RiverMarket Bar and Kitchen

Winter in New York City is brutal. It may not be as cold or as snowy as some places, but those long walks through the concrete canyons in the howling wind make each step feel like a mile. To survive the long winter months, you need to find excuses to get away, even for just a little while.

A break in the worst of the cold temperatures, coinciding with a holiday, gave us the excuse we needed. Hoping in a car, we took a drive north into the Hudson Valley. It was still a cold day, but there was some bright sunshine, so we bundled everyone up and found one of the many hiking trails to enjoy a bit of nature. It is always surprising to be reminded that there is so much park land so close to one of the densest cities in the country.

Reinvigorated by the fresh air, we worked up an appetite. While the area has a lot of amazing restaurants, it being a holiday and a Monday meant that most were closed for the day. We had hoped to try Blue Hill at Stone Barns, to see how it compared to their City outpost, but that will have to wait for another day. Instead, we found ourselves at RiverMarket, on the shore of the Hudson in site of the Tappan Zee Bridge. It was surprisingly quiet for a lunch on a holiday weekend, which worked out well for us as we could linger over our lunch and enjoy a drink before heading back into the city.

Another restaurant with our shared philosophy of fresh, local produce. In this case, it was American food, comforting after a cold day in the woods. A burger and some potato gnocchi happily warmed our bellies. And the day really seemed to call for a beer, and we're still not quite sure why. Fortified with good food and beer, and a reminder that life does exist under all the snow, we returned to the city, ready to face the rest of the winter.

Quick Review: Millbrook Pinot Noir 2009

US, NY, Hudson Valley, Millbrook Winery, Pinot Noir 2009
+ // Earthy // Fruit, Hay, Earth // Cranberry, Bing Cherry, Hay, Chocolate, Earth, Tanins // Light

The wine was full of flavor, but light in body, which we have come to expect from New York Pinot Noir.

Quick Review: Brotherhood Winery Pinot Noir 2010

US, NY, Hudson Valley, Brotherhood Winery, Pinot Noir 2010
++ // Spicy // Fresh Cherry, Earth, Petrol // Pepper, Earth, Old Strawberry // Light - Med

Quick Review: Glorie Farm Winery Lunar White 2011

US, NY, Hudson Valley, Glorie Farm Winery Lunar White 2011
+ // Fruity // Grapefruit // Red Grapefruit // Light

Made from a blend of Vidal and Cayuga grapes, this wine shows how Labrusca grapes can be used to add some sweet and fruity notes, without leading to a wine that tastes entirely of grape juice.

Quick Review: Brotherhood Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

US, NY, Hudson Valley, Brotherhood Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
+ // Spicy, Smooth // Cherry Preserves, Chocolate // Pepper, Ripe Cheery, Smoke // Medium

Made from grapes from the North Fork of Long Island.

Quick Reviews: Benmarl Zinfandel 2011

US, NY, Hudson Valley, Benmarl Winery, Zinfandel 2011
+ // Fruity/Spicy // Strawberry Preserves // Strawberry, Pepper, Chocolate, Jalapeno // Medium

Made from Californian grapes imported into New York, this was a surprisingly spicy Zinfandel.

Glorie Farm Winery

We've been talking about it recently, but it is nice to see the reality of the situation.

Doug Glorie represents the One Percent. Not the One Percent with the money, though he assures us that both his farm and winery have been profitable for the last five years (a rare feat for the farming industry, which relies on unpredictable Mother Nature). Instead, he is part of that hard working one percentage of the American population that brings us our food, and in his case, our drink as well.

Quick Review: Brotherhood Riesling

US, NY, Hudson Valley, Brotherhood Winery, Riesling 2011

++ // Fruity // Peach, Floral // Apple, Nectarine, Floral // Light

This is semi-dry, meaning some sugar has been added. The White House stocks one wine from each of the 50 States to serve at State Dinners. The Brotherhood Winery Semi-Dry Riesling was selected to represent New York. This particular wine represents New York State.

Did You Know?... About the Hudson Valley Wine Trail

When most people think of wine trails to visit from NYC, they think of taking a day trip to Long Island, or maybe a weekend trip to the Finger Lakes. Just an hour north of New York City lies a couple of dozen wineries, tucked among the rolling hills of the Catskills along the Hudson River. Home of some of the oldest vineyards in the US, it has a long history of wine making. Like the other regions of New York State, it grows cool climate grapes, protected from the cold by the hillsides and the river. Grapes like Riesling and Cabernet Franc do well here. It is a fairly new region, with a small number of growers, with young vines and grapes often sourced by vineyards in the Finger Lakes or on Long Island, but its convenience to NYC cannot be overlooked. The parties and events at the various wineries make the trip worthwhile.

Courtesy of Hudson Valley Wineries

The Little Wine Bus on the Hudson River

"Is this the Little Wine Bus?"

"Yes, but I am not done decorating. We will be boarding in a few minutes."

And so we were introduced to our weekend adventure. Looking for something fun to do with our Memorial Day weekend, we stumbled across The Little Wine Bus. We've had mixed luck with wine buses in the past, but we hoped that the promise of "little" tour would help ensure a good time. So we dragged ourselves to Times Square early on a Saturday morning to try to find our bus among the long line of tour buses coming and going. We got there a few minutes early. After disturbing our tour guide Tania, as she was putting up last minute decorations, we waited off to the side, watching the crowds wander by, and our fellow tour-mates slowly gather. It was a fun mix; a bachelor-ette party, several groups of friends, a handful of couples, and even some families entertaining out of town visitors. Tania directed us to our seats, ensuring that the large groups got a seat together, and then we settled in for the not-so-long ride through the strip malls of New Jersey to the rolling hills of the Catskills, and the wineries of the Hudson Valley.

Quick Review: Chicken Pot Pie Pairing

US, NY, Hudson Valley, Millbrook, Tocai Fruliano 2010
+ // Fruity // Green Apple, Oak // Lemon, Grass, Herbs // Medium