Recently uncorked at Gracie Mansion

At an event last week at Gracie Mansion, Mayor Bloomberg served Long Island wines. Sweet. Over the last few years Long Island wines were mostly dismissed, but change is, um, fermenting if what I saw in Gracie last week is part of a larger trend.

Here they are:

Pellegrini Vineyards 2005 Chardonnay Select ($9.99 at Vintage)
Wolffer Estate Vineyards 2002 La Ferme Matin Merlot ($13.99 at Vintage)
Corey Creek Reisling
Bedell Cellars 2005 Merlot ($20 at Bedell)

I wasn't able to try any at the event, but I have tasted the Wolffer Merlot before and it was quite good. For a young red it was drinkable, with a clear, crisp taste of bing cherries. The Gracie cellarkeepers seem to have a good cross section of LI wines, though they missed one of my favorites: The Channing Daughters.

Channing's entry level wines are forgettable, but the midrange and above are worth it. It seems as though NY Times writer Harold Goldberg has a crush on the Daughters too ... he writes about the winery quite often.

If you haven't tried Long Island wines (or Upstate NY, for that matter), you should stop by Vintage NY's tasting bar. They've got locations in Soho and the Upper West Side.

The beautiful picture of Pindar Vineyard's sparkling wine rack comes from Declan! over at Flickr. Thanks.

A dark, sumptuous drink for midwinter

We've never really written about wine before, so I may as well start tonight. This one was a sure winner.

I received this delightful 2003 Diamond Claret from the Food Arts Illy Galleria event last fall and finally opened it last week.

The smooth tannins and delicious blend surprised and delighted me. Deep red cherry and plum flavors on top of anise and ... other spices ... make this Bordeaux-style blend rock.

Trader Joe's has a 2004 Coppola Claret for, if I'm not mistaken, under $15. I'll be trying it out, and if I could find a fireplace, you'd find me drinking next to it.


Technorati Tags: Wine, Bordeaux, Claret, Drink
Special thanks to my old camera for the picture.