Something old, something new. Wine has a magical way of being both timeless and innovative. Winemakers are rooted in tradition, but always looking for new ideas for improving the quality of their wines and tending the land that produces the wines we treasure.
Both of those qualities were on full display at the 2023 New York Wine Experience, held at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square Oct. 19–21. For 42 years, Wine Spectator has been bringing wine lovers, winemakers, sommeliers, restaurateurs, chefs and retailers together to celebrate the lasting power of wine, to celebrate old traditions and new ones, to enjoy the way wine can bring us together to remember great times and to forge new memories.
The weekend featured two evening Grand Tastings of more than 260 wines, two packed days of tasting seminars and presentations from wine stars, lunches hosted by Tuscan and Washington vintners and a Champagne and whisky reception catered by some of New York’s greatest restaurants. Over the course of the weekend, more than 4,000 attendees got to sample some of the world’s best wines: a total of 339 wines poured from 16,872 bottles into 48,582 glasses.
[article-img-container][src=2023-10/nywe2023/nywe23-intro-full-seminars-102523_1600.jpg] [credit= (Daphne Youree)] [alt= An aerial view of attendees filling all the seats in the seminar ballroom at the 2023 New York Wine Experience seminars][end: article-img-container]Outside the event in Times Square, billboards flashed with digital messages hawking the latest dishes from fast-food restaurants and the newest reality shows. Inside, winemakers shared stories of winemaking methods that have taken centuries to perfect and bottles that have taken decades to mature.
“When you create great wine, you need time,” observed Frédéric Rouzaud, president of Louis Roederer Champagne. For three days, everyone could take the time to truly enjoy wine’s timelessness and its timeliness.
Seeing Old Wine Friends and Making New
“We are so happy to be here! I came from Rome all the way to New York for this,” said Bernardino Sani of Argiano winery, as he surveyed the crowd on the first night of the Grand Tasting.
Sani was pouring his Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Suolo 2018, a work a decade in the making. “It’s our first single-vineyard wine. In 2012, I had a mind to make a single-vineyard wine, to change the approach to Brunello di Montalcino wines a little bit. It has taken over 10 years to be able to pull this off, so being here really feels like the arrival of all that effort.”
The 263 wineries at the Grand Tasting were pouring perennial favorites and new wines like the Vigna del Suolo, all rated 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator editors. For the consumers, the evening was a chance to revisit old favorites or rare vintages of classic wines, or to discover new wines or regions they had not tried before.
[article-img-container][src=2023-10/nywe2023/nywe23-intro-server-pouring-wine-102523_1600.jpg] [credit= (Daphne Youree)] [alt= A server filling wine glasses during the seminar at the 2023 New York Wine Experience seminars][end: article-img-container]“One of the things that just floors me is not only wines from all around the world—Priorats, beautiful grand cru Chablis—but the fact that people bring wines in magnum or really old vintages, wines that you really can’t find anywhere else,” said Chris Kajani, winemaker at Bouchaine Vineyards in Carneros.
For wine fans, it was a chance to talk with the people behind those wines. And for vintners, it was a chance to meet the world’s most devoted wine consumers. “It’s an opportunity for me to thank them,” said Greg Brewer of Santa…
Source : https://www.winespectator.com/articles/2023-new-york-wine-experience-weekend-wine-memories-innovations-friendship
