The New York Cork Report 2010 Wines of the Year

Photo by Morgan Dawson Photography

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

Almost the entire New York Cork Report team gathered on the snow-covered North Fork this past weekend to taste through the finalists in our "Wines of the Year" program -- which also included beer this year.

We tasted a seemingly endless lineup of distinctive and delicious New York wines -- both during the tasting and during various meals and winery visits. Not that we needed it, but this weekend served as a reminder of just how good the best New York wines are.

I think we've all grown tired of the phrase "world-class" but many of these were wines that I'd proudly pour for even the most discerning wine geek, knowing that they'd come away impressed.

You should expect several posts and stories about these wines over the course of coming weeks, but today we're thrilled to announce the New York Cork Report 2010 Wines of the Year as chosen by our wine editors:

Finger Lakes Sparkling: Lamoreaux Landing 2006 Blanc de Blanc
Finger Lakes Riesling: Damiani Wine Cellars 2009 Riesling
Finger Lakes Other White: Hermann J. Wiemer 2009 Gewurztraminer
Finger Lakes Red: Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Meritage
Finger Lakes Dessert: Standing Stone Vineyards 2008 Riesling Ice

Hudson Valley White: Millbrook Winery 2008 Block Two West Chardonnay
Hudson Valley Red: Millbrook Winery 2008 Block Five East Pinot Noir

Long Island Sparkling: Lenz Winery 2004 Cuvee
Long Island White: Paumanok Vineyards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
Long Island Merlot: Paumanok Vineyards 2007 Tuthill's Lane Vineyard Merlot
Long Island Other Red: Roanoke Vineyards 2007 Blend One
Long Island Dessert: Paumanok Vineyards 2009 Late Harvest Riesling

Niagara White: Leonard Oakes Estate 2009 Chardonnay
Niagara Red: Freedom Run Winery 2008 Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc

New York Beer: Southampton Ales & Lagers Abbot 12 Quadrupel

Though we were close in some cases, none of these winners received the four votes -- making it unanimous -- necessary to be named a state-wide winner.

Congratulations to all of finalists and especially to the winners. Each representative editor will be working on some follow-up posts about the winners in their beats as well.

Comments

[Kareem Massoud]

To Lenn and the whole team at New York Cork Report,
THANK YOU!

[1winedude]

Ok - I NEED to get my hands on a bottle of Abbot 12 Quadrupel now...

[Charles Massoud]

Lenn, Evan and the whole NYCR team,

Of course all of the Paumanok crew is delighted with this great outcome. This is especially so that our competition, all friends of ours by the way, had some amazing wines lined up in front of you. You did not have an easy task and we are thrilled you enjoyed our wines.

Charles

[Dave Foley]

Any chance you can amend the post and add price, production, and current tasting room availability (ie: sold out or not)?

[Lenn Thompson]

Dave,

Hopefully the other editors can chime in, but here is the info for the Long Island and Hudson Valley wines:

Millbrook Winery 2008 Block Two West Chardonnay ($35/available)
Millbrook Winery 2008 Block Five East Pinot Noir ($35/available)

Lenz Winery 2004 Cuvee ($30/available)
Paumanok Vineyards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc ($24/almost sold out)
Paumanok Vineyards 2007 Tuthill's Lane Vineyard Merlot ($60/available)
Roanoke Vineyards 2007 Blend One ($35/available)
Paumanok Vineyards 2009 Late Harvest Riesling ($50/available)

[Evan Dawson]

Very good question, Dave. Working on getting more answers on my end. But here's one:

Damiani 2009 Riesling is $16 and there are 100 cases left. It's probably hard to overstate how strong of a deal that is.

[Bryan]

Niagara wine availability

Leonard Oakes Estate Chardonnay 2009 is $17 at the winery.

Freedom Run Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc 2008 is $30 and available at the winery.

[Jeremy]

Great selections - The winning wines are a great showcase of what New York can produce.
The 2007 Tuthill's Lane Merlot is one of my favorite overall wines.

Kind of curious - why do you do a LI White only and not separate out "Chardonnay" and "Other whites" separately, since pretty much every winery on LI produces a Chard?

[Evan Dawson]

Jeremy -

Essentially because Chardonnay is not recognized as the prized white grape of the region. It's not the chief strength. It's a kind of workhorse, and some of course produce very good versions. But if we had to choose to highlight a white grape on Long Island, it would almost certainly be Sauvignon Blanc - based not only on quality and potential, but on its natural pairing with local foods.

Thanks for the comment!