Franciacorta, The Hamptons of Italy

Let me paint the picture: The Hamptons located on the Eastern end of Long Island, NY where the affluent New Yorkers and executives vacation and/or own large homes on the seashore. Also More »

Women Rule in Blending Whitecliff Winery’s 2012 Sky Island

The blending began with a little 2009 Whitecliff Sparkling to cleanse our palate. Great sparkling at that!   The subjects at hand were 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and More »

A Visit to Napa Valleys St Supery

When I was in Napa in January our last tasting of the day was at St. Supery, a winery I haven’t been to since 2002.  (picture above) Boy have we all changed More »

Willow Creek Winery Opens in Cape May, NJ

It’s not summer, so what am I doing in Cape May, NJ in the middle of winter…looking for a summer house.  Yes, it’s going to be my new wine destination soon.  We More »

Wine Club: The Club W Experience

May 23, 2013   club W, wine club

I’m a member of a few wine clubs, 5 to be exact.  Most of them are winery based, but I have been members before of wine clubs that weren’t.  Those clubs were great because of the variety of wine that was made available to you.

When I saw Club W I had to try. I got to select three wines that were shipped to me and arrived on my doorstep complete with a bone for Summer (compliments of the FedEx guy)

Once you decide to join  Club W you set up your palate profile by answering 6 questions about the flavors you like. Then they make recommendations that they think you will like.  Of course you are free to choose what ever selections that interest you.

What is nice about this wine club is that they have a a video that goes with each wine that includes tasting notes and a history of the wine on the bottle.  However, I am old fashioned when it comes to this.  I like a piece of paper that I can reference with my shipment.  Yes, I know it’s the QR code age. I am a firm believer in QR codes, but when it comes to tasting notes and history of the wines that are included with my shipment, I like a piece of paper.  That’s me, as you might be different (and then there are people like my husband who don’t own a smart phone)

Here were my three selections:

2009 Love this Life – California White Table Wine. I couldn’t find any information on what grape varieties were in this white, I am taking a guess that there is some Chardonnay.  The Love this Life brand is about living in the moment and enjoying life.

2011 Flaco Trempranillo – produced from organically grown and dry farmed vineyards in the DO of Madrid Spain. The vineyards are located in Arganda & Navalcarneros districts which are located south east and west of Madrid. The wine was aged in stainless steel and cement tanks.

2011 Mas de Bayle – from the Languedoc region of France.  It’s a famile estate located in the heart of Herault. The vineyards are spread over 19 acres and is planted with Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan, Mourvedre and Alicante.

Below is a video of my tasting.  One note…I stated that the price of the wine club was $13 per bottle and included shipping.  I was incorrect.  It’s $13 per bottle and you get to choose three bottles – so $39 plus $6 shipping.

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Memorial Day on the Outer Coastal Plain AVA

May 20, 2013   cape may brewery, cape may wineries, Cape May Winery, Hawk Haven Vineyard and Winery, hudson valley wine goddess, Jessie Creek Winery, Natali Vineyards, outer coastal plain AVA

Can you believe it, we are coming up to Memorial Day weekend, the beginning of the summer.  Time goes by to fast these days!  What will you be doing this weekend?

I’ve been very fortunate to be able to go to Cape May for many years and now have my own home to go to there.  I’ve written before about the wineries of that region and have watched the region grow, but I plan to explore them in more detail now that I will be visiting the region more than once or twice a year, but making the region my second home.

The wineries of Cape May are part of the Outer Coastal Plain AVA. Yes there is actually a designated AVA.  The Outer Coastal Plain AVA wine appellation covers the counties of Cumberland, Cape May, Atlantic, Ocean, and portions of Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington and Monmouth.  They have well drained sandy or sandy loam soils with moderate fertility and a long growing season. There are 27 wineries and growing in this region.

I will admit first things first when I head down to the region – it’s the beach for me.  I am a sun worshiper at it’s best  baking on the beach.  But there is always time on my way home to stop at a winery and I plan on taking part in some winery events along the way.

I plan on visiting new wineries and the older ones and am looking forward to seeing how they have grown.

Also on the agenda is New Jersey Craft Beer.  Yes there is a craft beer movement in New Jersey and the first brewery on my list to visit is the Cape May Brewery.  I even purchased a NJ Craft Beer membership.

Let the summer begin!

Turdo Vineyards

Turdo Vineyards

Natali Vineyards

Jessie Creek Winery

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New York Gruner Veltliner by Fulkerson Winery

May 16, 2013   finger lake wine country, fulkerson winery, gruner veltliner

When you hear Gruner Veltliner you think of a Austria.  Well it’s only natural because Gruner is the most dominant grape planted throughout the country. But where else can you find wine made with the same grape outside Austria. We don’t have to look to far, just to the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Fulkerson Winery is one of a few wineries in the Finger Lakes region producing Gruner Veltliner.  Planting their Gruner in 2010, the 2012 vintage is their inaugural release.


The wine is all estate grown and was harvested at 20.8 brix.  The alcohol level clocked in at 12%.

The nose is crisp and clean, quite floral with hints of apple and peach.

The palate is full of tart green apple, peach, citrus and finishes with a soft spice.

The retail price for this wine is $12.99

Disclaimer:  I received this wine as a media sample from the winery.

                  

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Summer of White Wine & Bubbly

May 13, 2013   white wine

I was recently looking in my wine cellar for a white wine to bring to a party and realized my choices were quite boring.  I had many California and New York Chardonnays and nothing out of the box.  You know what? I am getting bored!  I told my husband, no more California & NY Chards and we are going to explore different wines from different countries.

This summer join me as I explore the white wines of the world.  No more NY or CA Chardonnays.  Quite honestly, I really can’t say there will be no Chardonnays, because Chardonnay produced in a different country like France, Argentina can taste very different than one produced in California.

There is so much to explore and so many countries to visit!

Join me beginning June as I search out the white wines of the world.  I will do this $15 and under a bottle because that is all my budget will allow and I want to make sure you can afford them too!  I will also add a little bubbly along the way.

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Life of a Wine – My Journey with 12 Bottles of Syrah

May 9, 2013   hudson valley wine goddess, life of a wine, Rideau Vineyards

A few weeks ago I was a guest blogger for The Wine Key.  It’s a post I have been waiting to write, because how many times do we open a bottle of wine we have been aging and it’s on one side of the other of that bell shaped curve. Not the side we were expecting.  Does it change again?

Join me on my journey with 12 bottles of Syrah.
http://www.the-wine-key.com/blog/2013/4/16/the-life-of-a-wine-the-journey-of-12-bottles-of-syrah.html

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Notes From the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room, Vol. 59 Re-imagining the Grapefruit Diet

May 7, 2013   Captain Lawrence Brewing


They came from far away, on bicycles, and they came from so close they could walk. They sipped a new beer that makes clever use of a fat, round, semi-sweet fruit, and they sampled some tried and true brews as well. While Captain Lawrence’s digs will never be as pedestrian-friendly as the old Pleasantville spot, a foursome from Elmsford did, in fact, hoof it to the brewery on a gorgeous Sunday.


“It’s such a nice day, and we figured we’d bring the dog along,” says Alyssa Jacobs of Elmsford, nodding at the sweet-dispositioned Chihuahua-Shi Tzu mix huddled under the picnic table.


Her husband Irv is digging the new pilot brew known as Grapefruit Pail–Ryan Kipp’s American pale ale brewed with grapefruits and dry hopped with whole leaf cascade hops and grapefruit peels. “A little bit of citrus, a little bit of bitterness,” he says with a smile.


Their pals Eleanor and Bob Liggio, also of Elmsford, are contemplating what to fill their growler with. The Liggios are partial to pale ales—Eleanor says they fell in love with Anchor Steam while honeymooning in San Francisco, so much so that they returned to the Bay Area years later to quaff more of it.


When it comes to beer, Bob is a bit picky; he says the Captain Lawrence selections—and American beer in general—is too cold, and wants more hops in his Sun Block wheat beer. But he’s happy to be spending his afternoon sipping a locally crafted brew in the sun. “It’s great to have a microbrewery around,” he says.


Pulling up to the patio on a convoy of bicycles is a Meetup.com group that set out from Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx not quite two hours before. Most of the six did not know each other earlier in the day. Gina Friedlander of Forest Hills, Jose Herrero of Manhattan and Donnelly Shah of Brooklyn, among the others, are unwinding with some well earned beverages. A few sips into her Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA, Gina asks what the “9 ABV” on the menu next to the beer means. When she finds out, her eyes go wide as, well, grapefruits. “We’re not carrying you back,” warns Michael Wasserman.


The group of new friends laughs as they wait for their Village Dog hot dogs. “It’s a great way to meet new people and do things you probably wouldn’t do on your own,” says Donnelly.


A 20-mile bike ride may be a bit ambitious for Elizabeth Vera and her friends. See, Elizabeth was married the day before at Lyndhurst—Jay Gould’s spectacular old mansion in Tarrytown–and is unwinding with her sorority sisters from NC State. “I’m runnin’ on fumes,” she admits from behind a pair of dark shades.


The wedding was, by all accounts, a smash. Talk about moves like Jagger–Elizabeth’s dad jumped on stage with the band to belt out “Satisfaction”, and her uncle took over the piano. “We had a Partridge Family thing going on,” she says.


And this was all before dinner. “Best wedding ever,” says Ali Marshall of Sarasota.


Elizabeth is from Wisconsin, so working a brewery visit into her wedding weekend was a given.  The Kolsch seems to have perked her up slightly; she eyes the menu for her next selection. “I’m real interested in the Grapefruit Pail,” she says.


Speaking of old college pals, Justin Pucila of Pound Ridge and Matt Brody of Manhattan are friends from their SUNY Purchase days. They were camping at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation the night before with more Purchase pals—drinking PBRs because that’s what they drank in college.


Justin’s still waiting for his taste buds to wake up as he sips the Grapefruit Pail. “All the beers here are great, but I’m not getting grapefruit out of this one,” he says. “My taste buds are still full of campfire smoke.”


Staring at the skyline of hulking silver fermenters in the back of the brewery, Justin and Matt were discussing how many beers are in a keg, and how many kegs are in a fermenter. “We gave up,” says Matt.


Back on the patio, the biker gang is resting their legs, the wedding party is resting their vocal chords, and the Jacobs-Liggio foursome is planning their journey home. “It’s a nice walk,” says Alyssa. “The hard part is the walk back.”

Captain Lawrence Brewing, at 444 Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford, is open Wednesday through Friday (4-8 p.m.), Saturday (12-6 p.m.) and Sunday (12-5). The author is paid by Captain Lawrence, partially in Freshchester Pale Ale.

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Tousey Winery’s Rose and Riesling Release Party

May 6, 2013   hudson valley wine, hudson valley wine goddess, Rebellion Rose, Tousey Riesling, tousey winery

A couple of Saturdays ago I drove up to Tousey Winery for their Rose & Riesling Release Party.  I had found out about the party when  I was attending an event at Cru Club Wine Bar in Rhinebeck.

On this beautiful Saturday I set forth for the ride to Germantown to do some Rose and Riesling tasting.

We began the tasting with the 2012 Rebellion Rose that was 100% Blaufrankisch. Aromas of red berry and strawberry filled my glass.  It was quite delightful! The palate was just bursting with bright red fruit.

Many of you may know that I have been trying to find a Rose that I like.  I can tell you this is up there and I’ve personally been quite pleased with the Rose wines that Ben has been making.

Rebellion Rose retails for $16

Now we moved on to the Riesling wines.  There were two, one dry and one semi-sweet.

The 2012 Dry Riesling had a beautiful nose of honeysuckle peach and pear.  The aromas reminded me of the smell of walking on the beach on a nice spring day.

Stone fruit filled the palate with slight minerality.  I was really enjoying the taste of this wine when I noticed it was time for the next Riesling.  This is a great summer Riesling.

This Riesling retails for $21 and is made from Estate Grown 100% Hudson Valley Riesling

The last wine tasted was the Semi-Sweet Riesling. These grapes were picked 3 weeks later than the dry Riesling grapes. They were left out there longer so that their sugar content would be a bit higher.

I didn’t find the aromas in this wine quite as strong as the dry Riesling. It was almost like the sweetness in the wine took away from the aroma.  The wine had aromas of apricot and soft peach.  Flavors of apricot filled my mouth and it had a nice creamy texture and didn’t show as much minerality as the dry Riesling.

I am a bit sensitive to sweetness levels in a wine and guessed the residual sugar was between 1.5% and 2%. Well I think Ben was quite surprised when I approached the subject because the residual sugar is 1.7%.

The wine isn’t overly sweet and was quite enjoyable.  Would pair very well with a spicy seafood dish!

The Semi-Sweet Riesling retails for $19 and is made from Estate Grown 100% Hudson Valley Riesling.

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Traveling Through Hudson Valley Wine Country

May 2, 2013   benmarl winery, hudson valley wine country, millbrook winery, whitecliff vineyard and winery

Now that Spring has finally arrived we are itching to hop in the car and go wine tasting. Travel with me as I travel through Hudson Valley Wine Country.

I’ll take you to Millbrook Vineyards and Winery, Whitecliff Vineyard and Winery and Benmarl Winery.

Enjoy the wine!

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Wine Notes

May 1, 2013   wine apps

I am retiring my wine tasting notebook, I think.  I like writing everything down and having something to look but sometimes, depending where I am my tasting notebook isn’t available.

I searched for a wine app that I can have on my phone and tablet, knowing I will have at least one of them with me.  I found “Wine Notes”

With this app, I can rate the wine, and put just about all the information about the wine including pictures in the app.  It will even allow me to export to blogger which is the platform I use for this blog.  However, I would suggest using that feature as you will still have to go into your blogging platform and personalize the post.

With the above being said, I can email the notes to myself and even share them on various social sites if I wanted to.

Not only do I have a list of the wines I’ve tasted at my finger tips, I’ll know what to look for when I go to the liquor store.  Society today, we don’t leave home without our phones.  That would be a naked feeling.

What wine apps do you use?  Does anyone have a good wine cellar app.  That’s the next app I’m looking for.

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Notes From the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room, Vol. 58 The Captain’s Log

April 30, 2013   Captain Lawrence Brewing, Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA, triple IPA

Captain Lawrence Brewing will see your imperial IPA and raise you one.

Yes, a triple India Pale Ale is in the works in the brewery’s pilot system. The guys are slowly dry hopping the brew to get the maximum “hoppiness,” as owner Scott Vaccaro puts it, out of it. It’s called Seeking Alpha—a nod to the “alpha” acids in the hops that give the ale its trademark bitter flavor. The triple IPA should be available in the tasting room in the next month or so.


“It’s an all-around hops monster,” says Scott. “If it works out well, we may do a big batch.”


The Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA, a double IPA, is one of the most popular beers in the tasting room, so interest in the triple India Pale Ale should be, like the hops content, even greater.
Also bubbling out of the pilot system: Justin Sturgess’s richly malty Baltic Porter; a new concoction from Chris Rome that is enhanced with pink peppercorn dried berries and brewed in the German dark lager “dunkel” style; and Ryan Kipp’s take on the IPA—featuring Chinook hops and flavored with grapefruit peel and grapefruit juice for a blast of citrusy flavor.  


“We’re definitely cranking out as much pilot beer as we can,” Scott says. “It just keeps flowing.”


We mentioned the intriguing Captain Lawrence-Still the One collaboration last month, which has the brewery’s Freshchester Pale Ale distilled into a floral, fruity whiskey right here in Westchester. It’ll be a few years before it’s available—whiskeys of course take their sweet time to develop—but the initial returns look promising. “The early opinion is, it’s a killer whiskey,” says Scott. “[Distiller] Ed Tiege has taken it to a few whiskey shows, and everyone tells him they think it will be amazing.”


A couple years in the charred oak barrels will only make it more inviting.


Scott is recently back from upstate New York, hosting beer dinners in Buffalo and Rochester, along with one at the NY Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua, helping spread the word about Captain Lawrence to our upstate friends. “We figured we’d go up, say hello, kiss some babies, and drink some beer,” he says.


With spring finally acting like its old self, the patio is in full swing, as is the bocce court that goes so nicely with a Kolsch, a Sun Block and other warmer weather favorites. Look for the cover to come off the outdoor bar in the coming weeks, eliminating those exhausting 50-foot walks into the tasting room.


Finally, as you may have seen on News 12, the brewery got a heartfelt shout-out at the State of the County address last week, as Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino singled out Captain Lawrence—along with a bakery in Peekskill–as a great example of local entrepreneurial spirit.


“If you want to understand economic growth in Westchester, there is no better place to start than with beer and cookies,” said Astorino. “What do beer and cookies have to do with economic growth? They tell the story of two companies that are great at what they do, could locate anywhere, but have chosen Westchester as home. They are Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Elmsford and Bake-Me-A-Wish in Peekskill…Today, Westchester is the beneficiary of their hard work. I challenge anyone to come up with a tastier beer or chocolate chip cookie.”


Scott, in attendance at the County Courthouse in White Plains, was pleased—and humbled—by the mention in front of Westchester’s movers and shakers.


“We’re just making beer—we’re not saving babies,” Scott says with a laugh. “But if what we do is making people happy, then we’re happy.”


–Michael Malone (malone5a@yahoo.com)

Captain Lawrence Brewing, at 444 Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford, is open Wednesday through Friday (4-8 p.m.), Saturday (12-6 p.m.) and Sunday (12-5). The author is paid by Captain Lawrence, partially in Freshchester Pale Ale.

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