Category: Wineries

Eureka! California Wine Discovery NYC

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The Eureka California Wine Discovery tour stopped in New York City on September 8th and was held at Moonlight Studios located at 330 Hudson Street in Manhattan.

It was sponsored by the California Wine Institute to promote “the incredible diversity of California wine regions”.

It was a walk around tasting of 30 producers from several California wine regions which included the well know AVAs of Napa Valley, Sonoma County and Paso Robles to name a few but also some not so well known AVAs such as Livermore Valley, Temecula Valley and Lodi. There were also several master classes held throughout the afternoon.

This wasn’t one of those mega tastings in a warehouse sized event space but a very manageable tasting. Each AVA had their own table which made it easier to sample their wines and compare them to the other AVAs.

The afternoon session was for members of the trade with a consumer session later in the evening. I attended the seminar, California Wines: Texture and Verve by Elaine Chukan Brown.

Some of what I sampled:

2023 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Clear light gold with greenish tints, spicy tropical fruit notes on the nose, tight and crisp with green apple notes.

2018 Santa Cruz Mtn. Vineyard “Branciforte Creek” Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mtns): Clear medium brick, tar and green herbs on the nose, medium red fruit with red licorice notes, crisp finish.

2019 Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mtns.): Clear medium brick, tarry red cherry on the nose, tight red fruit with milk chocolate notes ending with crisp acidity.

2021 Villa Creek Garnacha (Paso Robles): Clear medium brick, tarry dark chocolate on the nose, chewy and chunky black fruit, nice balance and a long finish.

2021 Morgan Pinot Noir “Double L Vineyard” (Santa Lucia Highlands): Clear medium red, tar and milk chocolate on the nose, chewy dark fruit with slate notes and a firm finish.

2021 Alma Rosa Winery Pinot Noir “El Jabali Vineyard” (Sta. Rita Hills): Clear medium purple, smoky blueberry on the nose, juicy red fruit with steel notes and a good balance.

2021 CO’LLUVIAL Pinot Noir “Las Nenas” (Sta. Rita Hills): Clear light purple, barnyard notes on the nose with juicy tar notes on the fruit, nice balance, easy drinking.

2021 Pedroncelli Zinfandel “Bushnell Vineyard” (Sonoma): Opaque medium purple, crushed black fruit and mint on the nose, chewy and chocolaty ending with big tannin.

2022 Siduri Pinot Noir “Rosella’s Vineyard” (Santa Lucia Highlands): Clear medium purple, tarry milk chocolate on the nose, juicy red fruit with a nice grip.

2022 Michael David Winery Carmenere (Lodi): Clear medium purple, crush stone and black fruit on the nose, chewy and juicy with black licorice notes, good balance.

2023 Roar Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands): Clear light purple, tarry dark chocolate on the nose, chewy red fruit with green herb notes, nice balance.

2023 Sandlands Red Table Wine (Lodi): A blend of Cinsault and Carignan, clear light purple, dirty dark chocolate on the nose, juicy red fruit with a nice grip at the end.

2023 Tablas Creek Vineyard Grenache (Paso Robles): Clear light purple, candy apple on the nose, juicy red fruit with some chalk notes on the finish, nice grip.

Frascati, Italy

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There was a time when Italian wines in this country were mass produced, inexpensive wines sent over by the boatload. Every Italian restaurant would have a sweet, fizzy Lambrusco, a Bardolino, a Valpolicella and a Chianti in the straw flask for the reds and Soave, Verdicchio and Frascati for the whites. I especially remember bottles of Fontana Candida brand Frascati.

The Italian wine industry went through a big change when the old school winemakers were replaced by a younger crowd with more modern ideas. Those regions began to focus more on quality than quantity, probably to break into the international market.

This month I spent a couple of weeks in Europe and my first stop was the city of Rome. In Italy you can name the wine after the varietal or the town around where wine was grown, or a fantasy name. Frascati is a medieval town in the Alban hills about a half hour train ride from Rome.

It’s where back in the day, the Pope’s would travel to when the weather became too hot and the diseases too rampant back in Rome.

It’s a pretty hilltop town with winding and narrow cobblestone streets and a nice view of the surrounding countryside.

Frascati is a blended white wine and under D.O.C rules having a minimum 70% Malvasia Bianca di Candia with the rest local white varietals.

While wandering around town, I stopped in Santé Wine & Food restaurant located at Corso Italia 14 and chatted with the owner who poured a couple of local wines for me to sample.

2024 Colle Arnaldo Mamilio Frascati

Light gold, rosemary and damp earth on the nose, dry and crisp with a slight spritz and green herb notes.

2023 Cantina le Macchie Scarpe Toste Gewürztraminer : When the owner suggested I try this wine I thought the last place I would drink a Gewurztraminer was in the hills of Lazio, but the owner explained that the cooler climate in the hillside vineyards made for a good wine.

Dark gold in color, roast hazelnuts on the nose, chewy, medium bodied fruit with vanilla notes and good acidity.

Long Island Rosé

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Nothing says “Summer” like a nice glass of rosé on a warm afternoon. All of the east end wineries of Long Island bottle a rosé and those wines fly off the shelf during the Summer months. That’s not surprising in a region that’s surrounded by beaches and beach towns (Hamptons).

I think that the rosé wines along with non-oaked aged Chardonnay are some of the best wines coming out of Long Island.

One Sunday afternoon I took a drive out to wine country out east to sample a few.

Croteaux Vineyards 1450 S Harbor Rd, Southold

At Croteaux they make rosé and only rosé, and they say that they are the only vineyard in the United States to do so. The tasting room is a unique “tasting garden” which looks like an outdoor antiques store.

2023 Merlot 314

The 314 refers to the clone number of the varietal, aged in 100% stainless steel. Clear Salmon pink in color, canned peaches on the nose, dry with some tannin notes on the finish, enjoyable glass.

Jamesport Vineyard 1216 Main Road, Jamesport

One of the first wineries you run into driving east on the north fork wine trail, founded in 1986 and still run by the same family, the tasting room is in a 165-year-old barn.

2023 East End Rosé

100% Syrah. Clear medium red, strawberry notes on the nose, some earth on the fruit, dry with good acidity.

Mattebella Vineyards 46005 Route 25, Southold

An off the radar winery whose motto is “wine, passion & craftmanship”, they have a tasting cottage and outdoor tasting garden.

2021 Rosé

Merlot and Cabernet Franc, pale copper in color, sweet, earthy melon on the nose, ripe fruit, moderate to low acids, dry, starting to taste its age.

Italian Varietals On Long Island

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The Long Island wine industry celebrates its 50th anniversary this year from when the first winery was established at Hargrave Vineyards in 1973.

Not surprisingly French varietals have dominated the industry with some forays into other grape varieties. The workhorse grape varietals out East have been Merlot and Chardonnay and at one time they had high expectations for Cabernet Franc.

Italian grape varieties don’t have a big presence in Long Island wine country with some white grapes grown, there’s a good amount of Pinot Grigio produced but few if any red grape varietals grown.

Surprisingly since there are many Italian varietals that grow well in cooler weather, and I think would grow well in the cool, maritime climate in the East End of Long lsland.

I suppose that has to do more with marketing than anything else since even novice wine drinkers are familiar with Merlot and Cabernet but not many are familiar with Toreldego or Lagrein to name a coupe of the many indigenous Italian grapes.

On a Sunday afternoon drive out East I was able to find three bottlings of Italian red grapes.

Suhru Wines 28735 Main Road, Cutchogue

The tasting house is in downtown Cutchogue, they have no vineyards, but use purchased grapes.

2021 Toreldago

Opaque black with a purple rim, dark chocolate and slate on the nose, tight fruit with crisp acids, slate notes and dark fruit on the finish.

Pugliese Vineyards 34515 Main Road, Cutchogue

Family owned and established in 1980, they are one of the vanguard wineries out East and the only one that I am aware of that grows Sangiovese.

2022 Sangiovese

Clear medium red, closed nose of red berry fruit and some stinky earth, juicy red fruit with some smoke and graphite notes on the finish. Moderate acids.

Lieb Cellars 13050 Oregon Road, Cutchogue

Established in 1992, they share the same winemaker as Suhru, their tasting room is off the main road.

2020 Toreldago/Lagrein

Opaque black with a purple rim, roasted meat and sweet black fruit on the nose, juicy black fruit with smoke, bitter almonds and wood on the finish, juicy tannins.

ABC Wines of Long Island

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ABC is an anagram for “anything but Chardonnay” (or Cabernet Sauvignon). Chardonnay is one of the premier grape varietals in the world and on the east end of Long Island wine AVA, the most widely planted white grape with Sauvignon Blanc a distant second.

Many people get stuck in a rut and drink only one type of wine and that’s too bad since there are many varietals grown around the world and bottled other than Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Out on the North Fork everyone bottles some type of Chardonnay, but many wineries have a few acres of the other whites planted as well.

One Sunday afternoon I drove out East to sample a few.

One Women Winery 5195 Old North Road, Southold

Family run winery with the smallest tasting ‘shack” on the wine crawl.

2020 Gruner Veltliner

Medium gold in color, earthy and floral notes on the nose, ripe vegetal, asparagus on the fruit ending with crisp acidity.

Bedell Cellars 36225 Main Road, Cutchogue

One of the first wineries to open on the North Fork with grapevines planted in 1980. They bottle several outlier grape varietals.

2021 Viognier

Medium yellow with a greenish tint, big nose of green apples with green apple notes on the fruit ending with a nice crisp finish.

Palmer Vineyards 108 Sound Avenue, Riverhead

Another one of the original wineries out East, it was recently sold to the folks who own Paumanok Vineyards.

2022 Albariño

Medium gold, asparagus and white flowers on the nose, juicy apples on the fruit with moderate to low acidity ending with tart lime notes.

Cabernet Franc on Long Island

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Cabernet Franc is a vtis vinifera black grape that is an important part of the blend of Bordeaux wines. It’s also the primary grape of the Loire wines of Chinon and Bourgueil. The grape is the parent grape of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and was brought into France from the Basque region of Spain.

Out at the east end of Long Island wine country because of the growing conditions there, at one time it was touted as the grape that would put the Long Island AVA on the map.

It never dethroned Merlot as the primary red grape of the region but since it was widely planted, most wineries bottle it on its own or uses the grape in whatever Bordeaux Blend red wine they produce.

One Sunday afternoon I took a drive out to the east end wine country for a visit and sampled a few Cabernet Franc.

One Women Winery

5195 Old North Road, Southold

The one woman is Claudia Purita, the owner and wine maker at this certified sustainable winery. All the wines are from estate grown fruit. The tasting “shack” can barely hold a handful of people (a new tasting room is under renovation) but on nice days there is a patio out front to sit at.

2017 Cabernet Franc

Opaque medium brick, white pepper and crushed red fruit on the nose with bright red cherry fruit and black pepper and gun metal notes on the firm finish with silky tannins.

Roanoke Vineyards Tasting Room

165 Love Lane, Mattituck

The tasting room at the vineyard is for members only but the public is welcome to their satellite tasting room in Mattituck. It’s on Love Lane which is the shortest access between the two wine roads. A two block long business district with shops and a train station. There’s a nice deli across the street and next door to a cheese shop that serves fondue.

2020 Cabernet Franc

Clear medium red, sweet candy apple and some damp earth on the nose with silky, red leather fruit on the firm but balanced finish.

Clovis Point Winery

1935 Main Road, Jamesport

Named after the prehistoric projectile points found on the property, they have 10 acers under vine and the wines are estate grown.

2019 Cabernet Franc

Opaque black with a purple rim, big nose of toast and dark chocolate with bright black cherry and tobacco notes on the fruit ending with a good grip.

North Fork Tastings

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Took a drive to the North Fork wine country, was curious to try the new winery (EV&EM) that was under renovation the last time I visited the area.

Pellegrini Vineyards 23005 Main Road, Cutchogue

One of the early wineries in the area opened in 1991 with 70 acres of vines planted and a distinctive architecture for the winery and a wood beamed tasting room (with cherubs!).

2019 Stainless Steel Chardonnay

Unoaked, light gold in color with grassy cooked fruit on the nose, clean and crisp with lime notes at the finish.

EV & EM Vineyards 3165 Main Road, Laurel

Former Laurel Lake Vineyards, new owner completely renovated the tasting room. The winery was named after the owners two children, Everett and Emilia.

2019 Cabernet Franc

Clear dark brick with an amber rim with tobacco and green olives on the nose, silky red fruit, chewy and dusty with nice balance.

Paumanok Vineyards

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1074 Main Road (Rt 25), Aquebogue

Paumanok Vineyards is one of the original founding fathers of the North Shore Long Island wine industry. It was founded in 1983 by Ursula and Charles Massoud.

It’s the first winery you run into on the North Shore wine route (Main Road) as you are travelling Eastbound.

They are an under the radar winery that have been pumping out drinkable wine for years, they are one of the few wineries growing and bottling a Chenin Blanc.

The sunny tasting room overlooks the vineyard, and not surprisanly, the winery facilities are in a converted barn.

On this visit I decide to sample a couple of red.

2019 Estate Cabernet Franc

100% Cabernet Franc. Opaque black with a purple rim, crushed raspberry and bacon fat on the nose, juicy, silky dark fruit with some black licorice notes on the finish. Moderate tannins and acids, very drinkable.

2019 Estate Petit Verdot

100% Petit Verdot. Opaque black in color with crushed rocks and spicy crushed black fruit on the nose, tart black fruit followed by firm tannins.

Macari Vineyards

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Macari Vineyards in located in the North Fork of Long Island wine country at 150 Bergen Avenue in Mattituck. That’s right off of Sound Avenue which is one of the two main roads along with Route 25 (Main Road) of the North Fork wine trail.

It’s a three-generation family run winery that was started by Joseph T. Macari in 1995 who purchased an old potato farm. They do have another tasting room off the main road in Cutchogue but that seems to be closed most of the time.

On the afternoon I visited I noticed an unusual bottle sitting on the tasting table and decided to give it a try.

2020 “Horses” Cabernet Franc

This is a Pet-Nat (petillant naturel) wine topped with a metal stopper. Clear bright dark red in color with a light fizz to it and was earthy and crisp on the palate.

2017 Y. Rousseau Single Vineyard Tannat

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This wine is not something you see coming out of California very often, a wine from the Tannat grape varietal. The grape is native to the French Basque region in the southwest part of the country and grown in Gascony in the Madiran AOC.

It’s been grown in California for over a hundred year used primarily as a blending grape to beef up wines. It’s gotten a foot hold in Paso Robles but this version is grown in the tiny Clarksburg AVA which is West of Napa Valley and about an hours drive North of Lodi.

Yannick Rousseau, a French native born in Gascony is the owner/winemaker.

2017 Y. Rousseau Tannat, Clarksburg, California

A blend of 90% Tannat and 10% Syrah. Opaque dark purple to black with crushed blueberries, menthol and sage on the nose, juicy black fruit finishing with dark citrus notes, mouth coating tannins and moderate acidity.