Don Giovanni

Looks like we are going to start to bring in the whites in the next 7 days...sugars are 15% or Brix looking for a bit more...some sugars are highs, but they are thick skinned grapes and will be harvested after... we had one #ell of a season , wet and very hard...black rot hit many vineyards...we will crop at 40% due to the dropping of the bad fruit during the season...still the grapes look good to great...we have sun this week, thus far... Cheers !!!

Gold-medal winning wine? Take it with grain of salt Click On Me Never entered one never will they are all about being inconsistent and money makers for the organizers...it's one big EGO TRIP...not my style at all.. the consumer is the wine judge, bottom line...empower them and they will pick what they like, not what a Dog, Pig and a Goat on the judge panel thinks that day... they have been followed and documented to be off by a mile on the same wine...... this in from

With harvest coming very soon a few weeks ...we will have a smaller crop...we dropped fruit so we could get a very good ripe fruit...we will let the grapes hang a bit longer this year... Could be still ok when it's over then I will comment... Cheers !!!

Knowing and having done this blind I can tell you the glass size does change the taste...for me ...for most people...just a fact I personally lived and learned not read about...

Can the glass affect the taste of the wine? After doing a glass demonstration by George Riedel... I explained to him my perspective you match the glass to the nose not the glass to the wine...he flinched and thought about it... Click In On

Herbs 'can be natural pesticides' Click on me How backward are they we have been doing this for hundreds of years...marigolds work great also...as do many herbs and flowers... fish oils etc... It's all rediscovery...

Times Company Creating a Wine Club Click On Me Big conflict of interest... today they lose creditability due to conflict of interest...I wish Forbes would run an article on them...

No matter how hard you try your ability to taste...it may be just genetic ...?... It all started in recorded modern history in Some segments of the population could taste this bitter compound, others not...this started the path to the supertaster theory... Click On me Smoking kills the taste buds ability to delineate specific taste...forget about how many taste buds you have ...it's the ability of function that matters when you taste wine... So how do you find out if you are a supertaster...? ... this I just don't buy into...it's the function of the genes as noted above...not how many taste Buds you have IMVHO...

How to tell when your wine’s gone bad Click On Me

Gordo, you don't like to chew your wine...?...

www Wine 101 TV Show 108: Bottle Variation What Is It, SLTV more info in this video...more of my take... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD_hCZjIuXM

No they have a new improves gas diffusion process that makes the bottle stronger...it's lighter and stronger...

Bottle Variation “There are no great wines, only great bottles of wine,” Click On me many reasons for this...it's just could be as simple as the production is too big or they did not blend all the wine together from different vineyard blocks to get a homogeneous wine... the rest is storage, transportation, closure or just bad wine-making...

Angular wines are explained in many ways, what's yours ? When I use the word Angular I am referring to not disjointed wines in a bad way...like the common use as in way too much acid, or a flaw in fruit...that's a angular flaw...but this does not bastardize the word angular in any way... I use it to describe a positive aspect in wine , it could be the oak giving a nice almond backbone or the fruit blasting out a fruit this is angular in a good way, as opposed to rounded wines that are fun but need to develop a angular nuance...like the profile of popping black pepper...this is angular due to the prominence of the nuance...some people hate black pepper, some love it, but it's still angular... A rounded wine that is well structured will eventually develop a few prominent nuances...these nuances are angular in a good way...

Heavy Bottles Are Soon To Be History: Hello Greener Footprint From France Yesterday we had the pleasure of a visit from our French Glass Mfg. Due to the ecological demand to decrease the carbon footprint AKA make the bottles lighter...this will be a decrease of 17% in the weight of the bottle...so a a 12 pack ready to ship now weighs, depending on the glass for us on average 36 pounds...so if they come in 17% less this is a 6.12 pounds less per case...or 29.88 pounds without decreasing the strength due to a new even flow gas system in Mfg the bottles...so every 1,000 CS's = 6,120 lbs over three tons X that by real production and you are doing something very good... The owner and manager flew in for three days and it was with great pleasure we indulged into glass making...the origin of punts on hand blown glass...the vestiges on the neck of the bottle, the size of the punt and it's tradition of being better... Push comes to shove this bottle will be the same in every way, except it will be lighter...so tradition lives...with a greener footprint ... less back pain the way I see it, all the way around...I hope more producers move this way...as time goes on I expect them to get even lighter... Just a FYI on the evolution of the wine bottle and it's weight...

TN: 07' Ravines Wine Cellars PN Finger Lakes Color was very light pale this does not mean you take points off for this...you have to re-think the color of PN... Nose red fruits, cherry, deep red berries, ripe fruit, The mouth-feel is very smooth well balanced for a young wine...give it time and the tannins will mellow, earth, mushrooms, sense of place... faint vanilla plays mellow music in the back Drink now 2015 89 Points today she will get better...time will tell... $23.99 cool climate grapes and profile...

TN: 04' Pellegrini Vineyards Cab Franc NF LI NYS Wonderful eye Dark Ruby red color Nose of dark wild berries pleasant and distinct, clove, spice, rose, The mouthfeel is smooth, well rounded complex, with the rose morphing into cherry silk Long hang time on the finish that leaves you salivating for more Drink now until 2018 Points very nice solid 90 Great QPR...$19.99...

for it to be a true Ice wine the temp must be at or below 17.6 F by law in the US...you can't call a frozen grape cryo processing a true ice wine... A true ice wine can give a little as a few drops called ITB "Nectar Of The gods" the sugar can be as high as 46 Brix or % it takes a long time to ferment... this is one I do... http://www.silverspringswinery.com/giovanniwines.html more info... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_wine

No More Perfume Or Cologne At A Wine Tasting When do you think people will get this...?...it's just not right...the main problem is that they don't have a clue...we are talking educated adults...so, as was asked by @SommelierSara on twitter...How do we educate without alienating them...some tasters have sig others that just don't get the whole wine thing, they drink to drink...then you have the taster who savors every sip...this taster usually does not have perfume or cologne on for the most part... so how did you learn not to break the "No More Perfume Or Cologne At A Wine Tasting" rule...who clued you in...? I was taught from observation of my culture...you...?...

4:46 AM looks like we made it...low of 36 ...now she is moving up temp 42 F ...time for bed...for some quick rest... I hope this will be the last time I ask for warm thoughts...!!! TY... Very happy... Cheers !!!

Well...update...5/31/2009 Looks like a long night...wood , hay still in place from the last close call...and I thought we were going to have a nice bond fire with it...we shall see low dew point...propane ready...last time we were 1.5 degrees from starting the fires... Tonight I don't like how the sky is so clear and the air so crisp...back in 2001 we had a frost mild on 5 31 2001 ... that was a legendary vintage...the cup is still looking very full, we will beat this back... Now for some rest before the action... tonight I know on Keuka the hills will be burning , as they will get hit...maybe we will send them some warm air...warm thought please, for the last time this year...TY Quote: .FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 8 AM EDTMONDAY...A FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 8 AM EDT MONDAY.MAINLY CLEAR SKIES...LIGHT WINDS AND AN UNSEASONABLY COLD AIRMASSWILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO TUMBLE INTO THE MIDDLE 30S. FROST ISLIKELY TO COVER MUCH OF THE REGION...AND SOME OF THE COLDER RURALVALLEYS MAY SEE TEMPERATURES VERY CLOSE TO FREEZING WITH A HARDFROST LIKELY.

TN: Paumanok Chenin Blanc 2007' New York, Long Island, North Fork The wife and I had the pleasure during last fall to ck out this winery...we just stumbled in and were greeted in a very friendly way...this makes the start of a wine-tasting for us ITB because we know how nice it is to makes people feel comfortable... Knowing 2007 was a great year for NYS we wanted to open this up for a special occasion... The Color is spectacular, bright pail yellow/gold translucent in a great way vibrant... The Nose is big, striking blasting nose, crisp, very complex like looking at butterflies and wondering their next move...she dances around in such a pleasant way, the nose is like heaven... awesome bright fruits, major Mango fresh ripe Mango with the crisp taste of fresh fruit, lemon rind/orange rind showing great acids, in the back the flutter of tropical Pineapple/passion fruit...honey...in fact leave a drop in a glass for a few hours and you smell honey... The mouthfeel is alive, fresh, well balanced, soft, silky yet crisp, some heat when you exhale through your mouth and nose...then comes the tertiary notes blasting to a string finish as to say I shall live for many years and I am proud of it, the grapefruit is the last note that mellows out in a grand finally, leaving the taster a bit more intrigued because this wine takes you on a magical journey... The sense of place is dear to my heart and very well expressed, could just a bit of distinct maritime climate have sneaked into this bottle, sure...this a great example of great minerality... ...Kareem Massoud was an excellent wine host when we asked to meet him, he is very much into wine and we talked about how they seem to have mastered the screw-cap...after a lot of geek talk I was very sure they have this under control...Charles was running around when he found out he missed us(remember we just stopped in unannounced) he e-mailed me to explain what he was doing...what a very nice family and they happen to make some of the best wines I have ever tasted... Last the Alc by volume was 12.5 % and the closure was a Screw-Cap and I loved it...never thought I would say this...no closure taint at all... A solid 93 Points... this is a great wine... drink now or hold 2009 - 2039, yes she has this potential for aging...

DNA Authentication to Safeguard Premium Wine Against Counterfeiting and Fraud My wine might be fake, no problem we will send it to the forensics lab...! Watson, please bring me the swab !!! Click On Me

I love good bloggers who look for the good in a wine...I hate bloggers or critics who dog a wine out without having a base-line...Bloggers who get pay to play are FTC done for they must disclose... I am a winemaker-video-blogger-blogger, etc...so no I don't hate bloggers or I would hate myself...I don't like moochers... that's all or to heavily weight on a critic or blogger who get their wine for free...

Wine Sales In Supermarkets Again IN NYS It's a matter of when not if...Wegman's will win... Click On Me