Sips: Long Island’s ‘Early Wine’ and ‘Right Coast Red’ stand out

I’ve been tasting a range of wines from the East End of Long Island in recent weeks, mainly from the North Fork, where the vast majority of the region’s 60 or so vineyards and wineries are located.  Among others, two under-$20 wines stand out for  casual, warm-weather summer drinking.

Macari Vineyards’ 2010 “Early Wine” Chardonnay brings to mind green apples and lime and may be this region’s best answer to Portugal’s Vinho Verde with its fresh and fruity style and, as far as American wines are concerned, its relatively low alcohol, which is listed as 11.5 percent. It was harvested by the winery in Mattituck late last August, fermented without oak and bottled less than six weeks later. Served quite cold on a warm and humid evening, it was a delightful apéritif and will serve well accompanying local fluke, either sautéed or marinated into ceviche, or with fried calamari or clams. Production was 1,045 cases. $17.

When friends invited us over last weekend for grilled pizza, the best of several wines we tried with these delicious homemade pies was Lieb Family Cellars’ 2008 Right Coast Red, an easy drinking yet interesting blend of 45 percent merlot, 20 percent cabernet sauvignon, 20 percent cab franc, 12 percent malbec and three percent petit verdot. Lots of red and dark fruit here, with blackberry, blueberry and raspberry notes, a subtle overlay of cedar and a peppery note. Yummy wine. The $30 price tag surprised me, but I guess that’s part of the price of drinking “local.” I also like that the bottle has a screw cap. Alcohol is 13.5 percent. Wines received as press samples.

Technorati Tags: Early Wine,Right Coast Red,Macari Vineyards,Lieb Family Cellars,North Fork wines,Long Island wine,Long Island blends,Long Island chardonnay,Edward Deitch,East End wines

Video: Five great summer white wines

Last night I joined Chuck Scarborough on his NY Nightly News program on WNBC’s New York Nonstop Channel to talk about five exciting white wines for summer. For detailed information about the wines, see the post just below this one.

View more videos at: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/

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Swirls: Cork wars, climate change, Wal-Mart wine, China wine

SWIRL: Producers of cork (the genuine thing) are fighting back as they lose market share to screw caps and a variety of synthetic closures.  A new advertising campaign by 100PercentCork.org, reported on by the Huffington Post, argues that cork is better for the environment and, perhaps just as importantly to some, will help you get where you want to go, so to speak, on a date. At least that’s the premise of  “First Date,” a  hilarious video created by the campaign.

SWIRL: There’s new evidence of the growing impact of climate change on the world’s vineyards in an excellent article by AFP that focuses on France. Says one researcher, "Overall, we are seeing a rise in alcohol content and a drop in acidity. That's a problem.” The head of a large French wine trade organization says, “We are seeing for the first time bird species from north Africa. In the vineyards, new types of weeds are growing even as others disappear.” Read the full article here. And for more on climate change and wine see my interview with a leading American researcher.

SWIRL: Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board, which oversees the state’s alcohol business, has given Wal-Mart approval to put wine kiosks in seven of its stores across the state. And yes, they will include the same strict controls announced when the kiosks started appearing in Pennsylvania grocery stores earlier this year, including facing a camera, showing an ID and breathing into a Breathalyzer so a state employee monitoring it all can approve the sale. One user reading about it on The Consumerist asks, “Why does PA have to be so weird?” Read more here.

SWIRL: NPR takes note of China’s “meteoric rise” as a player in the high-end wine market. And it’s not only the Lafites of the world that are cashing in. The owner of one more down-to-earth Bordeaux property says “China is the salvation of our chateau.  Six years ago we had no sales in Asia. Now, China and the rest of Asia make up 30 percent of our sales.” Read and listen to the full story here.

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Video – a French view of screw caps

While the use of screw cap closures has been embraced by many wine regions, especially for white wines meant for quick drinking, the French have been a bit slower to replace the cork. I spoke about the subject last week in the Loire Valley with Isabelle Moreau, head of exports for Monmousseau, the big sparkling wine house that also offers a range of still wines, mainly for the French market, and has begun to use screw caps on some of them. As you’ll see, Isabelle is animated and passionate and was a delight to talk with. I’ll have more from our conversation in coming posts.