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.

Trader Joe and Hosmer Cayuga Lakes Dry Riesling 2009

Trader Joe's on Union Square in Manhattan is a busy store - they proudly advertise that 70 wines are available for under $8. Some are OK, most are average. As far as New York State goes, TJ is currently carrying two NY wines, the above mentioned Hosmer and 2009 Corey Creek Rose from Long Island.
Let's talk about the Hosmer. It is a well made food wine with a refreshing 11.7% alcohol level, making it crisp with nice peach undertones with that nice flinty flavor a good riesling should have. I served it with a pork tenderloin encrusted with thyme and served with cooked apples - a Rachel Ray recipe. Great pairing.
I rated the wine **1/2 stars, which puts it in between "good" and "outstanding" (I'll explain my personal rating system with the next post. ) Now there's the price - $10 at TJ's -that makes for a Price Quality Ratio of "Positive". Compare this quality to a Mosel, you would have to spend twice that for the quality of the Hosmer.

Summary

** 1/2 stars
PQR - positive


As for Trader Joe's - c'mon Joey - I know you're based in California and it seems about 60% of your wines are those overly fruity bombs Robert Parker likes. That's the best you can do for New York, only 2 wines? At this point TJ's is not New York wine friendly.

Why Read This Blog

The purpose of this blog is to promote interest in wines made in New York State. As I live in Manhattan and second home in Westhampton Beach Long Island I am amazed by how little New York State wine is sold in area wine shops and restaurants. I plan not only to critique New York State wines but also wine stores, commenting on New York State wine availability and even chastise those who do carry the product. Everyone agrees New York State wines have improved of late, but the response I often hear is that our state wines are a hard sell,  the consumer in general doesn't want them, the vineyard owners are content to sell at the vineyard cutting out the middleman, and they are too expensive. Personally I do not accept that; while some vineyard owners are indeed catering to tourists most owners want recognition, and why not? When you consider the quality of wine (the "Price Quality Ratio, or PQR") these are wines are very affordable. So let's see if this site can shake up the wine world!!!