Irene was nothing (we think) and the NY Times notices the Finger Lakes

After talking to a number of North Fork vineyard owners the general opinion is that Irene did minimal damage, only some salt spray near the Bay. Hopes are still high for a very good vintage as the area is more climate sensitive than the West Coast. Meanwhile The New York Times actually wrote some good things about the Finger Lakes and in particular the rieslings - also noting there is only about 800 acres in the region devoted to the grape. Also worth noting in the article was a listing of retail stores in New York where you can find New York State wines, the fact that only a handful was listed is significant. New York State wine continues to be a hard sell. Places like PJ's in upper Manhattan still have next to nothing. Missing from this list was a gem of a store for New York wines on Third Avenue and 28th street called Buy-Rite; looks a hole in the wall from the outside but inside had over 100 New York State wines for sale. (all vintages). They also had a few from Virginia (you'd be surprised) and a bottle of Baco Noir from the Finger Lakes - wow - that French American hybrid from the 1970's. Got to get back up there to try it.

I'mmmm Baaack!

Time to return to my true passion - drinking wine! The state of wine in New York hasn't changed much; some Long Island wines from 2010 have won national awards, and of course Long Island was hit by tropical storm Irene. What does that mean for the 2011 vintage? We will ask some of the winemakers out east over the next week and promptly report on their comments. The big worry was salt spray off the bays, and if the leaves on the trees in my neck of the woods in Westhampton are any indication they may be in trouble. You would think it was late October and the leaves sre falling off the trees. I'll be there next weekend to give an update.
In the meantime kudos to Palmer merlots, I've had a few of late and will report shortly. One in particular has a great price quality ratio.

Thanksgiving Wine Suggestions - Not One From New York!

Like many wine lovers I get e-mails from wine shops in New York City like crazy. I'm on everybody's list.  So as Thanksgiving got closer the listings came in for the perfect turkey wine. I counted all the selected wines - a total of 75!!! Wines from France, Spain, Germany, South America; all the usual suspects. Sadly, there was not one New York State wine selected as a wine for the holiday! Not one! You would think the various wine councils and promoters of Long Island, the Finger Lakes, and other regions would at the very least by some newspaper space and do a little promoting - let alone radio or TV time. Come on, spend  little money!

Two great New York Gewurztraminers - really great

One Woman Vineyands, Southold Long Island 2007 Gewurtztraminer  $25

Wow!!! I first tasted this about a year ago at the vineyard. The nose on this is among the most floral I've never had. I thought it was a moscato at first. I was expecting a sweet wine when in fact it is bone dry and wonderful. We had this again the other night with a coq au vin chicken dish I made and it cut thru the strong taste of the food no problem. The wine has actually improved a bit in the last year and the only reason this is not a four star wine is that it was just a little short on the finish, but I suspect that may improve with age and fortunately I have a few more bottles. I'll e-visit this one in a few months. For right now;

Outstanding to Extroadinary     World Class Wine  
*** 1/2   three and one half stars and value priced - in fact given the quality $25 is a bit of a bargain. Spend $25 on a wine from Alsace and you will not get this quality.(I saw some for sale at Michael's in Riverhead Long Island - East Main Street (Route 25)

Treleaven Cayuga Gewurtztraminer 2008 $19

Made by King Ferry Vineyards in the Finger Lakes. We had this wine the same night as the One Woman wine- Interesting contrast - This wine had lower alcohol and was more food friendly - certainly a tamer wine compared to One Woman. With just a touch of sweetness (and I mean just a touch) the wine had an elderberry sort of taste to it and its great strength was the finish; long and lasting and subtle.
The richness was there but not overwhelming and our dining partners preferred this wine over the One Woman in terms of its food compatibility.
Overall we rated it:

Outstanding

*** three stars and at $19 well priced. Again there is nothing in comparison at that price coming out of Alsace. So far I have not seen this wine in any New York Area wine shops (I've been asking for it) - its available at the Manhattan farmer markets up by Lincoln Center and in Stuyvesant Town, and of course you can by directly on line.

No wine in Quebec

One would think that with its French history and great restaurants wine would be readily available in Quebec's two big cities - Montreal and Quebec City. Well its apparently not unless we looked in all the wrong places. The SAQ - or state owned stores were woefully overpriced and poorly stocked - despite the five employees working the floor at the SAQ in the Hotel Fontenac in Quebec City. We found one good Seyval Blanc Quebec wine in a restaurant, Orpailleur Vineyards, but way overpriced. There was plenty of apple cider, good cider, hard cider. At the border crossing at Route 87 on the way in we stopped off at the duty free store, hoping to load up on cider. Wrong!!! For some reason cider was not for sale at the crossing; plenty of Scotch though. Great to be back in New York State with all its dumb wine laws, at least you can find good vino!!!

Our Trip to Quebec

OK - wife and I in Montreal - nice town - got here at 4:30pm - wine shops closed at 5pm - OK
Restaurant we ate at in the Old Town - all wines are French - none even Canadian!!!
The local grocery store across the street? French wines only.
To be continued

Why Can't Treleaven Wines Be Found At PJ Wines?

All Summer long Treleaven Wines have been sold at the Sunday Farmers Market in Stuyvesant Town on New York City's east side. I'm usually out of town on the weekends so I didn't get over to the market until after Labor Day but I am no stranger to these wines made by the King Ferry Winery on Cayuga Lake, having sampled them before. These are seriously good wines and I will be reviewing some of them soon (sneak preview -get the rieslings, they are both superb). So as I finally get to taste at the Treleaven stall a few weeks ago I strike up my usual mantra with the server (believe his name was Dick) - "why can't I find your wine or other New York wines in wine shops in Manhattan, the Mecca of wine consumers in North America?" Now as it turns out Treleaven's semi-dry riesling is available at Chambers Street Wines, that bastion of French, German, and Italian wines where there is virtually nothing from California let alone New York, and, if Chamber Street Wines carries the wine it has to be something good. But I was not surprised by the answer to my question "we're a hard sell, owners think all our wines are sweet, and we're not cheap. PJ Wines wouldn't even talk to us, they threw us out!"
PJ's huh? Well now, I know that shop well and PJ's is a major retail player in Manhattan though you wouldn't know it to see it. Tucked up on 207th Street and Broadway in Inwood at the last stop on the "A" train, it looks more like a big store for whinos, but looks are deceiving. They stock tons of vino. So, this required a trip to PJ's to inquire as to the availability of Treleaven wines. After a long ride on the subway I enter the shop, peruse the offerings, and spot only a handful of New York wines, all Finger Lakes. I spot the manager and flag him down. "Got any Treleaven? I'm looking for the rieslings."
The response, "Treleaven, never heard of it, oh wait, some New York State wine right?" I nod, and the follow up is "I have enough German wines and they don't sell well, I don't need another wine no one ever heard of." I responded by pointing out how good the wine was and at about $16 or so it wasn't that expensive given the quality. Response? "People think of Kosher wine and sweet stuff when they see New York on the bottle - I can't sell it."
That only goes to prove my point and an education effort has to be made by the various wine associations in this state to let people know times have changed and New York is on the world map. A really major serious effort  and not just self serving pats on the back.