by Richard Leahy | Aug 31, 2016 | Regions & Terroir, Winery Visits
Recently I drove down the Blue Ridge Mountains to Highland, NC and from there, to two of the northernmost wineries in Georgia. On the way I stopped at Biltmore Palace (hey, it is what it is) outside Asheville, NC and tasted their (few) estate fruit wines. Biltmore...
by Richard Leahy | Aug 2, 2016 | Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Winery Visits
Part II: Seneca Lake Fox Run Vineyards Fox Run Vineyards on northwest Seneca Lake south of Geneva makes a wide range of wines for all palates, but specializes in riesling. Long-time winemaker Peter Bell is one of the three partners/winemakers in the Tierce project, a...
by Richard Leahy | Jul 21, 2016 | Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Winery Visits
Part I: Keuka Lake Summer isn’t complete for me without a visit to the Finger Lakes of New York, one of the best places in the East for world-class wines from dozens of grape varieties including non-vinifera ones. I judged in the New York State Fair in both amateur...
by Richard Leahy | May 30, 2016 | Tastings/Evaluations, Winery Visits
On a nasty, rainy Saturday (5/21) I met Lindsey Parris, a fellow judge in the Virginia Wine Governor’s Cup contest (and student in the Master of Wine program) to check out a couple of wineries we thought might be off the beaten path. Given the weather and the month of...
by Richard Leahy | Feb 27, 2016 | Winery Visits
Just prior to the big Governor’s Cup and Case announcements, I was on the Virginia wine trail, doing a book signing at Barrel Oak Winery, visiting the new and nearby Blue Valley Vineyard and Winery, and on the way back to Charlottesville, stopping at Granite Heights...