West Side Wine

On Tuesday the 20th, we invited a bunch of friends over to watch and celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama.  I went to work early, and got home around 11am.  Ellen was in the kitchen preparing an amazing brunch, and then the doorbell started to ring.  As each person  came in we were greeted by either “Merry Christmas!” or “Happy New Year!”, because that was exactly how it felt.

We sat around all day, like you do on one of those big holidays, and talked and watched the swearing in, the speech, the luncheon, the motorcade, the parade, and finally, the balls.  I can not for the life of me remember an inauguration day like this one, even JFK’s.  I also can’t recall being so happy to see the former President leave town.  That got as big a cheer as the swearing in.  ”Ba-bye!” was the chant that could be heard around our living room, and I’m sure around the world.  I commented to Ellen that it really was like Christmas without the presents, but she corrected me by saying that we got the best present of all.  Obama in, Bush out.  I stood corrected.  It was better than Christmas, late or early.

During my long absence from the blogging world, Ellen and I took another trip out to the east end of Long Island for an overnight stay.  It was my birthday, and we spent it at the Shinn Estate Farmhouse in Mattituck.  While there, we had the chance to talk about, and taste through, the Shinn Estate Vineyards reds from the 2007 vintage.  We had a hint this past summer that 2007 was going to be a spectacular vintage for Long Island, because all the rosés were fantastic.  And right we were. The reds are still in the barrel and are still percolating, but what we tasted was simply amazing.  We tasted their Estate Merlot, Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and, of all things, Malbec, which they use only for blending.  A Malbec from Long Island? Yup. It proves that anything is possible when all the planets are aligned.

This vintage is going to put Long Island wines firmly on the map as the real deal.  In talking to David Page and Barbara Shinn (husband and wife team) about the growing season and the wines, they felt that this vintage is the greatest one the Long Island wine industry has ever seen, and that takes in over 30 years.  

Every one of the wines we tasted blew us away, and they aren’t even ready yet.  They’ll be released in Fall of this year, so come September/October, run-don’t-walk to the Long Island section of your favorite wine shop.  And remember that everyone in L.I. had a great vintage, so take your pick from what they have to offer. 

I had always been a bit skeptical about most of the wines from this part of the world, although I have always rooted for them and always had a few favorites (beside Shinn, mine are Paumonok, Channing Daughters,  Lieb Family and some Wolffer.)  But now the whole lot of them should have their day in the sun, so to speak, with this vintage.  Oh, and “futures” are  available to purchase in February for Autumn delivery.  When the word gets out, there will be a stampede, so it may be a good idea to get in on the futures thing.  And these wines will be age magnificently.  Wow, it’s really exciting.

There are two ways of looking at this financial mess we’re in — as either a disaster or an opportunity.  I prefer to look at as the latter, and a lot of us in the wine biz are thinking the same way.  There are so many great values out there simply waiting to be put on the shelf, and a lot of us are doing just that.  As our importers trot out their recession wines, we’re replacing the “reaches” with those wines that will make you smile from your wallet to your palate. The myth that any business is “recession proof” is just that. A myth.  So we have to act accordingly, and you guys are the beneficiaries. 

Now priorities are prioirites, and wine is well behind food, housing, health care, education, the necessities.  But c’mon.  There is something to be said for keeping a few affordable pleasures around to help you get through this thing.  A glass or two of a killer wine for ten to fifteen bucks now and then definitely fits the bill. 

So put your retailer ‘s feet to the fire and demand more bang for your buck. And check out my most recent list of recession wines.  I’ll be updating and expanding the list on an ongoing basis.  You’re in for a lot of amazing wines in the coming months.  You may never think in terms of $30 wines again.  Cheers.

Sorry for being missing in action for so long, but the Holidays are busy for wine guys, thank goodness.  My primary resolution (besides weight reduction, more exercise and generally better, healthier habits) is to blog more.  Like all of the other resolutions, it just makes me feel better. 

We started the new year off with a bang — or more appropriately a bell — when Ellen and I were invited to ring the closing bell yesterday at NASDAQ.  Why, you might ask, we’re we so honored?  NASDAQ decided to honor the work of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, for which we volunteer by fostering a puppy for about a year.  Our current charge is named Tiffany (not our fault, someone else named her) who is a black Labrador Retriever.  

So there we were in the middle of Times Square at the NASDAQ television studio with Tiffany and some of our fellow NYC “puppy walkers”, including Linda Larkin and Yul Vasquez along with their puppy Grace.  Linda and Yul were the stars of the show.  They’re both teriffic actors as well as long-standing puppy walkers — seven pups so far.  We were kind of along for the ride, but we did get to go up to the podium and help ring out the day.  Fortunately, the market didn’t tank.  After the closing bell, we went out to Times Square for a photo session in front of the NASDAQ building.  What a kick, and it was televised!  So all of our families and friends got to see us on the NASDAQ feed.  Naturally, nobody commented on us, just how cute Tiffany is.  No argument there.  Anyway, it was a great boost to the Guide Dog Foundation, and Yul brought up a great point in his comments to the audience.  That being, if you want to do something good this year for someone, what better thing to do then to volunteer to foster a puppy for a year.  It is tough to give them up, but the feeling you have knowing you’re doing something that will help someone else makes it well worth it.  And the puppies make you feel great every day.  We all need more puppies in our lives these days.