 "Best of the Year" For the fifth time in as many years, a Paumanok wine was included in Bon Appétit's annual "Best of the Year" issue (January 2002). This year, it is the 2000 Dry Riesling. This was the only wine from the east coast to be included in the list. In 2000, it was the 1999 Semi Dry Riesling. In 1998, it was the 1995 Merlot Grand Vintage. In 1997, the 1995 Chardonnay Grand Vintage. And, in 1996, the 1995 Semi Dry Riesling. LONG ISLAND VINES Anytime Riesling As the German-born Eberhard Müller formerly of Lutèce and now executive chef at Bayard's in Manhattan and a Cutchogue resident, put it: " Semidry riesling and ham? For me, any day, any time." Though German rieslings are sold on Long Island, they can be passed up in favor of a homegrown Germanic version that is exactly right for holiday dinner: the delicious 2000 semidry riesling from Paumanok, in Aquebogue on the North Fork. Paumanok is not the East End's sole riesling producer, but after 10 years of making dry, semidry and dessert versions of the wine, it is perhaps the most experienced in the art. The grape, after all, runs in the blood of the German-born Ursula Massoud, who, with her husband, Charles, owns Paumanok. "On Ursula's mother's side of the family, they have been growing grapes and making wine in the Pfalz since the 1700's," Mr. Massoud said. Her cousins, he said, are vineyard managers at Muller-Cattoir and Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, two of the Pfalz's most distinguished estates. Lightly chilled, their 2000 semidry riesling ($15) is charming: a lovely confectionary bouquet and flavor, abounding in peaches, apricots, honey and marzipan, with an endless aftertaste. Young, upbeat, full of brio, this light wine (only 10 percent alcohol) is fun to drink; yet it is still quite young, still harmonizing, still not possessed of the nuanced curlicues that will turn up in six months. But, frankly, I can't imagine anyone being so masochistic as to hold it that long. If on Easter Sunday a fish course precedes the ham, Paumanok's 2000 dry riesling ($15), with its squeeze-of-lemon acidity, can come into play. Like its semidry sibling, it is light (11 percent alcohol) and slightly spritzy and displays a floral and fruity bouquet and flavors (young peaches especially). But it is leaner, more appetite-whetting and, in this phase of its career, simpler. A year hence, it will be more intricate; however, it will take a detective to find a bottle. HOWARD G. GOLDBERG Wine Enthusiast - April 2001 87 Starts off with intriguing aromas of spring flowers (lilacs?) and Asian pear. Crunchy apple and ripe lime flavors linger on the palate. Drink now or age up to five or seven years. Saveur - April 2001 Lively, fresh, and light, with an abundance of young riesling character and a nice lemony bite on the palate. A perfect sipping wine for springtime afternoons. $14.99 a bottle. |