NY Wine Expo - or more like a bigger tasting

Yesterday I went to the NY Wine Expo at the Javits Center in Manhattan. For those unfamiliar with the Javits center, it's a popular site for trade shows as it spans a few city blocks. When I went to the Wine Expo a few years ago, the show took up the entire ground floor. This time it took up a 1/3rd of the place. I'm guessing that's due to the economy. Unfortunately, this meant that a lot of my favorite regions (namely Oregon) had limited to no presence. The upside is that the show was a lot more manageable this year. Well, mostly manageable - the guy working the Portguese Port table was particularly snobby. It's a good thing I already love Port, otherwise his attitude might have turned me off of trying it.

So who was there? Greek wine had a very large presence. Lately I've been reading a lot about how Greece is the next up and coming wine region and I was eager to taste Greek wine. For the most part it was disappointing, but one bright spot was Cambas Wines. I particularly enjoyed their Mantinia, a white that was light, well balanced and crisp and made me crave summer. I also liked their Nemea Reserve which was dry, with some good black fruit on the nose and palette, a slight hint of pepper and a lingering finish.

However, my favorites were (in no particular order):

-2007 Quinta Do Vallado Douro Red: Dry, elegant, plum and cherry; Would lay down for 2-3 years; Portugal

-2009 Dominio De Punctum Anada White: Slight oak, but not overdone, lovely and fragrant with apricot and honeysuckle notes; Spain

-2007 Bodega Monteviejo Petite Fleur Red: Balanced, black fruit, complex and smooth; Made me crave food; Argentina (but made by a winemaker out of Pomerol - not a shocker that I'd love this wine)

-2008 Conway Deep Sea Viognier White: Light, stone fruits and minerals; Would enjoy with lobster; Central Coast California

I was also pleasantly surprised by the white wines of Heron Hill out of the Finger Lakes Region in New York. One of these days I'm actually going to get up to the Finger Lakes!

All in all, it was a good show and though it was a lot smaller, I'm glad I went to see some of the newer vineyards and emerging regions I haven't had the chance to experience. Moreover, it was a great way to spend a cold afternoon - indoors sipping lots of wine.

On Thursday I'm heading to an Argentinian wine tasting. Are you shocked?!?

Until the next sniff, sip or quaff (uh, Thursday night),

Cheers,

Alli M.