Wine Blogging Wednesday - Boy am I late

Wow am I late. Perhaps I was too enamoured with my posting of the Twitteleh video, but I have been dropping the ball on blogging. Last Wednesday was the sixty first edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, founded and hosted by Lenn at LENNDEVOURS.

As the year progresses it is slowly becoming more and more obvious to me that my hobby of wine blogging is going to be hurting. The time commitment that blogging is will easily get in the way of work. I hate it when work gets in the way of life. So, I will definite keep blogging and tasting and writing. I just might not have the luxury of posting something on my blog as often as I would like.


That being said, lets dive into the topic: Drink Local. Lenn loves this topic, mostly because it allows him to write about the wines he covers anyway, and forces those of us in the New York area to taste and write about New York wines.


Not that I can blame the guy. Some of these wines are damn tasty!


The rub with this topic is that Lenn also wanted us to go out and visit the winery that we write about. Something I would have loved to have done, but there was just no way I was getting out to Long Island, the Hudson Valley, or the Finger Lakes. It just did not happen.


So, I did the next best thing, tasted (tasted... who am I kidding... guzzled!) a wine from a winery I had visited and tasted a wine from a winemaker I know who makes his wine in Long Island.



The first was one of the tastiest Sauvignon Blancs I have had the pleasure of imbibing from the East Coast. Channing Daughters Sauvignon Blanc 2008 is fantastic. The taste was so fresh and so crisp, that even though the cooler weather is here, I felt like I could have been enjoying this wine on a hot beach. It was that refreshing. Lime, grapefruit, and jalapeno (a taste I have been identifying in more and more Sauvingon Blancs) with a little roundness that might have been pear. It was supposed to go well with the sushi I wanted to have, but instead went very well with Vietnamese.


The other wine I drank (definitely finished the bottle and went and purchased another at Crush) was Schneider Vineyards "le breton" Cabernet Franc 2007. I can hear all of my old coworkers who are reading this (its OK, you can leave a comment!) making sounds of amusement. Not because of the wine, but because they still work with the winemaker, Bruce Schneider. Back in May, when I participated in Lenn's TasteCamp East, I had some amazing Cabernet Francs that blew away the Merlot I had tasted. Lenn even wrote about Bruce's wine last year.


So, for this blog post I asked Bruce if he had a bottle to spare. He humored be and let me have a sample. I should have asked for another bottle. This wine was very good, with tasty earthy cherry up front moving into a rich finish. You should go find it if you can, or you should become friendly with the winemaker...

TasteCamp - The Last Day

Three weeks and several blog posts later, I have finally come to the end of the story of TasteCamp. It was a lot of fun, we had a lot of laughs, we sipped, we spit, we slurped, and we... sorry, ran out of 's' words... we enjoyed ourselves.



On the last day we visited two wineries, Wolffer Estate Vineyards and Channing Daughters. Both of these wineries are located on the South Fork of Long Island, better known as the Hamptons. You may have heard of them.







To get there, Leah and I had the choice to drive down the North Fork to where the two forks merge and then dive back up the South Fork or to take a ferry over to Shelter Island and then another ferry to the South Fork. Being a water-going gal, Leah immediately opted for the ferry ride. We got primo parking on the ferry boat so that we could see the stretch of the water and the island we were approaching. While it was a grey day, it was still much nicer than watching highway...


I will not spend too much time talking about Wolffer, although not because I did not enjoy the visit. My company represents Wolffer and I feel it would be inappropriate for me to talk about the wines. What I will say is that I would love to go back and visit one a bright sunny day. Their tasting room was very nice and there was a porch that overlooked the vineyards that I would imagine to be stunning when the sun was shinning. As it was, the day was rainy and a little chilly.

After leaving Wolffer we went to Channing Daughters, which for me was one of the best visits of the trip. There were giant sculptures in each of the vineyards, which we later learned was one of the ways they marked each block and called them by the sculpture's name. All of the pieces of artwork are the creation of Owner/Sculptor Walter Channing. In the middle of the vineyards was an upside-down oak, which is the winery's logo.

The tasting room at Channing Daughters is small in comparison to many of the other wineries that we had visited over the weekend. We walked in, grabbed glasses, and walked back out onto a back porch. It was still raining and still chilly, but all of that evaporated as soon as we started talking with the Winemaker, Christopher Tracy and the General Manager, Allison Dubin.

You meet plenty of people in the wine industry who know the ins and outs of the world of wine. It is a rare that you meet someone that is so enthusiastic about teaching others about wine (especially when it is their own wine) that the enthusiasm rubs off on you. Chris was not only knowledgeable, but he was so pleased to be able to share his visions and thoughts about wine with others interested in listening. He was a joy to taste with and a double pleasure because his wines were fantastic.

Chris makes twenty-three wines at Channing Daughters, fourteen of which are white, three roses, and six reds. What was most impressed me was the consistency from one wine to the next. All were wines I would gladly drink again (in fact I bought six bottles while I was there).

And there was so much diversity! There was crisp Chardonnay, oak integrated Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Field Blends, Tokai Friulano, Pinot Grigio, Blends of each white varietal with different levels of malolactic fermentation, Merlot, Blaufrankish (dude! Blaufrankish in Long Island!), and a wine combining the ripasso method and the solera method. It was fresh! It was fun! And the wines were damn good!

The best moment was when Chris gave us a look like that of a wicked child that had a hidden stash of candy and asked us if we wanted to stick our nose in his Madeira. Of course we had to say yes! He lead us through what was probably the smallest winery room I have ever seen (probably smaller than my apartment!) and into the back of the winery where there were barrels sitting. Barrels full of wine! Exposed to the elements! He lead us to a barrel left on its own between several rows of stacked barrels and pulled the plug from the bunghole. When my turn came around, I stuck my snozz in and there was no doubt, it was Madeira! When asked what grape it was, he said Merlot.

Chris showed us that experimentation is alive and well on Long Island, and his wines are all the better for it. Even more impressive is that the wines were moderately price and, in my opinion, worth every penny.

Thanks go to Lenn Thompson of LENNDEVOURS for putting together such a great weekend and showing wineries that bloggers are a valuable advocate in today's wine market.

TasteCamp – The BYO Dinner

Send an e-mail to all your friends right now and ask them what they are doing tomorrow night. If the answer is “nothing,” you should round them up at your place and tell them to each bring a bottle of wine. That is what Lenn did with all of the bloggers that were on the trip to Long Island and it was really interesting to see what people brought.

There was a really interesting Vidal from Canada, the Lapostolle Clos Apalta 2005 (Wine Spectator’s wine of the year), a Gevrey-Chambertin, a bottle of blackberry wine (eee-GADS that was sugary sweet), a bottle of Duckhorn, a few wines from Virginia, some Riesling from the finger lakes, a crazy good white Rioja from 1999, and all manner of other wines. There was even a silky Kentucky bourbon.

This is something that is easy to put together and the more people the more booze... I mean the more variety of wines you will have.

I brought a few bottles of Altair 2003, one of my favorite Chilean producers. The winery started in 2001 as a joint venture between Chateau Dassault and San Pedro Wine Group, but now I believe it is fully owned by San Pedro. Regardless, I really like these wines and have a few stashed away in my mother's basement (not so much room in NYC apartments, and if you don't believe me check out the Wine Enthusiast website... the "before" photo is of my kitchen area...) to see how they will taste in 10-15 years.

So, grab your friends, get together and see what people bring. I promise it will be interesting.

Disclaimer:

I was previously employed by RFBinder Partners and a member of the team in charge of the Wines of Chile account.

TasteCamp – Bedell Cellars and Lenz Winery

We last left our story at the end of the visit to Shinn Estates, where I had a great time meeting and listening to winemakers that were so in tune with the earth that they might have been able to tell me the exact moment the next pandemic would be (too soon?).

Off we went to Bedell Cellars, where we were met be Kip Bedell. Kip was at one time the owner of Bedell Cellars, but sold the winery to Michael Lynne, former Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of New Line Cinema (think Lord of the Rings). After the deal, Lynne asked Kip if he would stay on as part of the winemaking team for Bedell, in order to keep the wines as consistent as they had always been.

The cheese spread that greeted us was wonderful, with delicious bree, tasty blue cheese, and briny olives. As if we needed more to eat. The food plays a part a little later in the story…

The artwork for the wine labels caught my eye immediately. I collect labels (or at least I would if I would get around to peeling them off the bottles that are lying around my apartment) and these labels would be well worth putting into my collection. Unfortunately, most of the wines did not jive on my palate the same way the labels did with my visual spectrum. The best, in my opinion, was the Gewurztraminer 2007 from Corey Creek (a separate label under Bedell). It was classic lychee with rose pedals and a rich peach taste.

One note I want to make that I am rather sorry about is the Cabernet Franc 2007 from Bedell. I was told that it was very tasty, however I had chosen that exact moment to try the blue cheese. Worse decision ever, and one that I am sorry to say absolutely ruined the wine. Oh well, I’ll have to go back and taste it again.

Moving on from Bedell we went to what was another one of my favorite visits during the weekend. Lenz Winery was just a skip down the road from Bedell, and if the whole group of us that attended this trip were to skip down the road, it would be quite a sight to see.

Meeting Eric Fry, the winemaker at Lenz, was a singular experience. His mastery of his domain was unquestioned. Most important to him was that we taste without predisposition, taking away all marketing manipulation and influence and just focused on the wines. We saw no labels while we were there and we had no idea what we were tasting until we had given him our feedback. And all of the wines were delicious, even the dozen we tasted out of barrel. For me, this was one of the two wineries that had consistently good wines.

We started in the tasting room with the Cuvée Sparkling wine from 2002. It was all peaches and pears, with a little bit of honey. It was one of the few finished wines we tasted. We then moved outside to the equipment shed, where the steel tanks were set up. We first tasted a Gewurztraminer 2008, which was extremely refreshing, although not ready for bottling yet. Eric then brought out the 2005 version to show us where the wine was going and what he had planned for it. The 05 was peppery, with classic lychee and apricot.

The next wine that came out was white, with bright acidity and some beautiful floral notes. I could have sworn it was a Chardonnay or a bit of a fat Sauvignon Blanc. It turned out to be Pinot Noir and I felt like a moron. I could tell that Eric was pleased that he had tricked us. No manipulation indeed!

We then went through white after white, sipping, spitting into a drain (or in my case threatening to spit at Dale Cruse, one of the many photographers on the trip). Then we moved into the first barrel storage house where we tasted reds and had to be slightly more accurate with our spitting technique as our spittoon was a large bucket put into the middle of the group. We then moved to the second storage warehouse, where Eric kept his wines until they were ready for release. He said that since Americans had no concept of what it was to age a wine and that a bottle was lucky to be in a person’s possession long enough to make it from the store to their dinner table, it was his job as the winemaker to appropriately age the wines before releasing them. I can only agree with his assessment. Every aged wine that he brought out for us was delicious, and I applaud not only Eric but also the owner of the winery who has the money and the patience to keep wines back without pushing them onto the market simply to keep costs down and turn a faster profit.

Eric’s market sense and image for his wines absolutely propels his wines to the top of the Long Island wine industry. I personally picked up a bottle of his Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 and I am looking forward to drinking it. Although perhaps I will let it age a little longer…

And the story continues ...

TasteCamp - Shinn Estates

Something wonderful happens to a person when they make the commitment to live and act in a way that best suits the environment. I noticed this phenomenon when I was in Chile last August at a seminar on organics. There was such camaraderie apparent among the winemakers. I thought that it was just a function of having the man that created the organic/biodynamic movement in Chile in the room with us, but perhaps it goes deeper than that. I wish I had been able to take the opportunity to meet Nicolas Jolie when he was in New York.

When we arrived at the Shinn Estates Vineyards the sky was grey and dark and it had been raining. We were greeted with a fantastic lunch spread, duck, fresh spring greens, and so much more. When I went up to get some food, Barbara Shinn, one of the proprietors at Shinn estates, and I chatted for a short time. When I mentioned the weather she looked outside and said that the sun would be out at 2:00 that afternoon. Whether she had a sixth sense about the weather or had simply looked at a weather report right before we arrived, I am not sure. However, the effect was very impressive.

The food was delicious and the wines that we tasted were equally impressive. My favorite wines from the lunch were the Shinn Sauvignon Blanc 2008, the Macari Rosé 2008, and a barrel sample of the Cabernet Franc 2007. The Cab Franc was awesome; I was almost upset that it was not a finished wine that I could buy there and then.

We then listened to the winemakers talk about their wines and their vineyard practices. All of the winemakers were very well versed in their own practices as well as their neighbors. It was as if everyone was looking for the right way to make wine as naturally as possible and were willing to share their experiments with the world. It was so refreshing to listen to.

In the midst of talking about their growing practices, Barbara Shinn passed around a small planters pot. In the pot was a hunk of poop. Barbara said, “Most people think that wine comes from the grapes or the land. Great wine comes from a horse’s ass.” Probably the most quoted moment among the bloggers of the entire weekend.

After tasting and lunch we went out to look at the vines. This was classic wine country visit procedure, and I am glad we got a chance to do it. The vines were just ending their bud break cycle and had begun to sprout the shoots that will eventually become the vines the grapes hang from. The plot of vines was beautiful, with thousands of dandelions and billions of clovers.

After that we went into the barrel room of the winery and found ourselves faced with another wave of wine, with representatives from most of the other wineries that we were not going to be able to visit waiting for us with a few of their wines. While there I was able to taste Borghese, Bouké, Harbes, Lieb Cellars, The Old Field, Palmer, and Sparkling Point.

Of those I enjoyed:


Harbes Merlot Rosé 2008
Harbes Old Barn Merlot 2005
Lieb Cellars Pinot Blanc 2007
The Old Field Blanc de Noir 04
Sparkling Point Brut Seduction 2000 (although I might have been influenced by the VERY attractive pourer)

On our way out, the sun was shining, I had the Harbes Rosé still in my mind (second rose I have liked this trip!) and a delicious chocolate brownie in my hand. This was a great visit.



And the story continues…

Taste Camp – Roanoke Vineyards and Paumonok Vineyards

It has been a week since TasteCamp and I need to make sure I get everything down before I forget it all.

The Roanoke Vineyards were the first stop we made on a hectic Saturday of wine tasting. We got there at 10:00 in the morning, the perfect time to start tasting red wines.

We tasted their Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc as well as a few blends. To be honest, none of these wines really excited me, although I enjoyed the Cabernet Franc. I thought that this wine had some nice jammy qualities, with ripe strawberries and a little spicy white pepper.

Richard (Richie) Pisacano, our guide for the tasting, was great to listen to. He was a farmer, through and through, with a great sense of familiarity about the land around him. One of the blends that they made was named Marco Tulio, named after Richie's father-in-law, which I guess was better than calling it Blend 3. While we were there, Richie told us that there was one block of Cabernet Franc vines that were cared for by his father Gabby. Gabby's grapes were grown in a very traditional way and were compared to the other vines that had more modern technology overseeing the produce. Evidently Gabby's Cabernet Franc was one of the most flavorful wines at the winery, although we did not get to taste it.

From there we went on to Paumanok Vineyards, just up the road and across the width of the fork to the other highway (there are only two). This winery was also family owned and operated, with the son of the winemaker working as the vineyard manager, and the winemaker’s wife keeping everyone in line.

We tasted some Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and some Petit Verdot. The Chenin Blanc was not my style, but pleasantly fruity all the same. The other whites did not tickle my fancy. On the other hand, the White Label Merlot 2005 was absolutely delicious. It was classic merlot, with great deep red berries and structure.

We then did some barrel tasting. It is always fun to see what is still in the barrel and to see what the winemaker is thinking about doing with the wines before they put them into the bottle. However, morning barrel tastings of Petit Verdot can be a bit much.

We then went back up to taste through the Paumanok Rieslings. The one that stuck out to me was the Late Harvest Riesling. Only 70 cases of 375 mL bottles were made. It was very nice, rich and balanced with a little petrol and apricot.

TasteCamp East 2009 - to be continued...

Always a bad thing to be the one holding the spittoon...

I have spent years mastering how to completely ruin a good photo...

Walking into the Tsunami - TasteCamp East 2009 Day One

Continuing on with my notes on TasteCamp East 2009…

I already wrote about how geeky this past weekend was. Gloriously geeky. Yesterday, Erika and I were chatting (tweeting?) and she mentioned that everyone was writing about the “whirlwind” of a weekend we just had. I had a better name for it.

Tsunami

The ebb of the tide started as we piled into vans to go to Raphael Winery. There was the naturally awkward moment of being in an enclosed space with people you do not really know, where you feel like you have to make conversation. Luckily enough, I consider myself to be a reasonably good talker in awkward situations. It also helped that the damn van driver did not shut up from the moment we entered the van until the moment we paid the fare. Driving for a taxi service in Long Island wine country must be lonely in the off-season, without the weekend warriors.

The wave really began to crest as we stood around the bar, talking, doing some light warm-up tasting with the Raphael Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé. There were plenty of people to meet, lots of schmoozing to do.

Then we really got into the mess. The Long Island Merlot Alliance had set up a walk around tasting of Merlot from five wineries: Clovis Point, Pelligrini Vineyards, Raphael, Sherwood House Vineyards, and Wölffer Estate Vineyards. Their stated goal is “the members of the Long Island Merlot Alliance believe that this place (Long Island) is one of the few in the world that provides the best opportunity for growing and producing great wines substantially comprised of the Merlot grape.” These guys really believed in their Merlot. I cannot blame their passion.

However, overall I could not say that I really believed in their Merlot the way they do. For my tastes the majority of the Merlot was astringent with fruit that dried up before any finish. When I stuck my nose in a few of the wines they reminded me of canned lima beans. Not something I really wanted to find in a Merlot or any wine.

That being said, I tasted some delicious Merlots. My favorites were the Pellegrini Vineyards Merlot 1997 and the Clovis Point Vintner’s Select Merlot 2004.

In addition, the Long Island Merlot Alliance members yearly pool two barrels of their wines to create Merlliance (mer – LEE – ans). I found these wines to be tasty! My favorite was the 2006, with a smoky nose with bright cherry and a taste that was smooth and balanced. I also liked the 2005 and the 2004.

After the tasting we sat down for a fantastic dinner, my compliments to Raphael Winery and their Chef.

And the story of the Tsunami continues…

Absolutely and totally GEEKED OUT

This past weekend Leah and I went out to Long Island to participate in TasteCamp East 2009, organized by Lenn Thompson of LENNDEVOURS. It was a weekend specifically for bloggers to have a place for us east coasters to meet up as well as learn more about Long Island wines.

You know those kids that played D&D, that turned into teenagers that played magic cards, that then went back to playing D&D in college because it felt retro, who have now found D&D clubs in the towns where they now live?

Yeah, it was kinda like that. But… not as creepy.

Everyone was great, really friendly with a passion for wine. From the moment I arrived I knew that it was going to be a great weekend. Everyone wanted to learn about each other, what everyone does in real life. Some (like me) were part of the gears that keep the wine industry moving. There were a few retailers, a few PR people, and an importer who all let their professional lives spill over onto the Internet. The rest had strong tech backgrounds, from insurance through database management and on to information technology.

And by God, did everyone love to drink.

The knowledge level of everyone there was very good. It was obvious that everyone had a palate that they were comfortable with and were willing to express their own opinions and insights on the wines without making anyone who was not as knowledgeable (like Leah) feel like they were not up to the group’s standards. There was also a great camaraderie. I am not sure if some of that stemmed from the recent hoopla at DrVino, but there was an immediate comfortable atmosphere the moment we walked into the first winery for dinner. Perhaps it was the Sauvignon Blanc that awaited us. More on that to come.

One thing that was a little over the top was all the twitter that happened. People twittered (Twit? Tweeted? Twat?) all the time, during meals, during tastings, during the car ride between one winery and the next, tweeting, twittering, twating, twhatever. Too much twitter where there were other things going on. I certainly cannot blame people for writing blog posts during the weekend, but I have no idea when people had the time.

This was a marathon tasting weekend and I am very much looking forward to finding out who thought what about each winery we visited. There certainly were not as many wines as some of the tastings I have held for critics, for which I am very thankful, but there was more than enough wines for us all to geek out about.

Throughout the next two weeks I am going to be posting reviews of the weekend. I have so many tasting notes that there is no way I will be able to get them all together for another day or two. Stay tuned for more.

A huge thank you for Lenn Thompson who helped organize the weekend, Melissa Dobson who helped organize a taxi service for the even portions of the trip, and all of the wineries and winemakers that hosted us throughout the weekend.

If you would like to check out all of the bloggers that I hung out with, here is the list:

Becky - http://smellslikegrape.blogspot.com/
Bryan - http://www.niagaraescarpment.net/
Dale - http://drinksareonme.net/
Debbie - http://hvwinegoddess.blogspot.com/
Diane - http://www.loveswine.blogspot.com/
Erika - http://www.strumerika.com/
Joe - http://www.1winedude.com/
John - http://anythingwine.wordpress.com/
Lenn - http://lennthompson.typepad.com/
Lyle - http://rockssandfruit.blogspot.com/
Melissa - http://familylovewine.wordpress.com/
Michelle - http://www.wine-girl.net/
Nick - http://homewineschool.com/
Remy - http://winecase.wordpress.com/
Rich - http://passionatefoodie.blogspot.com/
Robbin - http://www.vineyardadventures.com/
Tom - http://ithacork.wordpress.com/

And Leah put up a post too! http://leahhamburg.blogspot.com/

Meeting people is a great way to want to try their wine

A while ago I went to Total Wine to explore the store and pick up a few bottles. I ended up with more than a few bottles, but one of the many I picked up was the Hahn Estates Meritage 2006. Around the blogosphere I got to know Lisa de Bruin, the New Media Marketing Director for the winery. Lisa writes her own blog, where she explores the world of relating to social media and how the mass amounts of bloggers relate to the world. Lisa and Hahn Estates are easily at the forefront of what I believe will be a growing trend of wineries and country promotional organizations having a dedicated staffer whose job it is to explore and relate to online media. I think Lisa and Hahn Estates do a fantastic job. They have started what they hope to be a regular bloggers tasting forum where wineries and bloggers can come together to discuss how each views the wine industry as it is today.

It seems to me that the people doing the best work for bloggers are other bloggers that have access to wineries, samples, or information. Besides Lisa, Lenn Thompson has been very influential in the New York wine industry and has set up a blogger event called TasteCamp (which I am very pleased to be attending). Other bloggers including dudes and lushes, all the way up to established wine writers such as Steve Heimoff of the Wine Enthusiast make mention of other bloggers that they find to be thoughtful and interesting to read. It should be noted that if I mention someone here I think it is well worth the time to check them out.

With that aside however, I want to focus on Hahn Estates.

Nicolaus Hahn and his wife Gaby founded Hahn Estates in the mid 70’s when they experienced that bug that led to a compulsion to start a winery. May I be inflicted one day with the same disease. After meeting with success for their Smith & Hook brand they started the Hahn Estates brand in 1991. The Hahn Estates line is meant to be more approachable by the average consumer as well as reasonably priced.

The wine was pleasant. It had a purple red color and smelled of sweet red cherries with muddled assorted berries. The taste started on the sour cherry side and then transitioned into blueberry punctuated by black pepper. At first I found the wine to be a little disjointed, with a sense of it not knowing how it wanted to present itself. However, once I added food I was very pleased with my purchase. I think this wine was made for rosemary lamb chops with focaccia bread. The blend on the wine is 33% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Petit Verdot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Malbec. There were 10,500 cases produced and the suggested retail price is $20, although I purchased the bottle for about $17.

I had a few questions for the winemaker, so Lisa put me in touch with Paul Clifton, who is in charge of the Hahn Estates, Hahn SLH (Santa Lucia Highlands), and Lucienne lines from the winery. Since the bottle said Central Coast as the AVA I wondered if the blended grapes came more from one region within the Central Coast than the others.

Paul said:

“Regarding the fruit for the Meritage: The Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Petite Verdot come from Paso Robles or southern Monterey County in the San Antonio AVA. The Merlot comes from Arroyo Seco and the Malbec comes from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Over the past 7 years, with the growth of our brands, we have worked with many growers up and down the Central coast with all these Bordeaux varietals. Through a lot of trial and error in working with Growers, as well as our own vineyards, we have determined these AVA’s to be the best for the style of Meritage we put together.

Most of the Bordeaux varieties do very well in warmer areas like Paso and southern Monterey County. However, in 1999, we planted a small block of Malbec in the Santa Lucia Highlands (a cool climate) for a tasting room wine and it has turned out to be an incredible blender with dark color and intense tannic structure. Since it was successful, we planted more Malbec to blend into the Meritage.”

Overall I would say this is a fair wine. It gave me just as much as I felt I had paid for, which is a rare marvel these days.

TasteCamp East

Yesterday, TasteCamp East was announced on LENNDEVOURS and I am honored to be one of the participants. Living in New York City, I have wanted to get out to Long Island more often and this is the perfect excuse to take a mini vacation to do so.

I have tasted a few New York wines and I have worked with Bruce Schneider, the winemaker of Schneider Vineyards and consulting winemaker at Onabay (or at least I think that is what he is doing there), both of which hail from Long Island. They have been pleasant and interesting and a few Cabernet Francs have definitely made me pay attention.

TasteCamp was created by Lenn at LENNDEVOURS (I seem to mention him a lot lately) as well as fellow bloggers, including Melissa at Family, Love, Wine Blog; Erika at StrumErika; John at Anything Wine and Becky at Smells Like Grape. The idea behind TasteCamp is to have an event where bloggers can come together and meet other bloggers and taste wine with each other.

According to Lenn (and he should know) TasteCamp will happen as follows:

The festivities will start Friday, May 1 with a reception and dinner at Raphael, co-sponsored by Raphael and the Long Island Merlot Alliance. The plans are still forming, but it looks like we'll be the first to taste a couple single-vineyard Sauvignon Blancs from Raphael and also get a preview of LIMA's 2006 Merliance as part of a three-year vertical of that co-produced wine.

The plans for Saturday, May 2 are still coming together, but it looks like we'll be making visits to five different wineries, including lunch at Shinn Estate Vineyard, which will featured the wines of and be co-hosted by Shinn Estate Vineyards, Jamesport Vineyards and Macari Vineyards. After lunch, hopefully, in conjuntion with the Long Island Wine Council, we'll be able to taste the wines from wineries that we won't have time to visit.

Sunday May 3 we'll be shooting down to the South Fork of Long Island, aka the Hamptons, to visit Wolffer Estate and Channing Daughters Winery as well. For the beer lovers in the group, we may even stop off at Southampton Publick House on our way back west.

I am also excited about this because my girl Leah will be coming with me to taste through the wines. A big shout out to her for being on the cusp of finishing Med School and getting into New York Presbyterian for her residency!



Logo Credit: PJ Sedgwick created the TasteCamp EAST logo.