Cheers to the Winning Wines of the Hudson Valley Wine Comopetition

Terrapin Restaurant in Rhinebeck New York was the setting Saturday April 25^th for the 5^th Annual Hudson Valley Wine Competition. This competition highlights the Hudson Valley Regions wines and the growing interest the public has for them. The competition was open to all commercial wineries in the Hudson Valley AVA using New York State fruit, but more exclusively, Hudson Valley fruit.

The wines were judged by a panel of distinguished wine experts that included Lenn Thompson – founder of Lenndevours.com; Chris Gerling – Cornell’s Extension Associate for Enology for New York State;, Steven Carrizzo – Mid Valley Wines and the winephilosopher.com ; Bill Rattner – Sommelier & Wine Director for Xaviar’s Restaurant Group; Jennifer Redmond; Ned Towle, Founder and Director of the Westchester Wine School; Bill Miller- Arlington Wines & Liquors; W.R. Tish Founder Wine For All; Liz Johnson, Food Editor of the Journal News and LoHud.com; Christopher Matthews – Independent Wine Writer and wine and spirits columnist for the New York Law Journal Magazine; Brian Simpson – Assistant Food & Beverage Manager, Roger Smith Hotel, NYC. More info on the judges can be found at here.

The Hudson Valley Wine & Grape Association will hold a Hudson Valley Wine & Culinary Food Pairing - A Celebration of Hudson Valley Wines on June 12, 2009, 7pm at Terrapin Catering at the Dinsmore Golf Course, Rt 9, Staatsburg NY. The winners of the 5 major categories wines will be paired with haut cuisine prepared by the Chef Josh Kroner. Tickets for this dinner are $85 per person and can be purchased at http://hudsonvalleywineandgrapeassociation.ticketleap.com

Eighty wines made in the Hudson Valley were entered in the competition. Wines were judged based on the American Wine Society evaluation criteria. Overall the wines from the 15 wineries that entered scored higher than in the past four competitions, suggesting to all present, a continuing improvement in winemaking for the area.

The Best Sparkling was awarded to Whitecliff Vineyards & Winery for their 2007 Sparkling Wine

The Best White Wine was award to Benmarl Winery for their 2008 Riesling

The Best Red Wine was awarded to Millbrook Winery for their 2007 Block 5 East Pinot Noir

Best Tree Fruit was awarded to Adair Vineyards for their 2008 Peche

Best Dessert Wine was awarded to Warwick Valley Winery for their American Fruits Strawberry.

Best in Show is awarded to the highest scoring wine and goes to Adair Vineyards for their 2008 Peche

Best Hudson Valley Wine, which had to be made with 100% fruit from the Hudson Valley goes to Millbrook Winery for their 2007 Block 5 East Pinot Noir.

A complete list of winners can be found by clicking here

View pictures from the competition here

1995 Baco Noir

Steve Casscles has been growing grapes and makes wine in the Hudson Valley for many years. Why he doesn't start his own bonded winery is beyond me. Steve has been the winemaker for Hudson Chatham for a couple of years and he has one of the largest Baco Noir vineyards in the Hudson Valley.

I recently stopped at Steves house to pick up his entries for the non-commercial wine competition. He took me out to the back where he has a small vineyard of Baco. You could see how old and strong the roots of these vines were. He was prunning at the time and was happy for the break. For those not familiar, Baco Noir is a hybrid grape. For more info on the Baco Grape click here

In appreciation for picking up the wine, he gave me a gift of a 1995 Baco Noir that was produced by the grapes grown at his parents house in Middlehope.

I must admit, I really like the Baco grape, but was a bit skeptical, however knowing what I know about Steve, I know he wouldn't have given me something that he wasn't proud of.

I made a flank steak last night and we thought the Baco would pair well with it. Well...I was amazed! This wine was very well balanced. On the nose was a smokey cherry. The wine was very cherry, but had some sour cherry up front. It was smooth on the tongue and through the entire taste. It went fantastic with my Flank Steak.

Steve, you should really think about opening a winery. Your products are very good!

Behind the Scenes - HV Wine Competition

I thought I'd give you a behind the scenes look at what goes into a wine competition here in the Hudson Valley. Months prior to the competition, a letter went out to about 25 wineries in the Hudson Valley. The wines intered in the competition need to be made with 100% NY State Grapes preferably grapes grown in the Hudson Valley. There were 80 entries from approximately 15 Hudson Valley Wineries.

After collecting the various entries and unpacking them. My dining room looked like this. Wine was arranged according to flight and judges.Left hand side of table were Judges on the X panel; the right Judges on the Y panel. Head and foot of table were all taste.

Next was time to take the capsules off the wine and put the labels on wine and bottles. Colleen and I enlisted the help of my daughter Melanie and her friend Nicole. It's good to put to teenagers to work on a Friday night. They received quite an education on wine as well. Look for them as future Sommeliers.
Then Colleen and I had to bag each of the bottles and pack them for transport in the morning. We were up quite late and I got quite cranky. Thanks for putting up with my crankiness Col.

Arriving at Terrapin Restaurant in Rhinebeck a good 30 minute ride, we unpacked and set up.










Let the judging begin. All judges arrived on time, however we did have a no show. Chris Carbone the Beverage Manager for Terrapin was nowhere to be found. We started and proceeded without him. Let the Judging Begin!










There are many things we do "back stage" like tallying the scores, getting ready for the next flight, drying glasses etc. I will post the official winners later this week.


I would like to thank all the judges for taking time from their Saturday to Judge this competition. We had a great panel and I hope to see you all there again next year.

Brotherhood Dry Riesling with Scallops

What a pairing! Brotherhood 2007 Dry Riesling with Scallops and a balsamic vinegar reduction. Yum!

First the wine..It's very important to taste the wine first and then taste again with the food. Sometimes the wine will taste bland on it's own, but when paired with food it stands out.

This was a Brotherhood Winery (the Oldest Winery in America) 2007 Dry Riesling. The aroma was slate. There were no floral or fruit that stood out. The color was straw yellow. It was a leechy and minerally.

Now the pairing. I made for dinner Scallops in a Balsamic reduction and Asparagus Risotto. I will say this wine went very will with it. After a bit of the scallops, sip the wine and the wine took on another personality. The flavors from the scallops and risotto complemented this wine.

Here's the Recipe:
Scallops with Balsamic Reduction
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 TBS honey
1 tsp dried marjoram

Heat oil in non stick skillet. Add scallops; saute 5 minutes. Remove scallops, set aside. Add 1/4 cup vinegar, honey and marjoram to skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cook 3 minutes. Add scallops back to skillet and cook until heated through.

Asparagus Risotto
4 cups sliced asparagus (cooked)
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbs butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used the Brotherhood Riesling)
1 cup graged Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Place 1 cup asparagus and 1 cup broth in a blender and puree until smooth. Combine puree, remaining 2 cups broth and 1 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan and simmer. Melt butter in a large saucepan and saute onions until tender. Stir in rice and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; cook until liquid is nearly absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth mixture and cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining puree mixture 1/2 cup at a time until broth is absorbed. Stir in remaining asparagus. Cook 2 minutes and then stir in 3/4 cup cheese, cream salt and pepper.

CIDER MILL PRESS & HUDSON-CHATHAM WINERY RELEASE CO-LICENSED BOOK AND WINE

Cider Mill Press is publishing The Hudson River Valley Reader edited by Edward C. Goodman, to celebrate the 400^th Anniversary of the exploration of the Hudson River by Henry Hudson. And for the first time ever a wine produced by the award-winning Hudson-Chatham Winery, named Hudson River Valley Red 2008, is being simultaneously released as part of a licensing effort. This is the first time a wine has been licensed from a book.

The Hudson-River Valley Reader is a book that combines the history of the river as well as literary gems from such Hudson Valley literati as Washington Irving, John Burroughs, and many others.

Hudson River Valley Red 2008 is a light-to-medium bodied dry red table wine made from grapes grown in the Hudson Valley. Made from DeChaunac, Seyval Blanc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is versatile and smooth, and is great with poultry, fish, or vegetarian meals.

The Hudson-River Valley Reader is a book that combines the history of the river as well as literary gems from such Hudson Valley literati as Washington Irving, John Burroughs, and many others.

Hudson River Valley Red 2008 is a light-to-medium bodied dry red table wine made from grapes grown in the Hudson Valley. Made from DeChaunac, Seyval Blanc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is versatile and smooth, and is great with poultry, fish, or vegetarian meals.

Hudson-Chatham Winery is located in Ghent, NY, and is Columbia County’s first winery. Located on the former Brisklea Ayrshire Dairy Farm, the winery is nestled between the Catskill and Berkshire mountains. Carlo and Dominique DeVito make an array of award winning wines, as well as 100% natural maple syrups under their Sugarmaker’s Reserve label.

The painting Hudson River Scene by John Bunyon Bristol (1826-1909) is courtesy the Hudson River Museum, located in Yonkers, New York. The Museum collects 19th- and 20th-c. American art and cultural, social and historical material related to Glenview, the Museum's historic house, and the wider Westchester County/Hudson River Valley region. Though the Museum's collecting focus has evolved over its 84-year history, the trustees and staff have always been concerned with the institution's value and relevance to the surrounding region and its residents.

Congratulations Carlo and Dominique!