Rob and Bill Russell at Westport Rivers in Massachusetts have consistently made great wines - particularly sparkling wines.  These two brothers know how to work with both the weather conditions and plant material - clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay - so that they get both the most flavor and structure from their wines. Westport Rivers is not making simple tourist wines.  Rather, their products are serious wines. The basic Brut Spakling Wine has pointed crisp acidity and great citrus notes that makes it a perfect pairing to creamy cheeses, oysters or even Lobster.

Most consumers don't think of Long Island, New York as a major wine region.  The area often gets overshadowed by the more famous Finger Lakes AVA.  That is a shame because Long Island is doing some great things with vinifera grapes - particularly with the red varieties Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  These grapes benefit from the fact that Long Island vineyards get more Gulf Stream warming influence than their New England counterparts.  The results are red wines with good ripeness and crisp acidty.  Juicy cherry, red currant, red plum and cranberry flavors mark many Long Island reds and make them perfect summer wines.

I recently tasted a number of wines from One Woman Winery in Southold, New York on Long Island's North Fork.  Winemaker Claudia Purita grew up in Calabria Italy and her wines have the ripe fruit character of that region.  The wines were impressive and showed ripe, clean fruit and careful winemaking with attention to detail. I particularly liked One Woman's two Merlot wines.  The One Woman Rosé is a fruit driven wine with a lot of cherry and red berry notes.  It has great acidity making it both refreshing and versatile -- it will work equally well with food or as a sipping wine.  The One Woman red Merlot, has more dark plum and spice cake notes, but still maintains the clean, crisp acid quality which gives it a brightness and lively character. Ripe fleshy tannins add body and structure to this wine and make it a great pairing for grilled chicken, beef or pork.

Northeast US wines are not the easiest to find on store shelves or restaurant lists.  In fact, most are sold "cellar door" style at the wineries themselves.  Still, if you find yourself traveling in the region look out for these wines.  They will give you a totally new perspective on what the Notheast can do with vinifera grapes.

Soave comes in many forms: "Classico," Superiore" "Recioto" and just pure "Soave." The first three of these designations represent the best Soave and were given DOCG status, Italy's top quality designation in 2002. The rules for making DOCG Soave underwent a change at this time with the result being a wine with more depth, structure and layers of flavor. Classico and Superiore come from the hillsides around the town of Soave, whereas basic Soave comes from the flatter higher volume and more fertile plains.  Recioto is a sweeter style made from dried grapes.

The key component in Soave is the Garganega grape.  This variety creates medium weight wines with crisp acidity and flavors of lemon, red and yellow apple, mineral and sometimes even a hint of almond.  When Soave is made from 100% Garganega it is, in my mind, at its best.  The wine is both a great sipping or cocktail drink, as well as a terrific accompaniment to everything from chicken and creamy pastas to just about any seafood dish.

Producers do have the option of adding up to 30% of either Chardonnay or Trebbiano di Soave (according to the Oxford Companion to Wine - this is the same grape as Verdicchio) in their wine.  For me, these blending partners are O.K., but the wines lose some of their unique character.  Some of the better producers to look for include Pieropan (who led the revolution to bring quality back to Soave production), Gini and Inama.  All three of these producers currently have their 2010 vintage on the market and all show the great lemony- apple and mineral notes that makes Soave so appealing.

The overall improvement in Soave makes it a wine that deserves attention.  If you have never tried it, what are you waiting for?  If you have had it before try it again - you are likely to be positively surprised!

The Marlborough region is at the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island and is the largest agricultural vineyard area in the country.  Although the small town of Blenheim is the center of the wine wine industry, vineyards are spread over three huge valleys that benefit from intense sunlight (remember news stories a few years ago that the ozone was disappearing over New Zealand?), warm days and very cool evenings.  The result are wines with dynamic, ripe powerful fruit combined with crisp refreshing acidity.

I spent a week last summer touring Marlborough and was impressed with how many producers were looking beyond Sauvignon Blanc.  Most wineries had either a Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio in their portfolio, but not all wines were successful.  Most wineries call their wine "Grigio," after the Italian style with its crisp apple and lemon flavors. I generally found these wines to be less than successful.  They were either very austere or overly sweet.  

Producers making the riper richer Alsatian style "Gris," however, were all together different.  These wines stood out to me as products I would want to follow and buy.  In New Zealand's climate producers are able to allow the Pinot Gris (same grape as Pinot Grigio) to fully ripen.  The result is a rich, heady wine full of flavor, but also with enough classic New Zealand acidity to make this a wine that is easy to drink on a hot summer day.

Three of my favorite New Zealand Pinot Gris came from Lawson's Dry Hills, Cape Campbell, and Villa Maria. Lawson's version is loaded with spiced pear and baked apple pie that comes from using some botrytis fruit in the blend.  It also has a hint of creamy vanilla, the result of fermenting some of the wine in oak barrels.  This is a wine with great depth that goes well with grilled fish or chicken.  Winemakers Marcus Wright and Rebecca Wiffen are two of the funniest, nicest people I have met, but they take their wines seriously and it really shows.

Cape Campbell's winemakers, Matt Thomson and Alana McGettigan are among the most creative in Marlborough and their Pinot Gris is also distinct with crusty brioche, pear and almond flavors. A hint of sweetness brings everything together to make this a wine you want to keep sipping - each time discovering something new.

Villa Maria produces several Pinot Gris, all of which are good, but for me the standout is the Seddon Vineyard label from the Awatere Valley.  This wine is dense with pear and cinnamon flavors, and hints of meyer lemon.  Add a balance of lively acidity and just a touch of off dry sweetness and the Seddon Valley Pinot Gris is both easy to drink, but also quite complex.  The wine is perfect for a picnic or an evening cocktail wine, but also will work well for a range of foods from sushi to grilled chicken or fish.

People who know me understand that I have strong feelings that too many retailers only carry wines from Marlborough in their New Zealand offering.  I find too many wine shops ignore regions that produce equal or better wines from varieties other than Sauvignon Blanc - Hawkes Bay for Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, and Central Otago for Pinot Noir and Riesling. I haven't changed my mind and as a consumer you should explore beyond Marlborough.  That said, don't leave the region entirely and if you want to expand beyond Sauvignon Blanc try the Pinot Gris.

2003 was a historic year in France and much of Europe but for all the wrong reasons.  This was the summer of heat. Stories appeared about people suffering with lack of air conditioning. Grape vines shut down for a period - which happens in extreme heat - and when they woke up made very small yields of what some people say was overripe fruit. But winemakers with vines were in a traditionally cooler area like the Medoc, had an advantage. Vines here produced sweet, exotic fruit. Alcohol was high, but careful winemakers were able to produce wines with restraint. These are not wines to cellar for years, but they are drinking quite well now.

I had the opportunity to taste a number of Medoc AC wines over the past few weeks and one producer that stood out was Chateau Preuillac. Preuillac is a Cru Bourgeois rated chateau with a style that is definitely fuller and fleshier than many of its fellow Left Bank Bordeaux producers. Preuillac uses more Merlot than many other chateau in its wine blends and it is the dominance of this often maligned grape that gives these wines their richness and plummy spice cake characters. There is still substantial Cabernet Sauvignon in the Preuillac blend which adds structure by providing backbone acidity and tannin, as well as black currant and cedar-like spice. The combination of the two grapes (often with a small amount of Cabernet Franc and/or Petit Verdot) creates a richly textured wine with great flavor.  

Chateau Preuillac got the balance just right in 2003 and the result is an exotic, lush wine that still has the restraint of its old world origin. The wine is great with any type of meaty foods and would likely be ideal for hearty vegetarian cuisine.  But what makes Medoc AC in general such a good by is its price. Some of the best wines, including Preuillac, can be purchased for under $25. Although that is still pricey, it is far less than more famous Bordeauxs. So if you are a fan of rich, but not over the top reds check out the Medoc and the 2003 vintage. This region and this year are often overlooked, but that is a major missed opportunity.