Posts Tagged“niagara”

#NYTastemaker: Zack Klug | Liten Buffel

“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. You may not know the name Zack Klug, but I have a feeling you will. After a few years working in various cellars in and around the Niagara Escarpment AVA he — along with business partner Patrick Vaughn — has…

Weekly New York Wine News — November 2, 2015

Glacier Ridge Vineyard pinot noir being pressed at Red Newt Cellars (Photo by Kelby Russell) NEWS PV Solar Report – 10/26/2015 The Finger Lakes Wine Region was recently named Solar Champion by a photo voltaic industry association in recognition of its energy initiatives. Albany Times Union – 10/26/2015 Something is rotten on the east end of Long Island, and the folks at Wolffer could not be happier. Poughkeepsie Journal – 10/27/2015 Recommendations to visit the Niagara Wine Trail on New York’s border with Canada where the slopes are growing remarkable wine. Finger Lakes Wine – 10/27/2015 12 Questions with Paul Hobbes…

Weekly New York Wine News — October 6, 2015

Cider continues to surge, a couple of sad passings, new and mature wine trails and news of New York wines in the other 49 states… NEWS WHAM – 9/16/2015 Casa Larga co-founder Ann Colaruotolo recently passed away after an extended illness. Napa Valley Register – 9/17/2015 Dan Berger and Tom Wark talk hard cider, and upstate New York juice is found to be fascinating. Facebook – 9/28/2015 The Finger Lakes lose another long-time fixture at Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery, with the death of winemaker Stephen Whitlock. Crain’s New York Business – 9/30/2015 Opinion: New York Farm Winery legislation was a progressive boon to…

Leonard Oakes Winery 2012 Reserve Series Syrah

“I’m not convinced about its place up here — but we had to give it a shot.” That’s one of the first things winemaker Jonathan Oakes told me when I asked about his soon-to-be-released syrah. Syrah is far from widely planted in the region, but most of what I’ve tasted has been delicious. And, after tasting Oakes’, I’m more convinced than ever at the grapes potential in and near the Niagara Escarpment AVA. Aged in heavily toasted American oak — even if the majority was two and three years old — Leonard Oakes Estate Winery 2012 Reserve Series Syrah ($23) shows a…

A Toast to the Adirondack Coast Wine Trail and Others

Reports of veraison are finally beginning to arrive from the North Country, and after such wet weather, both the sunshine and this growth stage are welcome news.  It’s not just the grapes that are growing in upstate New York though — so are the wine trails. Recent legislation makes the Adirondack Coast Wine Trail an official part of the New York State Highway map. It’s just a little trail across sixty-six miles of road, linking seven wineries and cider houses, but it is a major development milestone for a new region that adds to the diversity of wine growing in the Empire State.…

Across the Border: The Quest For the Holy Grail — Ontario Pinot Noir

Perhaps it’s fitting that the first all-pinot-noir flight at this year’s Expert’s Tasting at Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) was named after Monty Python’s classic film. If transcendent pinot noir is indeed the life-giving juice that flows from a cup then there are many out there spending their lives and fortunes looking for it, even though most everyone else already thinks it lies in Burgundy. Luckily my own quest to attend this year’s tasting was fulfilled, and I sat down with winemakers, wine writers, sommeliers and industry supporters to take a journey through several flights of…

Building on Success at Eveningside Vineyards

Eveningside Vineyards owner Randy Biehl stands in front of his new production facility in Cambria, NY by Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor Randy Biehl doesn’t tend to wax romantic when he talks about his new production building – the construction of which is close to completion – at Eveningside Vineyards, the winery he owns on the Niagara Escarpment with his wife Karen. “I’m very aware we are in a critical time for our business,” he says.  “Expansion is when many businesses end up failing.” Knowing Biehl, you don’t chalk this up as simple boilerplate pessimism, but rather to his meticulous…

Freedom Run Winery 2008 Estate Riesling

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief The first time I tasted this wine was at TasteCamp EAST 2009 and it was poured into my empty glass by our Niagara Escarpment editor, Bryan at some point during the wine-soaked weekend. I came away impressed with the effort and enjoyed a bottle that he gave me a few days later with some friends. Again, I liked it, enough to make this the first Niagara Escarpment wine to be a the New York Cork Club selection.  Bryan reminded me a few weeks ago that I still hadn't given it a formal review, so I pulled…

Leonard Oakes Winery: Going Those Extra Few Miles for Great Niagara Wines

Leonard Oakes Winery's winemaker Jonathan Oakes By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Escarpment Editor Tasting notes by Julia Burke Leonard Oakes Winery has remained somewhat under the radar here in the Niagara wine region. Lying just outside the Niagara County border a few miles into Orleans County, this young winery hasn’t yet benefited from the busy traffic that makes it to the Lockport/Cambria area wineries in the middle of the trail.  To be honest, I’m just as guilty as the rest of them because I’d only been there once since they opened – that is, until Jonathan Oakes called me last month…