Seven Mountains Ten Point (PA)

Never heard of Seven Mountains? Well, if you live anywhere else besides Pennsylvania, get in line. But if you live in Pennsylvania, you must be living under a rock. Seven Mountains Wine Cellars has been on a massive roll, winning two Governor's Cups at the 2011 PA Farm Show and also taking home a third Governor's Cup at the 2012 PA Farm Show giving them Back to Back Governor's Cups!

Scott Bubb, the winemaker and co-owner along with his wife, is a Mifflin County native and still lives close by in southern Centre County. Born in Lewistown, he grew up in Lumber City (a suburb of Reedsville), and graduated from Kishacoquillas High School in 1974. At the age of 17 he started a nearly 35-year career in manufacturing at New Holland in Belleville, Pennsylvania.



In October 2007, the announcement came that corporate management decided to close the Belleville plant. After hearing the bitter-sweet news, Scott decided to pursue the career that he longed for. He would leave the world of amateur winemaking, go professional, and open a winery with his wife Mary Ann.

Winemaking has been a part of Scott’s life since 1976. He made his first wine from Concord grapes that he picked from his Aunt Sylvia’s backyard. This first try wasn’t what he had hoped for, but it wasn’t all that bad either. Since that day, he has had a strong passion, almost an obsession, with trying to produce the highest quality wine that he possibly can. His Father once told him “If the job isn’t worth doing right, it’s not worth doing at all.” He has lived by that advice for many years.



He has garnered many awards at both regional and national Amateur Wine Competitions, and in 2008 when he decided to make the move to commercial wine making, he was ranked 12th on the American Wine Society's list of the top 50 Amateur Winemakers in the United States.

Seven Mountains Wine Cellars is located between Lewistown and State College, Pennsylvania, in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania.

Recently I tried their Ten Point is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. This was a big lush wine, with exceptional garnet color and ripe red cherry and soft dark raspberry, with a hint of cassis and a whiff of vanilla. The wine was very drinkable, with nice acids, and relatively soft tannins.



What a nice surprise, and what a sophisticated wine. Defintely can be counted among the better red blends of the east coast. Another blue ribbon for Scott Bubb and Seven Mountains!

HUDSON VALLEY CHARDONNAY

If the Hudson Valley is the closest thing New York state has to the Burgundy region (and I would posit that is being recognized as that more and more), then one needs to consider the white wines of the valley. The valley produces a wide range of white wines from Tocai Fruliano to Seyval Blanc, and others.

But the most direct correlation to Burgundy styled wines of the whites is Chardonnay. Chardonnay has really started to take hold here in the valley, and it is proving to be a great and credible region, with some incredible characteristics.



The valley was formed thousands of years ago, when the receding Wisconsin ice sheet gouged a deep ravine up the eastern border of what is now New York state, not far from its New England neighbors, Connecticut and Massachusetts mainly. As it withdrew its icy hand, scratching like fingernails on chalkboard over the state’s northbound rocky spine of the Catskills, it deposited river rocks all along the many farms on both sides of the river.

The terroir of the Hudson Valley is then mostly large and medium round river stones, slate, and some clay. Other compounds emerge from vineyard to vineyard, but these three elements are never very far. A common joke amongst Hudson Valley vineyard owners is that they grow rocks better than anything else.



One of the things many of the region’s best chardonnays have in common is a certain minerality. Whether the vintners do a stainless steel version, with lots of fruit and mineral, or a more complex, Burgundy styled white, made left on lees, with a malolactic touch of creaminess, and hints of toasty oak, these wines come from a place. Using Matt Kramer’s term, they have a “somewhereness” to them.

The best chardonnays of the valley, hands down are: Oak Summit Chardonnay, Millbrook Chardonnay, Tousey Chardonnay, Whitecliff Chardonnay, Cereghino-Smith Chardonnay, and Brotherhood Chardonnay. No order is implied here. These are wines that have won major awards or have gotten review attention from major media and received excellent scores. These are the ones the experts have raved about. Places like the New York Times, the Wall St. Journal, and other newspapers and magazines.

These chardonnays are made with complexity and a drinkability that begs for seafood, whether its shellfish or trout almandine, fresh Hudson Valley artisanal cheeses, salads, soups, a great risotto, or a hot herb-roasted chicken. Served slightly chilled, these whites show big fruits up front like green apple, apricot, honeysuckle, melon and other classic characteristics. The best of them, like the ones above, have a delicateness that makes them elegant, nuanced, and refreshing.
I can’t pretend to have tried all the other chardonnays in the Hudson Valley, as much as I would like to. Upon searching, there are more Chardonnays than even I expected. And many of them are very good (I’ve tasted a bunch) and very, very drinkable. Chardonnay is in fact the most widely produced white wine in the valley.

The Oak Summitt, Tousey, and Millbrook were grown on the east side of the river not far from each other, and have big, lovely fruit forward characters, but delicate flavors and beautiful finishes. And the Brotherhood chardonnay, though made on the west bank of the river, is actually grown on the east side north of Tousey in Columbia County. Tousey’s future chardonnays will also come from that same vineyard.



The Whitecliff is estate grown, and a delicate, flinty white dry wine with wonderful acidity and elegance. And the Cereghino-Smith is blended with a hint of Viognier, giving it a wonderful nose and tremendous fruit forward profile, with a clean, crisp finish.



Other quality wines include Robibero Chardonnay, Palaia Chardonnay, Warwick Chardonnay, Hudson-Chatham Chardonnay, Ledge Rock Hill Chardonnay, El Paso Chardonnay, Basha Kill Wood Duck, Clearview Chardonnay, and Pazdar Chardonnay.

I strongly recommend you try a Hudson Valley chardonnay and taste what the valley has to offer!

GREGORY DAL PIAZ ANNOUNCES A TASTING OF HUDSON VALLEY WINES BY SNOOTH.COM

ANNOUNCING A TASTING OF HUDSON VALLEY WINES BY SNOOTH.COM
Virtual Tasting is Wednesday March 21 at 8 p.m. EST.
Editor-in-Chief, Gregory Dal Piaz will host a tasting of New York's Hudson Valley

FROM SNOOTH:

Live from the Millbrook Winery in scenic upstate New York.

Our next Virtual Tasting is Wednesday March 21 at 8 p.m. EST. RSVP now!

Just a scant hour north of Manhattan lies the Hudson Valley, practically a suburb of New York City, where a world of wonders waits to be discovered. From artisinal cheese to heirloom apples, it is a region rich with traditional delicacies. Do you want to know the best thing about the Hudson Valley?

It's the wine!

Wine in the Hudson Valley has come a long way over the past decades. The vibe remains pretty much the same, think Sonoma circa 1960, but the wines are really evolving. While a decade ago hybrid grapes may have made the most successful wines, today we're looking at Chardonnay and Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and even some groovy outliers like Tocai Friulano!

Sound exciting? Well it is! What's even more exciting is that I'm going to be tasting some of the best wines live during Snooth's next virtual tasting.

Join Carlo DeVito, author, emissary, winery owner and president of HudsonValleyWineCountry.org, and me for an hour of discovery and exploration as we talk about the history of the Hudson Valley and all that is making it one of today's most exciting and vibrant wine producing regions.

Bring any bottle of Hudson Valley wine you can find! We'll be taking live questions about the Hudson Valley and the wines produced there. Come join the party next Wednesday March 21st at 8pm. We'll be waiting!

Go here to link in!
www.snooth.com/virtual-tasting/video/hudson-valley-virtual-tasting/?track=hvwc

Wines included will be:
2010 Benmarl Cabernet Franc
2010 Whitecliff Chardonnay
2011 Millbrook Tocai Fruliano
2010 Hudson-Chatham Baco Noir Old Vines
2010 Brotherhood Dry Riesling
2010 Tousey Pinot Noir