Sheldrake Point Gewürztraminer 2008 Appellation: Finger Lakes Grape: Gewürztraminer ABV:13.6% RS: 0.5% Price Point: $18 Closure: Natural cork Technical Notes: Tons of info, courtesy of the website. Bravo to Sheldrake for transparency and geek info! TA: 6.3 g/L, pH: 3.53. Hand harvested at 23.2 Brix, 6.7 g/L Ta, 3.7 pH. “The fruit was destemmed,...
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Note: This is the inaugural article from our beer writer, Richard Pliny! Ithaca Beer Company Excelsior! Alphalpha Style: Double Honey Bitter Color: Amber ABV: 8.5% Price Point: $11 Technical Notes: Brewed with local alfalfa honey and Cascade hops. Like the other Excelsior! Beers, this is bottle conditioned and the last pour includes a bit...
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Recently, I had a chance to “help” with (more like “observe”) the Sheldrake Point ice wine harvest. I picked a few grapes then helped get them into the press for a two-part feature I would write for the New York Cork Report. I was given some sample bottles to aid in my efforts, which...
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Hey gang, I’ve been hiatus for a couple weeks now, and it’s high time I explained myself. I am in the process of converting this ithacork.wordpress.com site into a new-and-improved ithacork.com. Over the holiday season I will be setting up the new WP.org site (which provides SO much more freedom as far as templates/plugins,...
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Brewery Ommegang Witte Style: Belgian-style Wheat Ale with Traditional Spices Color (light, amber, or dark): Light ABV: 5.1% Price Point: $7.50/750 mL bottle Closure: Cork with cage. The yeast sediment in the bottom is a clue that this bottle’s carbonation comes from a fermentation in the bottle, thus the need for the extra pressure...
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An article I wrote for the New York Cork Report is generating some interesting debate. Seems like there are strong opinions on both sides about hybrids. Essentially, the location of a gene contributing to color synthesis in hybrid grapes is located near the gene responsible for the “foxy” (Welch’s grape juice) aroma of labrusca-derived...
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Lucas Vineyards Cayuga White 2008 Appellation: Finger Lakes Grape: Cayuga White ABV: 11% RS: 2.4% (wow, it’s been a while since I reviewed a non-dry wine, eh?) Price Point: $9 Closure: Extruded synthetic (boo! If you’re going synthetic, then I much prefer molded to extruded, aesthetically speaking) Technical Notes: Machine-harvested, crushed and destemmed. 19...
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This woman is an optometrist. Assumedly, this woman has been through 13 years of education up to high school and 4 years of college, including a year each of chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, higher math, and physics. This woman has been to optometry school for 4 years and certified to practice optometry. Assumedly, patients...
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Wow, is it Friday already? Here is some inspiration for your weekend, courtesy of Carl Sagan, with some special guests. look out for some Cayuga White coming this way sometime soon.
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Fulkerson Winery Vincent 2007 Appellation: Finger Lakes Grape: Vincent ABV: 12% Price Point: $10 Closure: Molded synthetic Technical Notes: Eight months in older French oak and American oak, one of 3 varietal Vincents in the U.S. Hedonic Notes: This wine is seriously purple, anthocyanin city. Gingerbread, with a huge smoky clove component on the...
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