Legacy of Whitecliff's Olana Vineyard in Hudson NY: A Blend of History and Viticulture

In the fall, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with Michael Migliore, owner of Whitecliff Vineyard and Winery, at their Olana Vineyard in Hudson, NY. This is a 10-acre site just over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge on the Hudson side, in the shadows of the Olana Estate and on the banks of the Hudson River.

Michael established and started farming this land in 2015 with Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir and Chardonnay. The vineyard is situated on land with a long agricultural history dating back to indigenous peoples who inhabited the area over 3,000 years ago. Artifacts like arrowheads and a 4-foot-long mortar pistol for grinding corn have been uncovered on the property.

In the 19th century, the land was primarily used to grow Concord grapes, which were shipped to major cities along the East Coast. After Prohibition, it transitioned to apples and cherries before Michael brought grape growing back to the site. Some legacy cherry and apple trees still remain scattered throughout the property.

On our tour, we tasted grapes right off the vine just before harvest. We check the seeds for maturity and flavor.

Listen to the podcast, and you will receive a lesson in history dating back to the Mohegans who inhabited the property, to Frederick Church, who built Olana in the 1870’s and the town of Greendale (which doesn’t exist today) to present-day grape growing and vineyard management.

It is an inspiring podcast for the history buff and wine geek. I hope you enjoy it.

Whitecliff Vineyards Vertical Chardonnay Tasting

I took part in a vertical tasting of Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery's Chardonnay.  I am going to read you off the notes I have from the tasting.  We also tasting the 2011 from the barrel.

2006 - This Chardonnay came from Whitecliff's estate and  Laurel Lake in Long Island.  Nose of lemon curd and was very flavorful
2007 - It's not dead yet, but it's marching.
2008 - Estate Bottled.  Nose of honeysuckle.  The second swirl is all honey.  On the palate there was hints of almonds.  Picked at brix of 22 and ph of 3.5
2009 Higher acid and good balance.  Taste of oak.
2010 Aromas are fresh with a hint of  bitterness on the finish
2011 Awesome nose with strong hints of butter.  Palate a bit oaky and a little green but that will be racked out.

Going into the tasting I honestly thought the 2006 would be the one I liked the least, but it is really holding its own quite well.   It was interesting to see the comparisons in age as well as location of the grapes used.

Valentine's Weekend in the Hudson Valley

Looking to treat your Valentine to a special weekend.  There are many events to treat your loved one to this weekend.  Begin you planning.

Saturday February 11, Whitecliff Vineyards will be featuring truffles from Lagusta's Luscious paired with a rare sampling of their Methode Champenoise Sparkling Wine.

Saturday and Sunday February 11-12, Robibero Family Vineyards is featuring Moxie Cupcakes at their Sweet & Sinful Revenge. You will indulge in cupcakes, chocolate and wine.  What every women loves! Sample 4 wines and learn the history of grapes and the art of pairing.  This event needs reservations and cost $15 per person.  There are three seatings - 1pm, 2:30pm and 4pm.

Saturday and Sunday, February 11-12 Millbrook Winery is having a special tasting event featuring  their new wine infused chocolate truffles paired with their wine. Reservations are recommended. Special chocolate and wine tasting times are 1pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm and cost $20 per person.

Friday, February 10 kicks off Tousey Winery's "Art and Wine for Lovers" weekend.  Friday from 5pm-8pm their will be an art reception and showing by Rhinebeck artist Thomas Cale. The event will feature wine tastings and expert recommendations for art and wine pairing.  The art showing will continue for 6 weeks.

Barrel Tasting 2011 Vintage at Whitecliff Vineyards

It doesn't happen often when I get invited to a winery to do some wine education but I take advantage any time I'm asked.  Michael & Yancey Migliore owners of Whitecliff Vineyards invited me and Paul over one Sunday afternoon for some barrel tasting of the 2011 vintage.

Notes from the tasting:

Traminette - Fabulous aroma and taste.  It's tasting really good! Low in acid
Riesling - Hudson Valley Riesling - very good, nice nose, acidity and flavor.  The mix of Finger Lakes and Long Island, not as good. Low acid and fruit flavors weren't there.
Vignoles from the Finger Lakes - good, citrusy. Vignoles from his vineyard was outside and unable to get to.
Petit Verdot - good as a blended grape, inky and plenty of tannins
Malbec - young and choppy, nice fruit and very aromatic.
Cab Franc - ok
Merlot - needs color
Cabernet Sauvignon - tasting good.

The Sky is the Limit

Note: I received this as a sample right off the bottling line from Whitecliff Vineyards, hence there is no label.  I did wait two weeks before I opened it so the bottle shock wouldn't be so harsh.

The Sky Island is Whitecliff's Bordeaux blended wine.  (A red blend of 5 grapes grown in the Bordeaux region of France Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc)  This Sky Island blend is 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 32% Merlot 4% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot.

We decanted the wine because it was so young. As we decanted it, I got an immediate nose of Petit Verdot - the black fruits and blackberry really stood out. Along with the dark fruit there was some oak that was apparent on the nose.

One sip and you get a mouth full of dark fruit flavors. As the wine opens up black cherry begins to stand out. There is a strong black pepper finish (which I love) on the wine that just lingers a bit on your palate.   It's a nice full bodied, strong wine.

This wine is young and I would suggest holding on to it for a year or two.  It sells for $24.95 in their tasting room.

Regional Wine Week - Drink Local First Hudson Valley

This week is Regional Wine Week. I am narrowing it down to Local Wine Week because  I am a big proponent of local wine.  This week I will do my best drink local Hudson Valley Wines and I hope wherever you reside you will seek out your local and regional wines.

In the spirit of "Regional Wine Week" I am going to talk about the Traminette grape. A little grape history - Traminette' is a late mid-season white wine grape which produces wine with pronounced varietal character likened to one of its parents, Gewurztraminer.  I'll be honest, when I first tasted traminette about 5 years ago it thought it was skunky.  That may have been because the vines were very young but now as the vines have matured and the winemakers have perfected their Traminette winemaking skills, it has become one of my favorites.

I know of 4 wineries in the Hudson Valley that produce Traminette; Whitecliff, Palaia, Benmarl and Applewood.  I just happen to have a 2010 Whitecliff Vineyards Traminette and recently opened it.  This grapes in this wine came from both Whitecliff Vineyards and fruit from the Finger Lakes region.

This 2010 Whitecliff Traminette was a Gold Medal winner in the 2011 San Francisco International Wine Competition.  Kudos to Whitecliff!   I found the bouquet on this wine to be very aromatic! Lychee aromas with citrus and minerals filled my nose.


On the palate the wine was very smooth, slightly acidic and had nice balance.  Tastes of tropical fruit and hints of pineapple filled my palate with a soft spicy finish.  


This wine will pair will pair very well with a dish that has hints of spice.  The wine sells for $15.95 in the tasting room.  Not sure if they still have it available.

RARE VERTICAL TASTING WEEKENDS AT WHITECLIFF VINEYARD

The owners of Whitecliff Vineyard have dug down into their private library of wines that are no longer available for sale in order to offer a vertical tasting over the next two weekends. A “vertical tasting” is wine jargon for a side by side tasting of different vintages of the same wine. It provides a sometimes eye opening glimpse of what aspects of the wine are unique to the grape, and what aspects are shaped by the weather in a given year. It’s a stimulating learning experience that teaches people to pay careful attention to subtle differences. 

They have been inspired to offer vertical tastings to compare 2009 with 2010 because they were such different years in the vineyard—the former cold and wet (remember the ruined tomato crop?), the later particularly hot and dry. Typically, hot, dry weather promotes high sugar, low acidity, and riper fruit flavors in the grapes, and cold, damp weather promotes higher acidity. While most people will likely think “Yum” in response to the first, and NOT to the second, acidity is in fact a key component of great wine. One of the interesting aspects of this tasting will be the opportunity to sample Whitecliff’s 2009 Riesling (a fairly high acid wine), which beat 1300 wines from 27 countries and 28 states to win a Double Gold Medal and Best White Wine in Show at the 2010 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

Whitecliff’s Vertical Tasting Weekends will be the July 4^th weekend, July 2^nd through Monday the 4^th, as long as our 2009 supplies last. Visitors will sample 3 of their current 2010 wines—Reserve Chardonnay, Gamay Noir and Riesling—along with the same wines from the previous 2009 vintage. 

Vertical tastings will be available all of each weekend, for either $8.50 a person, or $6.50 with a purchase of wine. Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery is located at 331 McKinstry Road in Gardiner, New York.

Blending Cayuga

A few weeks ago Paul and I were over at Whitecliff Vineyards blending their Cayuga wine.  Cayuga White, which is the proper name of the grape is a hybrid cross between Schuyler and Seyval Blanc. Personally, I haven't met a Cayuga that I liked, but when you are blending wine, you are not blending the wine because you like the grape, you need to blend it for the customer.

On a personal note - this was the first time Paul and I had worked together making a blend.  It was just me and him in the tank room.  We didn't argue, we actually enjoyed working together, I think.

We began by making 150ML bottles of blending Cayuga with tank fermented Chardonnay.  We had our control bottle of Cayuga, then began by adding 10% Chardonnay in 5% increments until it was 50/50.  The two blends that were 85/15 an 80/20 had wonderful bouquets.

After everything was blended we went upstairs to sit with Michael the owner/winemaker. The tastings began.  I liked the 80/20 Paul liked the 70/30.  We weren't satisfied.  So....we went back to the blending table and added Riesling to the mix.  Each 150ML had 10% Riesling.  I liked the blend that was 76.5% Cayuga 13.5 Chard and 10% Riesling.  Or course we never agree - Paul like the blend of 72% Cayuga 18% Chard and 10% Riesling.

But we still weren't happy.  So....we decided to take the Cayuga straight and add residual sugar to it.  We mixed one that was 1.5% 3.6% and 4.4%.  I am not one for sweet wines but with the acidity of the wine you couldn't tell that it was 4.4% RS.

The winning blend was the straight Cayuga with 4.4% RS.  Served cold on a hot summers day, the acidic balance with the RS will make it a very enjoyable wine.  At least I hope.

A few things I learned blending wine:

• Adding vinifera to a hybrid doesn't always make the wine taste better.  
• Adding just a little bit of another variety can change the taste and bouquet dramatically.
• Sometimes balancing out the acid with sugar will make the wine taste better on its own.
• Have a good calculator.

Whitecliff 2010 Awosting White

This wine is one of Whitecliff's best selling wines and I can see why.  This 2010 Awosting White is estate bottled and is a blend of 60% Seyval and 40% Vignoles.

It has a fresh nose of lime giving way to a hint of banana and passion fruit.  On the palate there is pineapple, soft tropical fruit, and lime.  The wine is slightly acidic which is balanced out by a hint of sweetness.

This is a nice fresh and vibrant wine that will be very refreshing on a hot summers day.

The wine is sold in the tasting room and many regional wine shops.

Great Whites! Fresh Fish in the Vineyard

There is something for the body and sole at  Whitecliff Vineyards during this annual Fresh Fish in the Vineyard event May 14 & 15. Every year the winemaker travels to the Finger Lakes and goes fishing for rainbow trout to serve to his customers.  One year it was grilled trout and last year was trout tacos.  Not sure how the trout will be prepared this year.

Fifty percent of the proceeds from the ticket sales of this event will be going to the Japanese Red Cross. They will also be selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a half case of Riesling which will also go towards the Japanese Red Cross.

Tickets for this event are $14 in advance and can be purchased in advance by calling the winery at 845.255.4613.

What Whitecliff Wine will you be pairing with your rainbow trout? Unoaked Chardonnay, Awosting White, Riesling, Traminette.......

Two Glasses One Wine

I recently stopped by Whitecliff Vineyards & Winery to do a tasting of their new releases.  Michael gave me a sample of the 2010 Unoaked NYS Chardonnay to take home, but the 2010 labels hadn't arrived yet. So..he slapped on the 2009 label to make the bottle complete.  I think for picture reasons, I would have opted for an incomplete label with no vintage year.  So even though this picture says 09, it's really a 2010.  Now that we got that taken care of.

Paul and I sometimes argue about the wine glass. He seems to like these football no stem glass where I prefer to traditional wine glass.  The first pour was in Paul's favorite glass.   On the nose I got wet slate, fresh rain, minerally, kiwi and melon.   On the palate strong honeydew melon gives way to lime.  It was very one dimensional.

Now we switched to the stem glasses.  The nose was melon and wet slate.  On the palate I got honeydew melon, kiwi and hint of lime.  There was slight acidity mid palate that comes out. Could it be the glass? As the wine begins to warm, the Bartlett pear flavor begins to show and the mouth feel becomes smoother.

This is a very nice and refreshing wine. I am really becoming a fan of the unoaked Chardonnay!

Blending Experiment

Michael Migliore invited me and  Paul over to do some wine blending. The wine on the blending table was Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec.  We later added Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir to the table. The mission for the day was to see if the varietal stood up on it's own or was better blended with another varietal. 

First we began with a taste of the Riesling that was blended a day or two ago.  It was unfined and unfiltered, so looks were a little cloudy.  The taste was pear with an orange peel finish.  Looking forward to that release.

For each of these wines, we tasted the wine on it's own and then with some blending to determine which blend if needed was what would be bottled.

Merlot Experiment:

• On it's own it had a very berry nose with new oak.  Berry
• Blended with 2% Petit Verdot - not to much difference.  You got a little bitterness on the finish.  The berry was toned down.  
• Blended with 9% Cab Franc, 2% Petit Verdot - Nose of Cab Franc. The Cab Franc overpowered the wine.
• The winner - 98% Merlot 2% Petit Verdot

Cabernet Franc Experiment:

• On it's own - WOW!  This is a wonderful wine.  Fresh berry spice, smooth,  wonderful black pepper finish.  
• Blended with 3% Petit Verdot - Brightened the color on the purple hue.  Softened the Cab Franc and the flavors associated with it
• Blended with 12% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot - no notes on this because I really liked it on it's own
• The winner - Cabernet Franc on it's own.  It is going to be a wonderful wine.

Malbec Experiment:

• On it's own - Houston we have a problem - Sauerkraut.  I taste sauerkraut, not good, this means bacteria attacked some of the chemical compounds in the barrel, lactic acid in this case causing the sauerkraut smell.  Off to the barrel room to take a sample from another barrel and to mark the barrel this sample came from.
• New sample - 100% Malbec had a bland nose.  
• Blended with 4% Petit Verdot - great nose, nice finish
• Blended with 7.5% Petit Verdot - to much Petit Verdot, lost the Malbec
• Blended with 4% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot - Merlot nose and a fruity finish
• The winner - 96% Malbec 4% Petit Verdot

The Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir were blended with 4% and  3% Merlot respectively and it was determined that they both held their own without any blending.

It was a great harvest last year.  The fruit really holds its own.

Cookies and Merlot

It's that time of the year again where the annual cookie swap comes into play.  With less than one week notice I had to make 8 dozen cookies for our "Wine Night" swap.  So Friday evening found me slaving over my oven and kitchen aid to bake my cookies.  I couldn't do it alone, so I pulled out a 2008 Whitecliff Vineyards New York State Merlot.

A little wine for me, and more wine for me as I made the Coffee and Cream Drops.

When I opened the wine the first aromas that came to me was earth and mocha. I thought that was fitting since the cookies I was making had coffee and chocolate in them.  The earth and mocha gave way to hints of plum and black cherry.

I first tasted the wine before I tasted any of the cookies I was making.  I got a black cherry, bright fruit flavor with hints of raspberry.  The wine was thin with a bitter finish.   Then I had to see how the cookie and wine pairing tasted.  I will say the cookie softened the bitter finish and the black cherry flavor became loud and prominent.

I didn't know much about this wine before I opened it, but I must say it was a nice pairing.  A note to myself, if I am going to make cookies with coffee in them, bake then in the morning.  This way when you eat a couple from each batch, you won't be up all night from the caffeine.

Hudson Valley Chardonnay Crush

Michael Migliore of Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery recently processed a few tons of Chardonnay he received from the vineyard in Hudson, New York.  This vineyard sits on the banks of the Hudson and has it's own micro climate. The grapes looked great and the juice was mighty tasty!

Another Find - Whitecliff 2004 Cabernet Franc

Whitecliff 2004 Cab Franc 

Boy the things I find in my wine cellar. Recently searching for a Hudson Valley Cabernet to drink on #Cabernet day I came across a 2004 Whitecliff Vineyards Cabernet Franc. Couldn't have found a better wine to pair with the hanger steak.

When you find wine like that in your cellar you often wonder if it will still be good or if it's past its peak.  Well I am happy to say this was at its peak.

On the bouquet was cherry, cigar and a hint of alcohol.  The taste: bright cherry giving way to black cherry, hint of cranberry and a white pepper finish.  It was a very well balanced wine.

I did have this with a cheese I picked up at the Arlington Farmers Market.  A Haseholm Caource Cheese from a new cheese vendor.  When this wine was tasted after eating this cheese, it brought out a maraschino cherry flavor to the wine.

Unfortunately I can't say where you can get this wine, because I think I was the only one that still had a bottle.

Lost & Found - Whitecliff 2003 Sky Island

Search and you never know what you will find.  Recently while searching in my wine cellar for a nice red to have I came across and oldie - well not that old, but old enough - 7 years a 2003 Whitecliff Vineyards & Winery Sky Island Red. I didn't even realize I had a local wine that old in the house.  Quite honestly I was wondering how well it was holding up.

I contacted Michael Migliore the winemaker to tell him of my find and ask what was in the blend.  I know this particular wine of theirs is their Bordeaux blend.  This wine is blended with 78% Cabernet Sauvignon from Ackerman Vineyards in Long Island, 6% Whitecliff Vineyard Hudson Valley Merlot and 6% Whitcliff Vineyards Hudson Valley Cabernet Franc.

With no expectations I opened the bottle.  I was shocked to find aromas of bright bing cherry, vanilla and wet tobacco once I got past the earthiness.  On the taste was dark fruit and black cherry with a hint of plum. It had a quick cherry finish.

I was quite surprised at how nicely this wine did  age.

Redtail and Ribs

I recently served Whitecliff Vineyards Redtail wine with a burger and rib dinner I cooked.  I am the first to admit I am not a red hybrid grape fan and this wine is a blend of  DeChaunac, Noriet, Frontenac and Merlot and is a Hudson Heritage Red. It went very well with the ribs and burgers. 

On the nose came strong aromas of blackberry and earth with a hint of smokiness in the background.  On the palate it was bery smooth.  Lots of black fruit and blackberries.  There was a hint of sweetness in the wine, which leads me to believe there is a bit of residual sugar, but not to much to make a sweet wine. On the finish I found it a little musty but lingering with blackberries.

Whitecliff Vineyards 2009 Unoaked Chardonnay

As I am writing this post I am looking for the picture of the wine which I filed so well I can't find it.  The post will have to do with no visuals.

This wine at first sight you know is a Chardonnay but if you are thinking the weight of a buttery Chard, you are mistaken.  This wine is a unoaked Chardonnay and the first of its kind at Whitecliff.

On the nose I get lime, pear and a sharpie. Once it enters the chambers the taste is passion fruit, pineapple and citrus.  The finish is long and lime.

This is a very refreshing wine.  I'll be the first to admit, when winemakers began experimenting with unoaked Chardonnays I was not a fan.  I think as perfection sets in I am really beginning to like the unoaked Chards.

Whitecliff Vineyards 2009 Traminette

I am really liking these Traminette's produced in the Hudson Valley.  This is Whitecliff Vineyards 2009 Traminette and it a nice refreshing wine to have on a hot summer day.

On the nose I found hints of floral with a little rose aroma and lychee.   When I describe the Traminette it seems to usually have this lychee nose and taste.  Did you ever wonder what a lychee is?Lychee is a tropical fruit. It is primarily found in China, India, Madagascar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, southern Taiwan, nothern vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Southern Africa.  It is a fragranced fruit with a sweet taste.  The fragrance comes from the organic compound Rose Oxide (twocisroseoxide.) Rose Oxide contributes to the flavor of lychee that is found in Traminette and Gewurztraminer.

On the taste - it was pretty much lychee spice.  It rounded out with a little honey mid palate.  It finished with a lemon drop.

Interview with Whitecliff Vineyards Michael Migliore on his 2009 Riesling

On Sunday June 25, Michael Migliore owner and winemaker of Whitecliff Vineyards and Winery got the best Father's Day present - he received a call from Jim Trezise of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation telling him that his 2009 Riesling had won a Double Gold Medal as well as Best White Wine in the San Francisco International Wine Competition.  This wine competition is HUGE.  It has over 3500 entries from more than 21 countries.

Congratulations to Whitecliff - Michael and Yancey Migliore and their winemaking team.

I happen to be at the winery that day and got the opportunity to interview Michael about his win and the wine.