DAN'S PAPERS, October 10, 2008 Page 48 www.danshamptons.com
Wine Guide
Letter from the Wine Guide Editor By Susan Whitney Simm Fall is an anxious time in the wine industry. Vineyard managers the world over keep one eye on the grapes and the other on the sky. This fall is also an anxious time for wine consumers, many of whom are suddenly finding themselves having to scale back from their old high-end drinking habits. In the lead story of this Wine Guide, “Recession (Red, White and) Blues� on page 46, senior writer Chris Miller addresses the issue with suggestions about where to find value today. Some of his ideas may surprise you, others will confirm what you have already discovered, and all will offer educated advice about today’s wine market. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Marco and Ann Marie Borghese, owners of Castello di Borghese in Cutchogue. The winery received both a gold medal and “Best in Class� for its 2006 Chardonnay and a silver each for its 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, 2005 Pinot Noir and 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve at the 2008 New York Food & Wine Classic, now in its 23rd year. All wines are tasted blind and judged by professionals in the industry. As the founding vineyard on Long Island’s North Fork, Borghese has some of the oldest vines in the region and produces fruit-driven, food-friendly wines. Marco’s maxim, “good wine is first made in the field,� perfectly illustrates the Borgheses’ dedication to their craft from vineyard to bottle.
Richard Ritter
Advice, News and a Benefit not to Miss SAVE THE DATE: Saint Gabriel’s Retreat on Shelter Island invites you to its first Celebrity Chef Wine Dinner benefit at the Ram’s Head Inn on Saturday, October 18. Chef Matthew Boudreau, formerly of Manhattan’s Balthazar, has leased the food and beverage operations of the inn for this year, and he will prepare some of his specialties at this event. Guests will enjoy a complimentary cocktail hour with open bar and hors d’oeuvres, an appetizer of roasted clams with fennel and spinach, and have a choice of local roast duckling or braised striped bass accompanied by wines made by Eric Fry, winemaker at Lenz Winery in Peconic. Dessert is a warm apple tarte tatin made with apples from Wickham Fruit Farms in Cutchogue. Tickets are $65 per person and seating is limited, so reserve early by calling St. Gabe’s at 631-749-0850, ext. 13. David and I are busy planning our Fourth Annual Great Blind Bordeaux-Style Wine Tasting, which we will host in November. Local wines have shined at previous tastings, where they were up against such boldface names as Chateau Pavie, Chateau Latour and La Mission Haut-Brion. Check Dan’s Papers holiday edition, the final paper of the year, for a story about the always amazing results. Susan Whitney Simm is Dan’s Papers’ Wine Guide Editor. Email ssimm@optonline.net.
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