Brandy Hauman

Alcohol related apps, there sure are lots of them. Which ones do you use? This article lists what they consider to be the best wine related ones, but does not give any critique.

I have a number but I admit I don’t use them often. What I DO use, however, is the Hoptopia app. I am still educating myself about beer, so this comes in handy when I’m in a store with a great selection and I need some help weeding out the ones I know I won’t like.

What I’d really love is a great cocktail app. Any suggestions?

… and according to this review it looks to be as disappointing as all the other ones.

I’ve got the DVR set to catch it, but I don’t have much hope for it. I always wonder why it is that there are no good shows about wine. I’ve been told by many people that I have a knack for talking about wine in an entertaining, informative yet non threatening or stuffy manner. If I can do it, why can’t someone else?

Maybe Alton Brown should try his hand at it. I can just picture his little yeast hand puppets now explaining how sugar turns into alcohol!

I’ve been visiting the wineries out on the North Fork for over 15 years, which while not as long as some other folks is still long enough to note the evolution of the area. I’ve done tasting outside on lawn chairs and folding tables because the winery was still building the tasting room. I remember the big fat cat they had at Pindar (but his name escapes me). I remember when it was Hargrave.

It’s been a few years since our group last visited, so it’s time for another look. Last weekend my friend and I went out there to do a reconnaissance mission for our wine club to see what new places the group should visit. We went to three places we’d never been before, and they were all winners and will be on the itinerary. A very (very!) brief overview:

Sparkling Pointe – they currently have only 4 wines, but each one is very well crafted, and they have a lovely tasting room.

Roanoke – high quality here! The wines are not cheap but since they are so well made you feel like the price is worth it.

Water’s Crest – a tiny tasting room in a strip mall, for a tiny producer. Small but mighty!

I surprised myself by really enjoying the two merlots I tasted, which is very unusual for me. Water’s Crest had a killer cab franc (which I adore), and everything at Roanoke was excellent. The one thing that surprised us was how at Roanoke there were groups of people sitting down with a bottle of wine and some small plates of food and just enjoying themselves… which we’d never seen at a LI winery. Napa, sure, but on LI? Boy how times have changed. Good for them!

I’m thrilled that the wineries out there are fulfilling their potential and are turning out some really excellent wines. The only downside I can see is more traffic to contend with when we next visit.

I just read an eye popping statistic. From this Slate article on organic wine:

They found that the organic vines required about 80 times [PDF] as much fertilizer, by weight, as their conventionally-grown counterparts [PDF].

I’ve been thinking about and educating myself on this subject for years, ever since I was asked to classify and promote all of the organic and biodynamic wines we sold at the wine store I used to work at. I created a labeling system for the store that would carry through on the website, and put up signs around the store explaining the basic concepts so that people would know a green dot on the shelf label meant organic and what exactly organic meant. We had lots of what Brian Palmer refers to as ‘covertly organic’ wines, and we definitely struggled with how to deal with those.

I am always on the lookout for good wine packaged in tetra packs or other lightweight packaging, so as to minimize the carbon footprint of my purchase, so if anyone has one they’d like to recommend please do. Convincing people that you could get a good every day wine in an alternative package, or even with just a Stelvin screw cap, was yet another battle I fought daily.

I don’t have a biodynamic calendar handy… I wonder if today is a root day?

HR5034 died, but the bill has been reintroduced to the 112th Congress. Read more about it here. Wine lovers: unite and send a clear message to your representatives that you want to be able to purchase wine directly from the winery. Just say no to wholesalers who want to complete their stranglehold on the distribution channels and restrict your freedom of choice!

Out with the old, in with the new… Gary Vaynerchuk  is now posting his tasting videos over at  The Daily Grape, and there’s also an iPhone app. I’ll be checking both out.