Good Food Revolution and the New York Wine and Grape Foundation present Taste NY…

Remember the world before the COVID-19 crisis? In March of this year the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, the LCBO, and a handful of boutique wine importing agencies launched an ambitious project to bring a showcase of some of the best wines of the Empire State to Ontario. The plan was to introduce local wine enthusiasts to treasures from Long Island, the Hudson Valley and the Finger Lakes through this promotion at the LCBO website, and make the wines available online… then COVID struck and like so many plans in March, things didn’t quite go as expected.

The good news is that the wines have been safely stored in the LCBO’s climate controlled warehouse and are still very much available. Back in the early spring NYWGF got the esteemed wine writers and critics David Lawrason and Sara d’Amato to host a series of video tastings of each wine with the legendary New York City sommelier and Terroir Wine Bar restaurateur, Paul Grieco. Good Food Revolution is working with New York Wines to help get this story out and connect Ontario wine enthusiasts and GFR readers with eight ‘Taste NY‘ wines rarely seen on this side of the border.

The fifth wine we’re featuring is the 2017 Hosmer Chardonnay ($27.05 – LCBO# 726371). Read Jamie’s notes and summer pairing recommendations below. Watch the video below for d’Amato, Grieco and Lawrason’s live tasting and impressions, as well as winemaker Julia Hoyle on why her Chardonnay is a little bit different (in a good way). Or go ahead and follow the instructions on how to buy a bottle or a few. You can also see the other wines in the Taste NY series here. – Malcolm Jolley, August 2020

Jamie Drummond’s Notes on the 2017 Hosmer Chardonnay

In a region best known for it’s Riesling (when it comes to white wines), it’s great to see a handsome single-vineyard Chardonnay like this raise its head above the parapet. This is a lean and finely-tuned expression of New York State Chardonnay, with a number of characteristics that mirror those of Rieslings from the same area.

The inviting bouquet is reminiscent of citrus (lime/lemon), cooler orchard fruit (apple/pear) and orchard blossoms, with just a touch of autolytic charm courtesy of some lees contact. There’s barely a whiff of oak present here, and it’s hard to pick up upon unless you are really searching for it, but my very first tasting notes on this wine express that I could sense a hint of some fine-grained close-to-neutral cooperage hidden within that citrus/orchard fruit core.

On the snappily crisp and dry palate, similar primary fruit once again comes to the fore, with the creaminess of the wine’s malolactic fermentation rounding out the mid-palate texturally, and leading into what is a decidedly lingering mineral finish that brings to mind that of the wines of Chablis.

In a perfect world I’d pair this with roasted ham, but definitely without the sweeter glazes that we often see in North America. Add to this some boiled fingerlings potatoes (in butter and chives) alongside a piquant green salad, and you have my recipe for the perfect late summer luncheon.

HOW TO GET THE WINE

The 2017 Hosmer Chardonnay is one of the full array of Taste NY wines stocked at the LCBO Vintages store at Eglinton and Laird, in the Toronto neighbourhood of Leaside. Click here to check inventory at LCBO website. It can also be bought online for shipment to home or a nearby store. And, the 2017 Hosmer Chardonnay and all of the other eight Taste NY wines available in Ontario are featured and can be browsed at this special LCBO Discover The Wines of New York page.

Email versions of this post won’t display video. Please click here to see the video at GFR.

Watch GFR every week for a new featured Taste NY wine, offered in Ontario for a limited time, while stocks last. Or browse the series here.

Taste NY, launched by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in 2013, highlights the quality, diversity, and economic impact of food and beverages grown, produced, or processed in New York State. Taste NY aims to create new opportunities for producers through events, retail locations, and partnerships.
The New York Wine & Grape Foundation is a Good Food Fighter. Please support the businesses and organizations that support Good Food Revolution.