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.

And now the eighth wine we’re featuring is the 2018 Boundary Breaks Cabernet Franc, from the Finger Lakes AVA. 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 Bounadary Breaks winery owner Bruce Murray’s comments on the wine. 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, September 2020

Jamie Drummond’s Notes on the 2018 Boundary Breaks Cabernet Franc

This light to medium weight Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc comes from the cooler 2018 vintage, but shows no indications of any under-ripeness that can often be found in cooler climate examples of this varietal. The grape has become the signature red for the region, and upon tasting this it’s easy to see why, as it is both playfully charming and intriguingly structured, a combination that is less common that one would imagine.

The nose gives off graceful red berry fruits, with subtle raspberries and strawberries. This fruit is augmented by nuances of violets, homely baking spices, dry leaves, and crumbled dried rosemary that bring brings to mind sun-baked Mediterranean scrubland.

The palate is certainly lighter in style and unequivocally juicy, but reveals much darker fruits such as black cherries and black raspberries at its core, as well as a persistence of florality that continues into the elegant finish. Adding to the texture are some medium firm tannins that work in harmony both with the weight and pronounced acidity to attain a structure of considerable finesse.

With that aforementioned structure, food pairing is a breeze. I greatly enjoyed this lightly chilled alongside some simply prepared, herbed farmer’s pork sausages. Be sure to track down the fattier, artisanal ones, as the wine cuts right through it. Delightful.

HOW TO GET THE WINE

The 2018 Boundary Breaks Cabernet Franc can be bought online at lcbo.com for shipment to home or a nearby store. There are also a few bottles in stock at the Toronto LCBO Vintages stores at Leaside (Eglinton and Laird) and Queen’s Quay: check here for inventory. And the 2018 Boundary Breaks Cabernet Franc 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.