Harvest Winespeak Defined
A destemmer awaiting clusters (Photo courtesy of Ramón Mira de Orduña Heidinger) By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Anyone with any involvement in wine knows that the world of wine has a unique...
View ArticleGiving Hybrids Some TLC Could Lead to Better Breeding
Artists' rendering of the methyl anthranilate molecule, responsible for "foxy" aroma in grapes and wine By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Interspecific grape hybrids (hereafter: hybrids) were initially...
View ArticleFermentation Winespeak
By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Have you ever smelled grape juice? Not Concord or Niagara juice but grape must that's about to become wine? It doesn't smell like much. It's kind of like fresh mown...
View ArticleA Rare and Interesting Wine Fault: Ladybug Taint
One stinky bug: The Asian ladybeetle (Photo courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service) By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Have you ever picked up an ant and squished it between your fingers? In some...
View ArticleDEC Defends Hydrofracking, but Opponents Worry About Impacts on Finger Lakes...
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor with Tom Mansell, Science Editor There is energy under our feet, and companies want to access it. The Marcellus Shale formation is about a mile deep, consisting of a...
View ArticleIce Wine Science, Part 1: Volatile issues
By Tom Mansell, Science Editor I recently had the opportunity to participate in part of the ice wine grape harvest at Sheldrake Point Vineyards, located on the west side of Cayuga Lake. Ice wine grapes...
View ArticleIce Wine Science, Part 2: Frozen Assets
By Tom Mansell, Science Editor In my last article on ice wine, I talked about how volatile acidity is an important aroma characteristic in ice wine and how it can contribute to peach and pineapple...
View ArticleGrowing Up Gewürztraminer: Varietal Character and Ripeness
Just-harvested Gewurztraminer at Keuka Springs Vineyard on Keuka Lake By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Photo courtesy of Keuka Spring Vineyards I recently reviewed Sheldrake Point's 2008 Gewürztraminer...
View ArticleWine 101: The Things I’ve Learned About Wine
By Tom Mansell, Science Editor About a year ago, I started my own blog. About six months ago, I became the science editor for this publication. Several years ago, I was a scientist (I still am), but I...
View ArticleAn eNose for Riesling? Machine trained to sniff out pleasant aromas
by Tom Mansell, Science Editor What do humans like to smell? One would think that smell preference would vary from person to person, given cultural and genetic differences. Some smells, though, seem...
View ArticlePumped Up With Petrol: TDN and Riesling
By Tom Mansell, Science Editor At TasteCamp, bloggers were generously treated to many library selections of riesling. Peter Bell guided us through two vertical tastings of Fox Run Vineyards rieslings...
View ArticleThe Science of Biodynamics, Part 1: Ground Rules
Back when I was first getting into wine, I was shopping at Red Feet Wine Market, an Ithaca boutique wine shop. I noticed that some of their shelftalkers had little stickers (seen above) with the...
View ArticleThe Science of Biodynamics, Part 2: Moonstones OR Gravitas Vos Liberabit
The phases of a lunar eclipse, by tizianoj at Flickr A key tenet of biodynamics is the influence of celestial bodies (e.g., the sun, moon, and planets) on agriculture. While no one will deny the...
View ArticleThe Science of Biodynamics, Part 3: Organic Viticulture in Long Island
An earthworm heads back into the soil (source: schizoform on Flickr) I think we can all agree that sustainability in viticulture is important. I mentioned in my first post that our discussion about the...
View ArticleThe Science of Biodynamics, Part 4: Hidden Alchemy in Compost
Yarrow flowers matured in a stag's bladder — Preparation 502 By Tom Mansell All images courtesy of The Millton Vineyard, Poverty Bay, NZ. "For there is a hidden alchemy in the organic process." –...
View ArticleThe Science of Biodynamics, Part 5: Field Spray Preparations: Stirring...
By Tom Mansell We now come to some of the most famous and well-known preparations in biodynamics, the field sprays. Cow manure or silica fermented in the ground in cow horns is practically the very...
View ArticleThe Science of Biodynamics, Part 6: Organic Vinifera in the Finger Lakes
Irish Spring soap used to deter deer in Silver Thread Vineyard By Tom Mansell, Science Editor This series has provoked important conversations about biodynamics, organic growing, and sustainability....
View ArticleSome Finger Lakes Wineries Favor Synthetic Corks for Their Best Wines; Should...
By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor, and Tom Mansell, Science Editor Serious wine consumers are not, generally speaking, fans of synthetic cork. Most recoil at the sight of a plastic cork being pulled from...
View ArticleReplacing Unwanted Vines with Better Varieties: Field Grafting Offers...
Spend time with grape growers, and you’ll eventually hear them lament, “I’d love to rip X variety out of the ground and replace it with Y variety, but it would cost a fortune in time and money.” It’s...
View ArticleFrom the Archives: Fermentation Winespeak
Editor’s Note: Every Thursday — call it Throwback Thursday if you’d like — we’ll pull a story from the more than a decade of NYCR stories and republish it. This week, I chose one of science editor Tom...
View Article
