Although my first posts concerning TasteCamp focused on cider and spirits, the Hudson Valley wine industry was the primary focal point of the trip. During the weekend, I probably tasted close to 75 New York wines, with about half Hudson River Region (HRR) designated. Leading up to the weekend, I gained a better knowledge and appreciation of the Hudson Valley by participating in a #WineStudio series focusing on the region. For instance, the Hudson Valley is home to the oldest continually operating winery in the U.S. (
Brotherhood America's Oldest Winery) as well as the oldest continually used vineyard, now part of
Benmarl Winery & Vineyard. Wine making did not return to the Hudson in a commercial sense, post prohibition, until the Farm Winery Bill was passed in 1976. The drivers of that project were John Dyson - the State Commissioner of Agriculture - and owner of
Millbrook Vineyards & Winery and John Miller of Benmarl. By utilizing estate grown grapes (amended two years later to allow any NY grapes), New York wineries received lower taxes, the ability to sell directly to consumers, and to self-distribute. And as importantly, it encouraged the retention and growth of vineyards. Thus, the New York wine industry owes its current renaissance to two pioneers in the Hudson.
In most cold climate regions, French-Hybrids usually dominate and in the HRR, Seyval is a leading white grape. Before this weekend I think the only Seyval I tasted that left an impression was from
Linden Vineyards. In most other cases they were just average nondescript wines. However, I tasted several tasty Hudson Valley Seyvals - starting with
Clinton Vineyards - who not only, only produce wine from Seyval, but they also produce champagne methodoise versions. These were quite nice, citrus and effervescent.
Hudson-Chatham Winery and
Glorie Farm Winery both featured Seyval that were dry, light, fruit forward, with a lemon-citrus and acidic finish. And the
Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery White Awosting is a very tasty blend of Vignoles and Seyval Blanc. Another benefit of these Seyval wines are their low price points, $15 on average.
But, let's talk Hudson River Region vinifera. Starting with whites, I tasted several nice Rieslings over the weekend, with most produced from fruit sourced from the Finger Lakes. The exception was
Tousey Winery, where we were provided a vertical tasting of their 2011 to 2013 Estate Grown Hudson River Rieslings. These wines were fantastic, each different, but showcasing the stone fruits and acidity inherent and American Riesling. Owners Kimberly and Ben Peacock have an interesting story as well, agreeing to take over operations while visiting from Europe. It also helps that Peter Bell, of
Fox Run Vineyards, is a consultant.
Millbrook Vineyards & Winery also produces a HRR Riesling in their Dry Riesling Proprietor's Special Reserve -- another solid wine. Millbrook also produces a very respectable chardonnay, as well as one of my favorites of the weekend - the 2013 Proprietor’s Special Reserve Tocai Friulano. Simply delicious. And talking about trendsetters; Millbrook has been growing Tocai Friulano since 1985.
Moving to red wines, the Hudson River Region appears to be a bright sport for Cabernet Franc and Baco Noir. Once again
Millbrook Vineyards & Winery provided our party with a solid offering in their Proprietor’s Special Reserve Cabernet Franc. This was followed by the
Glorie Farm Winery estate Cabernet Franc - which quickly became a TasteCamp favorite. And count
Tousey Winery as another winery producing a solid cab franc. While driving around the Marlboro area the day after TasteCamp, I stumbled upon newly opened
Brunel and Rafael Winery. Check out their Hudson River Region Cabernet Franc. My favorite goes to Benmarl's 2012 Ridge Road Estate Cabernet Franc. This is the bomb. One of the best wines of the weekend.
Our host for TasteCamp was the proprietor of
Hudson-Chatham Winery, Carlo Devito. Carlo planned the entire weekend, which included a lunch tasting of area wines and ciders at his winery - all this in the middle of harvest. While his winemaker Stephen Casscles & crew crushed grapes, Carlo also opened his entire portfolio for us to sample. And this included several Baco Noirs, Carlo's most famous wines. There are not many producers of this hybrid anymore, but Hudson-Chatham specializes in Baco Noir as we sampled four vineyard designate wines. The estate vineyard at Hudson-Chatham, North Creek Vineyard, has four year old vines growing in Block 3 - hence the Block 3 North Creek Vineyard Baco Noir. The also produce theCasscles Middle Hope Baco Noir from a vineyard Casscles planted while in high school. What foresight. My favorite two were from Mason Place Vineyard, the Field Stone Baco - Old Stones & Old Vines - Mason Place Vineyard and the Old Vines Mason Place Vineyard. This last wine is outstanding, the grapes harvested from 60 year old vines.
There were also several other reds to praise, in particular, the
Hudson-Chatham Winery Chelois,
Clearview Vineyard Noiret, and
Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery Reserve Gamay Noir. First, who in the U.S. even produces a Chelois outside of Hudson-Chatham. Second, its a killer wine. The Clearview Noiret was easily the best I've ever tasted from this Cornell bred grape. And the Whitecliff Gamay Noir was simply spectacular.
There are many other wines I know I am omitting, but I'm trying to be brief. Tastecamp was a great education and experience. Looking forward to returning soon, hopefully a tour of the southern
Shawangunk Wine Trail. Cheers.
This weekend we continued our #VABreweryChallenge by traveling down Route 66 to the historic Civil War town of Manassas and two very new breweries: Badwolf Brewing Company (#3) and Heritage Brewing (#4). Badwolf is the smaller of the two and opened in July 2013 by Jeremy and Sarah Meyers. Did I mention small? They utilize a one barrel system; yet this nano-size can be a major benefit. There are plenty of unique beers on tap. This weekend featured six beers and I sampled all using their larger than normal sampler (8 ounces? per glass). I started with the Grisette (4.3%), a low alcohol session Saison with a lower spice profile which made it quite enjoyable. Next, was the most interesting, Bad Moon Rising (3.9%), a gose styled beer from Goslar Germany, that is to say, an unfiltered wheat beer brewed with ground coriander seeds and salt. Fails the Reinheitsgebot, but gets an exemption being a regional specialty. And as advertised, it is sweet and salty. Very interesting. The Chocolate Nutz (6.6%) nut brown ale was spot on as was my favorite, the Simtra Pale (4.4%) - an American pale ale brewed with Simcoe and Citra hops. Surprisingly the highest abv, was their refreshing Hefeweizen, The Wild Rumpus. And we closed out the tasting with the Vanilla Malupa (5.7%), a full bodied milk stout brewed with vanilla beans. Not bad. The only negative comment I can give the brewery is the cramped quarters on a crowded day; otherwise their beer is solid.
As a more spacious brewery, Heritage Brewing, provides plenty of room along their L-shaped tasting bar. This veteran owned brewery also opened in 2013 and they claim to use at least 90% organic ingredients. Heritage bases their production around five flagship beers; the Freedom Isn't Free IPA, Kings Mountain Scotch Ale, Revolution American Amber Ale (brewed with organic oranges), The Teddy East Coast Pale Ale, and the American Expedition - a honey ginger wheat ale. On this visit, I stuck to the Freedom Isn't Free IPA - a solid offering with plenty of IBUs to produce that refreshing hoppy finish. Our tasting neighbor preferred the American Expedition - so that's at least two popular beers. Heritage also has a great deal on their canned beers - $8 a six pack. That's a bargain. Cheers and safe travels with theCompass Mobile App.
