Comtesse Thérèse February 17, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Aquebogue, blanc de noir, cabernet sauvignon, Canadian Oak, chardonnay, Comtesse Therese, Hungarian oak, merlot, NoFo, rose, Russian oak, sauvignon blanc February 22, 2013

http://www.comtessetherese.com/index.html

It was what Winnie-the –Pooh calls a “blustery day” (This is what happens when you hang out with a 21-month-old.), and we thought we’d check out the Jazz on the Vine program at Jamesport Vineyard. When we couldn’t find a place to park, we left and headed a little way down the road to Comtesse Thérèse, a combination bistro and winery. We had only been there in the summer, when the tasting room is a charmingly disheveled back patio, with cast iron furniture and a view of the herb garden (and of the chef as he steps out of the kitchen to pick some herbs), so we weren’t sure what to expect. The wind blew us around the front and through the door of the restored old house, where we quickly found ourselves in a cozy bar with a friendly and accommodating bartender. Fortunately, since we had promised our granddaughter music, there was quiet jazz playing in the background. The four of us settled into a corner of the bar and looked over the menu. The option of 4 tastes for $8 sounded good, and the bartender intelligently figured out how to give us tastes of 8 wines—four and four—so we could sample a wider selection. Although we didn’t stay for a meal, we have eaten there in the past and been very pleased with its French bistro-style food and emphasis on local produce.

2011 Chardonnay $13

The bartender starts us all off with their steel-fermented chardonnay, which is on sale. An aroma of fresh-cut grass heralds a taste of steel and green apple, with some honey notes. It is surprisingly mellow for an all-steel chard, and a bit unctuous, according to our son-in-law. Very buyable, which we both accomplish.

Russian Oak Chardonnay 2009 $22

Ooh, nice legs, we say. This chard spends 4 months in oak, and we do detect an oaky aroma. The flavor is light, with some notes of Meyer lemon—or maybe lemon dots!

2011 Sauvignon Blanc $28

I think I smell a trace of something metallic as well as the more typical honeysuckle. Nicely dry and a bit grassy, all we need now is a dozen local oysters!

2011 Rosé $22

Well, Croteaux remains the standard of excellence for NoFo rosés. This one has a nice raspberry aroma, but has not much character and is somewhat monochromatic. Well chilled on a hot day it might be fine, and the finish is nice.

2011 Blanc de Noir $24

We like this rosé better, with its apricot aroma and edge of citrus flavor, though it is a bit sweet for our taste.

2008 Hungarian Oak Merlot $24

My notes for this wine are somewhat obscured by a 21-month-old’s “decoration,” but then I gave her a page from my notebook and another pen so she could take notes just like grandma. Although this wine doesn’t have much aroma, it has a pleasant cherry flavor with some earthiness at first and tannins at the end.

2007 Aquebogue Estate Merlot $25 (for the 08)

Noticing our serious approach to the tasting, the bartender gives us the 07 Merlot rather than the 08 because, he says, it is better. We do like it. It has nice fruit with some acidity to add interest.

2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon $30

This one is a favorite with our daughter and son-in-law, who buy a bottle. It has aromas and tastes of black fruits, like plums. It would be good with lamb, because it has enough acidity to cut the fat.

2007 Canadian Oak Cabernet Sauvignon $32

And we prefer this one, and buy a bottle! This is somewhat heavier than the Estate Cab Sauv, with more complexity and cherry flavors as well. It would pair well with steak. The bartender informs us that they are the only winery in the area to use Canadian oak.

Before she opened her own tasting room, we met “Comtesse Thérèse”—actually Tree Dilworth, an attractive young woman—at The Tasting Room, now The Winemaker’s Studio. We had a delightful conversation with her, and were impressed with her passion for wine, but no, she is not actually a “Comtesse”!

Reasons to visit: Cozy attractive bar area in the winter, charming garden in the summer; 2011 Chardonnay,2011 Sauvignon Blanc, 06 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 07 Canadian Oak Cabernet Sauvignon; you can go on after the tasting to have a meal in the pretty, intimate bistro. Oh, and if you want to take notes, they have lots of feather pens.

Channing Daughters Winery February 2, 1213

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Blaufrankisch, cabernet franc, channing daughters, dornfelder, Due Uve, merlot, Mudd, muscat, North Fork, Over and Over, Parrish Art Museum, pinot grigio, Ramato, Sag Harbor, Sculpture Garden, South Fork, Sylvanus, syrah, Tocai Friuliano February 4, 2013

http://www.channingdaughters.com/

We decided to celebrate Groundhog Day with a visit to the South Fork, especially since such a trip is easy in the winter, when we don’t have to contend with the traffic on Route 27. We started with a visit to the new Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill. Designed to be reminiscent of a typical Long Island potato barn, it is a long one-story building, with a soaring roof and multiple skylights, letting in plenty of sunlight on this cold but bright day.

We particularly enjoyed a gallery devoted to William Merritt Chase and his lovely paintings of Long Island scenes as well as his classic portraits. Another room full of Fairfield Porter paintings was also interesting. We then headed to our favorite winery, Channing Daughters. I did write about a visit there last summer, but then we only concentrated on their roses. This time we decided to do a standard tasting.

Channing Daughters is located on Scuttlehole Road, a charmingly rural road just outside of Sag Harbor (which we used to call the un-Hampton, though it is getting more and more Hamptonized). Down a pebbled driveway one comes to the small cozy tasting room, which looks out one side to the vineyard and the other into the cellar, where one can see the huge vats of future wine. The owner of the winery, Walter Channing, named it for his four daughters. He also has decorated the tasting room and the grounds with his wood sculptures, many of them made from whole trees, with the roots on top, carved into various shapes. Here’s one from the parking lot:

On this cold winter day, there were only a few small groups in the tasting room. The very well-informed servers noted that they do not allow bus-loads! The standard tasting that day included six wines for $10. As wine club members our tasting was free, and we could have chosen any wines from a list of about 20, but we decided not to.

1) 2010 Sylvanus $24

Sylvanus is named for the legendary Green Man, the Roman equivalent of Pan, the god of woods and fields, and also for the field where this wine’s grapes are grown. One of the aspects of Channing Daughters we like is their interest in experimentation, and for this wine they used all grapes grown in one field, for a blend of 60% muscot, 30% pinot grigio, and 10% pinot bianco. An aroma of oranges and perfume precedes a nicely dry wine with pleasant fruit and a hint of almond flavor. I would like this wine better with food, rather than as a sipping wine, and it would pair well with local oysters or other briny seafood.

2) 2010 Tocai Friuliano $24

Fermented almost completely in stainless steel, with only a hint of oak, this lovely wine has an almost honey-like texture with a hint of grapefruit at the end. I could see sipping this on a nice summer afternoon, perhaps with some tomato crostini. We also notice that, unlike some places, the wines here are not too cold, and the servers confirm that this is indeed the policy. We like this because when a wine is too cold you can miss the nuances of its taste.

3) 2010 Ramato $34

As a transition from white to red, we sample what is called an “orange” wine, a white pinot grigio fermented on its skins to give it a subtle orange color and interesting complexity. I detect a faint aroma of orange candy and, not surprising given its 6 months in oak, a taste of oak. We decide its somewhat unctuous texture does not make it our favorite, though it would pair interestingly with lemon curd or lemon meringue pie (which, my husband notes, he never eats!).

4) 2010 Due Uve $22

Due uve means two grapes, and that is what this wine contains–syrah and merlot. Because of Long Island’s climate, you’re never going to get “big hot wines,” says the server, and agrees that this wine exhibits the typical local earthiness which some people “go crazy for” and others dislike. We like some earthiness, but not when it overwhelms. This wine has nice fruit–berries–and some hints of black pepper, and just a hint of earth. It spends 16 months in oak. I’m thinking it would be good with pasta with a short ribs sauce.

5) 2008 Sculpture Garden $27

Given that there actually is a sculpture garden on the grounds (ask the server for directions), and that the oldest vineyard (planted in 1982) is named Sculpture Garden, it was perhaps inevitable that one wine would be named this. Plus the merlot grapes in it come from that vineyard. I could see wandering the sculpture garden on a nice warm day with a glass of this easy-drinking wine in hand, but it’s too cold today! A blend of 95% merlot and 5% blaufrankisch, this wine has a pleasant berry aroma and cherry tastes, with some earthiness, some pepper, and not a lot of depth.

6) 2007 Mudd $40

No, the name is not a misspelling of mud! This wine’s grapes come from the North Fork vineyard run by Steven Mudd, a well-known vineyard manager who works with a number of wineries. Terrific wine! This is a Bordeaux blend of 60% merlot, 21% syrah, 9% dornfelder, 5% cabernet franc and 5% blaufrankisch with an aroma reminiscent of a pine forest, and lots of black fruits and plum flavors. Definitely yummy, and would be good with roasted lamb shanks, as its dryness would cut the fat of the lamb while it has enough fruit not to be overwhelmed.

Extra! Because he has it out, the server asks if we would like to try the Over and Over. We would.

7) Over and Over–Variation 5 $37

It is hard to explain the method used to make this wine, so perhaps the best I can do is refer you to Channning Daughters own web site, where it is explained in detail, but basically this is made using the “solera” method, where some wine from various years is combined with wine from other years and then fermented together. We had tried one iteration (probably 3 or 4, muses the server) we did not care for, but this one is definitely a success, with blackberry flavors and aromas. Nice.

http://channingdaughters.com/wine_order/index.php

Reasons to visit: One of best wineries on Long Island, with lots of interesting experiments. In addition to the above listed wines, I also love their L’Enfant Sauvage, made with wild yeast, their Scuttlehole Chardonnay, which is basically our “house” white, and their Research Cab, a good red.

Clovis Point Vineyard November 17, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Archaeology, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Clovis Point Vineyard, merlot, North Fork, rose November 19, 2012

http://www.clovispointwines.com/

Just like my last entry, this one also has a link to Long Island history. However, instead of going back to the 19th century, this one goes back about 10,000 years, to when the people who lived on Long Island hunted woolly mammoths with stone tools, like the clovis point used by this winery as its name and symbol.

On a brisk but beautiful November day we continued our recovery from hurricane Sandy with a visit to this winery. When we pulled into the parking lot, we were at first a bit concerned by the presence of two large buses and a limo, but when we entered the attractive converted barn serving as a tasting room we were relieved to note that one large party was out on the lawn and another in the awninged side veranda, and there was room at the tasting bar. A band called the Earthtones was playing folk rock, a bit too loudly for our taste, but the music was pleasant, and we also enjoyed looking at the paintings of local scenes on the walls (all for sale, some at very reasonable prices). They also have cheese trays and chocolate pairings available for about $10.

There are three tasting menu options, plus of course wines by the glass and bottle, which we saw several groups doing. You can have the “Cold” tasting, three whites and one rose for $8; the Reds, four reds for $10; or the Premium, also all reds, for $14. We opted for one Cold and one Premium, planning to share as usual.

1. 2010 Chardonnay $18

According to our well-informed server, all their whites tend to the light and bright side. This steel-fermented chard is light, with a lemon aroma, and a taste that reminds us of lemon candy. A bit too sweet for us, but if you like your chards on the sweet side you might like this one. It contains 1.3% Gewurtzraminer, which might account for some of the sweetness.

2. 2011 Chardonnay $18

However, this chard also has 1% Gewurtz, and yet is quite different. The aroma is somewhat like chamomile tea, and though it is also steel-fermented it is quite mellow, with some notes of honey, and nice legs. Buyable! This would be a pleasant sipping wine, and the server points out that it won a gold medal. We discuss how interesting it is that essentially the same grapes can have such different tastes.

3. 2008 Barrel Chardonnay $25

So this is their oaked chard, having spent 10 months in oak barrels. It has a somewhat off-putting smell of rotten wood, though the taste is fine. As it sits in my mouth, I taste vanilla, oak, and burnt pear. Though not unpleasant, I don’t particularly care for it. As we discuss it, the server gives us a taste of the 2009 Barrel Chardonnay for comparison. What a difference! We like this one much better, with tastes of butterscotch and refreshing citrus. This also spent 10 months in oak.

4. Clovis Point Rose $20

Made from cabernet franc grapes which spent three days on the skins, this is a pleasant rose with tastes and aromas of watermelon and strawberry, and would make a nice summer sipping wine. I could see having it well iced with a few strawberries in it.

Now we move on to the Premium tasting, for which we get a clean glass, always a nice touch. We also notice that those who buy a few bottles of wine get an attractive cloth bag to carry them in. (And if you buy three bottles, the tasting is free.)

5. 2008 Cabernet Franc $27.50

Our server characterizes this as “European style,” and notes that it won a silver medal. The aroma is “forest,” we decide, some fruit, some oak, a bit of smoke. The taste is good, with dark cherry fruit and also a bit of smoke and oak. This, we decide, is buyable.

6. 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon $27.50

Though primarily cab sauv, this wine also has 2% merlot and 2% cab franc, and 07 was only the second year they made it. This is also a good and buyable wine, with an aroma of cedar and berries and tastes of red plum. The tannins are soft, and it is easy to drink. I think I’d like it with duck, but not in any kind of complex sauce.

7. 2007 Vintner Select Merlot $35

Again a blend, the merlot is 85% merlot, 6.5% cab sauv, 2.5% syrah, and 1% petit verdot. This one also won a medal, this time double gold, we are told, and that it is called “select” rather than “reserve” because they are saving the term “reserve” for really exceptional wines. An aroma of smoke and coffee preceeds a somewhat odd but pleasant flavor I think tastes like lychee fruit.

8. 2007 Archaeology $60

How did this blend of merlot, cab sauv, cab franc, petit verdot and syrah get this name? They had a contest, with the wine club members voting on the anonymously contributed names. As it happened, this was the name the owner submitted…The aroma has some of that earthy terroir, and also black fruits. The wine is fairly dry, with nice fruit and is good, but not worth the $60. However, if you join the wine club it is only $40, and at that price would be worthwhile!

Reasons to visit: Pleasant tasting room with cheese trays available; good 2011 Chardonnay and 09 Barrel Chardonnay; also some good reds; art for sale; well-informed servers; nice rustic view from the veranda.

Paumanok Winery October 27, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Assemblage, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Festival Chardonnay, Festival Red, merlot, oysters, Paumanok, riesling, rose, Tuthills Lane November 4, 2012

http://www.paumanok.com/

“Blow, blow sea winds along Paumanock’s shores/I wait and I wait till you blow my mate to me!”–Walt Whitman

Who knew that our visit to the Paumanok tasting room a day before hurricane Sandy would come to seem so prophetic, since as we arrived there I quoted the above lines from a poem by Whitman about a lovelorn seagull. He liked to use the old Native American name for Long Island, and so, apparently, does this vineyard.

Paumanok had somewhat fallen off our radar because it is not included in a map of the wineries published by a wine growers association. According to our well-informed and intelligent server, some years they choose to join, and some they don’t. In any event, their Festival Red had been mentioned in an article on $20 wines by Eric Asimov, so we decided to check them out.

The tasting room is a pleasant, barn-like space, with a tasting bar that could be bigger and a large patio area outside. They offer four different tasting options (aside, of course, from the usual by the glass or bottle prices): Festival Flight, $8 for 4 (mixed red and white); Paumanok White, $9 for 3; Paumanok Red, $12 for 3; or Grand Vintage, $15 for 4. We opted for one Festival and one Grand Vintage flight, and our server re-arranged the order of the wines to maximize the correct tasting order.

1. 2011 Festival Chardonnay $16.99

This is a light “spritzy” white, with lovely green apple or pear blossom aromas and tastes of pears and minerals. Nicely tart.

2. 2011 Semi-Dry Riesling $19.99 AND 2011 Dry Riesling $22 (not actually on on the tasting, but she gives it to us so we can compare)

Hmmm…the aroma of the semi-dry reminds us of some goldenrod honey friends of our made, and so does the taste. Pleasant, but we prefer the dry one.

How interesting that the same grape can give such different results! The Dry Riesling has an aroma of lemon-lime, with lots of flavors, some flower, some gooseberry. Excellent and very buyable!

3. 2011 Dry Rose $17.99

They blend all four of their reds–merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and petit verdot–for this pleasant rose. The aroma reminds us of wet grout (Next time you repair your bathroom tiles, see what you think of that smell.), and there is the typical strawberry taste of a rose.

4. 2011 Festival Red $19.99

This is a blend of the same four reds, and is the one mentioned in the Asimov article (as our server also points out). Well, we agree–this is a very buyable and good red, with blackberry and some spice flavor, with some tannin. It reminds us of another everyday red we like, Red Rooster from Old Field.

5. 2010 Assemblage $50

This, clearly, is from the Grand Vintage tasting, and is very good, but not worth the price. It is a blend, with 21% petit verdot, so it is a fairly big red. Perhaps with time…?

6. 2010 Cabernet Franc Grand Vintage $45

Interestingly, the aroma of this one once again reminds us of goldenrod honey. The taste, however, is of cherry, with some woody notes, and is very fresh. Our server notes that it will age well. Good.

7. 05 Cabernet Sauvignon Tuthills Lane Vineyard $60

They have three different parcels of land (of about 30 acres each), so this one is named for the particular place where the vines are grown. The aroma is cherry and mineral, and the wine is dry but soft, with some lovely fruit flavors. We are informed that Robert Parker gave it a 90, and the quote from him is almost delirious. Perhaps he got a bit carried away?

8. 07 Merlot Tuthills Lane Vineyard $60

Not much aroma to this one, with some fruit/berry taste and some wood. Parker (according to the tasting menu) described the taste as “cherry pit” and gave it a 92. Not sure why.

But wait, there’s more! Out on the patio, in the calm before the storm, they are selling platters of oysters, $20 for a dozen. So we buy two glasses of the Dry Riesling ($6 each) and pay for a plate of oysters and enjoy the late October sun on the patio as we gaze out at the vineyard. The oysters are wonderful–essence of ocean! Too good to even need a squirt of lemon, they are fresh and brimming with liquid, and come, we are told, from Peconic Bay right near Southold. The wine goes perfectly with them, and I decide this is a great way to start celebrating my birthday (which I will continue that evening with dinner at Noah’s in Greenport).

Reasons to visit: Pleasant tasting room with well-informed servers (and buses and limos by appointment only); Festival Red, Dry Riesling; oysters if they have them.

Sherwood House September 29, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Bouquet Rose, chardonnay, Garden of Eve, Merliance, merlot, Oregon Road Merlot, Sherwood House October 2, 2012

Two of our tastes.

http://www.sherwoodhousevineyards.com/

It was a chilly rainy September Saturday, but the agritainment business was in full swing. We passed up the Harbes Pumpkin Fest and stopped in at the Garden of Eve Garlic Fest (disappointing–no pickled garlic, only one booth making garlic braids, and lots of booths selling the same jewelry we saw at the Maritime Festival) before ending our outing at Sherwood House Winery, on the main road. They have a little tasting shack in Mattituck, on Oregon Road, in the midst of their vineyard, but now they also have a very nice though small tasting room on Main Road in Jamesport. They share their space with a shop called Material Objects, which sells various interestingly quirky household items. Inside the room, there was a lovely fire in the fireplace, very welcome on this damp afternoon, and a group of people sitting around it in comfortable chairs, enjoying a tasting. We stood at the bar, where we chatted a bit with wine club members doing a tasting and pick-up and other people. A musician in the corner played quietly.

The tasting choices are the $8 Estate Flight of four wines, the $10 Premium Flight, also of four wines, or the $14 Owner’s Flight, of four of their highest quality wines. We opted to share one Estate and one Premium. A couple next to us got the Owner’s Flight, which began with a champagne-style sparkling wine, and the information from the well-informed and alert server that their winemaker is from the Champagne region of France. Hmmm…maybe next time…

In the notes that follow, the even-numbered notes are from the Premium tasting, and the odd-numbered ones from the Estate one.

1. 2011 Unoaked Chardonnay $18

Their only all-steel fermented chard, this pleasant wine has a lemony aroma and a nice, light, clean taste with a creamy finish. It would make a lovely summer sipper, out on the deck, perhaps. Good, and buyable.

2. 09 Chardonnay $30

In contrast, this chard spent several months in oak, and has the usual, though faint, aroma of vanilla and wood. We taste unripe pear, with some grapefruit, but an unpleasantly sweet finish that we don’t care for.

3. 2011 Bouquet Rose $18

Screwtop! The server informs us that this is not their own wine, but is made from their grapes by another wine maker, and is in the tasting because they have sold out of their own rose. Made from cabernet franc grapes, this reminds us of cherry Kool-Aid! Dumpable. Light and sweet, if that’s what you like.

4. 05 Merlot $34

This one is good with chocolate, says the server, and we agree (Though we would like to have the chance to try it WITH chocolate, none is on offer…). The aroma is dark cherry, with some oak, and the taste is moderately dry, with a faint hint of the earthy terroir, but otherwise nicely fruity. This merlot spends 18 months in oak, and is a lovely wine, and would be good with pork chops or turkey (starting to think about Thanksgiving).

5. 04 Oregon Road Merlot $16

This is our favorite of the day, and we buy two bottles to have with barbequed ribs tonight. Not a lot of aroma, but lovely fruit tastes with a slight hint of smoke. 13 months in oak, we are told.

6. 06 Merlot $25

This one spends 18 months in oak, and is also very good. The aroma is of black raspberry, and though it is dry there is plenty of plum and raspberry flavor, with a bit of oak and a slight touch of smoke.

7. 04 Merlot $20

The 04 also spent 18 months in oak, and it is interesting that Sherwood House tends to hold onto their reds for several years before release. Again, aromas of berry and oak, with some sweetness and a light taste. Pleasant, but not exciting, and while we would not refuse to drink it we have no inclination to buy it.

8. 08 Merliance $40

Merliance is a blend–what Lewis Carroll would call a “portmanteau word”–of Merlot and alliance, and is made from grapes grown by Castello Borghese, Clovis Point, McCall’s, Pellegrini, Sherwood House and Wolffer Estates, each of which contributes two barrels of wine to the mixture. Though not worth the price, it is a nice wine, with a flowery aroma and nice legs. The proceeds from the sale of this wine benefit various events and research sponsored by the alliance.

Reasons to visit: Really nice reds, a cozy tasting room with a fireplace for cold days, the chance to browse an interesting household goods store. Buyable: Unoaked Chardonnay and Oregon Road Merlot and 05 Merlot.

Sannino Bella Vita September 22, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Ackerley Ponds, chardonnay, merlot, North Fork, riesling, Sannino Bella Vita, spiced wine September 27, 2012

This is our first side-by-side pairing, of two chardonnays.

http://sanninovineyard.com/

After a good two-hour bike ride and before a visit to Greenport to see the Maritime Festival and the Peconic Plein-Air art exhibit, we stop at Sannino Bella Vita winery, formerly Ackerly Pond, on Peconic Lane. This is a small winery on a side street, so, though there are plenty of people here, it is not the madhouse some of the bigger wineries on the main road can be, especially in the fall. Live music is quietly provided by a flautist and a guitar player, and one of the guests outside on the little patio is swaying to the music.

Mr. Sannino is also a contractor, as well as a wine-maker, and he bought out Ackerly Ponds and combined their wines with his own, so you can taste both styles side by side if you like.

The full tasting, which includes all 9 wines, is $15. You can also opt for a half tasting for $8 or a premium tasting of three special wines for $8. We go for one full tasting, which we will share. (There’s also a pitcher of sangria on offer, for $3 per glass, and a cheese tray for $15.) The servers use a spout, so the pour is a carefully calibrated one ounce.

1) 06 Ackerley Pond Riesling $18.99

This is a very tart riesling, with tastes of lime and green apple and a thin mouth feel. This would probably be better with food, and actually might be fun to cook with, like with a fish in a wine and cream sauce dish. Tasting it blind, one would probably not guess it was a riesling.

Our lovely server asks if we would like to taste the next two chardonnays side by side, as one is an Ackerly Pond (AP) and the other a Bella Vita (BV). We say yes, and she fetches a second glass, and we note that the glasses are etched with the name of each vineyard, so we can keep track of which is which. Nice touch.

2) 09Bella Vita Chardonnay $20

Steel fermented and light, this chard has lots of citrus flavor, but is just okay.

3) 06 AP Chardonnay $14.99

In contrast, the AP chard spent several months in oak, and the vanilla flavor of oak is there, but not very strongly, as well as citrus, but not a lot of depth. There’s also a faintly metallic aroma.

Here comes another pairing!

4) 2011 BV Merlot Bianca $20

This is a white wine made from the merlot grape, as the name suggests, given no contact with the skins. Interesting tang. The aroma is of slightly over-ripe fruit, though not in an unpleasant way, and the taste reminds us of an unripe peach.

5) 2010 BV Snow Merlot $15

Basically a rose, this is a light, not complex, but pleasantly interesting wine, with side of the tongue sweetness and some strawberry flavor.

And a third pairing…

6) 04 AP Merlot $19.99

This is our favorite so far, a dry red with a lovely chocolate aroma, and lots of plum and berry taste, with a faint mintiness and none of that earthy terroir of the North Fork.

7) 2010 BV Merlot $30

Aged for a year in oak, this wine has a faint red candy aroma and nice plum flavors. Again, no dirt! This is also good, but a bit pricey for the quality.

8) 06 AP Cabernet Sauvignon $27.99

We detect an aroma of oak. Another fairly un-complex wine, with a thin mouth feel.

9) 2010 BV Spiced Wine $13

Served warm! We decide this spiced wine, made with cabernet sauvignon and other wines and flavored with cinnamon and similar spices, would be very nice on a cold winter’s night, especially if one were in a hot tub. It reminds us of the Swedish drink Glogg (Imagine an umlaut over the o.). The server notes that it would also be good if one added orange slices and cranberries to the glass. Yes, it would.

Though we don’t buy any bottles, if we did need more red we’d buy the 04 AP Merlot.

Reasons to visit: Intimate setting, ability to meet the owner (who has been there each of the three times we’ve visited), the ability to make interesting comparisons between two different styles of wine-making. They also run a wine club in which one can make one’s own wine from their grapes.

One Woman Winery September 2, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Biere, chardonnay, gewurztraminer, gruner veltliner, merlot, One Woman Wines, sauvignon blanc September 4, 2012

The Gruner Veltliner!

http://www.onewomanwines.com/

On the way home from a boat ride with our son and two of his friends, we stop at One Woman Wines and Vineyard for a tasting. The tiny tasting shack seems crowded at first, but the three lovely young women behind the counter–including Claudia Purita’s (the one woman behind One Woman) daughter Gabrielle–soon sort everyone out, and we all embark on tastings. There are seven wines on the list, and one can have two for $6, three for $8, or four for $10. We decide to share a three and a four, and thus taste all seven. Our son and his friends each opt for tastings of four. The pour is generous, and we all are feeling good after boating and swimming and enjoying this last summer weekend. As we sip and ponder, we also enjoy the lovely wildflower arrangements in the shack–also by Claudia! Several parties have taken their tastings to the outside tables, and a small group seems to be having their own impromptu jam session. We decide to start with a comparative tasting of their three chardonnays.

1) 08 Chardonnay $20

This is a pleasant chardonnay, with flavors of pear and vanilla, with a nice fruity aroma and a long finish. Definitely buyable.

2) 07 Chardonnay $20

Surprisingly, this has that barnyard aroma we usually find in Long Island merlots. Fortunately, it tastes better than it smells,with lots of vanilla and some sweetness. Nice legs.

3) 08 Estate Reserve Chardonnay $40

This spends 8 months in French oak, and has an orange blossom aroma with again plenty of vanilla and a taste somewhat like caramel candy.Though it is mellow, my husband feels it is too oaked for him, though I like it.

Now we move on to the rest of their wines.

4) 2010 Gewurztraminer $20

Lovely honeysuckle/floral aroma and flowery/sweet taste make this a nice sipping wine, though not to my taste particularly.

5) 2010 Sauvignon Blanc $ $24

Their tasting notes say flavors of lemon grass and green apple, and I have to agree. Though they say it is a Sancerre style, we’re not so sure. However, we do agree that it is a very good wine that would pair well with local oysters.

6) 2010 Gruner Veltliner $26

Wow–the star of the day! I don’t know if any other wineries are trying this grape, but it is certainly rare. It is light and tart, but with plenty of fruit flavors, mostly grapefruit. Crisp. Good. We all buy bottles of it! Nice bonus–on this day, there is a special offer of a free tasting if one pays cash for a bottle of wine, which we do. We also knew we’d like the gruner since we had tried it at Biere, Claudia’s husband’s restaurant in Greenport, which in its current iteration features Belgian-style fare including excellent mussels and frites, a delicious cheese tray, and interesting beers on tap.

7) 08 Merlot $28

This is One Woman’s only red, and it is a good standard L.I. merlot, with blackberry flavors and aromas, but not in the same league as her whites, which are really good.

As we get ready to leave, Gabrielle says they are about to release two new wines, and we promise to be back.

Reasons to visit: Pretty rustic location a bit off the beaten track; nice whites, especially the Gruner Veltliner.

Lenz Winery 8/25/12

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, gewurztraminer, Lenz, merlot, NoFo, Old Vines, Winery August 30, 2012

The first round at Lenz

http://www.lenzwine.com/

After a 28-mile morning bike ride, we are ready for some refreshment, and so we head to the Lenz Winery, on the main road, one of a row of wineries. They have an attractive barn-like tasting room, as well as some outside tables, and they sell some of the art that is on their walls as well as a small selection of wine-related tchatchkas. A chalk board suggests one ask about their cheese tray, but we don’t. There are two tasting menus, the Estate wines, 6 for $10, and the Premium wines, 5 for $14. Being good at sharing, we order one of each, and our well-informed and bright server asks if we would like him to coordinate them so we can taste the wines in groups. We do!

The first round consists of three wines, the 2010 Blanc de Noir ($15), the 2006 Cuvee ($30) and the 2008 Gewurztraminer ($20).

1) The Blanc de Noir is a rose, with a sweet beginning and a tart finish, and a taste of green tomatoes. It would work with oysters.

2) Champagne! The 06 Cuvee is a methode champagnoise sparking wine that is quite good. They use pinot noir grapes. Although the aroma reminds us of cut grass that has been left in a pile for too long, the flavor is dry and good, with notes of green apple. This wine, the server tells us, is aged for 6 months.

3) In the past we have liked their gewurz, but this one does not thrill us. Neither here nor there, is one comment. Some sweetness, some spice, a bit of ginger.

The second grouping lets us compare three chardonnays. I love this type of tasting, since it is always so fascinating to see how the same grape can be so different depending on how it is treated.

4) 08 White Label Chardonnay $12

This mostly steel fermented chard has a honeysuckle aroma, and though it is a bit sweet is is nicely balanced and not too citrusy. Very buyable!

5) Gold Label Chardonnay $20

This is an oak-aged chard, and has the expected vanilla/caramel notes with a roast pear aroma. It starts tart and ends a bit acidic. Though it has a bit too much flavor for simple foods, it might be really good with a seafood in cream sauce dish.

6) Old Vines Chardonnay $25

“Old vines” because the vines are 25 years old, this variety is “only made when we have good grapes,” we are told. This is in the tradition of a white Burgundy, with flavors of spice, pears, and some vanilla. Excellent!

Now we move on to the reds, with a grouping of two cabernet sauvignons and a merlot/cab sauv blend, again facilitating fascinating comparisons.

7) 08 Cabernet Sauvignon $23

The aroma reminds us of one of our favorite NoFo treats: Briermere blackberry pie! Soft, simple, and uncomplicated, this would make a pleasant sipping wine. Good!

8) 08 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (plus other grapes) blend $17

Another right bank Bordeaux. We feel this could use more time to age, as it is very soft and dry, with no aroma. Not bad for an everyday Bordeaux, however.

9) 2002 Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon $40

Yum! The server tells us this wine has had 10 years in the bottle to “calm down,” an interesting way to put it. He also says it could sit another 10-15 years, but we doubt that. We go on to have a discussion of the cabernet sauvignon grape, which, he says, has thicker skins than other grapes, and so needs more time to ripen, meaning that it is also more subject to the vagaries of weather and thus more difficult to work with. They’ve done a good job with this one, which has lots of fruit, an interestingly complicated aroma, but not much tannin. Though expensive, this could be worth the price.

The last grouping pairs two merlots.

10) 07 Estate Select Merlot $23

How can a wine smell like coconut suntan lotion? I don’t know, but this one does! Though it is dry, we taste lots of fruit and sense plenty of tannins. We like this one, and buy two bottles, one for a friend and one for us.

11) 02 Old Vines Merlot $55

We sense some of the earthy terroir aroma of the Long Island merlot, but only a little. Again, this is dry, with tastes of black cherry and chocolate. Though good, we don’t think it is worth the price.

Reasons to visit: some good reds, especially the Old Vines Cab and the Estate Select Merlot; the chance to do some comparative tastings across grape types; the Old Vines Chard.

Waters Crest 8/11/12

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, campagnia rosso, chardonnay, Due Sorelle, merlot, North Fork, rose, Waters Crest, wineaux August 13, 2012

http://www.waterscrestwinery.com/

Waters Crest has probably the worst-located winery on the North Fork, in a strip mall around the corner from the Southold town dump, which is too bad, because their wines are generally quite good. The tasting room is small but pleasant, with a selection of gift items including some cute t-shirts and a cheese tray for $9.99. Jim Waters makes all his own wines, but buys his grapes from local growers, not having his own vineyard. He started as a home winemaker, and, as we’ve learned from talking to other winemakers, that’s often the first step to becoming a professional wine-maker. (The server, Jenny, also tells another couple how Jim was a volunteer at Ground Zero, and after that decided to follow his dream.) We bonded with Jim and his wife on our first visit, when we discovered they had looked at and contemplated buying the house we eventually bought in Mattituck!

The tasting menu now includes all seven of their wines, for $15, or you can buy individual tastes of whites for $2 each or reds for $3 each. We opt to share one tasting.

1) 2011 Rose $24.99

This is a simple and refreshing rose, with a fresh strawberry aroma and taste, fairly tart.

2) 2011 Chardonnay $18.99

Although it is steel fermented, it has some interesting notes of vanilla and caramel which makes us wonder if it spent any time in oak, though Jenny says no. It has a pleasantly lemony finish.

3) 2010 Reserve Chardonnay $25.99

Delicious. A somewhat smoky, mineral aroma makes us wonder how this will taste, but the wine has a nice balance of fruit and is not too oaky. Jenny says it spent 10 months in new French oak barrels.

4) 2008 Merlot $39.99

We get new glasses for the reds, always a nice touch. This is a lovely soft Merlot, with a berry aroma and dark plum flavor, without too much of the North Fork dirt flavor. Not much in the way of tannins.

5) Due Sorelle $34.99

Two sisters–named for the Waters’ daughters Michelle and Lauren–combines two wines, Merlot and Cabernet Franc to good effect, with lots of yummy pepper and fruit flavors including cherry. Mild and mellow, this is dry despite the good fruit flavors.

6) 2008 Campagnia Rosso $49.99

This is a right bank Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot. The aroma is somewhat funky and off-putting (earthworm?) though the taste is better than the aroma. However, it is not our favorite of the wines.

7) 2007 Cabernet Franc Grand Vin $39.99

Though the aroma of this is also somewhat earthy, the flavor is excellent, lots of ripe fruit with some mineral on the finish. We buy a bottle!

Reasons to visit: some nice wines, especially the 07 Cab Franc Grand Vin and 10 Reserve Chard; intimate setting, with the frequent chance to chat with the owner.

Bedell Cellars 8/7/12

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with bedell, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, first crush, gallery, merlot, musee, North Fork, petit verdot, rose, syrah, viognier, wineaux August 9, 2012

http://www.bedellcellars.com/

If someone ever gives an award to a winery for attention to design, Bedell should get it. From the pretty flower-surrounded parking lot to the attractive type-face of their signs to the arty labels on their wines, it is clear that someone is paying attention to appearance, and doing it very well. The tasting room is well-designed, and the outside veranda lovely. Even the servers wear a “uniform”–checked shirts with the Bedell logo. Happily, the wines are equally well-designed! We are here on a warm late summer afternoon with our daughter, son-in-law, and a now 14-month-old distraction, so not all of my notes are as comprehensive as they could be. However, many of the technical details of their wines are readily available on their web page.

There are two tasting options (as well as the usual ability to buy wines by the glass or the bottle): The Estate tasting includes 5 wines from their lower priced line for $10, while the Premium tasting gives you 5 tastes of their higher priced wines for $15. We opt for one flight per couple, with one pair trying the premium and the other the estate so we can taste all ten wines. The pour is small, but since we are there at the end of the day (4:30), a couple of times we get the benefit of a little extra to empty a bottle! The servers are very knowledgeable and pleasant, and we also enjoy chatting with another young couple with a baby in tow, and our granddaughter enjoys meeting the calm and very friendly golden lab who is allowed into the room just to say hello.

Estate Tasting:

1) 2010 First Crush White $18

This is a mostly steel-fermented blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling that is light and tart and refreshing. The aroma is of mineral and chalk, and the fruit is subtle but there, with a pleasant dryness.

2) 2011 Chardonnay $25

The server explains that this wine spends some time in neutral oak barrels (in other words, in barrels that have already been used for previous fermentations, and so have lost much of their oaky taste) in order to give the wine a better texture, and indeed, it does have a pleasant mouth feel. The tasting notes also point out that beach stones are used in the casks, which we learn help to keep the cask full. How much, if anything, they do for the flavor is debatable. The flavor is pleasantly citrusy.

3) 2011 Taste Rose $18

This is a light, fairly nondescript blend of Merlot, Cab Franc and Cab Sauv. Can’t compete with Croteaux’s roses.

4) 2010 First Crush Red $18

This is a Beaujolais Nouveau style of light red, and would be nice slightly chilled with a roast chicken. The aroma has some of that North Fork earthiness, but it tastes better than it smells.

5) 2009 Merlot $20

Nice berry aroma, and a typical Long Island Merlot, though without the earth flavor that is sometimes too prevalent.

Premium Tasting

1) 2011 Sparkling Rose $35

This is NOT a champagne-style sparkling wine, but rather one made by injecting CO2 into the tanks. It is a refreshing blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, and Merlot, but tastes a bit too much like a pink soda to me.

2) 2011 Viognier $35

Winner! This is a delicious white with lots of citrus and pleasing amount of complexity, despite a somewhat funky aroma. Since I have no earlier notes on this wine, my guess is it is a new one for Bedell.

3) 2010 Gallery $40

The Viognier grape also appears in this blend, which adds Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to the mix. The aroma reminds me of lemon candy, and the taste has a sweetness of ripe fruit to it, but it is a pleasant wine.

4) 2010 Taste Red $35

Yum. The server notes that this was aged for 12 months, and is a Bordeaux-style blend of Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cab Franc, and Malbec. The aroma is intensely berry berry, and the taste is lovely, with lots of fruit but dry. Good tannins.

5) Musee $75 (!)

This rather pricey wine is also a Bordeaux blend, with an aroma of coffee and plum. It spends 14 months in a combination of oak and old oak, and is a blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv, and Petit Verdot. Though it is a good wine, with some complexity and good fruit flavor and a nice finish, we feel it is not worth the price.

Our son-in-law buys the First Crush Red, a good choice, we all agree.

Reasons to visit: beautiful room and attractive labels; good though expensive wines; First Crush Red.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

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