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 seventh wine we’re featuring is the 2017 Brotherhood Pinot Noir, from America’s oldest operating winery, located in the Hudson River Valley. Read Jamie’s notes and summer pairing recommendations below. Watch the video below for d’Amato and Lawrason’s impressions and advice on how to serve the wine. Or go ahead and follow the instructions on how to buy a bottle or a few, below. You can also see the other wines in the Taste NY series here. – Malcolm Jolley, September 2020

Jamie Drummond’s Notes on the 2017 Brotherhood Pinot Noir

Although a little closed when first poured, over time this terrific Pinot Noir from New York State gently emerges from the glass like the proverbial butterfly.

Pouring a light pale red hue in the glass, this wine looks almost rosé-like. The manifold bouquet is layered and most appealing, giving many a nod to its Burgundian brethren with aromatics of beetroot, raspberries, moist leaf humus, bruised peach, and cranberry jelly, accompanied by nuanced herbal notes, dill flower, and quite pervasive smoky wood spice from its extended barrel ageing.

The palate is defined by tart, just-pink raspberries, sour cherries, and cranberries, with a subtle backdrop of darker pluminess. Soft but dry and leafy tannins providing a delicate structure to frame the pleasantly piquant fruit. That tannic leafiness extends into the moderate finish.

This wine paired rather excellently with garlic marinated and then roasted (still-slightly-pink) pork tenderloin, glazed with cranberries… I knew there was more to cranberry sauce than just serving it alongside turkey!

HOW TO GET THE WINE

The 2017 Brotherhood Pinot Noir was a popular Vintages release and sold through quickly, but it is still stocked here and there and bottles can be found at select LCBO Vintages stores across Ontario. Click here to check inventory and find a bottle at a shop near you, including Toronto, London, Ottawa, Missasauga, Newmarket and more.

The Brotherhood Winery Pinot Noir 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.