Archive for May, 2009

It’s no secret that New Yorkers are proud of their city. Many who were born here, fall in love quickly and never leave. For those who are into food and wine, New York is an absolute playground with every type of cuisine at your fingertips, often within short blocks of each other. With access to everything, we still have a special pride for native New York foods like great bagels and pizza. It’s no surprise that New York wine regions like the Finger Lakes and Long Island have blossomed to support such an appetite. But for some reason, there is a disconnect.

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When you’re sitting back after a long day, trying to relax and unwind with a nice glass of wine or a cold brew, do you ever stop and wonder how amazing the beverage in your hand is?  I mean, what a wonder that someone eons and eons ago actually thought of a way to combine water with other solid materials (grapes, wheat, barley, etc) to make a sublime libation that tasted so good as well as held various mystical and magical properties (as in make me stop thinking so much and take a deep breath for a change).  I often stop and mentally say thank you to that person, and more importantly the winemaker or brewer of the specific drink I am enjoying at that exact moment.

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One of the hot-button topics in French winemaking circles right now is pending EU legislation that would allow European producers to make rosé wines by blending together red wines and white wines.

Like many efforts to “modernize” European wine regulations, it’s an attempt to allow Old World producers to emulate New World techniques. Since New World wines have captured plenty of market share in recent years, this plan makes sense to some bureaucrat MBAs sitting in Brussels trying to craft laws that will help their citizen-winemakers compete.

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There’s a downside to a multi-course dinner where the wine is flowing in abundance: it can get tiring. Many a wine-driven evening, whether among friends or professional colleagues, goes from perky, energetic greetings to the tipsy-driven, over-amped, delusionally brilliant conversational phase to the more muted, philosophical turn to the groggy, lethargic finale. Two factors can wake the senses in the late innings: great food with unexpected elements and scintillating dinner companions.

Both were in abundance at a dinner I attended in mid-April at The Modern in New York City. It was to celebrate St. Supéry’s 20th anniversary in Napa Valley,

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Growing up in northern Michigan, I was certainly no stranger to the concept of outdoor sports. Fishing, hunting, waterskiing, hiking, skiing—it was all around me. I’ll admit though, I was more of an indoor creature—more likely to have my face stuck in a book than chopping wood or ice fishing. So when I traveled to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York last weekend on a wine tasting trip and was told that we’d also be dropping some lines in Cayuga Lake, I was somewhat wary.

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Ahhhh, Mother’s Day.  A day where you get together with as much of your family as possible to celebrate the joy, efforts, and responsibilities of motherhood.  A day where you pay your deepest, most sincere gratitude to the fabulous ladies that made your existence possible.  A day where you watch the men in your family actually clean up the dishes, cook the food and serve the drinks to lazy, reclining, slacking women.  A day for mothers to relax… and what better way to get that done than with a few drinks?

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I spent last weekend with thirty prolific and passionate wine bloggers on the North and South Fork of Long Island for a new event called, TasteCamp EAST. It was hosted by the king of New York wine blogging, Lenn Thompson. One of the many highlights of the trip for me was a flavor-filled lunch and vineyard walk at Shinn Estate Vineyards, on the North Fork. 

Owners Barbara Shinn and David  Page know a thing or two about food, after spending years building elegant restaurant Home on Cornelia Street, in Manhattan, which celebrates “farm to table” cuisine. They bring that same spirit to the cooking at the winery. David prepared a beautiful spread of dishes and laid out dozens of wines from Shinn, Jamesport, and Macari Vineyards. So, when assigned the difficult task of filling up a plate and pairing lunch with any wine you like, what does one do? I experimented to my heart’s delight.

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