4 Must Taste Hudson Valley Wines for 2015

I recently had the opportunity to attend NY Drinks NY, an event in New York City featuring wines from all over New York State.  I'll begin with my home town region the Hudson Valley.

There were 4 wines that stood out during the event that I feel you must try when out wine tasting for the day or weekend in the Hudson Valley.

Benmarl Winery's 2014 Sauvignon Blanc.  The grapes come from Long Island and Matt has done a wonderful job at crafting this wine.  Yes I am a big Sauvignon Blanc drinker and really enjoyed this wine.  It's a light wine with floral and citrus aromas. The grapefruit on the palate is delicate and not overpowering with hints of lemongrass.  This wine will go great with your shellfish! SRP $20

Benmarl's 2012 Cabernet Franc was planted on the Ridge Road Estate in 2007.  This Cab Fran is a bit on the light side, was aged for 8 months in French oak and 15% in new Hungarian oak.  The wine had nice red cherry and red fruit aromas and black cherry on the palate with a hint of vanilla. SRP $25

One of my favorite white hybrid wines is Traminette and Whitecliff makes a good one (unfortunately it's the green bottle that I cut off) The jasmine and lychee nose gives way to hints of tropical fruits and jasmine with some spice on the finish.  The wine has 1.1 RS but balances out nicely with the acidity.  This will pair nicely with the spice of asian food.  I can see it already with my Thai Red Curry. SRP $17

I got to taste Whitecliff's 2014 Rose which is 50% DeChaunac and 50% Cayuga.  I was pleasantly surprised how nice and crisp this wine was.  I am not a big Cayuga, for me it tends to be grapy, but the Cayuga brings a nice fruity element to the wine.  The wine is nice and crisp.  The aromas are soft and Tristan was telling me there is milk chocolate on the nose.  I didn't get it the first time, but when I swirled and sniffed the second time, there was a faint aroma of milk chocolate.  SRP $13