From the barrel

I stopped by Raphael on the way to work Friday to pick up a couple of cases of sauvignon blanc to sell by the bottle. It replaces the Lieb Pinot Blanc, which always sells well. The Raphael barely had time to chill before people started ordering it.
Winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich had packed up some samples and [...]

Dusty Spain

Wine sales gal Gwenn Goichman from Noble House Wines was in the restaurant on Thursday showing some new stuff from their portfolio. Gwen’s been selling wine for awhile and for a number of different distributors. I met her in 1997, I think, when I was managing Alison by the Beach restaurant in Sagaponack. The restaurant [...]

Take a whiff of Bouké

Lisa Donneson came by the restaurant Wednesday to show off the inaugural release of her wines, the 2007 Bouké white and the 2007 rose.
As the name suggests (bouquet), the aroma of the wine is emphasized and, in the two she’s showing now, is fresh and aromatic.
I bought five cases of the white and will be [...]

What’s open now

Urban Oak 2004 Roble Red Wine Ribera del Duero

This is one of the lower-end wines of the Bodegas y Viñedos O.Fournier Group, which was founded in 2000. They own estates in Mendoza and Ribera del Duero. According to their website, their main objective is to become “an international group focused high quality wines and [...]

Strawberry season nears end

There’s still time to get out in the sun and pick your own strawberries. The Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival was last weekend and we’re still serving strawberry shortcake with local strawberries at the restaurant. They’re using the same recipe Larry Forgione did when I worked at An American Place in the early ’90s. The [...]

Thanks Lenn

Lenn Thompson over at LENNDEVOURS did me a great favor and featured my blog on his blog. He’s been blogging about New York wine since 2003 and has attracted quite a following. Thanks Lenn!

Off the beaten path

Christian Troy, by far the most voluble and prepared of wine salesmen, was in the restaurant last week showing me some wines that he had picked out keeping in mind my affinity for Barolo and Champagne. Christian works for Polaner Selections. He brought me a vermentino, a frappato, a barbera, a Pugliny-Montrachet and two [...]

BYOB II

Michael Malter and his friend Billy and his family were in for dinner last night. Last time the two men, with another friend, brought two bottles of wine and let me taste them. This time, Mike brought a 1997 Stonegate Cabernet Sauvignon. Interesting was the price sticker on it from the original purchase at Beekman [...]

Flowering

The chardonnay vines started to flower last week, most of the reds are under way and Donna Rudolph, the assistant vineyard manager at Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue, thinks all flowering will be done by the end of next.
As in the last vintage update, with all the rain, things are growing fast, and at Bedell with [...]

Sparkling Pointe

This year the first local winery dedicated to producing only sparkling wine is releasing its first wines. Yesterday Gilles Martin, winemaker for Sparkling Pointe was in the restaurant showing the 2004 Brut and the 2004 Topaz Imperial.
The wines are good. And given the rocketing prices of Champagne, alternative sparklers are getting a closer look. We’re [...]