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The Best Of The BunchNew York Wines Are Tasted A n d Rated By Some O f Brooklyn*s M ost Discerning PalatesH om e w inem akers Linda LaV io lette and John Esposito (left photo) to ast the N ew York S ta te w ines, w hile John Given (center) tests thebouquet of one of the reds. At right G age and T ollner ow ner Ed D ew ey tastes th e w ine w ith M ich ae l S trasser e xe cu tiv e d ire c to r of theFulton M all Im provem ent A ssociation. (P h oenix/G arcilazo Photos)There are two types of winetasters: Those who taste a lot of wines and those who drink a lot of wine. The Phoenix invited %u201cexperts%u201d from both groups to taste the best of New York State wines and record their comments in a Phoenix-sponsored informal wine tasting. Eight bottles of white and two reds were tasted by the group which included: Jonathan Levine, director of Les Amis Devin, a national group of winetasters; Michael Strasser, executive director of the Fulton Mall Improvement Association; William Harris, a real estate broker; Taies Latham of State Street; Dennis Holt of Bergen Street; and John and Ann Given,Dr. Bo Hahn, John Esposito, Iinda LaViolette, all home winemakers.BY TRACY GARRITYFor too long it was a commonly-held belief that the really fine wines came from across the Atlantic Ocean. French wine was the best. Or German wine was the best. The wines were judged as much on longevity, tradition and reputation of their makers as they were on the taste of the wine itself. Then California wines barrelled onto the scene, the trendy new kid on the block with wines that became famous for their technology as much as their taste. But now there%u2019s a new kid bullying the wine industry, and you don't need a passport to enjoy.The ten wines lined up at Gage and Tollner%u2019s Restaurant late Thursday evening had little reputation to entice the taster.New York has often been considered an also-ran in the wine market race, yielding a harvest of grapes more suited to bottling by Welch%u2019s than even by Ernest and Julio Gallo. But this year, New York wines may have come of age, as a panel of Brooklyn tasters, many of whom make their own wines, proclaimed the selection of New York State wines highly competitive with their other-coast counterparts. While New York wines are not really new, their reputation is sure changing and it%u2019s, at long last, putting the fruity New York grapes on par with that grown in California.%u201cYou can%u2019t really compare them,%u201d says Jonathan Levine, director of Les Amis Devin, a wine society, and contributing editor to Friends of Wine Magazine. %u201cIt%u2019s like the cliche of comparing apples to oranges. They use different strains of grapes.%u201dNew York wines are made from hybrid grapes or native vitas labrusca grapes, he says, generally thought to be better for grape juice than fine wine. %u201cThe Concord is the best example,%u201d says Levine. %u201cIt%u2019s very hearty and does well in New York.%u201d The California Grapes (Vitas Vinifera) are similar to those harvested in Europe.But despite the apple and orange dilemma, the comparison is too sweet to ignore. Especially when many of the tasters believed the New York whites to be almost on par, or in some cases better, than the California whites.NY CAN HOLD ITS OWN%u201cI believe that the reds may have a little more to go before they can equal the California reds,%u201d said John Given, who himself recently won a blue ribbon in a national competition for home winemakers, and whose own Chardonnay took second honors at the New York State fair. %u201cBut I really think New York can hold its own with the Chardcnnays.%u201dDuring the tasting, two Chardonnays emerged as th most favored from among the New York wines tasted. The Wagner Chardonnay, and the Glenora Chardonnay, both from Finger Lakes wineries.%u201cThe Glenora tastes similar to a French Burgandy,%u201d said Given. %u201cIt%u2019s got that little stink that almost puts you off, but the fruitreally comes through. It%u2019s really verystylish.%u201dAnn Given agreed with that assessment. \flavor. I though some of the others were too sweet. I just don%u2019t like very sweet wines.%u201d Which brings out the point that wine tasting is a highly subjective matter. While tastes vary from palette to palette, it is only the common threads culled from those hunBY TRACY GARRITYEd Dewey is understandably chauvinistic about New York State wines. As the owner of Brooklyn%u2019s oldest restaurant %u2014 Gage and Tollner %u2014 his own wine cellar boasts more than 20 different wines fermented from New York grapes. But Dewey says having the wines in stock is more than just good business, it%u2019s also good taste.%u201cThey are definitely coming of age,%u201d he says. %u201cEspecially the whites. Right now nearly one fifth of my wine lift is New York State wines.%u201d He says diners regularly ask for the New York wines where before the demand was always for imported or California wines.%u201cI would say that we move some of the wine every day where before maybe we%u2019d only move it once or twice a week,%u201d says Dewey, adding that the New York State grape growers%u2019 %u201cUncork New York%u201d campaign may have contributed to the success of the wines. %u201cIt%u2019s hard to trace unless you ask every person who orders it why they chose a particular wine.%u201dGage and Tollner%u2019s wine list boasts 17 whites, three reds and one champagne from New York State wineries. Dewey occasionally attends tastings to see what new wines are on the market, or which wineries are producing the better wines. He said he attended a tasting last season that boasted the products from 27 different wineries in New York State. %u201cThey had 84 different varieties of wine,%u201d he says. %u201cOf course some were clunkers but some of them are really terrific.%u201dDewey says that New York fights an uphill battle against its California and European counterparts. %u201cNew York wine is thought to be foxy,%u201d he says. %u201cThat means it tastes too much like grapes %u2014 like the Concord wine.%u201dThrough the many tastings and the stock in his own wine cellar, Dewey reiterates what most winelovers seem to feel aboutdreds of tastes that proclaim a wine worthy. IT WAS MOST COMPLEX %u201cI thought the Glenora had a very nice balance,%u201d said Levine. %u201cIt had just a hint of vanilla flavor, and a medium finish. I thought it was the best of the Chardonnays.%u201d The vanilla, he continues, is due to time spent in oak casks. %u201cSome California wines taste like you%u2019re chewing toothpicks. Although I suppose that someNew York wines. The whites (typically from the finger lakes region) are better than the reds (more often grown on Long Island).His own favorites are the Wagner and Wickham whites and the Lenz and Bridgehampton reds. %u201cI particularly like the Bridgehampton Merlot,%u201d he adds. %u201cMost of the reds still aren%u2019t as good as California%u2019s, but the Merlot is really quite good.%u201dGage and Tollner patrons will have the opportunity to sample New York wines in the next week or two, when the restaurant begins offering the wines by the glass. %u201cIt%u2019s the next step in our promotion of the wines,%u201d says Dewey. %u201cI think if we wheel a cart around and offer a taste or a glass, most people %u2014 if they%u2019re at all interested in wine %u2014 will say yes. They may not like all the wine, because taste is such a persona! thing, but the New York wines are getting better.%u201dThe Tastes O f The S tateWines for tasting at Nov. 13 wine tasting at Gage & Tollner Restaurant, 375 Fulton.White ChardonnaysBrooklyn: Crown Regal Wine Cellars.Finger Lakes Region: Glenora Wine Cellars, Wagner Vineyards, Wickham Vineyards.Lake Erie District: Woodbury Vineyards.Scyval BlancHudson River Region: Ben Mar! Wine Company.Finger Lakes Region: Glenora Wine ueiiars.R edHudson River Region: Ben Marl Wine Company, Baco/Chebois/Foch.Long Island: Bridgehampton Winery, Merlot.problem could occur in New York, it didn%u2019t with this wine.%u201dThe Wagner Chardonnay, however, was the taste favorite, among the more amateur winetasters. Comments like %u201cIt tastes good,%u201d %u201cIt%u2019s smooth going down,%u201d %u201cNo bad after taste,%u201d were combined with comments that the wine could probably go anywhere, from dinner, to a party, to use as an afterwork relaxer, but no one ventured a solid guess as to why. %u201cIt%u2019s light and easy to drink,%u201d said Dr. Bo Hahn, who makes his own wine at his home in Park Slope. %u201cIt%u2019s probably as simple as that.%u201d%u201cI think it showed a lot of sulfur,%u201d said Levine, of the Wagner in its only negative comment of the evening. %u201cI%u2019ve had it before and it has been quite good. I didn%u2019t like this bottle, however. It just smelled of sulfur that interfered with the taste.%u201dTHE SENTIMENTAL FAVORITEThe sentimental favorite of the whites this evening, however, was the Crown Royal, made in Brooklyn. Somewhat less flavorful than the other whites in the room, it nonetheless garnered more than its share of popular praise.%u201cIt%u2019s a nice wine,%u201d said Dr. Hahn. %u201cIt%u2019s very drinkable.%u201d%u201cIt would be a good wine to have with dinner when friends are just coming over,%u201d said Jeanne Matthews of Park Slope. %u201cIt%u2019s a simple wine.%u201dNegative comments ranged from the lack of flavor to general distaste. %u201cI just didn%u2019t like it,%u201d said John Esposito, who with his wife Linda LaViolette made their first batch of white wine this year, but have a long tradition of creating reds. %u201cI don%u2019t think it had any taste at all.%u201d%u201cIt would make a good spritzer with a little club soda,%u201d said Michael Strasser, executive director of the Fulton Mall Improvement Association. %u201cBut it%u2019s a little thin by itself.%u201d%u201cUgh,%u201d was the note Jonathan Levine scratched onto his notebook.HE OPENED SECOND BOTTLEGage and Tollner proprietor Ed Dewey, however, who would not divulge his own personal favorite, did say that he had toContinued on Page 4*%u2022%u00bb%u00bb pariici|Miiiiig in iiic utsiiugs werethese members of The PhoenixNewspaper staff: Elizabeth Foster,Sydney Sue Selonick, George Fiala,Dnynia Armstrong and Michael Armstrong.Why Drinking New York Style Is Becoming More Popular At G&TPage 2, THE PH OENIX, Section Two, November 20,1986