I have to admit that most of my experience with pinot blanc is with New York renditions -- especially from Long Island where a few wineries produce it. I've had a handful from other regions too -- Alsace of course...

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor On a recent visit to Rooster Hill Vineyards, owner Amy Hoffman said something that got my attention. The new Rooster Hill Dry Riesling has .8% residual sugar, or 8 grams of RS. Their dry...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Red Tail Ridge Winery, perched atop a hill overlooking Seneca Lake, has garnered a lot of attention for its sustainable practices since opening the tasting room in 2007, and deservedly so. (Read our coverage of...

Short list of beverages/contributions this week -- and not a single wine in the lot. But, this is what our editors and contributors are drinking: Tom Mansell: Bandwagon Brew Pub Pirate Eye-PA Bandwagon Brew Pub in Ithaca has only been...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Here are seven wines that have crossed the NYCR tasting table in recent weeks but will not be reviewed as part of a stand-alone post. As always, these are notes almost verbatim from my tasting...

The scene at Peconic Bay Winery during yesterday's NOFO Rock & Fok Fest. By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Despite a bevy of questions and challenges from a handful of locals, including Town of Southold Supervisor Scott Russell, this weekend's NOFO...

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor From a can -- love it! Environmentally friendly and less expensive. Pork Slap pours a clear amber and a puffy three-finger head into a wheat glass, leaving solid lacing. The nose is clean crystal malt,...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I'm on the record as someone who is less than enthusiastic about New York syrah. Only a handful of wineries are even doing varietal syrah -- so it's not a big or important segment right...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor This month's New York Cork Club selections are Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer and Herman J. Wiemer 2008 Dry Riesling, who great summer sippers that will pair with the hot temperatures we've been "enjoying" of...

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes and Managing Editor Photo: Owner Amy Hoffman, left, works the tasting room on a busy summer day There are not many 90-point gewurztraminers that have come out of the Finger Lakes, and there has never...

This is what our editors and contributors have been drinking. Only one local this time, but that's part of the fun of WWD -- the diversity: Lenn Thompson: The Alchemist Pub and Brewery "Holy Cow" IPA I spent this past...

We started our three-day Cayuga jaunt with a stop at Long Point Winery, home to a surprising number of California reds but some tasty local whites too. By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor The Finger Lakes region is one the most...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Here are seven wines that have crossed the NYCR tasting table in recent weeks but will not be reviewed as part of a stand-alone post. As always, these are notes almost verbatim from my tasting...

By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Photos courtesy of Brian Reider Last year, I went to my first Finger Lakes Wine Festival with high expectations. It was going to be an opportunity for me to taste wines from Finger Lakes wineries...

Wine tasting at the Schulze Vineyards & Winery table. By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor The annual Finger Lakes Wine Festival draws tens of thousands of visitors to the region, pumping money into the local economy while helping to promote...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor I had never heard of Angelman Syndrome until my wife Nena came home one day and told me that our friend's son had just been diagnosed with the neuro-genetic disorder. It's often misdiagnosed as cerebral...

By Aaron Estes, Cheese Editor As I mentioned in my last post about a positive addition to the Rhinebeck beer and cheese scene, I used the opportunity to try a couple of New York cheeses that I was unfamiliar with....

Rooster Fish Brewing's tent at the 2010 Finger Lakes Wine Festival By Julia Burke, Beer Editor Amidst the sea of wine drinkers that accosted me and my fellow vendors (I was pouring for Freedom Run Winery) at the Finger Lakes...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Wine is food -- or so the saying goes -- and that means that wine coverage should be at least a little a bit about food too I think. We've already added a Long Island...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor "I'm not ready to give up riesling to our friends up north." That's how Jim Silver, general manager at Peconic Bay Winery, kicked off a recent vertical tasting of ten Peconic Bay Rieslings for a...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Morten Hallgren, winemaker at Ravines Wine Cellars, makes dry wines and dry riesling... and that's it. That's unique in a region where just about every winery has at least two rieslings -- "Dry" and "Semi-Dry"...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor There is more chardonnay planted on Long Island than any other white grape, but those aren't the wines that excite me most -- not by a long shot. If I had the money to buy...

Yours truly with the staff of Schulze Vineyards & Winery at last year's Finger Lakes Wine Festival By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor Niagara region wineries don?t often get the chance to pour for large audiences and even if they...

by Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Top photograph provided by Dr. Konstantin Frank Wine Cellars Fifteen months after an electrical fire destroyed a 2,000-square foot auxiliary tasting room, Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars will host a triumphant re-opening. The...

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor It's with mixed feelings and no small measure of trepidation that I approach a beer labeled with the word "summer." Sure, they're a great way to draw macro beer drinkers into the craft world --...

By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor Photo courtesy of Sheldrake Point Vineyard If you're a wine lover but not a wine grower, let's start by accepting a few things: You and I don't know what the heck evapotranspiration is. We can't...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Photo from Food & Wine I'm out of town and don't have all the details just yet, but, the winemaking carousel continues to turn on the North Fork, but with a big-name, non-local twist. Robert...

Black currants being harvested at Good Farm. Photo courtesty of Carlo DeVito, Hudson-Chatham Winery It's easy to forget that fruit winemakers don't have the same schedule that grape winemakers do... but Carlo reminds us with this picture and a note...

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor We recently had a seriously disappointing wine experience at a celebrated Finger Lakes location: Belhurst Castle on Seneca Lake. Really, I should say that it was disappointing and bizarre, because I'm not sure I...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Here are seven wines that have crossed the NYCR tasting table in recent weeks but will not be reviewed as part of a stand-alone post. As always, these are notes almost verbatim from my tasting...

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Finger Lakes wine industry pioneer Bill Wagner has passed away at the age of 83. His family, which owns the business, has not released a cause of death. Wagner was part of a small...

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor "The butcher and the baker were the first chefs, if you ask me." So states chef Marc Meyer of Cookshop in New York City. Then, on the restaurant's website, he explains that his passion...

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Maybe it's because I work in marketing and understand why a winery would want to create of differentiation and exclusivity -- and often charge more for it -- but I often find myself taking a...