Benmarl Winery 2008 DeChaunac

I have to admit I am not a big fan of red hybrid grapes.  I am trying and have always maintained an open mind. On a recent tasting trip to Benmarl I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted the 2008 DeChaunac!

This wine is sourced from three different vineyards in the town of Marlboro where Benmarl is located.    On the nose I smelled earth.  Yes, very earthy.  The taste...cherry.  Very Cherry!  As in a lot of hybrids you tend to get a little acid on the taste.  Not this wine.  It isn't acidic at all.  Very enjoyable with hints of vanilla.

Good job Kristop!!

Shopping and Wine with the Babysitter

Yes..shopping and wine with the babysitter.  But...the babysitter is now all gown up now. Perhaps I should explain... Many years ago when I worked in radio I worked with Chrystal's dad.  She was 4 years old when I met her.  As time moves forward, Chrystal was my lead babysitter when my kids were as young as 8 months old.  Fast forward 13 years and Chrystal get's hired as my secretary at my day job.  Two years later she's a product of "right sizing" as the VP of Marketing called it.  Don't worry, she has landed on her feet and I have been teaching her about wine.

The day began in Lee MA at the Prime Outlets.  A little shopping in the morning, lunch in town and then we headed to Hudson-Chatham Winery for a tasting. No shopping trip is complete until you have a little wine!

Much to our surprise we were treated to barrel tastings of the 2008 Old Vines Baco Noir and Empire.  Wow to both!  The Baco is going to be very good.  I am trying to convince Carlo to let the Baco sit a few years and let the wine age and mature a little.  He is talking about releasing some in the fall.  So, hint...if you are fortunate to purchase his 2008 Baco - hold onto it for a year or two before consuming.

The 2008 Empire was my favorite barrel taste!  This wine is going to be stellar!!!  Empire is a blend of three New York Wine Region grapes.  Cabernet Franc from the Finger Lakes, Baco Noir from the Hudson Valley and Merlot from Long Island.  There is a lot of dark berry going on in this wine.  The fruit from the Merlot and Cab Franc really stood out with a little hint of Baco.  In comparing it to the 2007 Empire, the 2008 is a richer wine with more complex flavors. Look for the release in late summer.  I am looking forward to a vertical tasting of the 2007 and 2008 from my wine cellar.

The last barrel sample we got to taste was the Cassis.  I felt like I was eating the black currants not to sweet with a hint of tartness. There was some discussion on whether it should be a tad sweeter.  For my palate I liked it as is, tart and not to sweet.  Being I am not in the norm...I think a tad sweeter would be best for everyone. I think people would feel the tartness and lack of sweetness would be a defect.

Chrystal received a great education Saturday and really enjoyed herself. I know she is looking forward to returning and bringing her friends to the winery.

To Chrystal's dad who was wondering how Chrystal got interested in wine - HELLO- did you really have to think about it?

Hudson Valley Wines Win Wine of the Year by The New York Cork Report

This past weekend in the Finger Lakes the editors of the New York Cork Report gathered to decide on the 2009 New York Wines of the Year.   Fifty-Four wines representing the five major wine regions in New York were tasted in 19 flights.

Congratulations to Clinton Vineyards and Millbrook Vineyards for their winning wines.
Hudson River Region Sparkling Wine: Clinton Vineyards NV Jubilee
Hudson River Region White Wine: Millbrook Vineyards 2008 Tocai Friulano
Hudson River Region Red Wine: Millbrook Vineyards 2007 Block Five East Pinot Noir


My hat goes off to Lenn Thompson and the editors of the New York Cork Report for raising the profile of New York Wines.  I hope that this becomes a yearly "competition" and a public tasting event for New York Wines.  Hopefully I can be a part of it.  After all, I organized and run the Hudson Valley Wine Competition. I would love to be a part of the organization and execution of the NYCR Wines of the Year contest.

To read more about the NYCR winning wines of 2009 visit the New York Cork Report 

Hudson Valley Wines coming to a retail store near you

It was a lovely afternoon at Brotherhood Winery.  Lined up in the tasting room were ten tables representing a selection of Hudson Valley Wines from the northern part of the valley just outside Albany to the souther part of the valley down by Warwick.  Among them were; Hudson-Chatham, Whitecliff, Clinton, Brookview Station, Palaia, Millbrook, Tousey, Glorie Farm, Warwick and of course Brotherhood. 

The mission for the afternoon was to expose the 40 or so retailers that attended to the wines of the Hudson Valley.

Mission accomplished.  Many wineries went home with orders from retailers.   Comments from retailers were positive to the quality of the wine and conversation.

Look for Hudson Valley Wines at a wine shop near you.  If you don't see what you are looking for, just ask.

Exploring Wine Country part 3

Wine for Haiti

It's very upsetting to see the devastation on Haiti.  My heart goes out to all those people.  They don't have much to begin with.  I've be to Haiti in the past via a few cruises on Royal Caribbean Line.  They have a section of beach they own called Labadee in Haiti.  Although that part of the island was protected, it is evident how poor the residents of the island are.

The past few days I've been thinking, how can I donate, and do I know my funds are going to the people in Haiti.  I join Palate Press in promoting Wine for Haiti. This is an online wine auction and all the funds will go to the American Red Cross to help with the relief efforts in Haiti.

You can help in two ways.  If you have a bottle of wine you would like to donate from your cellar you can send the bottle or bottles to:
Wine for Haiti
Palate Press: The online wine magazine
9425 Meridian #201
Indianapolis, IN 46260

Or if you are interested in any of the items, please make a bid.  They will be creating individual lots and they will be posted online.  Just place your bid in the comments section. They will not close any of the bids for a while, but once they do, the auction ends when we go 24 hours without a bid. If there is a bidding war between two or three people at the end they won’t make everybody wait a day, they will schedule a bid at a set time the contestants (and anybody else lurking and waiting, but interested) agree to.

Please direct all inquires to WineForHaiti@palatepress.com.

I am going to reach out to the Hudson Valley Wine Community and see if I can collect a case to contribute to the cause.  Along with that, I am going to go look in my cellar and see what I have to donate, and I might just make a few bids as well.

Adair Vineyards 2008 Blackberry Kir

On a trip to Adair Vineyards, I tasting their 2008 Blackberry Kir.   This is a Blackberry dessert wine.  It is blended with 10% of dry Cayuga White.

The color as you can see is a little light which is the Cayuga diluting the dark blackberry color.

This wine is not to terribly sweet.  The touch of dry Cayuga leveled off the sweetness so it wouldn't be to intense. The flavors I tasted in this wine remind me of a blackberry lifesaver.

A piece of Brotherhood Winery's History

On January 8, 1999 Brotherhood Winery suffered a major fire that destroyed two buildings. I remember that day when I heard about the fire. It was very devastating. People were talking about all the memories they had going to Brotherhood.

Here we are in 2010, 11 years after the fire and Brotherhood has rebuilt the area that the fire destroyed and it's looking better than ever!


 

Hudson Valley Wine Goddess Lamb Stew

Last night I made this  great lamb stew with Glorie Farm Winery's Red Quartet.  It was very easy and time from preparation to table 2 hours. Unfortunately I was not thinking and didn't take a picture of it.  I apologize.  Trust me, it was very good.  Here is the recipe.

Hudson Valley Wine Goddess Lamb Stew

2 lbs boneless lamb cut into 2 inch cubes
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
5 ounces bacon cut in 1/4 pieces
1 large Spanish onion cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into1/4 pieces
2 carrots, cut into 1/4  inch rounds
1 TBS fennel seeds
2 cups Glorie Farm Winery Red Quartet or a semi sweet red wine
2 cups tomato puree
1 tbs Italian seasonings

1.  Season lamb with salt and pepper.   In an 8 to 10 inch Dutche oven, heat olive oil over medium heat until smoking.  Increase heat to medium high and add the lamb.  You may have to do this in two batches.  Cook on all sides until golden brown.  Remove to a bowl and set aside

2.  Add bacon to pot and cook over medium high heat until lightly brown.  Add the onion, celery, carrots and fennel seeds.  Cook until soften about 5 to 7 minutes.  Add wine tomato puree, italian seasonings and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer with without lid for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.  Cover for remaining hour or until lamb is tender.

Serve with remaining wine.

Calling all Trekkies

Are you a fan of Star Trek?  If you are this is an event for you.  Palaia Vineyards is having a Star Trek Party on January 9th.  Come dressed as your favorite Trekkie and have some fun.  The event begins at 7pm and ends at 10pm.  Duo Phonic will be playing for your entertainment pleasure.

Some wine tasting suggestions are:  Traminette (on of my favorites), Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and their just released Mead.

New Years Eve

This New Years Eve was very different from years past.  We spent a quiet evening at home and both our kids decided to go out.  It was the first New Years Eve that we weren't all together. We decided to have a late dinner and my son showed up to join us and ate the Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon for himself and his sisters.

To begin the evening Paul and I opened a 1997 Chateau St. Jean Merlot.  We purchased this wine back in 2001 when we visited the winery.  I can't believe we actually kept it this long.

We decanted the wine for 2 hours and it opened up nicely.  On the nose I got cocoa with a hint of plum.

The taste....full of fruit.  What stood out the most was the black cherry and plum with hints of vanilla. The wine was very well balanced.
We served this with bacon wrapped Filet Mignons with a Gorgonzola Sauce, Green Beans and Mushrooms with a red wine and brandy reduction.  In case you are wondering, no I didn't use the Merlot in the green beans.

Now to bring in the New Year. It's the NYE to see what's in the wine cellar.  Paul pulled out a 2006 Whitecliff Sparkling Wine. This was made with a blend of Chardonnay and Seyval.   I remember tasting this wine in 2008 and I wasn't to thrilled with it. It was very sharp and had a zing to it. The Seyval really stood out.

The cork was popped a few minutes before midnight so we all had the glass of bubbly in our hands for the countdown.  I took the first sip of the new year and WOW!  I was surprised, the sparkling wine was tasting mighty good.  It was well balanced and there was no bitterness or zing. The flavors all blended well together. The Seyval blended in nicely with the Chardonnay tasting the  Chardonnay up front with the hint of Seyval mid palate.  Aging in in our cellar did wonders for this bottle.