Recapping the 2011 Growing Season in the Northeast

We haven't started growing our grapes yet, but we are becoming very conscious of the growing season in our area. Last year, 2010 was a terrific year for the Northeast with sun, sun, sun and it is reflected in the vintage.
The word for this year is not so good. In fact, David Paige of Shinn Estates on Long Island writes:
"Nature has been particularly angry this growing season. May and June were both very wet causing some interruption in the early growth and flowering of our vines. We were encouraged by a warm and dry month of July, but the rain returned with a vengence in August. Severe thunderstorms, lightning, a hurricane followed by a tropical storm and more rain throughout September have kept us on edge - yet somehow our grape harvest has not been decimated. The sugar content in the grapes is lower than average, but flavors are good. We won't be able to fully evaluate the quality of the harvest until after all the grapes are picked and fermented, but this will certainly not be a repeat of the great 2010 vintage of last year."
The situation for the Finger Lakes is similar, as reported in an article in the New York Cork Report.
This is how I will remember 2011, a year that was wet and challenging for winegrowers and winemakers. How will the challenges of the growing season be reflected in the wine? It will be interesting to taste the wines from 2011.

Adventures on the Wine Route

I've been hearing a lot about "natural wines" and have read some recent books about it but it was only when I read Kermit Lynch's book, "Adventures on the Wine Route" that I realized that "natural wine" is not a recent trend. Kermit Lynch began importing wine from France in the 1970's and this book is written about his interactions with certain winemakers in the various wine regions of France. I can tell when Mr. Lynch is enthused about a particular region because the chapters are long. It's interesting that Bordeaux is one of the shortest chapters and you guessed it, his Rhone chapter is divided into southern Rhone and northern Rhone. He is also a Loire aficionado. What popped out at me as I read his book (for a second time, as I usually do books I review) was that Mr. Lynch was already lamenting the fallout from wines that were being scored. One of the first things he comments on is that the proliferation of certain styles of wine in a region was because of the pairing of that wine with food, such as a Chablis with oysters. Scoring a wine or having a blind tasting was totally missing the point, in Mr. Lynch's opinion.
In the 1980's however, Mr. Lynch was dealing with the ramifications of wine scoring as he traveled the French countryside. He encountered the changing of the guard from the traditional winemakers to the new generation who brought in technology and changed the way the wine was made in many cases to chase after the high scores of the wine reviewers. The new generation using mechnical harvesters, stainless steel, and new oak treatments changed how wine was made and the proof was in the (lack of) flavor and aroma in these wines.
This is a good book to read if you have any interest in how Kermit Lynch selects his wines and who the major players were in the various French appellations that appealed to Mr. Lynch's palate.

Etienne Terlinden's Wines

We were able to do so many things when we were in California. After meeting Bob Hurlbett in Santa Barbara at the Boathouse, we went down the road a bit to a small town called Summerland where there was a tasting room featuring Etienne Terlinden's Wines. Bob is making wine with Etienne so he urged us to go there to do a tasting. The server was named Michelle and although she said that she had only been with Summerland Winery for a week, she was very knowledgeable about the wines. We liked the Pinot blanc and the Trio and bought those bottles to take home with us to Connecticut. I liked the Pinot blanc because it had some good acidity. The Trio was a well made blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre.
Here is more info on Etienne .

Lopez de Heredia

Another thing that we scored when we were in California were Lopez de Heredia wines. I read about the wines in Alice Feiring's book The Battle for Wine and Love and wanted to try it because I knew from reading her book that this wouldn't be what Alice calls a "spoofolated" wine.
We found the current releases of the Lopez de Heredia wines, the 2002 Bosconia and the 2000 Tondonia. We came close to tasting a 2000 Tondonia at our friend's home, but the person who brought the wine, took it back with him. Now, we were face to face with the objects of our desire. We also bought the 1991 Tondonia Red Gran Reserva.
We had a chance to drink both the wines in California. We drank the 2002 Bosconia with vegan (my husband's sister is a vegan) eggplant parmesan in not quite wine glasses and the deliciousness of the wine refused to succumb to less than ideal glasses. There were fruit flavors balanced with acidity and because it was almost 9 years old, soft tannins. All this for around $30.00! We drank the 2000 Tondonia with Bob Hurlbett when we met him in Santa Barbara. We were at a seafood restaurant so perhaps the pairing wasn't as perfect as it could be with a Tempranillo. Overall, we preferred the Bosconia to the Tondonia (a bit more in price at $35.00, but it is 11 years old!).
If you can find this wine, try it, it will be worth it. If you need more convincing, please see the video of Gary Vaynerchuk interviewing Maria Jose, the current winemaker at Lopez de Heredia carrying on the tradition begun by her great grandfather in 1877!
Part 1 of interview with Maria Jose (about 30 minutes long)
Part 2 of interview with Maria Jose (about 15 minutes long)