Thursday March 3, 2022: Three Bottles Hand-Crafted in Brooklyn by Red Hook Winery!
If you've ever spent the golden hour in Red Hook, you're familiar with its unique aura. The cobblestones, the quieted industrialism, Manhattan's not-so-distant skyline: the neighborhood feels both of this world and somehow beyond it. It's a fitting location for Red Hook Winery, a distinctly urban winemaking operation that exists in a meaningful relationship with our state's expansive, agricultural landscape.
In January, the Depanneur crew paid a visit to the winery's warehouse on Pier 41 to catch up, engage in a little friendly debate - what makes a wine "barnyardy", really?? - and to sip on a bunch of stuff. Since its founding in 2008, the winery has committed to celebrating the vibrant potential of New York-grown grapes and the ingenuity of the farmers and winemakers who are shaping the region's vinicultural trajectory. Their wines are made exclusively from fruit cultivated in the North Fork of Long Island and around the Finger Lakes, which is then produced from "from grape to bottle" in Red Hook, via a collaborative effort between winemakers Christopher Nicolson, Robert Foley, and Abe Schoener. We love that many of their wines are created using spontaneous fermentation and are holistically expressive of the terroir of their vineyards and the atmosphere of their waterfront winery. It's time to drink more New York wine!
1. "GAIA" WHITE NORTH FORK 2019
100% Chardonnay made from grapes grown at several North Fork vineyard sites: Mattebella, Macari, and Jamesport. Spontaneously fermented and matured for 18 months. Refreshing acidity, grapefruit, lemon, and white floral notes.
2. SENECA LAKE CABERNET FRANC 2018
Spontaneously fermented in open-top puncheons. Aged 18 months in neutral French oak. Silky texture, bright red berries, rustic herbs.
3. MATTEBELLA CHARDONNAY 2014
Spontaneously fermented (1/3 of grapes get skin contact during fermentation), matured 18 months in neutral Frenck oak. Peach, apricot, and a touch of salinity.