by Richard Leahy | Sep 6, 2019 | Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Varietals
For this early September Wine of the Week, I actually present two wines, both Rieslings, and both over a decade old. The dry version is Fox Run’s Reserve Riesling 2008 (Seneca Lake, New York AVA). Winemaker Peter Bell only makes a reserve in great vintages for...
by Richard Leahy | Sep 2, 2019 | Regions & Terroir, Winery Visits
I enjoyed a pre-Labor Day vacation in St. Joseph on the east shore of Lake Michigan last year, so I decided to repeat the experience this year. Millicent Huminsky of the Southwest Michigan Tourism Council helpfully worked to set up winery visits in the Lake Michigan...
by Richard Leahy | Aug 23, 2019 | Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Winery Visits
The roots of fine (vinifera) winegrowing in the Finger Lakes come from two Europeans, Dr. Konstantin Frank, a Ukrainian of German descent, and Charles Fournier, a French sparkling winemaker, who demonstrated that cool climate vinifera grapes would grow along the...
by Richard Leahy | Aug 11, 2019 | Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Winery Visits
I recently made my annual summer trip to the Finger Lakes of New York, where I caught up on old favorite wineries, a few new wineries, and a few new releases from the 2018 vintage. I also enjoyed the 30-year old Grass Roots music festival in Trumansburg on west Cayuga...
by Richard Leahy | May 30, 2019 | Competitions, News/Announcements, Regions & Terroir
– Following the success of the their 2016 Cabernet Franc, Catoctin Breeze Vineyard in Thurmont has won the 2019 Comptroller’s Cup with their 2017 Estate Cabernet Franc. Standing out from 165 competing wines from 31 wineries, this Cabernet Franc took top honors...
by Richard Leahy | Apr 29, 2019 | Competitions, News/Announcements, Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine
From a field of 60 entries, all from grapes grown in the Monticello AVA, and from a final field of six (three white wines and three red wines), the top wine of the 2019 Monticello Cup competition was the Mountain Plains 2016 from King Family Vineyards in Crozet. This...
