Water into Wino

Three Pinot Noirs that Will Make You Bi-Coastal

Is there room in the US pinot noir market for real cool climate pinot noir? Will racier, lighter New York and Ontario grown pinot noir ever establish itself as the alternative to the warmer climate versions?

I hope the answer is yes, but that may be wishful thinking in the near future. The only thing I can be sure of is that northeastern growers and winemakers are making better pinot noirs every year thanks to finding the best sites, planting the right clones, meticulously managing vineyards and using obsessive sorting methods in the winery.

With the hopes that we could get a taste of some of the best east coast cool climate pinot noir available, my friend and I opened three bottles of the good stuff. Each wine has won major awards or has been praised by wine writers. Each is around $35-$40 in price and are relatively small production examples from the 2007 vintage.

The first bottle we tasted was the Heart & Hands Barrel Reserve Pinot Noir from the Finger Lakes. Sourced from three different vineyard sources in the region, this wine won best pinot noir at the 2009 New York Food & Wine Classic and received rave reviews on the New York Cork Report.

In the glass it's ruby red in color with aromas of raspberry, cherry, chocolate and vanilla. As it opened up it took on what I lovingly describe as a birthday cake aroma that reminds me of fruit filled cake with butter cream frosting…very vanilla. Where this wine showed best was its fleshy mouth-feel and round structure. It had a graceful balance and finish. Not terribly complex in aroma and flavor though as we didn’t get much funk, earth or spice.

The next wine tasted was Freedom Run’s 2007 Estate Pinot Noir which recently won a double gold medal at the American Fine Wine Competition. Made from young vines in the Niagara Escarpment AVA, this wine was the first effort from the winery. There were only 95 cases produced. I have been working with this winery for three years now and this has given me a unique perspective on pinot noir in the Niagara region.

In the glass it shows a deep red hue with aromas of dark cherry, cranberry, spice and forest floor. On the palate this one shows a full body mouth filling texture reminiscent of Sonoma versions. Its voluptuous mouth-feel and deep flavors show the masculine side of pinot noir while still clearly showing the complexity of a Burgundian style. With this riper style comes a lack of racy acidity that prevents this wine from being bright which could alienate some drinkers.

The last bottle tried was from Le Clos Jordanne in Niagara, Ontario, a Vincor-Boisset venture that is only making pinot noir and chardonnay. They are clearly obsessed with terrior since they make all single vineyard wines with wild yeast vinifying them the same across the board. The winery has received great press from Pinot Noir writers that have tried their lineup but their wines aren’t currently available in the USA. The bottle we opened was from the Claystone Terrace Vineyard on the Twenty Mile Bench.

With a crimson red color, this wine shows aromas of dark cherry, blackberry, chalk and spice. It had lively acidity on the palate with the red fruit showing particularly strong. This wine felt very tight still as if was wound up in a coil about to lash out. I'm not sure what a mineral core is but this wine would be the first I'd use that description with. The finish was the most impressive of the three with firm yet chalky tannins. Overall this wine just left an impression of sophistication.

These three wines revealed a number of similarities and differences. All are fine examples of how pinot is improving in the northeast as each had fresh fruit flavors without any sign of overripe notes. Alcohol was never an issue in any of them and they all had enough acidity to keep them balanced.

While I don’t think any should be marketing or pushed as Burgundian, Californian or Oregonian, they should be recognized as being cool climate wines. I wouldn’t be ashamed to pour these along with the finest west coast pinots to show the direction we’re heading with pinot noir in the northeast.

Alsatian International Night

This past Monday was my night to cook our weekly "International Night." After numerous warnings that another Italian inspired menu wouldn't get a welcome reception, I chose an Alsatian French Country Comfort menu from Bon Appetite Magazine. In the past, my girlfriend had made croque monsieur for a French dinner and it went over well enough to start our weekly dinner tradition. The menu I chose was pretty straight forward without any crazy hard to find ingredients. As far as wine pairings are concerned, it doesn't get any easier to match these dishes, plus the folks over at Bon Appetite listed some as well.

The first course was the most challenging part of this meal. I've never made anything that resembled a muenster cheese souffle. Luckily my girlfriend is a natural in the kitchen so it worked out well in the end. The tomato and red pepper salad didn't excite me but I stuck with the recipe and pulled it off. I could have easily had another souffle serving if there was extra, which there wasn't, and I couldn't help but noticed every finished their souffle as well.

Blanck Gewurztraminer 2005
Alsace, France ($20)

I have to thank my friend that brought this bottle. He stopped by Chambers St Wines and asked for an Alsatian Gewurtztraminer and got a good one at that. This Blanck Family wine is made from "environmentally friendly" vineyards. This producer has about 90 acres in total and releases around 18,000 cases a year. This was one of the best Gewurztraminers I've had. It's not sweet although the aromas are of sweet ripe fruit. Supple texture and balanced acidity. It paired extremely well with the souffle, as from what I've read, muenster cheese and Gewurztraminer is a classic pairing.

The main course was Chicken in Riesling with prunes and cabbage with fresh herb spaetzle on the side. The chicken was extremely aromatic and fall of the bone tender. The herb spaetzle was an adventure to make without the proper equipment. Speaking of equipment, our Le Creuset Dutch oven makes a dish like this a pleasure to put together.

Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling 2005
Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York

Instead of searching out an Alsatian Riesling, I went with the Governor's Cup award winning Wiemer Riesling 2005 from the Finger Lakes. I not sure that I can find another New World Riesling this good for the price. An elegant combination of apple, pear, and lime refresh the palate and stimulates every taste bud. This dry Riesling is case-worthy, and I think it will get some people hooked on Finger Lakes wines if they haven't tried them already. The last time I was in the Finger Lakes I stopped by their winery and was impressed by everything I tasted. The staff was very serious and informative...pretty classy for it all being in a barn.

I diverted off the written menu for the dessert and went with a red wine poached pear with cream and lemon zest. It's also funny that Dr. Vino had a discussion about red wine and citrus recently. The lemon zest and Bordeaux red paired well. For it being such a simple recipe, it was pretty damn good. The reduced wine with pair essence poured over some whipped cream was a good followup to the pear with cream as well.

Cave Spring Cellars Riesling 2004

Cave Spring Riesling 2004 demi sec
Canada, Ontario, Jordon ($13)

Last time I ventured north of the border to Ontario wine country I intended on visiting Cave Spring Cellars in the town of Jordon. My tasting schedule was Niagara on the Lake area intensive, but this time I wanted to travel west towards the towns of Jordon and Beamsville where there are several more established wineries. On the way, I stoppped at Stonechurch Vineyards where I picked up a couple bottles of white wine and then drove west another 10 minutes to realize that these wineries weren't as close as they look on the map. This caused me to panic and then turn the car around to hit some other wineries closer to the good old USA border. Luckily the American wine stores back on the other side sell wines from Cave Spring Cellars as well as several others. So I settled on buying a Cave Spring Riesling demi sec 2004 to bring back home to NYC.

Pale straw color. Aromas of green apple. Silky texture with peach and apple flavors combined with mineral notes. A very well balanced sugar to acid ratio. Finishes clean with a hint of spice. One of my favorite white wines I've tasted from that region. I paired it with thai food, but next time I'd probably try a sweeter riesling with the crazy spice of my spicy basil leaf noodles. My grade: A-

Stonechurch Gewurztraminer 2005

Stonechurch Gewurztraminer 2005
Niagara Peninsula, Canada ($13)

It's amazing how many different countries are represented at any corner liquor store in New York City. In my neighborhood, which is predominantly Greek, I can choose from what seemed like hundreds of Greek wines that I know nothing about. I've even made a bunch of spontaneous and somewhat adventurous buys of Hungarian, Croatian, and Uruguayan (?) wines in the past few months. Most of these I wouldn't consider blogable as they aren't easy to find and weren't all that good anyway. One country I find next to impossible to locate in these stores is Canada.

My experience with Canadian wine has been focused on Niagara Peninsula wines. The wine trail just across the border from Niagara Falls is impressive, and combined with quaint towns like Niagara on the Lake, a visit to this area can provide a few days worth of tasting, sightseeing, shopping, and eating. The wineries range from sprawling estates to 10 acre farms with sheep and chickens in plain view. Stonechurch Winery lies somewhere in the middle, not to fancy and not to rustic. The Ontario region boasts some of the best icewine in the world as well as terrific whites and every so often delicious reds that are just as good as any New York State reds. Stonechurch seemed to turn out better whites as I found the Riesling and the Gewurtz to be worth buying.

This straw colored Gewurtz is extremely floral on the nose. Medium body with tropical notes and a mineral quality that almost borders on metallic. Very dry with some minor spice on the finish. It wasn't as good as I remember it at the winery but that always seems to be true for me. Perhaps I should try spitting every so often when tasting wines all day. Not bad but I lean prefer the late harvest Gewurtz from Konzelmann Winery in the same area. My grade: B-

Henry of Pelham Riesling 2003

Henry of Pelham Riesling Reserve 2003 Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula ($10)

I hate to admit it, but I am still opening up to white wines. With warmer weather approaching and my new appreciation for seafood and spicy Asian dishes, I find myself looking for whites more often to pair with dinner. Last year my trip to Ontario wine country clinched my love for Riesling and Gewurtz from Canada. I’ve long since drank the bottles from that trip, but I found a bottle or two at Astor Wines that remind me of the flavors and textures I enjoyed there.

This delicious dry Riesling from the Niagara Peninsula is a bargain at $10. Aromas of pear and green apple are quite evident. It’s supple mouth feel and slightly full body form a texture that satisfies my palate. Cleansing flavors that sport some tropical notes on the finish make this a very well balanced white that I will buy again. My grade: B+

Konzelmann Riesling 2002

Konzelmann Riesling 2002 Canada, Niagara Peninsula ($9)

This medium dry Riesling from our friendly neighbors to the north is a great example of the values coming from that region, that is if you can find them. In Niagara Falls, NY, where I picked this one up, the selection of Canadian wine is substantial. Marked down to only $5 at "Supermarket Liquors," I should have bought a case. This particular Riesling has more sugar than the standard Konzelmann Riesling and doesn't seem to garner the critical praise that the off dry and the late harvest do.

A home cooked asian style spicy pork dish called out for this bottle last week. Aromas of pineapple and honey. The palate offered pear and green apple with tropical accents. Silky smooth texture and well balanced overall. The finish is long and made a fantastic pairing for my dinner that night. I don't think there's a better value for the mark down price of $5. My grade: B

Hillebrand Gamay Noir Rose

Hillebrand Gamay Noir Rose 2004 Canada Niagara Peninsula

Received this bottle as a gift. My mother picked up this bottle when she ate at the vineyard restaurant in the area of Niagara Falls, Canada. I had enjoyed gamay based Canadian wine in the past so I figured the rose must be worth a try. Perfect rose color with the legs of a red wine. Smelled like apricots and pears. Silky smooth texture. Refreshing flavor of ripe fruit with a near perfect balance of sweetness and alcohol for a rose. Since it was given to me it do not know the price but it can't be over $12. One of the best roses I've had.
My grade: B+