Category: Food and Wine

Uncorked Wine Fest New York

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This past Saturday afternoon, July 16th I attend the Uncorked Wine Festival which was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion located on 125 West 18th street in Manhattan.

This wine fest was one of several Uncorked wine fests held throughout the country. They are fun wine tasting events and this one featured over 50 wineries, food trucks and music.

While the wines were of mid-level quality for the most part, there was plenty of it and the crowd all seemed to be having a good time on this Saturday afternoon.

 

Some of what I sampled:

NV Tattinger Brut Rosé

NV Bruno Paillard Brut Premiere Cuvee

2015 Jolie Folle Provence Rosé

2015 Starmont Sauvignon Blance

2014 Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara Chardonnay

2014 Michael Chiarlo Gavi

2015 Azienda Santa Barbara Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi

2015 Fiegl Ribolla Gialla Collio

2014 Bret Brothers Macon-Villages

2015 Chateau Maris Picpoul de Pinet

2015 Patrice Moreux Sancerre

2014 Patrice Moreux Poully Fume “La Loge aux Moines”

2014 Proud Pour Sauvignon Blanc “The Oyster”

2015 Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara Pinot Noir

2013 BonAnno Carneros Pinot Noir

2012 Starmont Vineyards Carneros Pinot Noir

2014 Montinore Estate Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

2013 Steltzner “Claret”

2013 BonAnno Cabernet Sauvignon

 

 

Summer Of Riesling

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This past Saturday afternoon on June 25th I attended the Summer of Riesling kickoff wine tasting event whose motto is “all German all Summer”. The event was run by the owner of Terroir Wine Bar, Paul Greico who is a booster for Rieslings in general and German Riesling in particular.

The event was held at Hudson Mercantile on 500 West 36th Street on the far west side of Manhattan. It’s another old warehouse building converted to an event space and we took a freight elevator to the fifth floor for the Riesling party. There was a rooftop outdoor space on the sixth floor that had great views of the Hudson river to the West and the Empire State Building to the East.

The wines were divided by categories such as sparkling, rosé, dry, off-dry and late harvest which were so popular with the attendees that I wasn’t able to get to all of them. There were several restaurants serving excellent bite sized portions of food to pair with the wines, it was a fun afternoon.

 

Rosé

NV Kruger-Rumpf Estate Trocken

2014 Von Buhl Rosé

The Pinot Trio

2014 Valckenberg Pinot Blanc

2014 Louis Guntrum Pinot Gris

2014 Becker Family Pinot Gris

Dry Riesling

2013 S.A. Prüm “Luminance”

2014 Dr. Loosen “Red Slate”

2014 Eva Fricke “Kiedrich”

2014 Schäfer Fröhlich Estate Reserve

2014 Dönnhoff “Felsenturmchen”

2013 Weingut Dreissigacker “Morstein”

2011 Pfeffingen “Ungsteiner Herrenberg”

2014 Liebfrauenstift

Off-Dry Riesling

2014 Schloss Johannisberg “Gelblack”

2014 Hexamer “Porphyr”

Some tasty eats

Lukes: Lobster Roll

Oaxaca Taqueria: Pork Tacitos

Mr Bing Beijing Street Food: Duck Crepes

Stinky Brooklyn: Assorted Cheeses

 

 

Westchester Magazine’s Wine & Food Fest 2016

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On June 8-12, Westchester Magazine held their 6th annual Wine & Food Festival . It was “five days of fun!” that included 100+ local restaurants, 200+ world class wines, dinner tastings, chefs demos and seminars.

The signature event of the festival was the Grand Tasting Village which was held on Saturday afternoon. It was an outdoor event held under tents that featured 50+ local restaurants and over 200 wines and spirits.

The event was held in the bucolic Westchester hamlet of Valhalla which is a 40 minute train ride north from Grand Central Terminal and then a ten minute walk from the train station to the Kensico Dam Plaza where the event was held.

I noticed there were more food vendors this year than last which made for some good eating to go with all the wines. I was able to get into the Connoisseur tent which was a separate area that poured some extra special juice. Unlike many other food events, the crowds were much more manageable at this event which meant that lines for food and wine were comparatively short and that made for an enjoyable experience. Overall, this is one of the best wine and food events of the year.

Some of the wines I sampled:

 

NV Ruinart Blanc de Blanc (Champagne)

2015 Chateau Minuty “Rosé et Or” Rosé (Provence)

2015 Domaine Ott “Clos Mireille” Rosé (Provence)

2015 Chateau du Ronet Rosé (Provence)

2013 Merry-Edwards Sauvignon Blanc (Russian River Valley)

2012 Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc (Knights Valley)

2014 Flowers Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast)

2013 Jean-Louis Chavey Pugliny-Montrachet (Burgundy)

2011 Aurelie Verdet Morey St-Denis (Burgundy)

2012 Domaine Antonin Guyon “Les Cras” Chambolle-Musigny (Burgundy)

2012 Angela Estate Pinot Noir “Abbott Claim” (Yamhill)

2014 Angeline Estate Pinot Noir “Reserve” (California)

2013 Truchard Pinot Noir (Carneros)

2011 Pio Cesare Barberesco (Piedmont)

2010 Castigilon Del Bosco Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany)

2012 Mt Brave Cabernet Sauvignon (Mt Veeder)

2010 Stags’ Leap Cabernet Sauvignon “Audentia” (Stags Leap District)

2012 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Private Reserve” (Napa Valley)

2012 Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)

2011 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)

2012 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford)

2013 Clos Du Val Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)

2012 Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Rutherford” (Napa Valley)

 

 

 

Taste The East End

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On Sunday this past Memorial Day weekend I attended the 2nd annual Taste The East End. It’s an event showcasing over 40 East End local restaurants, breweries and vineyards serving their signature dishes with beer, cider, wine and spirits to accompany them.

The event was held at the Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center located on 431 Main Street in Riverhead which sits at the beginning of Long Island wine country. That’s about an hour and a half drive as the crow flies East of Manhattan.

A portion of the event was held in the aquarium which makes for an out of the ordinary experience, walking around with a glass of wine in hand with various sea creatures swimming around in the background.

The incoming rain held back and I was able to make it in to the event at the start time. This was before the crowds poured in and was able to sample some of the food and wine (the pork belly dish from Jedediah Hawks Inn was outstanding) before the lines became impossibly long.