nappa, winemaker at Raphael, owner of Anthony Nappa Wines and co-owner of The Winemaker Studio with his chef-wife Sarah. It’s not just that his wines almost always…

Macari Vineyards 2013 Reserve Cabernet Franc

“Reserve” is a term without an official meaning in the American wine industry. It can be used by anyone on any wine. Some wineries only have a “Reserve” line — which means it’s more about marketing than anything else. They’d never admit it, but I’m convinced that some producers even put “Reserve” on a bottle just so they can charge more for it. For a while, here on Long Island, “Reserve” has meant bigger, riper and oakier. Sometimes wineries boast about long a “Reserve” wine is aged in oak barrels on the back label — as if that’s a sign…

Waters Crest Winery 2012 Merlot

I keep reading a lot about 2013 Long Island reds lately. I’m sure you have too. Some are even calling it “Long Island’s Best Vintage.” Please take those proclamations with a grain of salt — at least for now. It was a great growing season, no doubt, but nearly every vintage is labeled “the greatest” at some point, either during harvest or once the wines start coming out. Keep in mind that no matter the vintage or its quality, wineries need to sell their wine. It’s to their benefit to laud a vintage as “the greatest ever.” Every year. Before…

New York Cork Club: April 2016 Selections

Editor’s Note: Okay, so I’m a little late posting this. Most of you have already received your shipments, but here is a bit about my April 2016 selections. I’m really excited about this month’s picks – one Finger Lakes riesling and a sparkling cabernet franc from Long Island. Yes, you read that right – sparkling cabernet franc. Macari Vineyards 2014 “Horses” Sparkling Rose Cabernet Franc is a sparkling cabernet franc that they may so little of that it’s not even on the winery’s website. Luckily, we were able to get a few cases for the club and I think you’re…

New York #Tastemaker: Kelly Urbanik Koch | Macari Vineyards

Photo credit: David Benthal for NorthForker “Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new #NYTastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who actually makes the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we love. A “tastemaker” should make something, after all. As August Deimel mentioned last week, there is precious little diversity in New York’s wine cellars. Head winemakers across the state tend to be white and they tend to men. I won’t pretend to know…

Lieb Cellars 2014 Bridge Lane Chardonnay

It’s easy to forget sometimes, but not every wine we drink needs to be esoteric or complicated. Wine needn’t always be something you spend time dissecting or pondering. Some might argue that wine is never that. At the end of the day, wine need only be delicious and satisfying. Lieb Cellars 2014 Bridge Lane Chardonnay ($16) is both of those things. Made entirely in stainless steel, it’s not complex or layered, but it offers bright, fresh lemon-lime fruitiness, juicy acidity and a subtle saline edge on the finish. This is the kind of wine that you want to have around as the…