By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

The planning is complete, all of the wines and beers have been gathered, and later this morning the non-Long Island members of the New York Cork Report family will hit the road, heading to the North Fork for our third-annual Wines of the Year Weekend, which we've taken to referring to simply as WoTY.

As with our staff and coverage of New York's adult beverage team -- this year's WoTY program has grown significantly compared to last year's.

Last year, we dipped our toes into beer, adding a small Beers of the Year, tasting a handful of beers after all of the wine tasting was complete.

This year, the BoTY tasting will feature 10 of the best beers being brewed in the state, and we're going to taste the them this afternoon. They deserve a separate tasting.  We'll announce the winner tonight via Twitter and Facebook, with more coverage here on the site next week.

Tomorrow morning, we'll re-convene to work our way through 16 flights of New York wine, choosing regional category winners and maybe (if the voting is unanimous) some state-wide category winners.

We'll announce those winners tomorrow afternoon or evening -- again via Twitter and Facebook. The tasting always inspires more stories -- some unexpected -- so you'll be reading about the tasting quite a bit.

WoTY weekend is about much more than just the tastings, however. Because of our collectively busy lives and being spread out across the state, WoTY is also the only time each year that the entire gang (or at least most of it) gets together. We are proud of the hard work we have and do put into making this site what it is. This weekend is a celebration of that too.

By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor

This short film is a combination of harvest images I shot in January and a recent interview with Leonard Oakes Estate Winery winemaker Jonathan Oakes about the progress of this 2011 Icewine of Vidal Blanc.

Yesterday, the Long Island Merlot Alliance (LIMA) announced that T’Jara Vineyards label has joined the merlot promotion group.

That means that two barrels of 2010 T’Jara merlot will be included in the 2010 Merliance, LIMA’s cooperative merlot blend.

T’Jara is a brand created by winemaker Russell Hearn and business partner Jed Beitler, who together own T’Jara Vineyards -- an established vineyard in in Mattituck, NY. T'Jara  released two 2007 vintage wines, a Merlot and Merlot-based blend, in late 2011.

According to the press release, “T’Jara is the phonetic spelling of an aboriginal word that, roughly translated, means ‘where I’m from.’ We wanted our wines to convey a definite sense of place—Long Island’s East End.”

It's no surprise that T'Jara has joined LIMA -- Russell is also the winemaker at Pellegrini Vineyards, one of LIMA's founding members.

Beyond the blending and making of Merliance every year, LIMA has largely been an event-focused organization, organizing tasting events that pit member merlots against merlots from other regions.

With the addition of T’Jara Vineyards, the Long Island Merlot Alliance has six members, including Clovis Point, McCall Wines, Raphael, Sherwood House Vineyards and Wölffer Estate Vineyard.

Hermann J. Wiemer was a pioneer of Finger Lakes wine, bringing with him skills and traditions of his native Germany. Some fifty years later, the Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard is one of the premier producers of Riesling in the United States. Our epicurean dinner will feature an array of Wiemer wines, including their famous Rieslings as well as a few newer stars. Executive Chef Patrick Higgins will emphasize some of the wine’s distinctive flavors with playful pairings from Latin cuisine. Winemaker & Vineyard Manager / Co-Owner Fred Merwarth will also talk a bit about the wines as they are served, adding a touch of unintimidating education to the evening’s festivities.

“Our Epicurean Events are always a fun, easy way to learn more about certain wines, their histories, and food pairing,” adds Meryl Davis, Director of Training and Services. “The Wiemer Dinner will be no exception, and an added benefit is having the Co-Owner of the winery himself present to explain the nuances of the wines.”

The reception begins at 6:30, and the meal will begin at 7:00 pm. The event is $60++ per person. Vegetarian pairings are available; advanced notice is appreciated. A full menu follows. To make reservations for the dinner, please call (315) 364-8888.

Hermann J. Wiemer Wine Dinner Menu February 25, 2012
Reception at 6:30, Dinner at 7:00

Reception
Cuvee Brut 2006

Camembert en Croute
house-made grape relish, ver jus
Chardonnay 2010

Monkfish and Lobster Crepinette
curried cauliflower puree, candied orange zest
Gerwurztraminer 2010

Intermezzo
Lemon and Basil Granita

Pork Rillette
parsnip chips, micro greens, sour cherry emulsion
Pinot Noir 2008

Pan Roasted Quail
braised fennel, currant jus
Cabernet Franc 2008

Trina’s Specialty
Late Harvest Riesling 2010

The Aurora Inn is located at 391 Main Street, Aurora, N.Y. More information on the epicurean series can be found at http://innsofaurora.com/food-wine/epicurean-events/.

It had been two years since I last tasted the Damiani Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc, and I was down to my last bottle. On release, it was an impressive wine with depth, if a tad besmirched by oak. I liked it enough to buy three bottles.

Earlier this month my wife and I went to dinner and decided to open this wine one more time.

Sometimes we talk about transformation that can occur in a complex wine, but no one really knows what to expect. If I harbored high hopes for the Damiani Cab Franc, it turns out those hopes were decidedly too low.

This wine was an absolute beauty, complex, layered, structured. It had gone from a pony to a wild stallion, from a Dodge Neon to an A8.

"That's too bad," I said, not disappointed in the wine by any stretch, but saddened at the thought that most of it was already sold and drunk. 

This wine was released in 2009 when the components, while impressive, were still stitching themselves together. Imagine stopping by the automaker's shop; the parts on the factory line appear built for power and elegance, but you can't quite tell how it will come off as a finished product.

There's no reason to doubt anymore. Damiani's 2007 Cabernet Franc is simultaneously strong and graceful. It's not a powerhouse on the scale of a warm climate wine, and it's not meant to be. But it's simply packed, a layered wine that peels off a new aroma and flavor every few seconds. 

So why was it released so young? In that regard, there is nothing unique about this wine. Out of necessity, Finger Lakes wineries often release wines younger than they'd prefer to, whether it's a riesling, a sparkling wine, or reds from warmer vintages (and 2007 was one of the special red wine vintages the region has ever seen). Margins are slim around here, and when a vintage sells out, often wineries need to put the next vintage on the shelf simply to keep cash flowing.

I asked Damiani co-owner Glenn Allen if that was the case with the 2007 Cabernet Franc.

"Yes," he replied. "Often it is the case that a wine released early is just a few months away from being sufficiently open to enjoy it as a young wine." 

But Allen feels that the recent warmer vintages (2007 and 2010) have produced wines capable of opening up shortly after bottling. "There are many who like or prefer their wines young, full of bright fruit and vibrant tannins, so it's always debatable when is the best time to release a wine," he explained. "Especially with the 2007 vintage, releasing them early was not so much of a regret."

Production was relatively low for many Finger Lakes wineries in 2007, and that's true for Damiani as well. The result is a wine that disappeared rather quickly. Fortunately, Damiani is beginning to build a library, including seven cases of the 2007 Cab Franc.

"We're trying to library more of our age-worthy wines from each vintage," Allen said, adding that this practice is "both for our personal cellars and for re-releasing to our wine club members. We also now pour some samples of library wines at our tasting room, using a wine preservation system that keeps the wine intact." Most recently, Damiani's tasting room featured its 2004 red wines.

Allen guessed that the '07 Cab Franc would peak at five years old, cruising right along for another five. That means that it is only now approaching its prime. What a shame that most of this wine was gone before customers could see it rise to its current height.

And where does it go next? As we've written about previously, no one can say with certainty, but that's part of the fun. Damiani will have to decide carefully when to release its remaining bottles.

How to change the trend that sees so many wines released so young? Allen said it starts with educating customers about wine's potential. "I always let people know that a young wine will become even better if they lay it down for awhile," he said. "If they buy a few different wines, say including some whites, I suggest to them that they drink the young wine last."

But so often, wines are released according to financial needs of the winery. No one should knock a winery for this practice if it's truly a matter of economic necessity. I've spoken to countless winemakers and winery owners who wish they could wait a while with a special riesling or a structured red. But bills have to be paid, and for those of us who are only consuming the wines and not financing its creation, it's easy to criticize. Better to remind winery owners, gently, that building a library - when feasible - is a wonderful idea. Exhibit A is Damiani's 2007 Cabernet Franc, if you can find it.

I first tasted this wine as a part of Riesling Hour and it was one of the more popular wines amongst the Long Island wine industry folks who joined me for the tasting. This review is based on a subsequent tasting in my home.

Light hints of apricot and lime bring nuance to a nose driven by sweet pear and green apple.

Juicy, ripe and off-dry, the palate shows more sweet pear character along with flavors of peach and white grape -- with snappy acidity that brings focus and verve. There is an interesting floral, green tea note on the medium-length finish.

Producer: Damiani Wine Cellars
AVA: Finger Lakes
ABV: 11.9%  
RS: 2.0%
Production: 420 cases
Price: $16*

(3.5 out of 5 | Very Good, Recommended to Outstanding and Delicious, Highly Recommended)

(Ratings Guide)

A good porter feels like your favorite pair of jeans. It just fits — your tastes, the meal, the moment. I’m constantly in search of the perfect porter. It’s one of my favorite styles not least because brewing it correctly requires skillful composition and, I would argue, a sense of honor for the style’s history of comforting and sustaining the Industrial Revolution workforce.

Flying Bison Brewing has produced such a beer.

Brindle Porter, a limited release inspired by the classic English porter, pours a deep brown color with a one-finger head and wide, faint lacing. Hints of coffee, chocolate, and toffee come forth on the nose.

I was struck by the amazing balance of the mouthfeel. Overroasting is something I always notice and never appreciate, and this beer strikes just the right note, with subtle roasted English chocolate malt and a mellow, seriously smooth flavor profile that lingers. A kiss of Kent Goldings hops gives it just enough zip on the finish. The weight is excellent, just what a porter should be — hefty enough to stick to the ribs but crisp and comfortable enough to drink all night. I sucked down two in the time it took me to take these notes.

This is my new favorite Flying Bison product, hands down, and one of my favorite porters. I truly hope it becomes a regular part of the brewery’s lineup.

Producer: Flying Bison Brewing Company
Style: English porter
ABV: 5.6%
Stemware: pint glass
Price: $4/draught pint

(3 out of 5, Very good/Recommended)

(Ratings Guide)

Yes, another North Fork chardonnay. A barrel-fermented one at that -- thus the name "La Barrique." But wait. It's not what you think. This is the rare barrel-affected chardonnay that I willingly went back to after my tasting was finished. I had two glasses, in fact.

It almost makes me hate winemaker Greg Gove for proving my boredom over local chardonnay wrong.

Aromas of pineapple, Golden Delicious apple, vanilla, and lemon verbena are accented by just a hint of butter. Overly toasty or raw oak just isn't part of the equation.

Mouth-filling but very well balanced, the palate shows similar character to the nose, but with a creamy mid-palate replacing any obvious butter and a bit of sweet oak mingling with light vanilla and cooked sugar flavors. The finish is long with an acidic edge and hints of citrus zest.

Though still not a style or wine I'd reach for regularly, this is a very well-made wine.

Producer: Peconic Bay Winery
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
ABV: 12.9%   
Price: $24*
  

(4 out of 5 | Outstanding and Delicious, Highly Recommended)

(*Ratings Guide)

I have yet to meet Regan Meador, assistant winemaker at Osprey's Dominion Winery -- in person at least.

As is so common these days, he and I got acquainted via Twitter before he left his white collar job in Manhattan for good and moved to the North Fork to make wine. We keep saying that we're going to meet up for a glass or a pint or five, but it hasn't happened yet.

In the interim, I've asked him our standard set of seven questions...

What event/bottle/etc made you decide that you wanted to be in the wine industry?
It’s a collective of experiences that led me here. But the seminal moment came after days and years in finance, the music business and then advertising and marketing, one day I found myself monitoring a focus group for a client, a major beer brand, and I couldn’t help but notice how disinterested our group was with what we and everyone else in the business was selling. My own disinterest made this even worse. I was tired of selling people crappy beer. I was tired of selling people on something I had no hand in actually making. I was tired of just selling people. I wanted to get my hands dirty. That night I enrolled in courses at U.C. Davis, months later I quit my job and now here I am.

What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking?
It was an unknown bottle of California Merlot in 1990 (which puts me at around 10 years old); a bottle that was stolen from my parents (sorry, Mom and Dad) along with a few cans of Miller Light (you’re welcome, Mom and Dad). My accomplice ended up drinking the beer and I couldn’t get enough of the wine. I still remember sitting in the middle of that field, the taste of that wine.

Which of your current wines is your favorite and why?
I’m digging through our few Carmeneres. It’s such a bastard varietal: a dream one year, only to turn around and give you the business the next, but one of my favorites.

What has surprised you most about being a member of the New York wine community?
First let me caveat that I’m new here, but for me it’s the dichotomy. On the one hand it’s incredibly gracious and collaborative, yet at the same time it can be quite competitive and cagey. I find this to be a beautiful thing… it can push a region forward, it makes things interesting, it’s healthy.

Other than your own wines, what wine/beer/liquor most often fills your glass?
I have a consistency problem when it comes to alcohol. I’ve been drinking/thinking/dreaming about Languedoc lately. I like its incongruity, the rough edges. Just had a bottle of Roanoke’s 07 Blend 2 that greatly saddened me once it was finished. As for not wine, a rare pleasure is Compass Box’s Peat Monster on cold nights.

Is there a 'classic' wine or wine and food pairing that you just can't make yourself enjoy?
Chardonnay... with anything.

Wine enjoyment is about more than just the wine itself. Describe the combination of wine, locations, food, company, etc. that would make (or has made) for the ultimate wine-drinking experience.
It’s that rare special crescendo during a dinner party, at a bar with a perfect stranger or just on the couch with a friend or loved one, that occurs right around the middle of the third glass. Where the conversation hits that perfect pitch, that moment of clarity, where world problems are solved, famine is cured, love is discovered. Where everything makes sense…. until we oblige that fourth glass and forget it all…

The goal here on the NYCR is to cover every corner of the New York wine, beer and spirits world. While we don't have someone on the ground in every region -- most notably the Hudson River Region and Lake Erie wine country -- I think we do a pretty good job accomplishing our goal.

I'll be honest about it too -- I hadn't even considered Northern New York as a true wine region. Not yet, anyway. But after speaking with our new Northern New York Correspondent, Todd Trzaskos, a few times, I've gotten an education on the budding region.

There isn't a large number of commercial wineries up there yet, but from the sounds of it, there is plenty of passion to go around amongst those working in the nascent industry.

Todd, who is from upstate New York and lives just across the border in Vermont, is going to bring us those stories. He knows many of the players because, in some ways, he is one of them. He is a volunteer and test winemaker at the Cornell Baker Farm, a cold-hardy hybrid trial vineyard, in Willsboro, NY and you may also know him as the man behind Vermont Wine Media.

I've asked Todd to begin his work with us by writing a story that provides and overview about Northern New York viticulture and winemaking. Look for it soon.

Mention Sheldrake Point Winery on Seneca Lake and, chances are, you’ll be corrected. “It’s on Cayuga Lake,” I heard a half-dozen times over the course of the last month from friends and Finger Lakes wine fans. They aren’t wrong, but neither am I. On September 26, 2011, Sheldrake Point opened a second tasting room on Route 414 along the southeast side of Seneca.

The tasting room has opened quietly, not for lack of marketing and outreach on their part, but because they were just getting started as the tourism season wound down. The lack of tasting room traffic in the winter months has given owner Bob Madill and tasting room manager Christine McAfee a few months to get their bottles in a row. In a phone conversation and visit to the tasting room, I spoke to them about Sheldrake’s two-lake presence.

Like all business decisions, the addition of a new location was made with profit in mind. Unlike many wineries in the area, Sheldrake’s original location on Cayuga grows all of their grapes in one vineyard. “Every wine we have is a single-vineyard wine, for all intents and purposes,” Madill said. “But we were selling just about half of our grapes.”

Sheldrake never entered into a long-term partnership with other wineries, choosing instead to sell grapes as needed, to places as far away as Pennsylvania. “If we made all of those grapes into wine, we’d never move it.” Ready for a challenge, Madill and his team figured that if they increased their presence in the area, they could very well sell enough wine to make up the difference.

The team began looking into remote locations out of the area but the cost and logistics of managing a tasting room or storefront far away didn’t seem to Madill to be a worthwhile gamble. Then they stumbled across Busca Books on Seneca Lake, a convenient location with lots of room to spare. Owner Michael Cooper agreed to sell 2,500 square feet, the majority of the space, to Sheldrake, moving his business to the back third of the store.

A deck with clear glass paneling was added to the front and trees were cleared from the property to open up the view of the lake. The result is a modern, clean space with clean lines and lots of natural light. To keep the room from looking minimalistic, Sheldrake is decorating the walls with work from local artists.

The bars where servers pour might look different on any given day – they’re on wheels and can be rearranged or removed to accommodate for parties and events. “We searched forever for those bars,” Madill said. “We visited other tasting rooms, measured to find the perfect height and looked for the best material.”

That attention to detail is apparent in more than the decor. McAfee told me that when Sheldrake opened, she wrote letters introducing herself to the surrounding neighbors. “They’ve been really supportive so far,” she said, adding that many of them don’t actually drink alcohol. This “hey, neighbor” mentality is reminiscent, says Madill, from over a decade ago when Sheldrake moved into their space on Cayuga.

“In both locations, we’re basically in the middle of a residential area. We try to keep that in mind,” Madill said, recalling with a laugh (and a bit of a groan) the large white fence that was constructed then taken down in the parking lot at Seneca, after realizing it obstructed a resident’s view.

At the heart of the decision to expand Sheldrake’s presence in the Finger Lakes was a desire to rework and revitalize the winery’s portfolio. “We’re going to focus more on distinguishing where in the Cayuga vineyard our grapes come from,” said Madill, recognizing that the climate and character in vineyards can be drastically different even just a few yards away. They currently cultivate 43 acres with the potential for planting more vines, providing the doubling of production goes well in the next few years.

Riesling and cabernet franc make up the largest percentage of the vineyard, with the 2011 vintage shaping up to include a Dry Riesling, Semi-Dry Riesling and an Ice Riesling. Madill also has hopes for a Reserve Riesling, as it is “developing nicely” but isn’t yet certain it will be up to Sheldrake’s standards.

Consumers will also see the disappearance of Sheldrake Point Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemaker Dave Breeden and vineyard manager Dave Weimann will continue to grow the varieties, but have decided to blend them with cabernet franc in a Meritage, a Bordeaux-style blend.

Two producers do not make a trend, but in any region there are trend-setters and trailblazers. In the Finger Lakes, Ravines Wine Cellars has been producing some of the strongest rieslings for the past decade. And newcomer Forge Cellars comes with the high expectations attached to the wines of Louis Barruol, a renowned winemaker from Gigondas in France.

Both Ravines and Forge are now experimenting with old oak barrels when it comes to making riesling.

Ravines winemaker Morten Hallgren took the first step, selecting a portion of his 2010 Argetsinger Vineyard Riesling to be aged in old, neutral barrels. "It's primarily for texture," Hallgren recently explained. "The acidity is there. The flavors are there. The oak has nothing to do with flavors."

That's an important distinction, especially for Forge Cellars, which employs 100% old oak for its line of rieslings. 

"Louis and I had a conversation about this some three or four years ago while sitting in Gigondas," wrote Forge co-owner Rick Rainey in a recent blog post. "We were talking about cool climate wines, wines that are often coveted for their fresh, searing, laser-like acidity. We both were commenting how wonderful acid is and then he started to tell me about experiments he had done with high-acid whites in barrel and how wonderful they turned out. I thought it all made sense because if you look at all the cool climate regions of the world, using barrels of different sizes was the norm before the stainless steel manufacturers showed up."

Like his co-owner Justin Boyette, Rainey loves discussing the history of wine. That deference to precedent comes through when he writes about Forge's use of neutral barrels, as Rainey jokes that Forge should be considered anything but a "trend-setter." 

"Riesling being done in barrel has been around a heck of a lot longer than anyone at Forge Cellars," Rainey explains. "If anything we are rolling back the clock a bit."

Try as he might to downplay the freshness of this approach, the fact remains that in the Finger Lakes, riesling resides in stainless steel. Winemakers seek freshness in riesling without wanting to compromise the bracing edges, nor do they seek aromatics and flavors that oak can impart. 

"The idea of hammering helpless little white wines with new oak is, well, lets just say, not for us," Rainey says. "But the idea of letting a high-acid, fresh, laser-like riesling relax a bit in a nice aged barrel could make a whole bunch of sense."

Wine writer Oz Clarke has written about riesling aged in oak, noting that it remains rather common in Germany, where producers in the Pfalz even occasionally employ new oak. But most, Clarke explains, opt for old barrels. "The flavors are quite obviously different (in rieslings aged in wood)," Clarke wrote in his book Grapes and Wines: The Definitive Guide to the World's Great Grapes and the Wines They Make "The gentle oxygenation that occurs in old wooden barrels softens the edges of the wine and adds complexity. The choice is a stylistic one, with the steely style generally being seen as more modern."

Hallgren noted that for now, Finger Lakes winemakers would have to use old barrique. But he's trying to find a way to bring old casks to the states from Europe. "It's quite an undertaking," Hallgren said with a smile. "But we're not giving up."

What does that mean for consumers? For those who seek the electric, razor's edge style of Finger Lakes riesling, Forge Cellars will probably come off as too rich, or too mellow, to borrow a word from Rainey. Ravines' Argetsinger Riesling is likely to be more subtle and still quite cutting, considering its aging in both steel and wood. But for those who find many Finger Lakes rieslings to be too acidic, perhaps over-the-edge, this kind of treatment offers the potential to attract new palates. If the wood comes through too strongly, the wines will flop. If the wood imparts a richer texture while allowing the crisp acidity to remain fresh, it could be a significant regional step. And with more choices, consumers are likely to benefit.