Top East Coast Wines

Top Twenty East Coast Wines

Our Favorite Local Wines

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New York Wines

 Hermann J. Wiemer

The wines are stunning, pure Rieslings that speak of Seneca Lake with more than a little reference to the Mosel.

 

Our top pick is Hermann J. Wiemer Reserve Dry Riesling

 

Channing Daughters

This South Fork, Long Island winery is run by winemaker Christopher Tracy, a natural winemaker and delightful lunatic.

 

 

Our top pick is Channing Daughters “Mosaico” White

Dr. Konstantin Frank

 

The winery that changed the course of winemaking in the Finger Lakes. Located on Keuka Lake.

Our top pick is Dr. Konstantin Frank Old Vines Pinot Noir

 

Damiani Wine Cellars

Located on the eastern shores of Seneca Lake, they excel at red wine production like no other Finger Lakes winery. 

 

Our top pick is Damiani  Cabernet Sauvignon 

 

Harbes Family Vineyard

In 2003, Harbes Vineyard was planted on a boulder-strewn, south-facing slope near the coast of Long Island Sound (North Fork)

 

Our top pick is Harbes Family Vineyard Hallock Lane Merlot

Bedell Cellars

Vineyard & farm located in the small hamlet of Cutchogue, on the North Fork of Long Island.

 

Our top pick is Bedell Cellars Cabernet Franc

Pennsylvania Wines

Galen Glen Winery

Based in the Lehigh Valley, they have the oldest Gruner vineyard in America, planted in 2003. 

 

Our top pick is Galen Glen “Stone Cellar” Gruner Veltliner

Va La Vineyards

The original natural wine destination in PA.  Their vineyards, which was planted in 1997 with an eccentric assortment of Italian varietals.

 

Our top pick is Va La “Prima Donna” Orange Wine

Waltz Vineyards

Waltz Vineyards was established in 1997 by Jan and Kimberly Waltz. The vineyards are situated on a hill between Lancaster and Lebanon

Our top pick is the Waltz “Crow Woods” Cabernet Sauvignon

Fero Vineyards

Estate vineyard in the Susquehanna River Valley. Planted in 2012 to Eastern European varietals. *

Our top pick is the Fero Saperavi

Mazza Vineyards

Since 1973, Mazza has been producing wine on Lake Erie. The recent move towards their Italian roots is welcome.

 

Our top pick is Mazza Vineyards Teroldego

Penns Woods Winery

Vineyards are all on gentle slopes at a low altitude about a half-hour from Philly. Slowly becoming PA’s cult winery.*

 

Our top pick is Penns Woods Ameritage Reserve

Virginia Wines

King Family Vineyards

Located in the Monticello AVA, the winery is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Our top pick is King Family “Skin Contact” Viognier

 

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Virginia Wines

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The post Top East Coast Wines appeared first on Wine School of Philadelphia.

source https://www.vinology.com/top-east-coast-wines/

Wine Taster’s Guide Now Available for Pre-order! (That’s “Published Author Joe Roberts” to You!)

Shiz just got very real, folks!

My new book, Wine Taster’s Guide: Drink and Learn with 30 Wine Tastings, is now officially available for pre-order ($14.99 for the paperback)! Shipping and whatnot begins on July 21, 2020.

The Guide is the main course meal to the Wine Taster’s Journal starter (the handy, portable companion which gets released on July 7, 2020). I’m pretty stoked, and for some time will likely insist that people address me as “Published Author Joe Roberts,” at least until I calm down (it could be a while).

FWIW, I really dig the cover design and how both books’ designs compliment one another (not to mention how well they capture the incredible, thirst-inducing shades of the wines). I, of course, had nothing directly to do with any of that.

Anyway… there is so much that I want to tell you about the inception and creation of this book… and I will be getting to that soon in a follow-up post or two here on 1WD. For now, I’ll share the PR-styling intro that Rockridge Press put together for the release…

Uncork your understanding of wine and develop your palate with 30 tasting lessons

Ever wish you were the one to confidently grab the wine list and make a fantastic choice for the table? Wine Taster’s Guide is your step-by-step manual to understanding why different wines taste the way they do through 30 tastings. You’ll learn how grape varieties, wine-making processes, and regional styles impact the wine you drink.

Find out how aging can affect the final flavor of a wine. Discover why swirling the wine in your glass will have a huge impact on what you smell. Before you know it, you’ll be drinking and discussing wine like a sommelier at a winery in the French countryside.

The Wine Taster’s Guide includes:

• Tasting 101―Learn about the science of how we perceive aroma and flavor as well as the steps of wine evaluations―look, swirl, smell, and taste.
• Regional wines―Head straight to the source with a chapter on the major wine regions of the world, including France, Italy, the United States, and others, plus wine-tasting suggestions that will introduce you to the styles they are known for.
• Pairings galore―What is wine without food? Learn how to partner like a pro, whether it’s brie or blue cheese, steak, or sushi.

Learning everything there is to know about wine has never been more fun and easy than with the Wine Taster’s Guide.

Just as with the Wine Taster’s Journal, for a limited time you can request a preview e-copy (in the hopes that you will, in turn, leave an honest review on the book’s Amazon.com page). If interested, contact me.

Cheers!

 

Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start getting more out of every glass of wine today!

Shop Wine Products at Amazon.com

Copyright © 2020. Originally at Wine Taster’s Guide Now Available for Pre-order! (That’s “Published Author Joe Roberts” to You!) from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!

source http://www.1winedude.com/wine-tasters-guide-now-available-for-pre-order-thats-published-author-joe-roberts-to-you/

Wine Courses

An Overview of Wine Courses

The world of wine is wonderful. Its mastery opens opportunities in all sectors, from the hospitality industry to retail, from education to marketing, from distribution to production. Wine jobs are not only appealing, but they’re lucrative too.

Wine professionals, like any other specialists, need credentials, and constant knowledge updates. The wine world comprises dozens of countries, hundreds of wine regions, and thousands of grape varieties. The laws, the climate, the soil types, and the people, they all form part of a wine specialist’s knowledge.

Getting Wine Certified

If you want to get your foot in the door, you’ll need to hit the books and find the right association, school or study program to help you in your learning, but also to vouch for you. These are the most important wine education and certification programs, find out which one is for you.

Our preference for wine certification is well known: we love the programs coming out of the National Wine School, so we are totally biased. If you want a neutral source for information, we recommend either the Sommeliers Choice Awards or SOMM.

Wine and Spirits Education Trust

The Wine and Spirit Education Trust, or WSET is based in the UK, but now runs programs all around the world through third parties. You can take any of their courses at any major city in the US and other countries.

The WSET is very methodical; they offer programs on different specialties like wine, spirits, sake. Advancing from levels one through four in most programs, the difficulty increases dramatically. A level four Wine Diploma is one of the most coveted and hard to get certifications in the industry.

Wine regions, tasting but also a strong focus on the business side of wine, WSET is great for people on the commercial side of the wine industry.

Court of Master Sommeliers

The Court of Master Sommeliers is a sommelier certification program based in the UK, now with a big branch in the US. There are four levels to accomplish before becoming one of the few Master Sommeliers in the world. There are just over 400 wine professionals with this high title.

Founded in 1977, it had a big boom after the SOMM documentary was released in 2013. The organization focuses strongly on wine service in restaurant scenarios and on deductive wine tasting, a skill that enables sommeliers to not only asses the quality of any wine but to identify its vintage, grape variety, and provenance.

Institute of Masters of Wine

The Master of Wine qualification is gained after a challenging three-year program organized by the Institute of Masters of Wine. Founded in 1955, the organization requires students to know everything there is to know about wine, but also to write appropriately about it.

A series of essays and exams take the students to their limit, becoming some of the better-prepared professionals in the industry. To start the program, students must already have wide experience in the field, high qualifications like the level four WSET diploma and the sponsorship of a Master of Wine.

Wine Scholar Guild

The Wine Scholar Guild is an approachable study program provider. The ability to study traditionally in a classroom or online allows students to tackle the Wine Scholar Guild programs in their own time from anywhere in the world.

Specializations in important wine-producing countries like France, Spain, and Italy make this organization an ideal way to stand out from other professionals.

Master-level programs include a regional approach to most French wine regions, from Champagne to Bordeaux. Immersion trips that include high-end tasting in the heart of the wine country and mentorship from highly trained professionals complete the learning experience.

The International Sommelier Guild

Established in 1982, the International Sommelier Guild offers an extensive wine education program through third-party schools in the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, and many other countries.

Standardized, relevant textbooks and a complete curriculum fed by ISG instructors are a powerful tool to certify capable sommeliers. Different levels lead students to a very high proficiency level, including a teacher program that helps grow the guild’s reach. A new online learning platform will help the International Sommelier Guild have an even broader reach.

National Wine School

The only wine program founded in the United States, the NWS offers programs are (not surprisingly) uniquely American. For starters, the wine trade is very different in the states than other countries. Working in restaurants isn’t as lucrative nor as respected as it is in Europe.  Instead of being a trade school certification, the NWS is more like a bachelor of arts degree. They expect their students will work in many parts of the wine trade, including winemakers, wine educators, and importers, and their curriculum reflects those realities.

For wine students in the USA, we think the National Wine School is the best option. Their programs have been adopted by many colleges and universites in the states. However, their programs are not available in England or Europe.

If you want to become a certified sommelier, or you simply wish to increase your wine expertise, these are the most popular organizations worldwide. As long as you have a passion for wine and a commitment to keep on learning, you’ll find any goal achievable, and any certification level within reach. Welcome to the wine world, an ever-growing community of wine lovers.

The post Wine Courses appeared first on Wine School of Philadelphia.

source https://www.vinology.com/wine-courses/

Holy Crap! Wine Taster’s Journal Available for Pre-Order!

Holy crap!!!

I am tickled pinker than a Côtes de Provence rosé to tell you that the first of my two (yeah, two) upcoming books is now available for pre-order, to be released on July 7, 2020!

For reasons that will be obvious from the title, Wine Taster’s Journal: Drink, Rate, Record, and Remember by yours truly is being released in portable paperback form for $10.99.

This little gem is meant to accompany you during your wine tasting, and now competes with something like 10,457,632 different wine journals currently on the market. Mine, of course, is better than all of those because you know me, right? Right?!??

Anyway…

This first release is part of a duo, an amuse bouche to the 1WD book main course: Wine Taster’s Guide: Drink and Learn with 30 Wine Tastings which will also be available for pre-order shortly (more on that soon)…

I never do this, but since it’s my book, I’m reproducing the PR-style description:

Sip, savor, record, repeat―a wine journal for your wine-derful memories

Uncorking a brand new bottle of wine and wafting in its flavorful aromas is a great experience―and tasting it is even better. With the Wine Taster’s Journal you won’t forget what you sample. Its pages will serve as your taste memory, allowing you to record your thoughts on the wines you love and the ones you don’t.

This helpful wine journal also provides you with a list of the most frequently used adjectives in wine evaluation so you can identify that certain something you’re detecting in the aroma or flavor. There’s also space to make a note of your favorite bottles as well as wines recommended to you by other enthusiasts.

This engaging wine journal includes:

• Tasting 101―Use the primer at the beginning of the wine journal to learn the basics of proper wine-tasting techniques.
• You’re judge & jury―Fill-ins and helpful prompts allow you to accurately capture your observations.
• Hope you’re hungry―The prompts also include a section to assess how the wine paired with your meal.

Easy to use and portable, this wine journal helps you get the most out of wine tasting.

So… why are you still reading this when you could be ordering copious quantities of this little ditty for you and everyone else that you know?

[ Up until the release date of July 7, 2020, if you’re interested in a pre-release e-copy (in the hopes that you will leave an honest review of it on Amazon), please contact me. ]

Cheers!

Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start getting more out of every glass of wine today!

Shop Wine Products at Amazon.com

Copyright © 2020. Originally at Holy Crap! Wine Taster’s Journal Available for Pre-Order! from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!

source http://www.1winedude.com/holy-crap-book-1-now-available-for-pre-order/

Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For May 25, 2020

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• 2018 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough): Perky, pungent, pushing the exotic fruits, and getting right to the point about it. $20 B+
• 2015 Neyen Espiritu de Apalta (Colchagua Valley): Dark, supple, meaty, spicy, and more alluring than most centerfolds. $68 A-
• NV Henriot Blanc de Blancs Brut (Champagne): Pucker the hell up, punk! $59 A-
• 2018 Opolo Vineyards Viognier (Central Coast): A phalanx of peachy richness, with no prisoners taken. $26 B+
• 2019 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Blanc (Central Coast): The new path appears to be – more floral, less serious, & still delicious. $20 B+
• 2019 Bonny Doon Vineyard Picpoul (Arroyo Seco): About as zesty – and as pleasant – as they come. $15 B+
• ZD Wines 50th Anniversary Cuvee Blanc de Blancs Brut (Napa Valley): Yeast, brioche, baked yellow apple… prepare to spend a good long while unpacking this one. $90 A-
• 2017 Pope Valley Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Textured, tangy, taught, and terrifically easy to get your head around. $42 A-
• 2016 Gundlach-Bundschu Estate Vineyard Merlot (Sonoma Valley): Woodsy, but in all of the super-fun ways. $35 B+
• 2017 Tongue Dancer Wines “The Sly One” Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast): Also ‘The Young One,’ just barely revealing its wonderfulness for now… $59 A-

Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start getting more out of every glass of wine today!

Shop Wine Products at Amazon.com

Copyright © 2020. Originally at Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For May 25, 2020 from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!

source http://www.1winedude.com/wine-reviews-weekly-mini-round-up-for-may-25-2020/

Wine in the Time of Coronavirus, Part Three (Through the Wayback Machine with Hesperian Wines)

In this edition of our sipping during the time of SIP (Samples In Progress, during Shelter In Place), we’re setting the Wayback machine for 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2016, as we go back in time and into the samples pool with Napa Valley’s perennially misunderstood Hesperian Wines.

I was provided this in-home vertical tasting opportunity because Hesperian had been following my lockdown advice for wineries even before I made it, offering specials/discounts on direct sales of their library wines to loyal customers.

Hesperian is the labor of love of Philippe Langner, who turned his love of wine into a stint at Château Clarke in Bordeaux, and then turned that experience towards winegrowing primarily in the Kitoko Vineyard on Napa Valley’s Atlas Peak. For just over fifteen years, Langner has been gaining some devoted fans while simultaneously sometimes pissing off wine critics with his small-batch (typically under 300 cases) production of premium Cab.

Did he piss off this critic? Well… read on…

 

2004 Hesperian Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, $250)

Langner, on the Hesperian website, introduces his first commercial Cabernet attempt thusly – “2004 is my inaugural Hesperian release. For my first few years in Napa I was content making wine for other wineries. But, being a young and rambunctious I was eager to show the world I could make a classic cabernet that would stand the test of time. Initially, a big robust extracted wine designed to age 20 years plus. Not appreciating it for what it was intended to become the critics panned it.”

 My take is that, over fifteen years on, this Cabernet now shows as the product of a deft winemaking hand. There is definitely still fruit there, some of it stewed in the best sense of the word; while the fruits are red at their core, this wine is dark and moody in how it presents itself. With ice softness in the moutfeel now, and great truffle aromas, this one pretty much proved the critics wrong.

 

2007 Hesperian Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, $250)

This wine is in such a great place right now. Just starting to do that stewed/aged fruit thing (think plums and blackberries), with tertiary earthiness coming through among all of the cedar and dried herbal spiciness. It’s supple, like silk, and drinking great, but likely doesn’t have that much bottle time left in it (which, at thirteen years on, isn’t at all a knock against it).

2010 Hesperian Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, $NA)

This is one of the boldest of the Hesperian Cabs I tasted in this time capsule sample package. Still fruity and expressive – and now quite earthy from its aging. Dense and full of aromatic complexity (with smoke, black licorice, dried lavender, even some wet stone and graphite), it’s got the kind of palate roundness that will make it a lot of friends at the steakhouse restaurant scene (whenever the hell that opens up again, anyway).

 

2016 Hesperian ‘Pawa’ Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, $NA)

The background on sourcing for this red, as per Hesperian: “50% of this wine comes from earlier picks from the 14.2 acre Kitoko Vineyard high on Atlas Peak, planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in 2000 and 2003. The soils here are extremely rocky, dry, and poor, quite similar to Pritchard Hill to the north, studded with fractured andesite rock and boulders. The remaining 50% of the wine comes from the best barrels of Didier’s “Eagle’s Nest” Vineyard, in between Monticello Road and Milliken Creek in Napa.”

My take: this Cab feels ripe and juicy, with meatiness and a backbone that’s approachable while also having plenty of substance. It really feels like a more reserved take on the “Steakhouse Red” style of Napa Cab that the 2010 presented. And yeah, I’m craving both a steak and a steakhouse experience at this point…

 

2016 Hesperian ‘Witha’ Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, $NA)

Again, from Hesperian on the vinous origins: “58.3% of this wine comes from earlier picks from the Kitoko Vineyard. Named for the Congolese Lingala word for “beautiful,” Kitoko is a 14.2 acre vineyard high on Atlas Peak, planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in 2000 and 2003. The soils here are extremely rocky, dry, and poor, quite similar to Pritchard Hill to the north, studded with fractured andesite rock and boulders. The remaining 41.7% of the wine comes from the Upstream vineyard in Coombsville.”

I loved this wine. It feels complete; it has elegance, despite being quite deep and (of course!) brooding. Structurally, and also especially in its aromatic and flavor profiles, everything in this feels tightly knit, in a good way; plummy fruit, herbs (green and dried), wood, spices, and leather… all interwoven in deliberate, overlapping patterns.

Cheers!

Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start getting more out of every glass of wine today!

Shop Wine Products at Amazon.com

Copyright © 2020. Originally at Wine in the Time of Coronavirus, Part Three (Through the Wayback Machine with Hesperian Wines) from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!

source http://www.1winedude.com/wine-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-part-three-through-the-wayback-machine-with-hesperian-wines/

Important Details

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1. Groups larger than four are not allowed.
2. Do not wear cologne or perfume.
3. Do not arrive late. Doors open 15 minutes before class.

Full details if you need them: https://www.vinology.com/tickets/

If you are attending a pairing class and have a food allergy, you must contact us ASAP. https://www.vinology.com/student-support/

If you are attending an online class, you will be sent a link to the class by noon on the day of. If you don’t receive the link please contact us at https://www.vinology.com/student-support/

Recent Awards

“Best Wine School in America” Dining Out Magazine
“Best Wine School in America 2019” SOMM
“Best of Philly 2008” Philadelphia Magazine
“Best of Philly 2012” Philadelphia Magazine
“Best of Philly 2014” USA Today

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source https://www.vinology.com/634067-2/