New York Uncorked!

This past weekend, I swirled, sniffed, sipped and swallowed far more than I spit. Along with thousands of oenophiles—some discriminating and others, well, simply having a wine-induced good time—I quaffed my way through the New York Wine Expo. While traditional winetasting etiquette may encourage just a taste, followed by a polite spit, circumstance is everything. I personally think fully imbibing is the best way to experience wine (unless of course you get sub-par selection, then by all means dump)—but if you're sampling many and don't want to get sloshed, the sip-and-spit protocol makes sense. With wine-slinging-people bursting everywhere, spitting would have been downright dangerous, even if I could reasonably reach the spit bucket. Rather than risk ruining a random tasters shirt, I kept it simple:
1. Wine = good, then swallow. 2. Wine = bad, empty glass into spit bucket and move on.

Following the success of its inaugural event last year, the New York Wine Expo hosted its second annual tasting February 27-March 1 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. And boy, was the expo overflowing! Over 3,000 consumers and wine trade professionals poured into the Grand Tasting to sample more than 600 wines from 100+ winemakers from around the world. From New York, California to French, Austrian and Argentine—whatever your varietal crush, you'd be hard pressed not to leave this vino expo without a new favorite label, or at least a perfectly stained Cabernet smile.

Friday Night Whites (and Reds)

I started first thing Friday night. Complimentary wine glass in hand, took a lap around the hall first to check out the selections. For easy, logical navigation, winemakers were geographically organized. In one row, you'd find booth after booth with French châteaus and vineyards, while another highlighted South American wines. First stop, the wines of Portugal. Smack in the middle of the wine bauble, Mediterranean seemed as good a place to start my wine journey as any. I sampled Twin Vines Vinho Verde, a light, crisp summery white from Josè Maria da Fonseca Vinhos. The fresh citrus notes would pair perfectly with seafood and shellfish. Next I sipped their Periquita Reserva, a bold, medium-bodied red that didn't tickle my palate as much as the first. So I ditched the rest. Next, I traveled to nearby Spain and tasted the Tempranillo Roble, a delightful, smooth purplish-red with floral and exotic notes. From Bodegas Montalvo Wilmot in the Castilla La Mancha region, these wines are produced according to a hundred-year-old tradition on the Los Cerrillos estate.

Next, I sampled Argentine Malbec and Syrah from Bodega Privada (distributed by Rufino Pablo Baggio). The Malbec was warm, velvety with hints of plum, morello cherry and raspberries. Smooth and pleasant, and much better than the sour Malbec I quickly-and-disappointedly tasted while investigating the Argentine booths (and didn't bother to jot down). The Syrah—soft, silky and spicy and my favorite thus far. I had seconds.

I finished Wine Expo day one with German and Austrian wein. Domdechant Werner'sches Weingut from central Germany's lush Rheingau regions (just outside Frankfurt, and near my childhood stomping ground) had a lovely dry Riesling Classic 2007. Their Hochheimer Hölle Riesling Kabinett 2007 is sweet, fruity and a little too syrupy for my taste. Next, I sipped award-winning Tegernseerhof Rosè Zweigelt 2007, a sublime salmon-colored Austrian rosè with strawberry, watermelon and rose petal notes and surprising dry finish. The $12 price point seals the deal. The Steininger Loisiumweingarten Grüner Vetliner 2007 rounded out the tasting. Named after the architect who built the Loisium, Austria's ultra-modern and spectacular museum of wine-making, this well-balanced white reveals tropical fruit on the nose, lemon oil, pepper and a long finish.

Sunday Wine Club

On Sunday, the crowds were thankfully a smidge lighter. Strictly limited to trade professionals, the last day gave people a chance to talk business, speak one-on-one with vendors and wineries, and of course taste. I kicked things off with a Tour de France. Château de la Liquière (Faugeres Appellation) has a decent Vieilles Vignes 2003, blending Carignan and Grenache nicely. The Carignan grapes are strictly steel-fermented and then later married with the Grenache because as Catherine Bodkin (from Les 4L de la Méditerranée) expertly explains "if you're not careful, oak barrels can easily give delicate Carginan grapes a sour taste." I followed this with a 14-month oak barrel fermented Cistus Red, beautifully blending 70% Syrah, 15% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Carignan. In chic French fashion, I finished off my tour with a modern French Maid 2007 Pinot Noir, that not only had a tres jolie label (featuring a minxy French maid), but a nice toasted strawberry aroma.

Across the aisle, Bodega Del Palacio Frontaura from Santiago, Chile had a noteworthy Chiaza 2004. From there I ventured to North America and sampled the newish Solaire by Robert Mondavi. Available in two distinctive varietals, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, Solaire smartly "uses grapes from all over California, not just Napa, thus lowering the price point" says Sean Phart from Mondavi, San Francisco. Indeed, the grapes come from the Santa Lucia Highlands and Paso Robles appellations and both are just $14.

After Mondavi, I scooted over to Italy and sampled a well-balanced 2001 Podere San Luigi Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Podre San Luigi is a small boutique winery in the heart of Tuscany, Italy. After all this winetasting, I craved cheese and found the Käserei Champignon, a fine German cheese shop that has a delicious Bavarian doublecream bie with porcini mushrooms and apricot jelly. Emboldened from imbibing, I even dusted off a little Deutsch and prattled briefly with Carsten Buschmann, Sales Manager for Champignon North America.

By then, closing time neared and I had time to snap a few photos and do a quick lap. I wrapped things up with Iron Chef Wines and their Estate Bottled Chianti. Random, but surprisingly pleasant. Towards the front exit, the Brooklyn Oenology and its hip artwork caught my eye. Even though last call was firmly announced, they still gladly poured until the last drop. I sampled the Brooklyn Oenology 2007 Social Club White and learned each BOE vintage features label artwork by local artists, which can be easily peeled off the bottle and shared, kept, whatever. This ultimate urban winery grows their grapes on Long Island, trucks them into Greenpoint, Brooklyn and makes them into remarkable wine in an old factory warehouse. As a fellow Brooklynite, I'm inspired and excited to further explore this "little-city-winery-that-could"—and encourage any locals do the same. Full-bodied and fabulous, overall the New York Wine Expo is definitely worth uncorking. Salute!

— Written by Mona Buehler

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