I just returned from a fascinating wine tasting held at the New York Wine and Culinary Center (in Canandaigua, NY). It was an all cabernet franc tasting — 21 different cab francs, 17 from the Finger Lakes (all from the 2007 vintage), three from the Loire region of France, and one from Long Island.
Cabernet franc is one of the most interesting and under-appreciated wine grapes, IMHO. The most famous cab franc-based wine in the world is Cheval Blanc (two-thirds cab franc, one-third merlot) from St. Emilion. Miles is seen drinking a 1961 Cheval at a fast food restaurant at the end of Sideways; the 1947 Cheval regularly shows up in “best wines of the 20th century” lists. More frequently, cab franc is produced in a somewhat more humble style in the Loire region (Chinon, Bourgueil); these wines are usually, but not always, a big lighter. Cab franc is also grown in the Finger Lakes, where it is the region’s most successful red wine varietal by most accounts.
Flavorwise, cab franc is similar to cab sauvignon but with more of a distinctive vegetal note — mint, pepper, mocha, chocolate. The fruit tends to be a bit less dark than on a cab sauvignon (raspberry rather than currant) and the body is usually lighter than a cab sauvignon. It’s also a bit more food friendly than cabernet sauvignon.
Today’s tasting went almost exactly as I thought it would. My favorite producers are Daminai, Shalestone, and Ravines, and I ended up scoring those the highest (it was a blind tasting), along with an interesting no-oak cab franc, called T23 (I don’t know where this name comes from), from Lamoreaux Landing. Unfortunately, Shalestone and Damiani are next-to-impossible to find, unless you visit the tasting froom. Lamoreaux Landing and Ravines are a bit easier to find — some shops in New York City should carry them and they may be available elsewhere. The Lamoreaux Landing T23 in particular is only $15 and would appeal to people who like lighter red wines, like typical pinot noirs. It has lovely raspberry fruit and a nice spicy component. It would go well with just about anything except shellfish (on one end of the spectrum) or beef or lamb (on the other). I recommend checking it out if you ever see it at a store. If you ever seen any of the others, I recommend those as well. They are a bit more expensive, but the Shalestone and Damiani in particular are big, rich, chocolatey wines that should be real crowd-pleasers.
I also learned about a great wine science blog that I’ll be talking about more later.
Update. If you’re not in the mood to discuss wine, could you tell me where I can find the Shatner Palin video now that it’s down off YouTube?
Perry Como
Note, this should not be confused with “whine blogging,” something that never went away.
DougJ
Note, this should not be confused with “whine blogging,” something that never went away.
True.
cleek
by coincidence, my wife and i just got back from a trip to western NY. we did a couple of nights in Ithaca, which meant we did a lot of local wine drinking. we bought a whole bunch of wine (and had it shipped home) – and cab franc was the varietal that really grabbed me. i thought it was quite different from the more-familiar red varietals, and i can’t wait to see what it tastes like outside of the tasting room environment. i’m not sure my wife liked it, though.
i think all the cab franc we ordered came from Lucas.
Quicksand
How are they with arugula and spicy mustard?
media browski
Thanks Dougj, this is the most useful blog post I’ve read this week.
In fact, it nearly tops Shatner in terms of sheer delight.
DougJ
i can’t wait to see what it tastes like outside of the tasting room environment.
It’s one wine that does really well outside the tasting room. I think a lot of big, red CA wines taste better in the tasting room, but a wine with more finesse, like most Finger Lakes cab francs, so just as well or better in larger doses at home.
binzinerator
Don’t leave out Chateau de Thunderbird, or St. Wild Irish Rose, or Vin de MD vingt-vingt.
It cannot be said that any of the above vintages are food friendly, in fact, having a four-square meal detracts from the full effect of any of these vintages.
These wines are at their best when decanted while wrapped in a plain brown paper bag.
Best of all, they can be had for the pocket change scrounged from under bus seats. Certain to appeal to those on a budget.
Max
I did wine tasting in both Napa and Sonoma this past week. In my opinion, Sonoma is better. Better wine, better atmosphere and cheaper wine flights.
Related –
for those of you that live in the Bay Area, I STRONGLY recommend going to the tasting room at Hangar One Vodka. It’s at the old Naval Air Station in Alameda. $10 buys you their flight of like 12 varieties of liquers, vodkas, and whiskeys. For an extra $5, you can add in absenthe. The vodka was very good, lemon and plain were my favs, and the single malt was smooth and didn’t make me gag and I hate whiskey.
Yes, the above is a lot of tastings over a short couple of days, but my mother was in town.
gizmo
John,
What do you recommend for drinking with a bag of Cheez Kurls?
DougJ
How are they with arugula and spicy mustard?
You know, not bad.
And believe it or not, Ravines winery is actually in Appalachia (Steuben county).
Incertus
Here’s the video. Take a look around the rest of the site while you’re there–I’m the poetry editor there.
KC
For the video you can head over to AmericaBlog – it’s the top post right now.
KC
Comrade Mary
Shatner does Palin.
Incertus
@gizmo: Depends on if you’re talking about the store brand or the Lays All Natural Cheetos. For the former, I’d recommend the Barefoot Merlot. For the latter, Thunderbird.
Comrade Kevin
@gizmo:
Château Chunder.
DougJ
I did wine tasting in both Napa and Sonoma this past week. In my opinion, Sonoma is better. Better wine, better atmosphere and cheaper wine flights.
I agree completely. I like the Russian River valley best.
serge
DougJ, you bring back memories…way back when, my brother and I would go to the best wine shops in DC to blow a crapload of money on a bottle of wine on the occasion of our father’s birthday. A different wine every year, and money was no object (if we had it). We’d spend up to $200-300. One memorable year it was a St Emilion Cheval Blanc. It was magnificent.
My dad would immediately plan a meal and that wine was served, to the delight of all. No hoarding, just enjoyment. I miss the old bastard.
DougJ
One memorable year it was a St Emilion Cheval Blanc. It was magnificent.
The 1990 Cheval is one of the best Bordeaux I’ve ever had. And it used to be about 1/4 the price it is now. I hope the recession hurts wine prices enough that I’ll be able to try it again.
cleek
in Appalachia (Steuben county)
Corning NY, represent !
Addison in the house! Woot!
Amanda in the South Bay
Hulu is your friend
http://www.hulu.com/watch/85839/the-tonight-show-with-conan-obrien-shatner-does-palin
DougJ
Here’s the video. Take a look around the rest of the site while you’re there—I’m the poetry editor there.
You know, the first three times I saw that Palin speech clip, I thought it was being chopped up and rearranged to be funny (the way Letterman does with speeches). I can’t believe it’s from her actual speech.
DougJ
Corning NY, represent !
Are you from Corning?
Rook
You can imbed the code for The Tonight Show’s version from the NBC site.
cleek
Are you from Corning?
born there. lived there till i was 10.
still have relatives in Addison.
techno
Try the NBC embed
techno
Sorry, I did have the code but somehow it didn’t post.
DougJ
born there. lived there till i was 10.
Cool. I don’t know what it was like then, but it’s really nice now. Great downtown. I had friends who worked down there for a while and they had a great time.
MattF
NYT Lede item imbeds the Palin/Shatner video
Ash
How exactly does one become wine literate? This entire post is in a foreign language to me.
The only bottle of wine I’ve ever bought was the cheapest on the shelf at my grocery store.
Perry Como
@Comrade Mary:
Kinky.
AhabTRuler
@Ash: Trust me, you are happier this way!
Comrade Kevin
For the last six months or so I have been getting a monthly shipment from Beaulieu of 2-3 different wines from their collection, and it has been pretty nice, so far. I’ve been able to have some varrieties I probably would not have ever otherwise tried.
DougJ
How exactly does one become wine literate? This entire post is in a foreign language to me.
Drink a lot of it and read some publication about it. Any publication will do, as long as you mostly ignore the scores.
I know zero about wine technically. But I was able to learn the language of tasting by drinking a lot and by reading the International Wine Cellar. The IWC is the best of the lot, but you can learn the basics from any magazine or book.
Comrade Kevin
@DougJ: Wine for Dummies is actually a pretty useful book.
cleek
I don’t know what it was like then
AFAIR, it was pretty much the same, but there was no Rt 17 bypass, so all the traffic went right through downtown. most of the same bars and restaurants are still there. we went there on our way to Ithaca to do the Glass Works museum, and we hit a pizza place i used to go to when i was just a tot (Aniello’s). the bars my parents used to hang out at are still there. our old apartment houses are still there, too. it’s pretty much all exactly the same as it was when i left 29 years ago, just a bit cleaner now.
Kyle
Carmody McKnight winery near San Simeon, CA does a great late harvest Cabernet Blanc dessert wine.
Plus, it’s run by actor Gary Conway from ‘Land of the Giants’.
Common Sense
@Comrade Kevin:
This.
Kathy
How are the NY wines on the sweet/dry scale? I really am not fond of the sweeter types and I found that wines from the cooler regions tend to be more sweet. I am not saying they are bad, I know several people with far more wine knowledge than me that like them, it’s a personal taste thing.
Off the region but on topic I have become obsessed with Malbec (and that was before the Argentina became a punch line.)
media browski
Comrade kevin,
Beaulieu made the first decent wine I ever tried. Ah, memories of girlfriends past!
Laura W
@DougJ:
The best CA region for both Pinot Noir and Sauv Blanc. Period.
The first time I tasted Cab Franc was a barrel tasting at the Flora Springs tasting froom in Napa, circa 1990. I was blown away. Of course they use it in their Trilogy blend.
http://www.goldmedalwine.com/newsletters/plus_series/newsletter_152.php
Most recently at the Film Fest for which I was charged with searching out the best NC wines, the Westbend Chambourcin was the clear red winner (and it was the only wine of the 5 we poured from their line that we ran out of because I iz good pimp.) But their Cab Franc was my second favorite red, far superior to their Merlot and Cab Sauv.
http://www.westbendvineyards.com/details.php?prodId=41
It is an underrated and often unappreciated little grape and when done right, is delightful as a stand alone varietal. Cab Sauv is way too heavy for me, as is Zin. And Merlot is just yawn. If I do red, it is Pinot or Syrah, or a light Cab Franc. (I would love to try the no oak selection you tasted.)
cleek
How exactly does one become wine literate?
start buying (and drinking) $10-$15 bottles. then just pay attention to the things you like.
it’ll take a while, but you’ll start to notice what the different varietals taste like, and what the different countries taste like (they all have their own flavor). after a bit, you’ll be familiar enough that you can look at a bottle on a shelf and have a general idea of what it will taste like just based on grape variety and country of origin. from there, you can work on different regions, and wineries.
General Winfield Stuck
Don’t know, but there are some wines that’ll get you illiterate fairly fast. You Bohemians know which ones.
DougJ
How are the NY wines on the sweet/dry scale?
These cab francs were all bone dry in that they had no residual sugar. They probably taste drier than a typical CA red, even though a typical CA red also has no residual sugar, because they have less fruit and alcohol, which give the impression of sweetness sometimes.
A lot of NYS whites are a little off-dry to moderately sweet. And at the lower end, the reds and whites can be sweet. But a typical $10+ single varietal red of any kind will be dry.
cleek
How are the NY wines on the sweet/dry scale?
most, but not all, of them are on the sweet side. there are many dry NY wines, but the typical NY wine is a semi-dry white.
Off the region but on topic I have become obsessed with Malbec
i love the Trapiche Malbec. it’s cheap, too!
Wine for Dummies is actually a pretty useful book.
thirded!
geg6
I learned about wine when my sister was managing the dining room of a local restaurant that has one of the finest American wine cellars in the nation, The Wooden Angel (and if you’re ever in Pittsburgh and you like wine and fine food, don’t miss this place). She taught me and the youngest sister about it as she learned. We even ended up having younger sister’s bachelorette party in their red wine cellar. I love wine, most especially reds and even more especially pinot noirs. Which is a problem as I live in PA. We have the craziest liquor laws here and it’s almost impossible to get anything unusual or interesting on a regular basis (unless you can buy in bulk and I mean really big bulk) as we are always hamstrung by what the Liquor Control Board buys and then by what the local State Store chooses from that. We can’t even get Two Buck Chuck, let alone most NY wines. They have, however, been good at stocking a fairly decent variety of Australian and New Zealand wines, along with smaller selections of Italian, Spanish, and French. They have recently begun carrying a couple of Chilean wines that I’m planning on trying. I’d love to try some of what you tasted, Doug. That sounds right up my alley. But I despair that I’ll ever be able to find any here in this damned backward (as far as liquor sales go) state. Think you could smuggle some down here to the ‘Burgh for me?
DougJ
The best CA region for both Pinot Noir and Sauv Blanc. Period.
Rochioli is probably one of the top five wineries in CA. I’d rank Dominus and Ridge (my personal favorite) ahead, but that’s about it.
Laura — I think you would have liked today’s cab francs a lot.
I’m actually drinking a highly rated spanish wine (Bodegas Olivares Altos De La Hoya Monastrell 2007 – 91 pts from IWC) and while it’s good, I miss the complexity and floral/spicy/vegetal note of the cab francs I had earlier today.
The Main Gauche of Mild Reason
@Max:
I STRONGLY second this. I did the tasting with a small group of friends a couple weeks ago and it was a big hit. They have a pretty diverse selection (eau de vie, liqueurs, infused vodkas, a respectable 9-year single malt and a great absinthe), so most people that like liquor will be able to find something they like.
The company is actually St. George Spirits (they just produce Hangar One Vodka)
http://www.stgeorgespirits.com/
freelancer
My mom’s the wino in the family, and apparently my dad’s the frat boy according to this wsj post (via sully).
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/07/27/sorry-bud-natty-light-isnt-just-for-college-anymore/
Just give me a regional PA and I’m good.
“I saw this homeless guy. He was eating grapes. I was like, ‘Dude! You have to wait!’.”
Max
@The Main Gauche of Mild Reason: I didn’t try the absinthe, but it looked wild. I think you can pay $10 and just have a glass of it, rather than the tasting.
You can’t beat the view from the bar on a clear day.
donovong
I tried a number of the wineries in Napa and Sonoma while we lived there (temporaily, as it turned out), and my hands-down favorite is Hagafen. They are the only certifed kosher winery in the valley, and while i am not Jewish, it seems to make a difference. Their Pinot is killer and Merlot and Cabernet are great, as is the Riesling.
donovong
By the way – Shatner is at the top of the front page at the Great Orange Satan RIGHT NOW.
trollhattan
For some hobbies it’s good to live in California. Jess sayin’. Easily two thousand wineries within a three-hour radius, hundreds within an hour or so. If you stay clear of the touristy areas they still don’t charge for tastings and are happy to have you there. It’s nice.
One…uh…benefit of the recession is a lot of historically high end (expen$ive) wine makers are paying attention to more affordable releases, meaning we reglar folk can buy more interesting and drinkable things from more places. It’s a scramble and a lot of detective work to find this stuff, however. My recommendation is to find a couple local/regional merchants who will work with you to figure out what you like and then steer you at the treasures and bargains that are always out there. I suppose in some parts of our fine nation such folks are run out of town for doing the devil’s work.
Wine’s SO much more complex than it was fifteen years ago. Not only are there ten times as many domestic wineries there’s an enormous haul from less-traditional overseas such as Australia, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa…. So much to sample, yet here I am with but one liver.
Comrade Darkness
Dude!! you are so local to me. You should host a local meet and greet. I say at the Blue Tusk.
Kathy
geg6, I am in PA too and feel your pain. I am on the Philly side and the State Board actually blessed my local grocery store with an in-store branch. While I don’t know the selection on the west-side of the state, the “Chairman’s Specials” actually can get you some pretty good deals. Especially helpful are when they include the Wine Advocate ratings. I have never had a bad bottle with an 85 or above rating and anything with a 90 or above is to die for. Outside of the specials however, you do pay the monopoly price. Check out the Argentina section, that’s where I found the malbec. If you like Chilean, you will love this.
DougJ
I say at the Blue Tusk.
Is that in Syracuse?
Gus
Yay, wine blogging! I’m just starting to develop a taste for wine. It will never replace beer in my heart, though.
DaBomb
@Ash: Some of your best wines come from a grocery store shelf. Believe or not a great one is Menage’ Trois and there is a good organic one called Bonterra or Fonterra? Forgive me, my brain is mush at the moment.
In fact, me and the other half are planning a trip to Napa Valley next year!
Laura W
@Laura W: If I do red, it is Pinot or Syrah, or a light Cab Franc.
Grenache/Garnacha.
Also.
Walker
Here at Cornell we have a course in it (through the Hotel school). It is impossible to get into (as faculty I am so low in priority I will never get into it).
It is also infamous for being the course with the highest fail rate on campus. A lot of students sign up for it thinking it is joke. Then they discover that they actually have to be able to name grape and region by taste.
DMac
I live in the Fingerlakes, Yates County, near Seneca lake. On which lake are Shalestone, Damiani, Lamoreaux Landing and Ravines? Never heard of them.
chopper
that’s a terrible thing to say about NY wines.
and yes, i still laugh when i see ‘finger lakes’. it runs in the family. the first time i told my then-72-year-old dad i lived on Flatbush Ave he laughed for like 10 minutes.
zoe kentucky in pittsburgh
Ooohhh….comedian Ricky Geravis reads a faux Sarah Palin porn script.
Origuy
A good introduction to wine is Wine for the Confused starring John Cleese.
chopper
@General Winfield Stuck:
ah, blue nun. “the wine so bad it made the news”.
jim
nbc universal has the video up on their site. NYT has a story with the link:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/shatner-performs-palins-poetry/?hp
chopper
@zoe kentucky in pittsburgh:
oh that is a hoot and a holler.
Drowning in a Sea of Red
i find the best wine is from Boones farm or Md the orange or kiwi are my fave.
Demo Woman
@jim: I love this comment
lol
Laura W
@Walker:
This reminds me of my two years in Napa working in the wine and upscale F&B industry. I worked (briefly) for an insane Aussie Alkie who brought people into Napa from all around the world for these very intensive 10-day seminars. All we did was taste, tour, evaluate, drink, learn, drink, meet winemakers, drink, meet vineyard managers, drink, food pair, drink, meet barrel makers, drink.
The most fascinating and memorable part of those days for me remains a seminar we had with Lisa Van de Water, founder of The Wine Lab.
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/21/garden/troubled-grapes-call-the-wine-doctor.html
We had maybe two hundred little samples of wine components all lined up on tables to sniff and identify, blind, as it were, with only our sense of smell. You had to write down what you thought you were smelling. Try to differentiate between blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, current, gooseberry, boysenberry, cherry, plum…etc. Also detecting the things that spoil wines, and ferreting out the different fermenting processes. And discerning one spice from another, and then the freakin’ herbs! Tobacco, cedar, wet dog, eucalyptus… You’d be amazed how many people confuse chocolate with vanilla when they have no clues but their olfactory abilities.
Fascinating shit! I have a super sensitive nose, and a pretty good palate, so I really really dug this challenge. It’s also a great way to learn how to appreciate and evaluate wine, especially if you hope to write about it in an intelligent and interesting manner.
Great post DougJ. I needed this.
MikeJ
Howie starting on Countdown!
DougJ
On which lake are Shalestone, Damiani, Lamoreaux Landing and Ravines? Never heard of them.
Ravines is on Keuka.
The other three are on the eastern shore of Lake Seneca, not far from Lodi.
lamh31
OT, but I know everybody’s been saying this, but it can’t be said enough:
CNN has a REAL problem when it comes to Lou Dobbs:
Lou Dobbs Slams “Tea-Bagging Queen Rachel Maddow,” Refuses To Back Off Obama Birth Certificate Controversy (AUDIO)
Dobbs on his radio show today:
Didya get the whole “ethnocentric issue groups” ?
He also took shots at Rachel Maddow:
This definitely feeds into TPM’s post today: Obama-Haters Becoming Increasingly…Racial In Their Rhetoric
Laura W
@Laura W:
currant.
I’ll start running my ads again on PW if we could get the freaking cheat formatting buttons back and the 5 min edit function.
Christ. One step forward, two steps back.
MikeJ
We’ve got five minute edit now, but I don’t know why John hasn’t reïnstalled quicktags.
MikeJ
oops. I spoke too soon. I swore I used the 5 minute edit just today.
General Winfield Stuck
test comment
Mike P
@Max:
Sonama pwns Napa and I like the later. I’ve probably been to them both a half dozen times or more (the beauty of living in the Bay Area) and always find myself liking the Sonoma wineries more.
I do love me some V. Sattui, though. Great red table wines and dry and off dry Rieslings.
General Winfield Stuck
@General Winfield Stuck:
NOpe on edit function for me. Drat! Now I’ll contract the Sarah babble bug.
Fleem
Speaking of Finger Lakes whites, whenever I get back that way I pick up a couple of bottles of Dr. Frank riesling. Comes in a sweet, a dry and an off-dry, IIRC. Everybody likes it.
Keuka Lake rocks. If I didn’t live somewhere equally pretty, I’d miss it a lot.
Fleem
@Rook:
Are you the same Rook who used to wine blog at Everything2?
geg6
Kathy: Doesn’t it drive you nuts that it’s next to impossible to get wine and beer in grocery stores? I’m a native and actually had an uncle who was the State Store manager at the tony Sewickley store and he always brought great wines to family holidays. I actually have a really great but small store right here in my town. The manager there knows that I’m an adventurous customer and always keeps me in mind when she stocks the Chairman’s specials and will even keep a bottle of something back for me if it’s really special or something I’ve talked about with her. I just wish we had the selection that they have in other places. And the convenience! Damn, the fracking convenience!
Comrade Kevin
@Origuy:
That’s a good show.
One of my Napa favorites is Grgich Hills.
Just Some Fuckhead
Hey MikeJ, when ya gonna post a pic of yer other leg?
Max
@Mike P: V Sattui is great! I love their picnic wine. It tastes like strawberries. Their dry Riesling is good too. Also, their Moscato….
Tom Betz
I don’t know the direct URL, but you can find the Shatner video over at the front page of the Orange Satan.
Comrade Kevin
The Shatner video is embedded on on this very website.
Nethead Jay
Youtube of the Shatner Palin video, don’t know how long it’ll stay up: Poetry here.
EIGRP
I’ll have to try the Cab Franc.
I went to a wine tasting at the Wegman’s banquet center in Chili this past winter. We found a great red Zinfandel from Barefoot Winery. It tastes great and can be found for $8.50/1.5L bottle in Penfield.
I’ll fourth/fifth the recommendation for Wine for Dummies.
To all those who don’t know how to get started, get some of the less expensive wines. Ask a person at the liquor store. We’ve had good luck doing that too.
Great post. Thanks for the info1
-Eric
wine
Don’t mind me, I’m just here for the cookie.
Fleem
Wegman’s has a banquet center??? In Chili??? I knew it was a towering empire, but still sounds nuts to me.
Wow, I’ve been gone from there a long time. Sure do miss Wegman’s though.
cleek
Wegman’s has a banquet center??? In Chili???
they have a high-end restaurant at their Monroe Ave store now, too.
DMac
@DougJ: Those are close! I will have to check them out, thanks.
Scott
@binzinerator:
Living as i do within a crows swallow of the elegant vintner of Le MD vingt-vingt, I can tell you it is savored within he confines of some of the most historic pre-fifties over passes found any where. The elegance of the over arching cover, high lighted with a classic keystone simple lends itself to a full appreciation of the non subtleties of this vintage. WNY overpasses uniquely offer themselves to this wine; offering quiet corners to relieve the system to make room for even more of this delight. Sadly, proper quaffing etiquette is to be denied as the classic brown bag has been phased out , to be replaced by the sterile inelegant plastic wrapper that is so slippery one risks dropping the bottle; and worse, the te;;tale rattle of the plastic wrappings announces to all and sundry the arrival of a fresh supply of this ambrosia. Enough praises for this uniquely WNY offering to the gods.
Vive la Vin!
Yep, I’m wined out tonight…
Scott
Dougj,
I would rather read about and discuss wine any day than deal with Palin speeches, poems (thanks Bill) or pontifications.
Cheers and raise your glasses high,
Scott
Surabaya Stew
Haven’t ever had wine from the Finger Lakes AVA; here in the Big Apple, all the NY State wine I see in stores are from North Fork wineries, with the occasional offering from the Hudson River Valley. (Heck, even the South Fork makes an occasional appearance!) Which is a shame, because the region could use the increased agricultural profits more than any other part of the state.
Ronnie P
Wegmans still has a store in Chili? Over on the west side? Must be an oversight.
BTW, Weggies now owns Century Liquor. Bet they didn’t stock $17,000 bottles back when it was on Ridge Road.
thruppence
NBC puts a lot of their shows on hulu. A search of “tonight show shatner” brings this classic to the top. I can now forgive Conan for decades of self conscious lameness. I may even stay up to watch.
cleek
we don’t see any NY wines at all, here in NC. errr… wait, i think i saw Bully Hill, once. hell, they barely stock NC wines here in NC – at least compared to the hundreds upon hundreds of CA, OR, and import wines they have.
but there is an NC wine festival every year, just down the road. the wine tends towards sweetish, and mostly white – like NY wine. but some of it is pretty good.
i wish regionalism would catch on…
HRA
I grew up with wine being made every September by my Dad and uncles in our basement. They made 2 huge barrels. I was given the duty to go pour the wine in a pitcher for the our guests.
I can’t drink it now. It will interfere with my meds.
My preference was always a medium light wine that could be either red or white. Last wine I had was Lambrusco (sp?)
Right now I have a California Chardonnay, an Australian wine -Shiraz? and a bottle of Mogen David. I use them only for cooking.
Why the Mogen David? We always had it at my uncle’s house for the holidays and we children were allowed a tiny glass of it with our meal.
BTW I know Rochester in the area of Cobb Park. Our daughter lives in the neighborhood across from there.
tisalaska
http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/
Shatner video…too funny. We will trade you a slightly used governor for a good bottle of NY vino..
DougJ
BTW I know Rochester in the area of Cobb Park. Our daughter lives in the neighborhood across from there.
That’s about a mile from where I live.
DougJ
All the NY State wine I see in stores are from North Fork wineries, with the occasional offering from the Hudson River Valley.
I’m not a huge fan of either of those regions. The Finger Lakes wines are much better.
Scott
@cleek:
No No No….
WNY wines range from pucker dry to syrupy sweet toppings for Ice Cream; Kosher wines aside.
I held the same view for years until my wife, a WNY native brought me back here and shut up and drink…..
Of the 15 or so wineries within an hours drive of here; at least 10 offer a broad array of styles. I prefer drier wines and find many to choose from…. Yes you can get the Niagras, Concords and Syvals that will kill a diabetic; but that is no longer the prevalent style. I am however amazed at the number of people who love Lambrusco style wines and will drink nothing else….
I looked at the rack tonight and I have local Chamborcins, Cab Francs and a hand made Dechaunec 2008 that are seriously lacking in residual sugar. In the cellar, there are I’m sure even more local wines with low residual sugar that I would not be ashamed to serve you if you should drop by…Please do.
Cheers,
S
HRA
Something happened to this site. It’s gone weird again.
Church Lady
Given the depth of your post on wine tasting, I guess you must be one of those Volvo driving effete liberals. :)
Ron
Hmm, I don’t recognize the producers you mention. Were those local? To be fair I’ve only lived in the finger lakes region a few years and I’m more familiar with ones either on the northern part of Seneca or some in Keuka. (I live in Geneva and work near Penn Yan, so that’s the area I’m more familiar with)
Fleem
@cleek:
That, also, is nuts. Plus: Organic research farm?
No wine label yet, though. I don’t see grapes on the farm map.
The rumor going around when I was a kid was about Danny Wegman having a garage with a turntable so he wouldn’t have to back his cars out. I guess he earned it.
invisible_hand
the shatner palin video is on nbc’s conan site.
Indylib
La, la, commenting to see if it fixes the weird stuff.
mofi
http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2009/07/reason-17-to-get-full-time-job.html
the palin/shatner thing; sorry, if redundant.
kansi
We were in CA wine country last year….oh the eating and drinking! Stayed away from the big production wineries in favor of their smaller boutique brethren. Couple of my favorites were Frank Family (so much fun) and Titus, where we tasted at a backyard picnic table and actually toured the vineyards with the owner as he cut back his vines. But for a real treat, go to Hess winery. Way up in the mountains with a beautiful view and tasting room. An art gallery upstairs featuring work by artists whom Hess personally patronizes. Fabulous! We had a private tasting arranged through our local wine shop, and you should really do this. Included a tour of the fields, the gallery, a high end wine tasting in an arbor next the the winery, as well as the customary tasting inside. We stayed all morning and it was worth it!
DougJ
I guess you must be one of those Volvo driving effete liberals. :)
I drive a 98 Saturn.
Joe Doaks
Aldorossi
All of this WNY chat; I grew up in Rochester (It’s Got IT!), Fairport actually, then SU. I’m old enough to remember when Finger Lakes wine was Widmer Jugs and Wegman’s was just another grocery store. Anyone remember the Rod Serling Genesee Beer commercials?
Now I live in LA, and there really isn’t anything that compares to Wegmans. I’m excited to try some of the Finger Lakes varietals that you’re all talking about. I had heard of Dr Frank Rieslings, but NY wines are hard to come by out here.
(Shameless plug for a friend: in LA, all you winos should visit Lou, on Vine above Melrose, a little wine bar hidden away in a stripmall next to a laundrymat. Lou (the owner) is always there and has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things wine. Tell him Don the Architect sent you.)
GranFalloon
Try the 100% Cab Franc from Peju, in the Napa Valley. Earthy and somber – like a stripped-down CdP.
Tom Fitz
If you’re in the east Bay Area and find the traffic tough to fight going to Sonoma and Napa, try the Livermore area.
celiadexter
Your post has convinced me to revisit French cabernet franc, which has underwhelmed me in the past — I’ve found it way too vegetal, as in dill/green pepper — but I’ll try again. Also saw an Austrian red which was predominantly cab franc in an NYC store last weekend and will go back and get it. I’ve had much better luck with NY cab francs, particularly from Long Island. For people having trouble finding these, try Vintage NY on Broadway near 92nd. All they sell is New York State wine and everything’s available for tasting.
malta
need cookie :)
caseyjones
trying to fix view again.
eric
nice notes abotu cabernet franc. pulled together a bunch of info on cab franc’s here: http://www.kosmix.com/search/cabernet_franc? videos/articles /reviews etc. for anyone looking to dive deeper.
thanks,
eric
Josh Wig
T23= Tank 23, where this wine finishes fermentation and ages. It never sees a splinter of oak!