New York Cork Report

Op-Ed: In New York, a David & Goliath Story Unfolds

Editor's Note: This op-ed comes from our own Mark Grimaldi who works for Michael Skurnik Wines as a sales representative. Skurnik is one of the smaller distributors that could be harmed by the proposed legislation discussed within. As such this is a representation of how smaller distributors feel about this issue.

By Mark Grimaldi

There's a war going on with wine in New York State. Two of the largest distributors, Southern Wines & Spirits and Empire Wine Merchants, are lobbying for an "At Rest" amendment to the 2012 SLA budget.

Currently, almost every small distributor of fine wines warehouses their product in New Jersey. This has been done for years. There is more warehouse space, it is more cost-effective, and the imported wines come into port not far from the warehouses. These two giant companies who both have warehousing in new York State, are lobbying to pass a law that all distributors selling wine in New York State must "rest" their product in a warehouse in New York State for a minimum of 48 hours before it can be shipped out to their retail and restaurant customers. This means that a minimum of three days would go by before wine orders can be received.

There is an alliance that has been around for years, called the "New York Alliance of Fine Wine Wholesalers," a group of 11 importers/distributors that includes Admiral Wine Merchants, BNP Distributing Co., David Bowler Wine, Opici Wine Co., Polaner Selections, Martin Scott Wines, Michael Skurnik Wines, Monsieur Touton Selections, Verity Wines, Winebow and T. Edward Wines. There is a memo going around within this alliance explaining the details and facts of what this amendment would do to the fine wine industry in New York State. It reads:

“‘At rest" language in either the budget or legislation would be detrimental not only to almost every wholesaler in the state other than the two largest, Southern Wine & Spirits and Empire Merchants, but also the state itself, in lost taxable revenues, lost license fees, lost excise taxes and lost jobs. We, the New York Alliance of Fine Wine Wholesalers, believe that “at rest” would force the closure of more than a hundred of the New York licensed wholesalers who are currently warehousing in New Jersey due to many logistics issues and costs that would arise, making it impossible for them to continue doing business.”

Truth, not fiction:

• Approximately 79% of the 235 NY licensed wholesalers operate out of warehouses in NJ (185). The only significant operating wholesalers warehousing in NY are the two biggest: Southern Wine & Spirits and Empire Merchants.
• Every NY licensed wholesaler already has an office in NY, and thus has NY employees and pays local taxes.
• All 11 members of the Alliance are Small Business!
• Should “at rest” pass, we would not willingly give up our share of the market, but rather suffer an economic hardship that some of us could not survive.
• Warehousing in NY has higher costs than NJ. Not only would freight-in costs skyrocket, as containers would have to go through multiple stops to unload and travel much further than from the docks to nearby New Jersey warehouses, but also the warehousing, storage and delivery costs would be prohibitively higher.
• By virtue of higher: real estate costs in NY, electricity costs, labor costs, insurance, fuel, tolls, local fees, and the costs per case to warehouse and deliver, would increase exponentially. Fond Du Lac Cold (in NJ) storage recently conducted an economic assessment of how much more per case it would cost to provide services in NY over NJ and found that it would cost approximately $5 extra per case of wine!
• Although “at rest” would simply mean “leasing or renting” warehouse space, there is NOT ample space located within a radius of NY that would allow for daily deliveries by all of these companies in existence, nor is there space available that is properly retrofitted to accommodate temperature and other specific needs for storing fine wines.
• Having to manage two inventories, in NJ and NY, would mean holding more stock, which would hurt our cash flow.
• Having a second warehouse would require another layer of IT, thereby increasing costs to the wholesalers.

How would the passing of “at rest” would affect the consumer?

• Brands would be forced to leave New York, and so would the revenues from their sales. Currently, NYS is considered the most important wine market in the U.S. with almost 25,000 different wines available, which is largely due to the number of wholesalers. Decrease the number of wholesalers and the number of available wines will follow.
• The retail costs of wine would most certainly increase, due to our costs and due to the decrease in competition.

What can we do about it? More details follow including instructions on how to contact your senator:

"A critical issue to the very existence of the fine wine industry in New York has been brought to our attention and we wanted to make you aware of it. One of the largest liquor wholesalers is lobbying the State Senate to include an “at rest” provision in their 2012 budget. The practical effect of “at rest” means that only those distributors delivering product out of New York warehouses could legally sell you wine. Legislation such as this would affect essentially every wholesaler currently in operation other than the two biggest ones, since they almost all warehouse in New Jersey, including our company.

Imagine a landscape with only the two largest wholesalers remaining to work with. Selections would become painfully limited. Prices would most certainly rise. Service would plummet. Their pro-“at rest” argument (union warehouse jobs and revenue) is simply a veiled attempt by this wholesaler to destroy all of the fine wine wholesale competition, because most of your valued New York wholesalers would undoubtedly be forced to close their doors. We have contacted our State Senators to tell them that we oppose “at rest” in either legislation or budget language. We urge you to do the same before FRIDAY, MARCH 9. Please contact your Senator to tell them you oppose “at rest.” The procedure is quick and simple. Please just click on the link: http://www.nysenate.gov/senators. Type in your address and zip code under “FIND MY SENATOR” and hit submit. Fill out the online form with your information (ignoring the drop down box), type “At Rest” in the Subject Line and either craft your own statement or feel free to copy and paste the paragraph below. We thank you for your time, your attention, and most of all your support."

Dear Senator,

It has come to our attention that two large wine & spirit wholesalers are lobbying you to include “at rest” in the 2012 budget. They are claiming “at rest” will create revenue for the State. But, as a licensed, small business that buys from many wine distributors, I do not agree that it would create revenue. Instead, I believe that “At rest” would result in hundreds of closed businesses, including both wholesalers and retailers, and at least a thousand unemployed New Yorkers. As such the State would lose hundreds of millions in taxable revenues from passing this bill. The volume of wine sold in the State (and the accompanying beverage excise tax revenue) would severely decrease. Consumer selection would be limited and the price of wine would escalate with the costs inevitably passed on to the consumer. Moreover, the ancillary effects of the resultant higher unemployment, lower sales and income tax revenues collected, would further exacerbate the current economic position of the state, not improve it. With the above in mind, we urge you NOT to vote for “at rest” either in legislation or in the budget language.

So you see, there is a lot at stake.

This is an action being taken by big businesses to wipe out the smaller ones in hopes of monopolizing the industry. We see what this means for New York State consumers and small distributors and the imported/domestic wines they sell, but what does it mean for New York State wineries?

Some are distributed by these two large companies that obviously only have their best interests at heart. Is this a conflict of interest for them? Do they care that essentially, they are being sold through the "Wal-Mart" of wine distribution?

What about those New York State wineries that are distributed by the small companies that are part of the 99%? How are they dealing with the possible loss of distribution in New York State? Does this "big business" mentality really mesh with the mentality of the New York State wineries that are currently sold through Southern and Empire?

NYCR Artisan Dinner With Paumanok Vineyards Chenin Blanc a Sold-Out Success

By Mark Grimaldi, Director, Marketing and Events

Wednesday night's sold out New York Cork Report Artisan Dinner, featuring Paumanok Vineyards chenin blanc, at Luce & Hawkins was one for the books. 

With several members of the Massoud family in attendance, Kareem and Charles (pictured right) took the stage, along with Chef Luce to give a play-by-play for each individual course. Kareem and Charles have a great way of playing off of each other, taking turns adding their thoughts on the vintages and wines. 

Chef Luce, always eloquent, really lets you know just how far he goes to make sure that every wine is paired perfectly with only the freshest and most special local ingredients.

The Vertical Pairing in order of tasting:

2008 Chenin Blanc: A beautiful wine, drinking at it's peak right now. Kareem and I went back and forth about how it shared many old world (Loire) characteristics, displaying a perfect mix of primary and tertiary qualities. It had its ripeness but it's backed up by a stony minerality. It bordered on a demi-sec style, with some residual sugar that offered a richness, but the acids cut right through it bringing the wine back to being perceivably dry to many. 

Completely elegant from front to back, it had a deeper color, showing that even under screwcap, the wine aged gracefully. An absolute wonderful chenin, making me wish that the Massoud's could hold back a good amount of production so that consumer'scould  experience this wine at it's peak in the tasting room.

This was paired with three poached "Naked Cowboy" oysters from Blue Island Shellfish Farms, a local oyster company on the south shore of Long Island. Chef Luce served them sitting in a bath of Thai spices, coconut milk and sliced melon to compliment the tropical fruits and melon notes he often finds in Paumanok's chenins. The "sweetness" of the chenin was perfect with the subltle Thai spices of the dish.

2010 Chenin Blanc: We all know that 2010 was a very warm year here on Long Island, and the wines are RIPE. The 2010 was no exception. But nonetheless Kareem and his brothers kept impeccable balance in this wine from vineyard to bottle with an acidic backbone to slice through the ripe fruit. A riper-style chenin, it still shows some of the baby fat and racy characteristics of a young white wine.

This was paired with utter ridiculousness -- a house-made oversized ravioli, stuffed with foie gras and lobster.  Not just a little bit of lobster, but HALF of a lobster tail.  On top were two slices of poached rabbit.  This dish practically got a standing ovation from the dining room. 

2009 Chenin Blanc: This wine completely shifts gears. With 2009 being a cooler vintage, I think that local whites really shined. This was my favorite of the three recent vintage chenins. It was vibrant and racy. Like a laser beam. You stick your nose in the glass and you are brought right to the North Fork of Long island. It was salty, and wreaked of the sea, seashells, oysters. Though lean compared to the others, it was so elegant. The fruit and acids were perfectly integrated and unfolded like a storybook from back to front on your palate.  If I were blinded on this wine, I would never even think Chenin.  This was amazing Long Island Chablis.  Take that comparison as you may, but I mean it as an utter complement.

This was paired with local duckling that Chef Luce had prepared two ways.  One roasted medium rare with a crisp skin, and the other house-cured and sliced, rolled up and tucked nicely next the roasted breast, surrounded by local beets, honeyed yuzu pepper, and smoked walnuts that Japanese chef Minoru Suzuki had a hand in preparing.

The highlight of this dish for me was the Matsutake mushrooms that Chef Luce had sent directly from his forager friend in the pacific northwest. The Matsutake is one of the most sought after mushrooms in the world, and he managed to get the first of the season. This was not like any mushroom I had tasted. It grows as a companion to pine trees, and is not earthy like the typical mushroom is. It was eaten raw, and had a fresh, clean, herbal, subtle pine note to it. An excellent complement to the richness of the duck.

1994 Late Harvest Riesling:  Some issues unfolded the day of the dinner that were quickly solved.  Kareem had miscounted how many bottes of 1993 Late Harvest Chenin he had, and could only find two, so we went with the 1994 Late Harvest Riesling as a substitute.  Not a problem! 

This wine was ALIVE. It was dark gold in color and did not drink in a cloying, dessert style.

Again, it was backed up by high acids, cutting through the sugars, making it just sweet enough to have with Chef Luce's local orchard fruit crumble with cinnamon, basil, and white chocolate-corn ice cream (which by the way was 100% sweetened by the chocolate and sugars from the corn).  The wine had plenty of honey, caramel and nutty notes.  A really special bottle shared by the Massoud's that was absolutely delicious. It gives some insight into what their current late harvest/icewine Riesling could be like with age.

1993 Late Harvest Chenin Blanc:  To our surprise, Charles brought those last two bottles to share with everyone anyway.  As a joke, Chef Luce brought out about 40 eyedroppers filled with the '93 to each guest so they could have a small taste of it before the dessert course. But luckily, there was some left over that we poured from bottle after dinner. 

The '93 was dark, almost caramel in color, exhibiting the typical nutty, caramel, honey notes of older dessert wines. It was certainly alive, but did not show as well, in my opinion, as the '94 riesling.  Nonetheless a superb wine made by Charles that is one of the highlights of my Long Island wine drinking experience.  It is so rare that wineries held back inventory in the 80s and 90s, so being able to taste these wines was extremely rare and such a treat.

Thank you to The Massoud Family for sharing these wines with us and for Chef Luce and staff for an impeccable evening. 

Please stay tuned for more announcements on dinners, including next month's dinner with Greenport Harbor Brewing Company!

What We Drank (September 13, 2011)

Today marks the triumphant return of "What We Drank" after a brief late-summer hiatus.

As always, here's what our editors and contributors have been drinking.

Mark Grimaldi: Ameztoi "Rubentis" Txakolina 2010

Yes, rosé again.  But not just any rosé. 

Txakolina is always, if you can find it, the quintessential summer quaffer. Now make it a rosé and you've damn near found the key to life.

A close friend from the city brought this out to our house one weekend this spring.

That Monday after, I asked a friend who owns a local wine shop if he would order it for me, and after we all geeked out about it, he ended up getting three cases that we split among 4 of us. It's comprised of 50% Hondarribi Beltza and 50% Hondarribi Zuri from the Getaria region of Basque in Spain.

Simply put, this is hands down the best rosé I have ever had. I was floored. A beautiful light strawberry color, with a nose of peaches, raspberries and citrus.

It's perfectly fizzy, with stone fruits, sweet but tart fruit on the mid palate reminiscent of a fresh glass of cranberry juice, finished with a beam of tart, mouth-watering acid and the perfect effervescence of a club soda with tiny, palate-coating bubbles.

At an alcohol of 10.5%,  we polished this bottle off so fast that it was dangerous. Be careful with this one, it's hard to have just one. 

 

Rochelle Bilow: Sheldrake Point Vineyards 2010 Gewurztraminer

Because I am heavily involved with the release of the 2010 vintage of Finger Lakes Rieslings this month,
it seems like they’re all I’m drinking. But that’s not so! I proved it on Sunday with Stu as we took a rare
day of all play and no work in the Finger Lakes.

We set up a picnic on the lawn at Sheldrake Point on Cayuga Lake and opened a bottle of their 2010
Gewurztraminer. It has a tremendous floral and spice nose that follows through on the palate. It leans
much more toward rose and dried lavender than the often-found tropical fruits, though there was a fair
amount of lychee that cropped up after a few minutes in the glass. I find with all Gewurztraminer, but this
one especially, that spending some time with the aroma is as fun as drinking it.

I loved this wine as an early fall choice – it feels more substantial and hefty than the Rieslings I’ve been
drinking, but it’s still much more lighthearted than the Cabernet Francs and Meritage blends I’m not quite
ready for.

 

Evan Dawson: Hermann J. Wiemer 2002 Blanc de Blancs

This was one of the rare occasions when we decided to open a sparkling wine to celebrate a big occasion. Typically, we try to incorporate sparkling as a nice food wine with friends, big occasion or not.

 

The wine world will be better off when sparkling wine is no longer viewed by many consumers as a strictly celebratory drink.

 

This wine was the first I grabbed from our sparkling rack. It has filled out nicely, a kind of baked bread coarsened by tingly acidity. Ideal sparkling wine for the region.

How was it that we allowed some mass-produced "champagne" to take us down this road of reserving such wines for festive occasions?

 

Aaron Estes: Templeton Rye

As much as I enjoy craft beer and New York wines, I grew up a scotch and whiskey drinker. On my 30th birthday, my father gave me a bottle of 30 year old Macallan that I continue to parse out, dram by dram, slowly but surely. I am hoping that it reaches my 40th birthday, as it is probably the finest whiskey I have ever tasted.  

But I digress...  This edition of WWD is about an American tradition that is gaining traction among those that follow what is hip and trendy. I am talking about rye.

A friend of mine, actually a fellow camp-mate from Burning Man (Thanks Genie!), first spoke of the taste and amazing qualities of Templeton Rye when we were on the Playa last year. Fashioned after the original recipe back in the days of Prohibition, Templeton out of Iowa is said to be created from the same recipe that Al Capone favored back in his days as the crime lord of Chicago. It was his preferred whiskey, and what he drank throughout his days while eluding the likes of Elliott Ness and the other members of the Chicago PD.

Can there be a better endorsement?

Templeton is smooth. Really smooth. It almost evaporates as soon as it hits the tongue. There is just a hint of smoke, but not harsh even in the slightest. A touch of sweetness, a bit of caramel, and a delicate scent of cedar on the nose.

This is a whiskey to be savored and cherished. I bring it out every now and then when I have had a difficult day at the office, or a weekend to share with friends who appreciate the same. Templeton is fantastic. I urge you all to find a bottle and enjoy a taste from American history.

 

Lenn Thompson: Ruckus Brewing Hoptimus Prime

Based on their performance, my favorite team, the Steelers, may not have realized it, but the NFL season kicked off over the weekend. I have a my myriad of superstitions tied to my watching of Steelers games -- and drinking at least one Pennsylvania-brewed beer during the game is chief among them.

Although Ruckus Brewing is headquartered in New York, NY, the beer is brewed in in Wilkes-Barre, PA -- not exactly Steelers country, but still within the boundaries of my home state.

Hoptimus Prime is a Double IPA style and it shows on the palate. There is some serious heft and density to the mouthfeel here.

The nose is classic American hoppiness -- all grapefruit and lemon with floral herbiness and just a little pine -- with some definite malty sweetness beneath.

I was actually a bit worried about that sweetness as I took my first sip, but I shouldn't have been. All those hops bring more than enough bitterness to scrub away the candy sugar and lift the citrus and pine qualities. It's a little thick for game day drinking (I started with it, but should have ended with it) but the bitterness nicely matched how I was feeling as I watched the game.

 

David Flaherty: Bonnezeaux, Chateau Perray Jouannet, Les Menus Clos, Loire, 2009

I don't get to drink enough sweet wines.  Well..let me rephrase that, I don't get to drink enough good sweet wines. 

For the last ten years that I have sold, studied, swirled and slugged wine, there has been one phrase uttered over and over again by people who are breaking into the world of wine (or at least trying to pick up a bottle that will impress the girl they're trying to woo): "I don't like sweet wines."  And I get it.  A lot of cheap swill has residual sugar and has gained a whack reputation (Boone's Strawberry Hill tonight, my darling?).  But a lot of the great wines of the world are sweet...and white.

I tried a Bonnezeaux the other day at a tasting of Loire wines and was floored. 

Such nervy acidity, such depth of character. Rich, honeyed fruit and such life, this liquid treasure could age and age for years to come. It sang from the glass. 

Bonnezeaux is a tiny area of the western Loire in the Anjou region where only white, sweet wines are permitted under AOC law. It is chenin blanc at its most expressive. I took pause, sat back in my chair and zapped into the experience...and the moment. 

That is what good wines do. Let me rephrase that: that is what great wines do.

 

A Different Perspective on "Wine on Tap": It's Working. And is Growing.

By Mark Grimaldi, Director, Marketing and Events

The subject of wine on tap (WOT) has always been one for debate, especially here on the New York Cork Report. Having been involved with kegged wines since they first started to become commercial a few years ago, I am now even more a proponent, seeing just how successful it is becoming. 

Some still see it as a downfall for our industry, “cheapening” the way their product is portrayed to the consumer, like a “bag-in-a-box” would, but I believe that thinking is has dated itself, and the proof is right here in front of us.

I recently had the chance to talk with Charles Bieler of Gotham Project for a few hours as we got his custom kegged-wine dispenser all geared up for an event here on Long Island. He poured two wines that day: a North Fork red blend and North Fork chardonnay.

We talked for a while about the business and how things were going for him. What he said was astounding: Gotham Project cannot keep up with demand, not just locally, but nationally.

The industry is not catching up as fast on the production end as it is on the consumer end.

Right now, Gotham is moving about 250 kegs a month in New York alone, mostly in Manhattan, Brooklyn and here on the East End of Long Island. And to put to bed the notion of these wines being “cheap,” many top restaurants and wine bars are going ahead with this format including Paul Greico’s Terroir wine bar, Colicchio & Sons, The High Line, Luce & Hawkins and Southfork Kitchen. Gotham Project also cannot keep up with the demand coming from distributors and restaurants in other states either.

Gotham Project is not the only company kegging local wine these days, either.

In New York alone, there are a number of wineries taking advantage of the market, including, Paumanok Vineyards, Shinn Estate Vineyards, Martha Clara Vineyards, Jamesport Vineyards, Raphael, Channing Daughters Winery, Hermann J. Wiemer, and even the tiny producer Heart & Hands Wine Company has done a custom blend for a local Finger Lakes restaurant in keg.

In my opinion, this is huge for New York wine. If these local wineries were not paying attention to this growing market’s demand, there would be a lot less New York wine in consumers' glasses at top restaurants.

Look at it this way, the competition for a traditional out-of-bottle glass pour at a restaurant is extremely fierce. I know it is because I live with that competition daily in my line of work. If poured out of a bottle, would a Long Island chardonnay be poured by the glass on the High Line in NYC? Would a Finger Lakes riesling be poured by the glass in northern Westchester County? 

Maybe. You may say sure, a local wine most surely would be poured in New York, especially here on the East End.

But, now pretend you are a winemaker competing with the many other Long Island chardonnays, or Finger Lakes rieslings, or North Fork merlots out of a bottle, and your chances of having your wine by the glass at a restaurant is extremely limited.

This is where the wine-in-keg niche and differentiation comes into play. I think I can count on one hand the number of Long Island chardonnays being offered in keg. As a matter of fact, I think I can count on one hand which wineries offer each variety in keg around the state. There is a lot of opportunity here.

Kareem Massoud, winemaker for Paumanok vineyards and huge proponent of wine on tap (as well as screw caps and large-format bottles) has had great success with kegging his wines. He said, "In the last year alone we sold over 100 kegs of our wine to two local restaurants. One of which has taken about 70.”

That is the equivalent of 225 cases of wine in addition to their normal on- and off- premise sales. If you are a winemaker or running a winery, you have to be thinking to yourself that moving that much more wine out of your door is extremely attractive, no matter what it’s packaged in. Imagine the dollars being left on the table if you aren’t? Kareem has figured that on average as long as prices do not change and cost savings continues to be passed on to the customer, each keg will pay for itself when filled four times.

Some small wineries may not have enough wine to sacrifice their bottle sales for keg sales, but many who produce more wine do. Especially if you are a winery that produces so much wine that you have multiple vintages of the same wine for sale at any given time or hold back releasing current vintages until you sell through older ones.

Kareem added, “As a winemaker, I have a responsibility to make sure that our wines make it to the consumer in the same condition they were in when they left our winery. Wine in keg ensures that for me. I don’t worry about corked bottles, waste or freshness if it’s being poured by the glass. Factor in the financial and environmental benefits and it is the ultimate vessel for wine. When Southfork kitchen closed for a month because of their kitchen fire, I went back before their reopening to check on the wines, (they were pouring the chenin blanc at that time) and it was just as fresh after sitting for a month as it was when it left the winery. It was amazing.”

Luce & Hawkins restaurant in Jamesport has been pouring six different wines on tap since it’s inception in early 2010 including Gotham, Shinn, Wiemer Martha Clara, Paumanok and Jamesport. While they also offer an extensive glass pour list from bottle, the wine poured from keg has proved to be more popular than the wine poured from bottle. “We've found that the keg system not only allows us to cut way down on packaging waste, but also gives guests an opportunity to taste a greater variety of wines at a greater value while not worrying about cork taint or freshness issues”, says owner and chef Keith Luce.

And what about the future? Is this a fad? I don't think so. Besides factoring it’s environmental, financial and spoilage benefits, we have not even “tapped” into a whole other beneficial market for wine on tap. Retail and “Wine to go”.

Just around the corner is the day that the SLA will loosen their grip on some of the ancient prohibition laws that prohibit kegged wine being sold both retail and in growlers or other “to-go” containers. We already see many “filling stations” for beer throughout the state, including supermarkets like Whole Foods and many retail beer distributors. Very soon we will be able to fill growlers of local wine or pick up a keg for our home kegerators. There is already a “picnic” tap with mini nitrogen canisters being produced by Leland for this very purpose.

With only two major markets really working with wine on tap, New York City and San Francisco, and others emerging quickly, Gotham plans on taking what they have done here to other states that have a growing demand for their local and non-local wine on tap. With connections around the globe, they will bring the wines of New York, Chile, Washington, California, France, Germany, Italy and Spain in addition to other city’s local AVA’s wines like they have done in New York.

Even though New York Wine sales are better than ever due to the rise in quality and the "local" movement, it is still the “the new guy on the block” when compared to other historic grape growing regions around the world. The fact that this young region has this unique vehicle and marketing right now to help get the wines into consumer’s hands that may or may not not get there otherwise is huge and can only help to open eyes to NYS wines.

G. Love to Headline July 4 Event at Jedediah Hawkins Inn

By Mark Grimaldi, Director, Marketing and Events

On Monday, July 4, Luce & Hawkins Restaurant at the Jedediah Hawkins Inn in Jamesport will host an event that is sure to be talked about for quite some time: a 90-person ticketed event featuring local food, beverages and  music. 

Events similar to this have been done on the North Fork for years, but this event is different than anything else done.

Having been a professional musician in between being a James Beard and Food & Wine award-winning chef, Chef Keith Luce has always thought that music and food  go hand in hand, and it has long been his desire to bring this combination to life at the restaurant and inn. 

With my help and some other connections, they were able to get G. Love to sign on as the headlining act for a very special event on July 4. I work with Love’s sister, who imports French wines through Daniel Johnnes Selections and Michael Skurnik Wines. So I made a phone call to her and Love’s management. It wasn’t easy, but we made it happen. 

The music lineup will start in the early afternoon with two opening acts, Bryce Larsen, a top-seven Finalist on American Idol season 9 and John Divello, who is set to release a studio album and is opening for the famous blues guitarist, Johnny Winter next month.

That's just the music -- which is pretty awesome. Chef Luce will be going above and beyond, as he usually does, with the food. He'll serve whole, roasted animals, local seafood and produce.

On hand will be the wines on tap of Gotham Project, with their very own Charles Bieler (of Three Thieves with Joel Gott, and Bieler Rosé fame) manning the custom kegging machine. They will be pouring Finger Lakes riesling as well as a North Fork chardonnay.  Beers will be served by local south shore brewery, Great South Bay, who will be pouring their main beers as well as some small batch beers brewed just for the event.

Only 90 tickets were available when the event was first announced, but it's almost sold out.. 

Call the Inn at (631) 722-2900 and purchase your tickets with Tom or Michael. They will mail you your tickets once you make your reservation or you may come and pick them up.

Grimaldi Joins NYCR Team as Marketing and Events Director

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

We've added several writers to the NYCR team over the years, but today we welcome Mark Grimaldi to the website as our director of marketing and events -- with his focus set squarely on events.

With our New York Beverage Artisan Dinners off to a great start -- with the next one set to be announced soon -- Mark will no doubt be busy coordinating with winemakers, brewers and distillers from across the the state.

Mark is also a driving force in our "DRINK LONG ISLAND WINE" sticker program (more on that soon).

Many in the Long Island and Finger Lakes wine communities already know Mark -- he has a connection to both.

Though born and raised in White Plains, NY, he moved to the North Fork in 2008 and then met his now-wife Olivia -- who hails from the Finger Lakes -- not long after. A definite wine geek, he has quickly immersed himself in both wine regions.

Mark has worked for Michael Skurnik Wines for the past six years with roles ranging from wine marketing and label design to now sales and consulting.With this industry experience, Mark will also contribute editorial content as well on occasion.

Join me in welcoming Mark to the team -- a team that he really endeared himself to in January when he blind tasted us on a 2006 White Zinfandel-Chardonnay blend the night before our Wines of the Year tasting.