This time this happens to be my favorite white varietal, Gewürztraminer.

Last time I did not take notes and I gave up on tweeting, due to the host winery, Shinn Estate Vineyards, preparing a wonderful meal to so along with the very nice Pinot Noir’s we tasted through.  

This time, I will focus more on the wine and you can expect a post about it.

This time, just like the Bubbly in February, you can purchase the TasteLive pack and follow along with me and the rest of the country.

The wineries that are participating are:

• Keuka Spring Vineyards 2008 Gewürztraminer
• Lakewood Vineyards 2007 Gewürztraminer
• Red Newt Cellars 2007 Sawmill Creek Vineyards Gewürztraminer
• Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2008 Gewürztraminer

So, make sure you order the pack, or just open up your favorite Gewürztraminer and follow along on Twitter with the hastag #flxwine

I will be participating with other wine bloggers from around the country for the third installment of Finger Lakes Wine with Taste Live on Twitter.  This event is sponsored by Finger Lakes Wine Country and moderated by Lenn Thompson of The New York Cork Report.  And the host winery on Long Island will be Shinn Estate Vineyards.

In previous months we have tasted Cabernet Franc and Sparkling wine.  This month the topic of our tasting and tweeting will be Finger Lakes Pinot Noir.  There will be five Pinot Noir wines we will be tasting through, here is a run down:

• Atwater Estate Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir
• Damiani Wine Cellars 2008 Pinot Noir
• Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2008 Pinot Noir
• Heart & Hands Wine Company 2008 Pinot Noir
• Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir

I am not too familiar with pinot noir, it is not something I have very often, mainly because it is not widely grown and bottled on Long Island.  This will be interesting for me.

Once again you can participate in this event by visiting the vineyards website to purchase the wine.  Of you can visit your wine shop and see if they have any.  Or just open your favorite Pinot and pour along with us.

The fun begins at 8:00 PM, so you can follow the action with me on Twitter or on Finger Lakes Wine Country’s own Taste Live Page.

Remember it dos not cost any thing to participate, just a twitter account and make sure your search and follow the hash tag #flxwine.

See you in Twitterville on Wednesday!

“Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!” ~ Dom Perignon, at the moment he discovered champagne

The other night, at Roanoke Vineyards, the Wine Adventurers or the Pour Boys or the Four Poursemen,  we are not sure what we  calling ourselves, yet, Lenn Thomson, from the New York Cork Report, Henry Powderly, II, From Work in Progress(who also took the pictures), Adam Ehmer from Roanoke Vineyards, and yours truly got in on some Finger Lake Wine, with Twitter Taste Live.  This month our tasting was Sparkling Wine. Last month we were soaking up some Cabernet Franc’s from the Finger Lakes.

The first one up this night was  Chateau Frank Blanc de Blancs 2002 $30.00.  This is made from 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Blanc, and made int the Methode Champenoise tradition.  On the nose, I was picking up some yummy yeast and doughy bread.  Something that I love in sparkling wine.  There was some citrus notes as well.

 On the palate, I was picking some lemony citrus and a hint of wet stone minerality.  Very nice acidity and a long finish to go along with it.  At the end of the finish I was picking up some nutty creaminess too, which is another favorite of mine.

We then went on to Goose Watch Pinot Noir Brut Rose ($18.00)  This sparkler was made with 79% Pinot Noir grapes and 21% Chardonnay.  It was bottled in the Charmat process where it undergoes a second fermentation in steel tanks.  It is then bottled under pressure.  It had a color that was reminiscent of salmon.

On the nose, I was picking up this scent of watermelon Jolly Rancher, which I was nice, but not a fan of candy coated wine.  This then led to some strawberry and cherry aroma.  I was also getting a scent of banana, along with others who were on suing the tagline #flxwine.

On the palate, the flavors of all the fruit were present along with this crisp acidity that was palate cleansing.  There was also a hint of minerality there at the finish, but the fruit dominated this sparkling wine.  The candy notes of the wine were not as prevalent as they were on the nose, but they were there in the background.  For those of you who enjoy mousse like quality in a sparkler, then you would really enjoy this one.

It was a fun wine, it was great for entertaining.  I could see this being popular with the women.  The nose was the best for me, but the palate was a bit too much.  I was really trying to figure out what to pair with this sparkling wine.

Next up was the Glenora Wine Cellars 2002 Brut ($25).  This wine is made up of 63% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and produced in the  Methode Champenoise.

On the nose, I was picking up something that I could not describe.  It was very intriguing and familiar.  Henry stated it was smoky on the nose, but not wood smoke.  I came to the conclusion that it was sun-baked rubber.

On the palate, it was a bit rough.  There was a citrus note that led to a tinny medicinal note.  I was also getting a sharp stinging sensation on the center of the tongue.  It tasted like something was missing.  Though, Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes correspondent at the New York Cork Report nailed it on Twitter with this delivery, “A bit tired, like a tired runner. Ran a rood race, but a bit done.”

The next bubbly of the night would happen to be the last.  And in a way it was a nice way of ending the night.  Lucas Vineyards NV Extra Dry ($19).  This, I believe was my very first Hybrid Grape, made of 100% Cayuga White grapes in the Méthode Champenoise way.

In my opinion, this sparkling wine had the best beads of the night, though thy may not have been the smallest, I will give that to Chateau Frank, they, the beads were really dancing.  Granted we also did not taste in Champagne flutes, because you just cannot get your nose into the glass to get a good whiff.

First up, on the nose, I was loving the yeasty bread note.  Just behind it was the aroma of lemon and citrus along with a mineral quality to it.  I was also picking up a subtle aroma of fermenting grapes, in a good way.  It is an aroma any wine lover loves.

On the palate, it was clean, crisp and refreshing.  The citrus was out in front ad behind it was a little apple too.  It was dry and had a pleaant finish, just maybe a bit short.

In conclusion,I would rank my bubbly this night as the following:

1. Chateau Frank Blanc de Blancs 2002
2. Lucas Vineyards NV Extra Dry
3. Goose Watch Pinot Noir Brut Rose
4. Glenora Wine Cellars 2002 Brut

Chateau Frank came out in front for the simple reason that I was getting a nutty finish at the end.  It was the only sparkling wine that had some of that “baking spice” element that I love in a sparkling wine.  In my opinion, when you make a sparkling wine, you must have yeasty, doughy, even sour dough notes with some baking spice mixed in.  Chateau Frank had it.

The surprise had to be Lucas VIneyards, and they were a very close second.  everyone was pleasantly surprised by the Cayuga grapes used and that a sparkling wine could be this good made with them, in the traditional method no less.

I am no expert here, and I have only tried a few sparkling wines on Long Island, but I would stick to my Long Island Sparklers.  The Finger Lakes were nice, I just like tasting the stars of Long Island.

If you recall, last month I was tasting along with other bloggers across the country.  We were tasting some Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc.

This month we will be tasting Finger Lake Sparkling Wine. from the following vineyards:

• Chateau Frank 2002 Blanc de Blancs
• Goose Watch Winery NV Pinot Noir Brut Rosé 
• Glenora Wine Cellars 2002 Brut
• Lucas Vineyards NV Extra Dry Cayuga White

You can follow along if you are on twitter with the hash tag #FLXwine or on Finger Lakes Wine Country’s own TasteLive page.  If you are not on twitter, sign up today!

This time you can get in on the action and taste along by purchasing this Taste Live pack from Bacchus Wines.  The pack is discounted, so it makes it even more affordable and  enjoyable than just following along with the tweets.  Get together with a bunch of friends and enjoy the bubbly!

So join me on Twitter or on the Finger Lakes Wine Country TasteLive Site at 8:00 PM.

Just as the last time, a review of the bubbly will be posted after the tasting. 

I hope to see you on twitter on Wednesday, February 17th.

Thanks Passionate Foodie for the Picture

The event began promptly at 8PM with our host Lenn Thompson at Lieb Family Cellars. He promptly poured us our first wine of the night, Fox Run Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc/Lemberger. There was a bit more of the Lemberger in the bottle than the Franc, but none the less there was some Franc Qualities there. On the nose I was picking up a lot of Cherry and Cola. It was giving way to some great fruity berry aromas. There was some Raspberry and Black berry and blueberry in the glass. I could have dove right into this glass. The taste on the other hand was a bit of an issue. It was laden with puckering acidity. IT was overwhelming the wine, and made it difficult to pick up much, other than some very tart cherry. This was my first experience with Lemberger of any kind and due to the bouquet of this wine; I would love to try it alone as the varietal. As the time move on, the longer in the glass the acid was diminishing. I was getting the craving for a black & blue rib eye while tasting this wine. On the final sips I was picking up some plum, violets and strong blackberry notes. Later that night, while revisiting the wines, I was picking up some black pepper spice notes.

We then moved onto Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc. On the nose I was picking up some dried fruit. Some prune notes along with this intriguing and enticing barnyard note. It was quite funky. There may have been some old cheese rind in there as well. As I swirled the wine in my glass, the funk was at the back of the glass, faint yet distinct. The funk did leave the glass after awhile, and was enjoying the dried prune and dark fruit notes on the nose. There was a spicy note to the wine, that at first I had a hard time putting my finger on.  After some banter back and forth, between clove and other spice, it was pointed out by another tweeter, cardamom.  And I agreed.  But clove was still the common feeling in the tasting room.  At the end of the night when we retasted it, Henry got it right with clove, but really put it together when he said there was some sweet clove in there, reminiscent of a clove cigarette at the end.  There was and at the end, it was nice.

We then moved onto the Rooster Hill Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc.   This was very smoky.  There was some bacon, some berries, cherry and some fresh green mint.  There was a subtle note of eucalyptus at the end, but I kept returning to the smoky bacon.  I did not mind it, because it was not to overpowering, it did diminish over time.  On the palate, I was picking up some more of the bacon, with a hint of black tea.  It was enjoyable, but too much smoke was my problem with the wine, but I was impressed to this point with the quality of wine from the Finger Lake Region.

Then, my whole world changed, I made my reservations for TasteCamp 2010 right after I put my nose into the glass with Red Newt Wine Cellars 2007 “Sawmill Creek” Cabernet Franc, in it.  This Franc was fantastic!  Now, I may have wanted to dive into the Fox Run wine, but this I could have done laps in the glass.  Some fellow tweeters were nice enough to offer to throw me a life preserver.  One blogger, Richard over at The Passionate Foodie states that it, “brings back memories of Shinn (Estate Vineyards) Cabernet Franc (2007).”  I whole hardly agreed.  There were elements of eucalyptus, and fresh turned earth, some black cherry and raspberry and blackberries.  There was some exotic spice in the glass.  The taste was even better.  All of the fruit was up front with a wonderful exotic spice.  The wine was in perfect balance and harmony.   I could drink this for hours among friends or some duck breast for dinner would be perfect.  This wine was the best of the night in my opinion.  It had everything you look for in a Cabernet Franc, and then some.

The winning wine that night was, Red Newt Wine Cellars 2007 “Sawmill Creek” Cabernet Franc.  It was also the most expensive of the night at $39.00.  The runner up was Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc, which is retailing at $22.00 probably would offer you the best value, while offering you decent quality.  Fox Run Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc/Lemberger took the bronze medal, despite the fact that this was more Lemberger than Cabernet Franc in the bottle.  It is not released yet and the 2006 vintage is selling for $15.  This could be my new everyday table wine though.  And last on the list was the Rooster Hill Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc.  This too is not released yet, but, will sell for about $20.00.  It was a nice wine, I just could not get past the smoky bacon.

Henry, Gary, Lenn and I finished off the night at Lieb Family Cellars with a tasting of Bridge Land 2006 Cabernet Franc and a sampling of the recently released 2007 Syrah, named after Garry’s late winery dog Syrah, where 20% of the proceeds of this wine will be donated to The Animal Medical Center in New York City.

But I really enjoyed this night was a sparkling wine from Lieb, their 2005 Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine.  It goes for $35.00 and as I sat that night, I could drink this everyday.  So it goes to show you I truly do have Champagne Taste on a beer budget.

Many thanks to Finger Lakes Wine Country for getting these great Cabernet Franc’s out to us.  To Lenn Thompson for moderating this Twitter Taste Live Event, to Gary at Lieb Family Cellars for allowing us to stand around and use the tasting room for the night. And a big thanks to those who participated across the country, hopefully on the next one there will be more of us and more of you on Twitter Taste Live, rumor has it that the wines will be available for purchase…Keep your eyes glued to this blog for more information.

Oh, and yes, I promise not to leave Long Island too often.

Here is a little information about Taste Live:

TasteLive! is the worlds premiere online wine and beer tasting community. Our platform leverages the increasingly powerful social media tools of Twitter, Facebook, Posterous and other services to create a community that brings together consumers, bloggers, press, suppliers, brewers and winemakers across the world together to share in their favorite beverage. TasteLive! is a direct link between consumers and winemakers, no filter, no middle man. Never before have consumers had the ability to directly interact with the producers making the wine and beer no matter where they are in the world.

With the introduction of custom winery pages, Wineries, suppliers and trade groups will now have the ability to fully customize their online wine tasting activities and interact with their fans directly through their own TasteLive page. Never before have users had so many options to interact and taste wine with their favorite estates!

 

Ok so now what?  Well follow this little graph, again from the TTL people:

After you have done that graph thing above, then you can take part in this or any event here:

Taking part in a TasteLive event is simple. Begin simply by logging into TasteLive.com or creating a new account using your Facebook or Twitter account. From their surf to the Wineries directory or the event calendar to see what your favorite estates are up to. From there, get some "tweeps" together for an informal evening of tasting, grab a laptop and go to the Tastelive.com and enjoy!

 

Ok, so here is the information about tonight’s Taste Live Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc with Lenn Thompson.  Please be sure to go to http://tastelive.com/fingerlakewinecountry at 8PM when the fun begins.

 "I’m exited to announce today that I’ll be co-hosting a live Twitter tasting of four cabernet franc-based Finger Lakes wines as a part of TasteLive. My co-hosts are the folks from Finger Lakes Wine Country (FLWC), who have definitely embraced new and social media more than any other New York wine organization.

FLWC launched a TasteLive page a month or so ago, and this will be the first event to really kick off the page. There will be many more, so stay tuned for more announcements.

For this edition, we’ll be tasting these four wines:

Fox Run Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc/Lemberger

Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc

Red Newt Wine Cellars 2007 “Sawmill Creek” Cabernet Franc

Rooster Hill Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc

Too often, people dismiss red wines from the Finger Lakes, but I think participants are in for some surprises with these wines, even though I’ve only tasted two of the four myself.

We’ll kick off the tasting at 8:00 p.m. ET, and we hope that you’ll join us on Twitter and on the Finger Lakes Wine Country TasteLive Site."

~Lenn Thompson

If you are on twitter feel free to follow the action.  If you are not, then please go here and sign up.

Our host, Lenn Thompson, from the New York Cork Report is our host.  It will be held at Lieb Family Cellars.  I will be joined by Henry Powderly of Work in Progress. 

Once you sign on to twitter you can follow us by searching for the hash tag #flxwine.

I am looking forward to this event mainly because it will be my introduction to Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc.  I have only had one, and it was enjoyable.  These wines are all Cabernet Franc from the 2007 Vintage which was very similar to the unprecedented 2007 vintage we had here on Long Island.  It will be fun to compare as there will be a Long Island 2007 Cabernet Franc review here next week.

So, I hope that some of you will follow, and if you are lucky enough to have a bottle or two of these, then follow along.  And if you don’t have one to open, don’t worry, just open something else and enjoy.  When there are future events that I will be participating in and the wine is available for purchase, I will keep you posted with that information as it is available.