Wines in Grocery Stores - A NY Debate

Disclosure: I do personally have my own views on this topic. I do see both sides.  I will say, I can go to the grocery store and get my Budweiser but will go to the beer distributor to get my Otter Creek or Long Trail.j

This is a very controversy subject among members of the wine industry in New York. Here you will listen to both sides courtesy of WMHT TV.

Judges for the "Face of Hudson Valley Wine" Label Competition Announced

HVWine Announces Judges for the "Face of Hudson Valley Wine" Label Competition

Whitecliff 2009 Riesling

This is a new release from Whitecliff - the 2009 Riesling.  Some if it is estate grown and some of it comes from other regions in New York.  I'd say it is a good sampling of a New York Riesling with an emphasis on estate grown grapes.  A winemakers' note - the grapes were high in acid when harvested.

The wine is rated a high medium dry based on the International Riesling Profile set forth by the International Riesling Foundation.  Layman terms - about 1%  - 1.5% residual sugar.

I tasted this wine twice - once in the  tasting room and once at home with my husband with my purchase. The taste was consistent.  The wine had peach on the bouquet with a hint of lime. It had  an overall nice balance and mouth feel.

A first the wine had a slight mineral taste on the finish. However, once the wine opened up, there was actually a bit of acid left behind on the after taste on the roof of your palate.

This wine will go very well with Asian dishes or a dish with as light spice.  

Interview with Jonathan Hull - Applewood Winery

I recently sat down with Jonathan Hull owner/winemaker of Applewood Winery in Warwick, New York. I was very interested in hearing about the history of the Winery and the farm it sits on as well as what brought Jonathan into the world of winemaking. Applewood is the oldest working farm in Orange County and one of the oldest west of the Hudson River.  The history goes back to 1700 when Samuel G. Staats acquired about 5000 acres of land from his friend Governor Bellomont, of the colonial Province of New York. In 1734, 800 acres was purchased by Jacobus Demarest who then in 1863 sold 116 acres to Joseph Roy.  In 1899 the farm passed to James B. Lawrence whose heirs sold it to John E. Predmore in 1921.  In 1949 the farm was purchased by Dr. and Mrs. Donald Hull of Ridgewood New Jersey.   The farm was acquired by his oldest son David who wanted to be a fruit grower.  In 1993 David's youngest son Jonathan opened the winery in a building along the farm lane.

Here are some questions I asked Jonathan when I sat down with him recently.

What made you decide that you wanted to be in the NY wine industry?

                I was living in NYC and had a bottle of Hard Cider made by a lawyer who moved from Brooklyn to Vermont.  I knew exactly what I was going to do for the rest of my life from that moment on.

Which of your current wines is your favorite and why?

Stone Fence Hard Cider, I love it’s simple purity.  100% fresh cider.  Why do all these other wineries botch it up by making it with concentrates, water? brandy etc.

What Riesling is your favorite and why?

Herman Weimer, Dry Riesling, wonderful delicate flavors that come from fermenting with wild yeasts.

What has surprised you most about being a member of the Hudson Valley wine community?

Even though it is every New Yorkers right to be miserable we all work together and have a lot of fun.

Does anyone else in your family share the passion for winemaking?

My cousin is married to Julian Niccolini the owner of the four seasons who has his own wine label and his daughter is in the Wine business in California but I am the only winemaker.

If you weren’t a winemaker what would you be doing?

                Something that actually has a potential to make money.

Curry Cod with Whitecliff Riesling

I am so lucky to be friends with a wonderful Chef.  Chef Debbie has been visiting the area since mid February from Tampa Florida. She's enrolled in boot camp courses at the Culinary Institute of America.  She often needs a test kitchen and subjects to try her creations and we are the lucky ones!

This weekend she created an Eggplant stuffed with ricotta and grains along with Pistachio Curried Cod, Forbidden Rice and Sauteed Spinach.  I never heard of Forbidden Rice before, but what a beautiful deep red color it was.

What wine to serve with these dishes and a Riesling was the thought for the fish pairing.  Hoping I had one on ice, I found a 2008 Whitecliff Riesling in the fridge. This Riesling I think is at its peak.  It can be described in one word - Apricot.  Apricot all the way through.  On the nose and on the taste.  Not much acidity and very smooth. This was not a dry Riesling as there was a hint of residual sugar.  If I had a guess I would say 1% - so it would be in semi-dry category, which was luck for us, as the only other choice in the fridge were a Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

This wine paired very well with the Pistachio Curried Cod as it cut the spice of the curry with the semi sweet apricot. I am going to try my best at a future date to duplicate this dish. Most likely won't come out as good as Debbie's but we'll give it a try.

Don't think we didn't have a wine to pair with the Eggplant.  Yes, we had a Tolosa Winery 2002 Pinot Noir.  This wine was very good!  We had purchased it a while back on a trip to San Louis Obispo.  With a fantastic Chef we had fantastic wine.

I cleared off the dining room table and we sat and had a wonderful dinner with Debbie.  Thank you Debbie!

Restaurant Week Kick-off - Spotlight on Hudson Valley Wines

Today kicks off  Hudson Valley Restaurant Week. There are many restaurants to dine at during the next two weeks and many of them will be serving Hudson Valley Wines.

One restaurant group that is a great supporter of Hudson Valley Wines is Xaviars, owned by Chef Peter Kelly.  Two of his restaurants participating in Restaurant Week are Restaurant X and The Bully Boy Bar and X20 Xaviars on Hudson.  You will be able to enjoy a prix-fixe lunch for $20 and dinner for $28.  A wine and dine visit a  must!

Hudson Valley wines to be paired with the wonderful dishes Chef Peter Kelly will be creating are; Awosting White from Whitecliff Vineyard and Winery, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Millbrook Vineyards and Winery and Cabernet Sauvignon from Brotherhood Winery.

It doesn't stop at the the wine.  They have created three wonderful cocktails to be served using Hudson Valley wines and spirits.  If  vodka is your spirit, try the Valley Cosmo made with Tuthilltown Heart of the Hudson Vodka and Creme de Violette.  For rum lovers, try the River Rim Punch made with Tuthilltown Rum, Strawberry and Pineapple.  For the fans of bubbly, try the Hudson Bubble Cocktail made with Brotherhood Blanc de Blanc and St. Germain Liqueur, Blood Orange.

Cheers to the beginning of Restaurant Week!

Three Sisters Project Unites New York's Three Wine Regions

What happens when you get six New York wineries from three of New York's premier wine regions together?  You get some sisterly love and a innovative cooperative project that brings together the three wine regions in New York State under the Three Sisters Project.  From April 3 - May 2, 2010 you will be able to taste, experience and purchase wines from the sisters at each of the participating wineries in each of the wine regions.

The participating wine regions and wineries include the following:
Hudson Valley: Benmarl Winery & Hudson-Chatham Winery
Finger Lakes: Anthony Road Wine Company & Fox Run Vineyards
North Fork of Long Island: Lieb Family Cellars & Macari Vineyards

The goals of the Three Sisters Project are to help increase overall consumer awareness of the great local and quality wines being produced in New York State.  This will give wine enthusiasts a chance to sample some great local wines around the state without traveling to that specific region.

“This has been a great way to work with our sister wineries, share information, try new styles, introduce new wines into our tasting rooms, and get the word out on New York state wine,” said Carlo DeVito, project director and co-owner of Hudson-Chatham Winery. “Interest in local foods and wine have never been hotter. We think this is a great opportunity.  


I personally think this project is a great opportunity to bring together the three premier wine regions in New York State at the closest wine region to you.

“The major thing with New York wines is building awareness,” says Matthew Spaccarelli, owner of Benmarl Winery. “The Quality and consistency is already in place. This program is a great way to showcase what the wineries throughout New York are producing.”

While the final list of wines is being well thought out, you can view what will be available at the sister wineries by visiting the Three Sisters Project website

“From the Lake, to the River, to the Sound, wine from the Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley and North Fork of Long Island will be sampled at Macari Vineyards, Mattituck…….come and meet the Three Sisters!”  Alexandra Macari, Macari Vineyards

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Educating the Babysitter - Chili Cook-off at Millbrook Winery

What do you do before the Superbowl – attend the Chili cook-off at Millbrook Winery with the babysitter.  The contestants were Stacey and Barbara, each preparing a unique chili prepared with a different Millbrook wine. The babysitter – Chrystal, who babysat my kids when my daughter was 8 months old until she was 8.  (My daughter is now 15.)

The tasting began at the tasting bar, me and Chrystal along with a couple from Connecticut and Red Hook.  We began with the 2008 New York State Chardonnay.  This Chardonnay is a blend from the three major growing regions in New York.  On the nose there was bouquet of key lime.  There was oaky flavors with a soft hint of vanilla on the finish.

Then we moved onto one of my favorite Chardonnays the 2008 Proprietor’s Special Reserve.  This Chardonnay is from Millbrook and Oak Summit Vineyards.  This Chard was barrel fermented and underwent malolactic fermentation.  On the nose was a bouquet of pear and hint of lemon.  Some nice flavors of soft mango. It had the nice creamy buttery silky finish that I like and so did the babysitter.  

Onto the reds – the 2007 NYS Pinot Noir.  This pinot was sourced from the north shore of Long Island.  It’s a medium bodied wine and I got a lot of earth and oak on the nose with a little cherry. The cherry carried over to the flavor of the wine along with hint of strawberry. 

2007 Hunt Country Red – This red is a favorite with many people.  This wine is unique and is a blend of 5 varietals.  55% Merlot, 30% Cab Franc, 5% Zinfandel, 5% Cab Sauvignon and 5% Pinot Noir. I got strong bouquet of raspberry on the nose.  It did have a bit of spice to it. 

Now onto the Chili contest.  Two chili’s were prepared.  Stacey prepared a venison chili made with Cabernet Franc.  This was her first time making the dish and it was quite good.  The cab franc went nicely with it. Barbara tried her hand at a turkey and white bean chili and  was prepared with their 2008 Unoaked Chardonnay.  This chili was good too.  It was quite difficult to vote on which chili was best.  Both dishes were good and unique and the wines went nicely with them.

So what did the babysitter learn on this tasting.  She stated that when she began wine tasting last year she liked the sweeter wines.  Now after a year of wine tasting and education, she prefers the dryer wines.  No preference on red or whites.  She liked the chili wine pairing and it was difficult for her to make a decision to vote on as well.

Hudson Valley welcomes a new Wine Trail - Hudson-Berkshire Experience

The Hudson Valley is home to over 25 wineries and now home to 3 wine/beverage trails.  Opening April 10,  The Hudson-Berkshire Beverage Trail  is home to 3 wineries, a distillery and a brewery.  The beverage trail runs from just south of Albany, New York to Hudson, New York and extends 44 miles. 

Founding members of the Hudson-Berkshire Beverage Trail are  Brookview Station Winery located in Castleton-on-Hudson, NY, Hudson-Chatham Winery located in Hudson, NY, Harvest Spirits located in Valatie, NY, & Chatham Brewing in Chatham, NY.  Opening to the public on April 10 and joining the beverage trail is Tousey Winery in Germantown, NY.

When asked "Why a beverage trail," Carlo DeVito, owner of Hudson-Chatham Winery responded

"We chose a beverage trail because Harvest Spirits and Chatham Brewing are two exceptional establishments in the county. Core Vodka has won numerous awards, and Chatham Brewing is sold in numerous restaurants throughout the state, including New York City. We can now offer incredibly exciting, quality expereince to the consumer. What other beverage trail features hand-crafted, small batch ales, artisanal vodka, applejack, eau d'vie, as well as gold medal winning classic vinifera and hybrid wines as well as gold medal winning fruit wines? No wine or beverage trail can boast that kind of gourmet fire power." 

The trail plans to host three to four events a year.  A spring event, a wine festival at the Columbia County Fair Grounds and a holiday event.  

April 10 is opening day, and I will be reporting from the festivities.