Lakewood's wine a NY product from start to finish

In the world of spirits, when one refers to an oak barrel it usually means American white oak or French Limousin oak. At Lakewood Vineyards on Seneca Lake, winemaker Chris Stamp is sticking to his own backyard.

Stamp (right) has begun aging his Chardonnay in 59-gallon barrels, built by coopers in Pennsylvania from New York State oak.

“It has produced an extremely nice Chardonnay,” Stamp told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. “We’ve had a consistent run of gold medals.”

As the newspaper reported, "Stamp’s original intent was to better capture the regional terroir by using locally sourced wood for his barrels. 'Where’s the sense of place if you’re using French oak barrels?' he says. After floating the idea in 2002, Stamp patiently waited -- three years -- for the barrels to be cured and seasoned before phasing them in. Lakewood ... now relies on this backyard bonanza for half of its Chardonnay vintage.. ... Stamp notes a more 'delicate' character imparted by our climate’s tighter-grain oaks'."

Dr. Frank Stamp founded the vineyard in 1951, leaving his dentistry practice in Maryland to do so. He bought Lakewood Farm, a rundown peach and apple orchard, and the next spring began planting grapes. The family grew commercial grapes only until 1988 when Monty Stamp (Frank's son), his wife, Beverly, and their children pressed the grapes for their first wine vintage.

Chris Stamp was raised on Lakewood Farm and went on to study food science and chemistry with the goal of becoming a winemaker. He graduated in 1983 and went on to work for Plane's Cayuga Vineyards, a pioneer winery on Cayuga Lake, then worked as a research and extension associate for the wine industry in Ohio. When Lakewood Vineyards winery opened, he returned to the family farm and has been winemaker for each of its vintages.

Lakewood Vineyards is located at 4024 State Road 14, Watkins Glen. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Phone: (607) 535-9252.

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World's oldest bartender retiring

• From the Associated Press

WEST VIEW, Pa. — Only minutes after Prohibition died in 1933, Angelo Cammarata, 19, served a 10-cent bottle of Fort Pitt beer to a customer in his father's neighborhood grocery.

Ever since, except for a 30-month hitch during World War II, the son of Italian immigrants has been tending bar and serving drinks. Guinness World Records dubbed him the longest-serving bartender a decade ago, and he's earned induction into Jim Beam's Bartender Hall of Fame and numerous other honors.

Now 95, he's calling it quits.

[Go here for the full story.]

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Midwest gets nation's largest AVA

You may not know the wine appellation "Upper Mississippi River Valley" now, but watch for it on wine labels at your favorite purveyor in the coming months.

It is the newest federally-approved American Viticulture Area (AVA) -- and the nation's largest, cutting through 29,914 square miles of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. The largest AVA had been the 26,000-square-mile Ohio River Valley.

The new designation comes as a response to wine and agriculture officials from the four states petitioned the U.S. Alcohol Tobacco and Tax and Trade Bureau, which designates AVAs, such as Napa and Finger Lakes.

The new region works as a specific geographic area, a necessary criterium, because, unlike much of the flat plains of the Midwest, the Upper Mississippi River Valley is covered with steep slopes and well-drained soil required to grow premium grapes, usually various hybrids since the harsh winters wreak havoc on less hardy grapes as cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.

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Illinois alcohol taxes set to soar

Consumers in Illinois will be hit with the largest alcohol tax increase in state history come September 1. Oh, and many suppliers also plan to rase the prices of their products as well.

It reminds me of the situation a Canadian distillery official told me about during a visit to his operation a few years ago when the subject of high prices of adult beverages in his country came up.

"Why don't you find many Canadian alcoholics?" he asked. "Because no one makes enough money to be one."

In Illinois, the excise tax on alcohol is paid to the state by the manufacturer or distributor. According to the state's Department of Revenue, consumers can expect to see the tax on a six-pack of beer go up by 25% (from 10.4 cents to 13 cents), the tax on a bottle of wine go up 86% (from 13 cents to 28 cents), and the tax on a fifth of distilled spirits 90% (from 90 cents to $1.71).

That all is based on current prices. Once supplier price hikes are figured in, consumers probably will be paying about $3 more for a 1.75-liter bottle of spirits and $1 or more extra for a bottle of wine.

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Hormone Management Chart

Men, studies have shown that one's happiness-in-a-relationship factor can be improved by double-clicking on the chart below and memorizing its contents.



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They still exist???

A 136-year-old organization, gathered in Wichita, KS, this week for its annual convention, has found something current to complain about.

It's the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the same all-female organization that helped push through Prohibition back in 1919.

Their complaint? President Barack Obama’s suds summit with the Harvard prof and the local cop involved in a recent dustup that immediately became a cause celebre for people who love to play the race card -- from either side.

Bunny Galladora (honest), WCTU media director, said the meeting sent the wrong message because “alcohol and conflicts are not a good combination.”

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Whinnying for wine

Celebrity endorsements of wines and spirits are one thing, but do people really want to sip something endorsed by a horse?

This isn’t just any old horse, of course, of course. It’s the famous three-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra.

Kendall-Jackson Winery announced Tuesday that a limited edition of wines honoring the horse will be ready for the holiday season. K-J plans to produce and bottle 300 cases of the wines. Each bottle will bear the horse’s image.

Actually, we should have seen this sort of marketing gimmick coming. Kendall-Jackson co-owners Jess Jackson and wife Barbara Banke bought the filly in in May after she won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 1/4 lengths.

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IW&SC wine/spirits results are in

What event involves 10 weeks of blind tasting by 70 industry experts from around the globe evaluating light and fortified wines from 33 different countries across Europe, Asia, the U.S. and Canada?

If you said the International Wine & Spirits Competition you'd be right. The UK-based global event has wrapped up its Northern Hemisphere wine and spirits judging, with the Southern Hemisphere's products to be judged later in the year.

The judges awarded 102 gold medals, a number that represents just 3% of the entries.

Riesling enjoyed a resounding return with Germany taking 12 Gold medals, predominantly for this grape variety. France, Italy and Spain were the highest scoring countries judged by total medals won. New entries came from Turkey, Tunisia, Thailand, South Korea and Montenegro, with the latter plus Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden being the only four countries to win medals for each entry from their country.

Go here for the results, available by category, from the IWSC.

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