Over The Barrel... with Lenn Thompson

Symposium

Last week, members of the world's wine industry descended upon Stony Brook Southampton for a "The Art of Balance, Cool Climate/Maritime Wines in a Global Context," a symposium organized by the Stony Brook Center for Food, Wine and Culture and the Long Island Wine Council.

Over two days of presentations and panel discussions, many topics were covered, including the various winemaking techniques employed by winemakers, global climate change and its impact on those winemaking decisions, 'natural' winemaking and the elusive concept of terroir-a French term loosely defined as a wine's sense of place.

As winemakers like Alessio Dorigo from Friuli, Gunter Kunstler from the Rheingau region in German, Spain's Katia Alvarez, Pascal Jolivet from the Loire Valley and Steve Clifton from Santa Barbara spoke about their regions and winemaking, one thing became clear: there are a lot of cool-climate winemakers doing a lot of different things in the pursuit of a common goal-perfection. The passion oozed from these men and woman. It was as inspiring as it was educational.

Expectedly, the symposium wasn't without its tense, even controversial, moments.

When asked what they thought of Long Island's wines, the first day's panel offered mixed reviews. Thomas Laszlo, VP of winemaking operations at Heron Hill Winery in the Finger Lakes, wasn't impressed by Long Island chardonnays, calling them "thick" and saying that they show a "similarity across the board." He found blends from Bedell Cellars and Channing Daughters Winery much more to his liking. Oddly, he didn't mention sauvignon blanc, the grape where many others think Long Island's white wine future resides.

On day two, Clifton was much more complimentary, telling those assembled that he thinks that "the wines are as world class as from any region I've been in" adding that "New York should be getting 90s" referring to elusive and undeniably important wine ratings.

Clifton finished by saying "I feel like I'm in Santa Barbara 10 years ago." Of course North Fork winemakers don't have the advantage of a blockbuster wine movie to help substantiate the work they are doing.

One of the most entertaining presentations was given by the Lenz Winery's own Eric Fry, who can always be counted on for strong opinions and a bit of humor. He started with a brief history of Long Island wine, also describing the unique combination of water and weather allows for slow, even ripening and the retention of natural acidity. And while he characterized terroir as a "marketing term" he did describe what he sees as an emerging style on Long Island: respect for the vineyard, ripe fruit and tannins, and fruit-forward wines that are not too high in alcohol or too low in acid. Shortening that definition, he described the style as "full-flavored, balanced wines."

Where do Long Island's wines stand when compared to those from other cool climate regions? Throughout the sessions, we got to taste a couple wines from each of the presenters' wineries, and I can say without a doubt, Long Island's wines belonged.

It was a wonderful two days. There are real challenges for maritime wine regions, but also great opportunities. We can only hope that it becomes a regular event and that in future editions, there is more two-way communication between and amongst the presenters and attendees. That will help everyone involved reach their full potential.

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