Spring Tastings in NYC
If you live in or near New York City, and you like wine, here are some tastings that should not be missed:
Dressner Selections Real Wine Attack 2007, March 22-24, FREE.
This is a tasting of an amazing portfolio of producers primarily from the Loire Valley, but also including one or two from Burgundy, Beaujolais, Languedoc-Roussillon, Bugey, Bordeaux, and Piedmont. These are producers who make "real" wine, not using wood chips, for example (a la the manipulation being heatedly discussed on Eric Asimov's blog right now).
No excuse to miss this one, as you can participate starting tonight, Friday night, and/or Saturday afternoon, depending on which wine shop you want to go to:
Thursday March 22 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at Crush Wine and Spirits.
Friday March 23 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at Prospect Wine Shop and Greene Grape Wines (both will offer smaller versions of the tasting).
Saturday March 24 from 1:00 - 7:00 PM at Chambers Street Wines.
Pinot Days, April 28-29, $50, more for special tastings.
Aimez-vous Pinot Noir? Alors, you should participate in this incredible tasting. There is a "regional" tasting on Sunday April 29 from 1:00 - 5:00 PM offering Pinot from all over the world. Yes, this should be a blast. There are also special American Pinot tastings, such as "Oregon 2005 Vintage Horizontal." These cost about $100 clams, but they offer an amazing opportunity to sample "at least 16 wines" from a specific locale.
What kind of person is it, I ask, who would not go to this Oregon 2005 Horzontal? They'll serve you 16 wines blind - that's right, from paper bags, and after you taste them, talk about them, maybe even guess who produced them, they will reveal the wines. You'll learn about producers, the wines that you really like, and are not as crazy about, and discover whether or not the 2005 vintage is any good.
Brooklyn Uncorked, May 16, $30. 
Are you kidding me?!? You live in or near NYC and you haven't really tasted Long Island wines? No, just 'cause you tasted that one wine at that restaurant once, that does not count. There is amazing stuff happening out there - beautiful (and old world-ish) expressions of Merlot, Cab Franc, and Bordeaux blends...lovely Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays, excellent dessert wines, and plenty of other interesting stuff. All of the top producers will be there, including Shinn Estate Vineyards, The Lenz, Paumanok, and others.
Plus, this tasting is happening in Brooklyn.
Honestly, just come and taste the wines, - I guarantee that you will be impressed with their quality. Some nice folks, including Lenn, will be there too. And if great local wine and Lenn are not enough for you, this event is being held from 6:00 - 9:00 PM at the really cool Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) cafe, a lovely setting, and right near Fort Greene, Cobble Hill, and Park Slope - some very cool Brooklyn nabes. Plenty of good places to eat dinner afterwards.
Sotheby's Pre-Sale Tasting, May 17, $75.
Can't afford Petrus, Rousseau, or Stag's Leap? Well, you should try Pitrus, Rasseau, and Stog's Leap (sorry, old joke). Want to taste them, and other such fine wines? Well, make a reservation (you have to wait until next week to do this), say goodbye to $75 and go to this hectic but amazing tasting. For exactly one hour you will elbow your way through to taste the 1993 Rousseau Clos de la Roche, but how the heck else are we going to taste these wines? I go to these every few months, so click on the "tasting events" label if you want to read about past Sotheby's Pre-Sale tastings.
See you at these tastings - I will be the guy in the Brooklynguy.
6 comments:
O I wish I were...
It's been hard enough hauling myself to my comments box so I can respond to folks like yourself. Hope you'll check back over here again soon...
(And btw, I've posted a good reason for you to visit Montreal.)
Hey Dok,
No worries, you have a lot going on these days, promotion, and all. I am a regular Weingolb visitor, it's part of my daily reading.
have a good weekend.
I signed up as volunteer on the Pinot Days and probably will get an inside look on how this event unfolds.
I totally agree with you. One way to learn wine is to go these tastings, especially the large one such as the Chamber Street wine event on 3/24.
BTW:
1) I went to the Chamber Street tasting for 1 hour. You have no idea how many people just want to get a free drink and did not care what wine they were drinking. I had spent at least 20 mins of my hour to fight to get to the pourers.
2) The wine from Jura region, from this tasting, is interesting and that is something worth trying in the future.
2) Met Marc Oliver and tasted some old vine Muscadet - something you should try. Such minerality and depth.
3) 2005 Cab Franc (they poured quite a few there) benefited from the general '05 good climate and produce wine with such complexity which I think is worth noting also.
Cheers Neil,
Hope Dressner's was a hit.
Marcus
Hi Andrew,
long time no see. Chambers was pretty crowded, yeah, and i was also surprised about how many people seemed to have clue what was going on. I had a ball though, and I tasted almost everything I wanted to taste. I didn't get to the Jura wines, sadly. I just ran out of time. I love the Pepiere Muscadets too. I loved the young one for $10, and the Cuvee Eden and Briords are amazing. You know, I'm not sure what I think about the 05 Loire reds yet...I plan to write about them soon. Thanks for your comments. And Marcus - you would have loved it. Hope you're finding room to breathe up there. Take it easy.
Lame, looks like they raised the price to $95...
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