Category Archives: new york

Anthony Road Rosé of Cabernet Franc 2015

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anthonyrdrose

Winery: Anthony Road Wine Company is a family run winery founded in 1973 by Ann and John Martini and located on the west side of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. At the time of founding the estate, John was employed by Cornell University at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York, and originally the vineyards were planted with hybrid varietals. Thru the years, all of the hybrids have been replaced with European grape varietals, and the estate now comprises 45 acres of vineyards.

Winemaking: The vineyards are farmed according to New York State’s sustainable viticulture program. Fermented in stainless steel, then aged for 5 months in neutral French barrels before returning back to stainless steel until bottling.

Tasting Notes: Coral pink in colour with bright aromas of strawberry, cantaloupe and slate minerals. Easygoing fruit flavours reflect the aromas and join a zippy acidity along with streaks of clean minerality, culminating in a wonderfully dry finish. Fantastic for sipping on its own and with light summer dishes.

Cabernet Franc [I could not confirm varietal percentage. In previous vintages a bit of Riesling has been included.]
Finger Lakes
New York
Produced and Bottled by Anthony Road Wine Company
13.1% Alcohol
$15
Enjoy now thru 2017

Tousey Winery Rebellion Rosé 2013

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tousey rebellion

Estate: Located in the Hudson Valley region of New York, Tousey Winery is a family run estate that was founded on Ray Tousey’s vision of transforming his family land into a vineyard. He was passionate about producing a Crѐme de Cassis from the black currants found on the land and the honey from his bee keeping. Today Ray’s daughter Kimberly and her husband Ben head the 15 acre estate. [Ray is still producing his delectable organic, raw honey and Cassis]

Philosophy: They are “dedicated to delivering pleasure and enjoyment in every bottle”.

Winemaking: Fermented and aged in French oak barrels.

Tasting Notes: Coral-amber in colour with aromas of peach, apricot and dusty earth. Fantastically refreshing, a streak of acidity runs behind strawberry and traces of tart berries. Traces of white pepper and chalky minerals comprise the clean finish.

100% Blaufränkisch
New York
Produced and Bottled by Tousey Winery
11% Alcohol
$18
Enjoy now

Anthony Road Rosé of Cabernet Franc 2014

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ARrose

Straightforward, this is a zippy, easy drinking Rosé wonderful on its own or with a wide variety of dishes. [It held its own with goat cheese and potato croquettes,  fries and garlic aioli.]

Winery: Anthony Road Wine Company is a family run winery founded in 1973 by Ann and John Martini and located on the west side of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. At the time of founding the estate, John was employed by Cornell University at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York, and originally the vineyards were planted with hybrid varietals. Thru the years, all of the hybrids have been replaced with European grape varietals, and the estate now comprises 45 acres of vineyards.

Tasting Notes: Watermelon pink in colour with aromas of summer strawberries and minerals. Parallel flavours of strawberry and clean minerals accompany the dry finish with hints of white pepper.

Cabernet Franc [I could not verify varietal percentage]
Finger Lakes
New York
Produced and Bottled by Anthony Road Wine Company
13.1% Alcohol
$18 [listed price from winery]
Enjoy now thru 2016

Wine flight From California to New York

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photo
I’m a big fan of restaurants that offer wine flights. Even with a tiny wine list, wine flights provide the opportunity for tasting numerous combinations of wines. From all reds or whites, just one varietal, one country, light to full bodied, the varied options are all tantalizing. Additionally, if you think you will have 2 glasses of wine for the evening, flights can be a good value. A couple of evenings back my husband and I found ourselves at The Hollow in downtown Albany, where they have both wine and beer flights. I picked out a red and white each from New York and California to accompany seared polenta with grilled shitakes and a braised tempeh reuban on grilled naan.

From left to right:

Fetzer Crimson Winemaker’s Favorite Pinot Noir 2011 Estate: The Fetzer winery in California is 100% green, all of the energy used is from renewable energy sources. Grapes are grown without chemical or synthetic fertilizers or pesticides and the level of sulfites added to the wines is kept to a very low level. Their wines are made with the belief that “the more we refine our winemaking practices to be in harmony with the environment, the more we improve the quality of our wines – and everyday life”.

Tasting Notes: Fresh and fruity, with juicy cherry and hints of earth in the delicate finish.
100% Pinot Noir
California
$10 [average price]

St. Francis Chardonnay 2011

Estate: Founded in 1971, today the family owned estate consists of more than 400 acres of Certified Sustainable estate vineyards in both Sonoma Valley and Russian River Valley. They have received numerous accolades for their green practices; some of there are the usage of solar energy that in addition to the winery also powers 450 homes, water conservation, recycling initiative, and planting trees. Sustainably farmed

Tasting Notes: Like a lemon bar in a glass, buttery lemon and golden apple flavours merged into a creamy finish of toasted nuts and baked lemon.
97% Chardonnay, 3% Marsanne
Sonoma County
California
$11 [average price]

Duck Walk Vineyards Southampton White

Winery: Duck Walk Vineyards focuses on preserving the environment, believing that their environmentally conscience viticulture practices are “rewarded with exceptional grapes that we transform into our delicious wine”. They use geothermal, zero-emissions energy for heating and cooling, pumping well water from deep beneath the vineyards that then returns to the earth.

Tasting Notes: Citrus notes mixed with green, herbaceous elements, finishing clean and crisp with a bright acidity. Blend of Chardonnay and Cayuga
North Fork
New York
$10 [average price]

Pindar Vineyards Pythagoras Red NV

An award-winning blend that has been named “Best US Red Blend” by the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago and “Best Red Vinifera” in Vineyard & Winery Management’s “Best of the East” competition. Sustainably farmed

Tasting Notes: Black current and blackberry elements wrapped around a delightful smoky core, whilst crushed black peppercorn and smooth black tea tannins comprised the velvety finish.
Winemaker’s Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec
North Fork
New York
$11 [average price]

For further reading on what a fun time wine flights are, see below:
http://frankstero.com/2014/09/11/evolution/

Goose Watch Winery Tasting

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My husband and I traveled to Lake Placid NY this past weekend for a hockey tournament he was playing in. In addition to being nestled in the beautiful Adirondacks, Lake Placid hosted both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. From bobsledding, to skiing to snowshoeing, to dog sledding, there is an abundance of winter activities to partake in. Being a tourist destination, there are also a couple of Finger Lakes wineries that have set up tasting rooms for additional exposure. In between my husband’s games on Saturday, we had an opportunity to explore the town, and stopped in to the Goose Watch Winery Tasting Room.

The Peterson Family established Goose Watch Winery in 1997, they are also the owners of Swedish Hill Winery. The estate consists of 120 acres overlooking Cayuga Lake, of which 12 acres are vineyards dedicated to grape varieties not typically grown in New York State, such as Lemberger, Pinot Grigio and Viognier. I tasted six wines total, the following are the three I enjoyed best.

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Pinot Noir Brut Rosé
My favourite of the tasting, super fizzy with lively strawberry and cranberry flavours balanced by clean minerals and good acidity, making it fantastic with light dishes or sipping on its own.
12% Alcohol
$18

Snapseed

Cabernet Franc Rosé 2011
A rather substantial rosé with red currant and cherry, along with zippy white peppercorn and earthy minerals on the dry finish.
11.5% Alcohol
$12

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Lemberger 2011
Intense and a good companion for earthy or meaty dishes, with black currant, black cherry and gamey elements merging into a compact finish of black peppercorn and dark chocolate notes. I absolutely love Blaüfrankisch, and this was an interesting New York State expression of the grape.
13% Alcohol
$18

All wines produced and bottled by Goose Watch Winery
Finger Lakes
New York