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Wine Wednesdays With William: Orange Is The New White Wine

William Roach
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Wine Wednesdays With William: Orange Is The New White Wine

For those of you wine enthusiasts who enjoy tastings and attempting to identify the various notes that make up their favorite choices, orange wines’ origins might throw you off a bit. For one, they have nothing to do with the sun-kissed fruit. Their makers exist outside of the wine mainstream but have found a foothold in the world’s hipper, trendier neighborhoods such as Brooklyn and Hoxton (just outside of London), where things like extreme craft brewing and artisanal distilling are de rigueur these days.

So if oranges have nothing to do with how orange wine is made, how does it come to be? Orange wines are actually made from white wine grapes, which are allowed to keep their skins all the way through the winemaking process (as red wine grapes are), instead of shedding them at the very beginning as conventional white wines do. The newly made orange wine is left alone with the skins, pits and stalks for an extended extraction period of up to 12 months, often in pottery jars.

The result is a wine that’s noticeably darker than the white wines we’re used to, with hues that range from yellow and amber to gold. That resultant color all depends on the grape variety, ripeness and length of maceration time. Orange wines have the texture of traditional red wines, with sometimes prominent, drying tannin, which makes them more suitable for drinking with dinner rather than on their own.

While the hipster winemakers of the world might try to claim the invention of orange wine as their own, don’t be fooled; the winemaking style dates back hundreds of years to exotic locales such as Georgia, Slovenia and Friuli in Northeast Italy. The orange wine “renaissance” was sparked by a man named Josko Gravner, a winemaker from Friuli, who already had an international reputation for conventional winemaking but decided to let it all go in favor of reviving traditional winemaking know-how. He rejected international grape varieties, the use of modern technology, the application of fertilizers and pesticides and any clarifying, filtering or cleaning up of the finished product. He was a true innovator—in the opposite direction.

Unsurprisingly, these cloudy, deeply-colored, intensely flavored wines are favorites in the world of artisanal and natural wines. So the next time you find yourself in the Finger Lakes, ask for an orange. You won’t be let down.

Saratoga Beer Week: What You Need To Know About The 60-Plus Beer-Themed Events Taking Place In The Spa City

Jeff Dingler
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Saratoga Beer Week: What You Need To Know About The 60-Plus Beer-Themed Events Taking Place In The Spa City

Who said going out and having a few drinks doesn’t count as a winter activity? For those of you non-teetotalers out there, Saratoga Beer Week is upon us, and there are more than a few libation-related events to take part in.

The week-long festival of brews and beer-themed events officially kicked off on February 18 with a free Yuengling Dart Tournament at the Caroline Street Pub. In addition to 60-plus special events at several dozen restaurants, bars and other businesses across the Spa City and beyond, Saratoga Beer Week will showcase local brewing talent, including Saratoga’s own Druthers Brewing Company, Unified Beerworks of Ballston Spa and Frog Alley Brewing in Schenectady.

Saratoga Beer Week’s signature events will once again be taking place at the Saratoga Springs City Center. First up, on Thursday, February 21, will be Whiskey Night from 7-9pm. Sample a diverse range of whiskeys, and enjoy delicious foods and live music (tickets are $60). Get your fill of cider samples on Friday, February 22, at Saratoga Beer Week’s 4th annual Cider Night from 6-9pm. Sample ciders from more than 30 cideries from across the country, all the while enjoying live music and food for purchase (tickets are $35). And closing out Saratoga Beer Week is the 8th Annual Saratoga Beer Summit on Saturday, February 23. This year’s summit features an incredible selection of more than 160 craft beers produced by 80-plus breweries from the Spa City and far beyond. General admission tickets are still available ($45), which include three hours of beer sampling from 1-4pm or 5-8pm; VIP tickets ($65), which include an extra hour of early access sampling (12-4pm), as well as a commemorative hat and a $5 food voucher, are also available. All ticket purchases to these three events include a complimentary souvenir sampling glass.

Take a look at the schedule for the rest of Saratoga Beer Week below. All events listed without a price are free!

Wednesday, February 20

Berben & Wolff’s Vegan Beer Dinner – 6pm at Pint Sized, event info.

Ommegang Brewery Tasting and Keep the Pint Night – 6pm at Beer Wine Pizza (BWP), event info

Brewery Game Room Takeover – 5pm at Sinclair Saratoga, event info

Kona Luau –  6pm at Saratoga City Tavern, event info

Best Of The Midwest with Founders and Great Lakes – 6pm at Spa City Tap & Barrel

Happy Hour Sampling – 4pm at Wheatfields

#HAIRCUT Release Party – 7pm at  Cantina

Harpoon Brewery’s Rec. League Launch – 5pm at Caroline Street Pub

Ommegang Sampling  – 6pm at BWP

Captain Lawrence Randall Program – 5pm at The Factory

Artisanal Sampling – 6pm at Kraverie

RS Taylor & Sons Beer Dinner – 5pm at Hattie’s

Common Roots Can Jam – 5pm at the Brentwood Hotel, event info

Thursday, February 21

Sloop Keg Party and Tap Takeover – 8pm at Pint Sized, event info

Happy Hour at Racing City Brewing Co. – 4pm at Racing City Brewing Co., event info

Magic Hat Brewery Tasting and Keep the Pint Night – 6pm at BWP, event info

IPA Tasting at Harvey’s! – 6pm at Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar, $12

Northway Brewing Food Pairing – 6pm at Kraverie

Peak Maine – 6pm at King’s Tavern

“Share A Legend” Happy Hour – 6pm at Saratoga City Tavern

Dragon’s Milk Sampling – 4pm at Minogue’s Malta

#HAIRCUT Sampling – 4pm at Eddy’s Beverage Inc.

Meet the Brewers of Brown’s Brewing Co. – 5pm at The Mercantile Kitchen and Bar

Beer and Cheese Pairing – 4pm at Olde Bryan Inn

Brewery Rep Karaoke – 8pm at Saratoga City Tavern

Adirondack Brewery 20th Anniversary Party – 6pm at Saratoga City Tavern

Be a Hero Kickoff – 6pm at BWP

Brooklyn Brewery Night – 9pm at Caroline Street Pub

Comfort Kitchen Beer Lunch – 12pm at Comfort Kitchen, $45, event info

3rd Annual Women of Beer – 6pm at Spa City Tap and Barrel, event info

Friday, February 22

Equilibrium Can Release & Tap Takeover – 5pm at Pint Sized, event info

ALL Beer Trivia Night – 6pm at Racing City Brewing Co., event info

RS Taylor Brewery Tasting: Q&A with the Brewer – 6pm at BWP, event info

Northway Beer Pong! – 7pm at Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar

Lagunitas Silent Disco Party – 9pm at Sinclair Saratoga, event info

Peak Organic: Keep The Pint – 6pm at The Local

Paradox Tap Takeover – 6pm at Jacob & Anthony’s

Paradox Tap Takeover – 8pm at Caroline St Pub

Goose Island Cornhole Tournament – 6pm at Bailey’s Saratoga

Pong Shot for Swag – 6pm at Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar

EBI Beverage Sampling – 3pm at EBI Beverage

Dragon’s Milk Sampling – 4pm at Minogue’s Saratoga

Magic Hat Sampling – 8pm at Putnam Place

Fiddlehead Friday – 7pm at Saratoga City Tavern

Ommegang Sampling – 5pm at EBI Beverage

RS Taylor & Sons: Meet the Brewers – 6pm at BWP

Dragon’s Milk Sampling – 4pm at Minogue’s Saratoga

Sloop Brewing Happy Hour – 5pm at Peabody’s

Saturday, February 23rd

Staff Pick Saturday plus Haze Chamber Psych Rock DJ Nite – 12pm at Pint Sized, event info

Guinness Takeover – 7pm at Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar, $7

Pre-Summit Brunch – 10am at Saratoga City Tavern

Guinness Ripple Night – 8pm at Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar

Labatt Citra – 8pm at The Ice House

Sunday, February 24th

Farmer’s Hardware Hangover Brunch – 10am at Pint Sized, event info

Saratoga Race Course 2019: NYRA Announces Full 40-Day Racing And Stakes Schedule

Jeff Dingler
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Saratoga Race Course 2019: NYRA Announces Full 40-Day Racing And Stakes Schedule

And they’re off! Or at least soonish. NYRA announced on Friday, February 15, the full schedule for the 2019 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, which will feature a total of 76 stakes races across 40 racing days, with the 150th running of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney Handicap as the centerpieces of what will no doubt be another incredible racing season at Saratoga.

Due to potential interference from construction at Belmont Park, this year’s summer meet will start a week earlier than usual—featuring five races, instead of the usual six, per week (with two dark days)—running from Opening Day on Thursday, July 11, through September 2 (Labor Day), giving fans a full eight weeks of races. And even though it’ll be the same number of races, there are quite a few new stakes coming to the race course this summer.

Whitney weekend will feature a couple of firsts this year, including the inaugural $750,000 Saratoga Oaks on Friday, August 2, in addition to the first running of the $1 million Saratoga Derby on Sunday, August 4 (both races will be broadcast live on Fox Sports). In between these two exciting new races on Saturday, August 3, will be the famed Whitney Handicap, a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the BC Classic, followed by the Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Test Stakes.

This year will also highlight the historic 150th running of the Travers Stakes on Saturday, August 24, with seven stakes in just one day, including six Grade 1 races. The Travers will come in the middle of the pack, following the Grade 1, $850,000 Sword Dancer Turf; the Grade 1, $700,000 Personal Ensign Distaff; and the Grade 1, $500,000 Ketel One Ballerina Filly & Mare Sprint. After the Travers will be the Grade 1, $600,000 Forego and the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, with the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa rounding out the card.

Also on the docket this season are a few more firsts for Saratoga Race Course. Previously run at Belmont Park as the Rockville Centre, the new $100,000 Rick Violette, a six-furlong sprint for New York-bred juveniles, will be run at Saratoga on July 17. The stakes race is named after the late Richard A. Violette, Jr., former president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NYTHA). The $100,000 Stillwater, previously held at Belmont as the Lynbrook, is also making its debut at Saratoga on July 18, in addition to the $100,000 Galway on August 11.

It may be February, but start dusting off the fancy hats and summer blazers. Soon, racing season will be upon us. Check out the full racing and stakes schedule below:

Week 1

Thursday, July 11 
Schuylerville, Grade 3, $150,000
Quick Call, Grade 3, $100,000

Friday, July 12
Forbidden Apple, Grade 3, $150,000

Saturday, July 13
Diana, Grade 1, $500,000
Sanford, Grade 3, $150,000

Sunday, July 14
Coronation Cup, $100,000

Week 2

Wednesday, July 17
Rick Violette, $100,000

Thursday, July 18
Stillwater, $100,000

Friday, July 19
Lake George, Grade 3, $150,000

Saturday, July 20
Coaching Club American Oaks, Grade 1, $500,000
Caress, $200,000

Sunday, July 21
Shuvee Handicap, Grade 3, $200,000

Week 3

Wednesday, July 24
Honorable Miss Handicap, Grade 2, $200,000
New York Stallion Series, $150,000

Thursday, July 25
A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase, Grade 1, $150,000
John Morrissey, $100,000

Friday, July 26
Curlin, $100,000

Saturday, July 27
Jim Dandy, Grade 2, $600,000
Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap, Grade 1, $350,000
Bowling Green, Grade 2, $250,000

Sunday, July 28
Amsterdam, Grade 2, $200,000

Week 4

Wednesday, July 31
New York Stallion Series, $150,000
Shine Again, $100,000

Thursday, August 1
Birdstone, $100,000

Friday, August 2 – Fasig-Tipton Racing Festival
Saratoga Oaks, $750,000
National Museum of Racing Hall Of Fame, Grade 2, $200,000
Alydar, $100,000

Saturday, August 3
Whitney, Grade 1, $1 million
Longines Test, Grade 1, $500,000
Fasig-Tipton Lure, $100,000
Fasig-Tipton De La Rose, $100,000
Troy, Grade 3, $200,000

Sunday, August 4
Saratoga Derby, $1 million
Fasig-Tipton Waya, Grade 3, $200,000
Adirondack, Grade 2, $200,000

Week 5

Wednesday, August 7
Evan Shipman, $100,000
Mahony, $100,000

Thursday, August 8
Saratoga Dew, $100,000

Friday, August 9
Tale of the Cat, $100,00

Saturday, August 10
Fourstardave Handicap, Grade 1, $500,000
Saratoga Special, Grade 2, $200,000

Sunday, August 11
Galway, $100,000

Week 6

Wednesday, August 14
Bolton Landing, $100,000

Thursday, August 15
Union Avenue, $100,000

Friday, August 16
Skidmore, $100,000

Saturday, August 17
Alabama, Grade 1, $600,000
Lake Placid, Grade 2, $200,000
Smart N Fancy, $100,000

Sunday, August 18
Summer Colony, $100,000

Week 7

Wednesday, August 21
John’s Call, $100,000

Thursday, August 22
Riskaverse, $100,000
New York Turf Writers Cup, Grade 1, $150,000

Friday, August 23 – Saratoga New York Breeders’ Showcase Day
Albany, $250,000
Fleet Indian, $200,000
Funny Cide, $200,000
Seeking the Ante, $200,000
West Point, $150,000
Yaddo, $150,000

Saturday, August 24 – Travers Racing Festival
Runhappy Travers, Grade 1, $1.25 million
Sword Dancer, Grade 1, $850,000
Personal Ensign, Grade 1, $700,000
Forego, Grade 1, $600,000
Ketel One Ballerina, Grade 1, $500,000
H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, Grade 1, $500,000
Ballston Spa, Grade 2, $400,000

Sunday, August 25
Better Talk Now, $100,000

Week 8

Wednesday, August 28
With Anticipation, Grade 3, $150,000

Thursday, August 29
P. G. Johnson, $100,000

Friday, August 30
Lucky Coin, $100,000

Saturday, August 31 – Woodward Racing Festival
The Woodward, Grade 1, $750,000
Glens Falls, Grade 2, $250,000
Prioress, Grade 2, $250,000
Saranac, Grade 3, $200,000

Sunday, September 1
Spinaway, Grade 1, $350,000

Monday, September 2
Runhappy Hopeful, Grade 1, $350,000
Bernard Baruch Handicap, Grade 2, $250,000

 

Daily Racing Form: Layoffs A Concern For Rice’s Pair In Broadway Stakes

David Grening, Daily Racing Form
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Linda Rice has won three of the last five runnings of the Broadway Stakes and, on paper, brings a pretty strong hand into Saturday’s 40th renewal of the $100,000 sprint for New York-bred females at Aqueduct.

However, both of Rice’s entrants, Startwithsilver, winner of last year’s Broadway, and Holiday Disguise, a four-time stakes winner, are coming off significant layoffs, making them perhaps a bit vulnerable.

Startwithsilver has not been out since a last-place finish in the Regret Stakes at Monmouth last June. Holiday Disguise, who won the Grade 3 Distaff here last April, has not been out since a sixth-place finish in the Iroquois Stakes on Oct. 20 at Belmont.

Both have been returned to Rice’s care by owner Sheila Rosenblum after having been moved last fall to Jonathan Thomas in Florida.

Asked if she felt Startwithsilver was fit enough off an eight-month layoff, Rice said: “I felt like if it was a muddy track, I did, and if it was a dry track, maybe not. She excels in the mud.”

Holiday Disguise won last February’s Biogio’s Rose Stakes off a 255-day layoff. However, Rice noted that Holiday Disguise had been ready to run six weeks prior but missed a few races due to one not filling and then a quarantine that had been placed on Rice’s barn in January 2018.

Holiday Disguise enters Saturday’s race with works on dirt at Bridlewood Farm, one on turf at Gulfstream, and two breezes at Belmont. She is 0 for 2 at the Broadway distance of six furlongs.

“Coming back off a long layoff, I felt like three-quarters – which might be too short for her – is a place to start,” Rice said.

Palladian Bridge is a potential upsetter. She has had a history of following a bad race with a good one, and her last race, a sixth-place finish in the La Verdad Stakes, was awful. Trainer Ray Handal said Palladian Bridge bled in that race. After incrementally decreasing the amount of Lasix that Palladian Bridge had been racing on, Handal said he is increasing it somewhat for this race.

“She’s been training lights out,” Handal said of the mare, who has nine wins from 30 starts. “I think we’re going to see the real Palladian Bridge. Her good race puts her right there with these fillies.”

Handal also will send out Absatootly. The stakes-winning filly was previously trained by Charlton Baker and was beaten double-digit lengths in all three of her starts in 2018. Handal said Absatootly has lived up to her billing as a solid work horse and he is adding blinkers to her equipment for the Broadway, Absatootly’s first start since Aug. 16.

“I’m hoping the blinkers are the missing link to get her back to that old form,” Handal said.

Filibustin is coming off a second-level allowance win in what was her first start for trainer Gary Contessa. Completing the field are Pauseforthecause, who just missed second behind runaway winner Kathryn the Wise in the La Verdad Stakes, I Still Miss You, and Queeb.

This story originally appeared on DRF.com. 

Visit DRF.com for additional news, notes, wagering information, and more.

Study: Is Saratoga County Really As Healthy As You Think It Is?

Will Levith
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Study: Is Saratoga County Really As Healthy As You Think It Is?

In my late 20s and mid 30s, I was a regular at the Astoria Sports Complex and Greenpoint YMCA (two New York City gyms), but I had little direction. I would go in and lift a few weights here and do a few squats there—maybe even run a mile or two, then leave. As long as I was sweating at the end of my “workout,” I figured, what the hell? I’m doing something. I admit it: At the time, I thought the concept of an organized gym class or personal trainer was for bored, former college athletes looking to relive the glory days. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Now, I’m staring down 40, and I’ve had a few recent health hiccups that have scared me straight and compelled me to literally “get with the program.” So I’ve started going to a gym in Troy, Anatomie, five days a week, which means daily rise-and-shines of 5:15am and high-intensity strength and conditioning classes aplenty, with one yoga class thrown in for good measure. All of the trainers that run the classes push me to my physical limits and reduce me to a blubbering bowl of sweat. But once my heart rate comes down and I stop wheezing, I feel refreshed, knowing that I actually did my body good.

One would suspect that, with my new, inspired exercise regimen, I’d be eating healthier, too. I wish that were the case. I was born with an out-of-control sweet tooth and have enablers in my family (you know who you are!), who regularly stock my kitchen with all manner of delicious, sugary foodstuffs. I’m also addicted to cheese—hard, soft, stinky, crumbly, etc. You name it, I’ve probably eaten it. And while I’m not morbidly obese by any stretch of the imagination (or belt-line), I have been told by my general practitioner numerous times that I should be eating better, and could probably lose 10-20 pounds.

And look, she has a point. Per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the average 5-foot-9-inch person (basically, me), who is 30 years or older (definitely me), is obese if he or she weighs more than 203 pounds (no comment). Besides my relatively unhealthy eating, I’d also like to suggest that where I’ve ended up in life, geographically, has affected my overall health. And I have some data to prove it. I live in Rensselaer County (i.e. Troy), and as of last year, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study, my county ranks No.37 overall in terms of healthiness in New York State. That’s compared to next-door neighbor Albany County, which rings in at a more respectable No.26. Drilling down a little bit, in terms of key numbers, Rensselaer ranks 31st out of 62 counties in terms of “health behaviors,” which include bullet-points such as general adult obesity, likelihood that an adult smokes and likelihood that that same adult drinks to excess regularly. (There are quite a few other bullets.) In fact, in Rensselaer County, we’re 4 percent more obese than in the rest of the state. Ugh.

However, if I were to jump in my car and drive up north to my job at saratoga living, it’s a whole different ballgame. Per the same report, Saratoga County ranks No.2 (!) in terms of healthiest counties in the state (second only to Rockland County), and its residents are just 2 percent more obese than the state average. In fact, that overall “health behaviors” rank is No.12 out of 62, and that has a lot to do with the fact that Saratoga County residents have a lot more access to exercise equipment: Whereas Rensselaer County scores a 76 percent for “access to exercise opportunities,” that shoots up to 90 percent in Saratoga.

You can reach any number of conclusions from those data. Should I be better about my daily intake? Absolutely. Should I move to Saratoga? I lived there for 18 years already, which has got to add up to something, right? But per the data, Saratoga County still has a percentage of its population that is considered obese—and well, America on the whole, is a hot-bed for fat creation. As of September 2018, per the most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, obesity rates among American adults is now greater than 35 percent in seven states, 30 percent in 29 states and 25 percent in 48 states. (West Virginians are the most obese, while Coloradans are the least so.) And those numbers are ever-increasing. Thankfully, New Yorkers are among the least obese in the country, ranking 45th out of all 50 states, but it’s not like we’re completely off the hook.

Case in point: Some brand-new data from Diet Spotlight, a Coral Gables, FL-based health reviews and research firm, which also markets and sells dietary supplements, meal-replacement shakes and the like, sheds some not-so-flattering light on a few counties in the Capital Region—including Saratoga. It’s worth noting that Diet Spotlight’s data set was gleaned from “people interested in weight-loss supplements, fat burners, meal replacement shakes and other products/services designed for people trying to lose weight.” In other words, these are folks that are likely already struggling with obesity (or teeter-tottering on the edge), who are looking for alternative ways of battling the bulge. How did Diet Spotlight gather those data? Customers who visited their website filled out a questionnaire that was then tied to their zip code and further crunched, in relation to gender, age, height, weight and a list of other factors. Diet Spotlight’s research covered more than 1000 counties in the US with hundreds of submissions from customers in each zip code—and while the data set isn’t quite as comprehensive as, say, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s or CDC’s, it does tease out some interesting tidbits about how our locality does, comparatively, on the bathroom scale.

To keep the comparison focused on the counties I referred to above, in Rensselaer County, on average, a man looking to lose weight via alternate means weighed in at a whopping 226 pounds (remember, you’re obese if you’re 30-plus years old, 5-foot-9 and weigh more than 203 pounds, per the CDC). The average age of said obese man? Forty-seven years old. Per Diet Spotlight’s numbers, what that means is, compared to the state average, these Rensselaer County men have an average of 58.3 pounds to lose not be obese. (Need I also remind men of a certain age that their metabolism slows way down as they get older.) Compare Rensselaer to Saratoga County, and for men looking to shed pounds in the same way, things do get a little peachier, but not so much. The average Saratoga County man looking to cut back his weight via alternate means weighs 213 pounds, which means that man needs to lose 57.4 pounds in order to escape obesity. His median age is also 47. (There are no data for Albany County, but you can check out the numbers for Schenectady County here.)

Needless to say, the average Saratoga County resident, whether he be the picture of health or looking to shave off a few jeans sizes, has it off better than most Upstate New Yorkers. Obviously, before you go off and purchase, then start downing handfuls of dietary supplements like M&Ms, get in touch with your doctor and make sure it’s OK to do that. And if it isn’t, I’ll see you at Anatomie.

Daily Racing Form: 2019 Kentucky Derby Watch

Daily Racing Form
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Daily Racing Form: 2019 Kentucky Derby Watch

Daily Racing Form‘s Mike Watchmaker and Jay Privman present their first top 20 list of horses to watch for this year’s Kentucky Derby. The Bob Baffert-trained Game Winner tops the list, followed by Improbably and Hidden Scroll.

Visit DRF.com for additional news, notes, wagering information, and more.

The Calendar: Everything To Do In Saratoga This Weekend

Jeff Dingler
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The Calendar: Everything To Do In Saratoga This Weekend

There may have been a snowstorm and more than a few flurries this week, but the 2019 Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs has everything and more to shake off the cold and get your blood pumping. The highly anticipated festival will last all weekend (February 15-17) and feature more than 200 events and performances, with 300 performers at six different venues throughout Downtown Saratoga. There’s so much simultaneous entertainment going on at this year’s Flurry Fest—concerts, dances, workshops, jam sessions, family events and more—it’ll be a challenge just to sort it all out. But hey, that’s what saratoga livings‘ for.

For Friday, February 15, the festival will kick off at 7pm and run until 1am, showcasing world music with Afro-Caribbean Dancing featuring Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra at the City Center, Folk Dances of India with sitarist Veena Chandra and drummer Devesh Chandra at the Hilton on Broadway, and two back-to-back shows of fiery blues music at The Parting Glass pub with the Saratoga-based Tango Fusion Dance Company and blues rockers The Resonators. In addition to an incredible lineup of dancing and music that will last all day (literally, from 9am to 1am the following morning), some of the highlights from Saturday’s roster of entertainment include workshops and bootcamps in storytelling, beginner ukulele, percussion, tap dance and even a demonstration on Naad Yoga, a form of yoga based on the healing power of sound. Also on Saturday will be a big raffle with a number of exciting prizes, including the chance to win two tickets to next year’s Flurry Festival plus a room for two at the Saratoga Hilton. Finally, on Sunday, from 9am to 5:30pm, bring your instrument of choice and take part in a jam session midday on the City Center’s stage. There will also be an array of fun dance parties on Sunday such as a West African Drum and Dance For Families event, a Salsa and Cumbia Dance Party (both at the City Center) and a Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party at the Hilton Ballroom.

The majority of the entertainment will take place at the Saratoga Hilton and the Saratoga Springs City Center, but be sure to check out fun events at the Excelsior Springs Event Center, Putnam Place, The Parting Glass Pub and Temple Sinai, too (view the full schedule here). And while you catch your breath from all that dancing, don’t forget to check out these other great events this weekend.

Friday, February 15

Fire on the Mountain – 7pm at West Mountain Ski Area in Queensbury.
Ensemble Connect at Skidmore – 7pm at Helen Filene Ladd Recital Hall in Skidmore’s Arthur Zankel Music Center. Tickets available at the box office.
Gravity and Bad Chaperones – 8pm-12am at Putnam Place in Saratoga.
Bailey’s 3rd Annual Ice Bar – Friday from 4pm to close and Saturday from 2pm to close at Bailey’s Saratoga.
Jazz Pianist Joey Alexander – Don’t miss an opportunity to hear this three-time Grammy nominee live, 7:30pm at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.

Saturday, February 16

Sketches of Influence – Jazz music with composer and drummer Joe Barner, 9pm at 9 Maple Avenue.
Larry the Cable Guy and John Crist –  Saturday at 4pm and Sunday 7pm at the Palace Theatre in Albany.
Annie in the Water “Funk Valentines Day” Party  – The Party starts at 9:30pm at Nanola in Malta.
QUO! Live with King Delicious and the Purple Dream – 8pm at Skidmore’s Arthur Zankel Music Center. All proceeds will be donated to Saratoga Code Blue.

Sunday, February 17

Steve Martin and Martin Short: “Now You See Them, Soon You Won’t” – The two comedy legends will be performing at 8pm at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady.

EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Spy Novelist Lauren Wilkinson To Tackle Writing About Love At UAlbany On Valentine’s Day

Jeff Dingler
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EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Spy Novelist Lauren Wilkinson To Tackle Writing About Love At UAlbany On Valentine’s Day

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had the dream of publishing a big-time book. I’ve been around enough writers of every sort to know that this is a common dream among us. At 31, I’ve had some victories in publishing my short fiction and nonfiction, but the dream novel in my head still remains just a dream.

New York City-based author Lauren Wilkinson, however, is one who recently got to cross that off her bucket list. Her debut novel, American Spy, a work of historical fiction, which had it’s official release just yesterday (February 12), is already receiving comparisons to top spy novelists such as John le Carré and Ian Fleming and rave reviews, including a recent writeup in Time magazine. American Spy tells the story of a young black woman, Marie Mitchell, who is working as an intelligence officer at the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the waning years of the Cold War. Sensing her career in law enforcement is being stymied because of this, Mitchell joins a dangerous, secret task force with the mission to overthrow Thomas Sankara, the charismatic, communist president of Burkina Faso (a real person). However, once Mitchell gets close to Sankara, she finds that she actually admires—no, loves—the revolutionary.

Wilkinson grew up in New York City, where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in fiction and literary translation from Columbia University, where she’s also taught writing. Her fiction and essays have appeared in some esteemed literary publications such as Granta, The Believer and The Millions.

For readers in the Capital Region who are curious about Wilkinson’s debut novel—or already count themselves among her growing fan base and would like to get a signed copy—the author will be co-leading a special presentation and talk, “Writing Love on Valentine’s Day,” on February 14, at the University at Albany’s Campus Center. Alongside fellow novelist Christopher Castellani, who will be discussing his latest novel, Leading Men (2019), Wilkinson will discuss her writing process and how she crafted some of the romantic passages between her fictional protagonist and the real-life Sankara. Her talk will be split into two sessions—one from 4:15-5:15pm (on the writing craft), the other from 7:30-9pm (on writing about love). saratoga living got to speak with Wilkinson before the talk tomorrow and pick her brain about turning a dream into a debut.

Have you been to the Capital Region before?
I’ve been up to Saratoga Springs a few times. It’s so beautiful. In the summer, I went to see some horse racing, my first and only time, really. Also, I walked along Downtown Saratoga and found Uncommon Grounds, and I loved it there.

American SpyI’m fascinated by the premise of your book. Talk about what made you want to write a spy thriller set in Burkina Faso?
It started in a [creative writing] workshop in my MFA program at Columbia. It was a prompt to write a suburban story that was different from what we had been reading, which was a lot of [John] Updike and [John] Cheever. And this book started with an image of this woman, who by all appearances, is a typical, suburban housewife, but there’s an assassination attempt on her, and it gets revealed that she had this secret life as a spy in Burkina Faso.

But your talk at UAlbany is about “Writing Love,” so there must be some romance in there as well.
I didn’t know until recently that the talk is about writing on love. [Laughs] But there’s a big romantic element to [my novel] as well. The main character is approached by the CIA, and she’s asked to undermine Thomas Sankara, the real-life Marxist President of Burkina Faso. It’s kind of a shadowy assignment that involves getting close with Sankara, and she finds that she likes him. [Laughs] And it’s a little tougher than she anticipated to carry out the mission. The real-life Sankara was very charismatic and handsome. He rode around the capital city on a motorcycle; he changed and revitalized the country and was only in his 30s.

Your main character, Marie, is a woman of color in the FBI, a world dominated by white men. You as well, are an African-American woman writing in a genre dominated by white male authors. Did you ever think your debut novel would be a spy thriller?
Oh no, it shocked the hell out of me! [Laughs] The spy thing kind of felt like it started as a racial metaphor. I felt like double-consciousness—having to pass or pretend—was what being a spy was about for her. But then I was like, “Oh no, I got to sexy this up!” [Laughs] And I decided I was literally going to make her a spy if I was going to do this, and have “spy” in the title. So I did a lot of catch up, read a lot of the masters of the genre.

So you decided to write a spy thriller even though you weren’t familiar with the genre?
I did. I think I’d read one or two spy novels, but over the course of catching up, I really came to love John le Carré. I really, really love [his novel] The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. It’s not just one of my favorite spy novels but one of my favorite books. There’s a lot that’s done in the genre that I think is very interesting.

Your novel’s also written in a nontraditional format: It’s one long letter to the protagonist’s two sons.
It’s kind of one long confession to them. And I made that choice, because she’s a spy. If you’re a spy, you have to have a life that is based on secrets. You can’t just reveal yourself to everybody. Originally, in the first draft of this novel, she was really distant from me and from the reader, and so I ended up having her write this letter to her sons because, realistically, they’re the only two people that she’s ever going to tell the whole story to, because she feels they deserve to know everything.

Has it been a dream come true having a debut novel come out?
I wanted to be a writer since I was a little kid. It has been a really positive experience so far. It’s not exactly what I was expecting. It’s a little bit overwhelming, if I let myself think about everything involved in the release of my novel. I’ve just been [taking it] one day at a time. And it’s good for me to be busy, because it means that people are interested. It would be much harder if I’d worked for six years on this book and no one was interested. I haven’t had time to write fiction in a while, but I’m looking forward to getting a moment to do that again.

It sounds like you’re already working on a second book.
Yeah, I’m working on something now. It’s set in 1940s New York, and it’s about a confident woman trying to pull off a long con with her sister, who’s a charismatic actress. There are a lot more characters in this one. I’ll see how it goes. I’m not sure if it’s working yet, but you never know.

Wine Wednesdays With William: All About The Yeasts That Make You Love Sauvignon Blanc

William Roach
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Wine Wednesdays With William: All About The Yeasts That Make You Love Sauvignon Blanc

Wine people are curious characters, as you have no doubt learned from my column. Case in point: Last week, halfway around the world in New Zealand, wine lovers had an annual meet-up celebrating all things Sauvignon Blanc, one of the most popular white wine varieties in the world. The gathering, known as Sauvignon 2019, drew winemakers, critics and journalists to the winemaking region of Marlborough, in the northeast corner of New Zealand’s South Island, where all involved considered how to halt the decline in wine sales as consumers favor other alcoholic beverages, such as craft beers and spirits.

The Saint Clair Family Estate, a Marlborough winemaker well-known for its Sauvignon Blanc, presented the results of a survey of UK consumers who were presented with three different styles of Sauvignon Blanc: herbaceous (grassy flavored), tropical (passion fruit-y), and citrus (lemon/grapefruit-y). The variations don’t reflect changes in climate or soil, but rather highlight a unique aspect of two of the wine varieties: Save for the grassy wine, the tropical- and citrus-flavored wines were created with the help of Lallemand, a company that participated in the survey and supplies to wineries the wine yeasts that shape the flavors of the wines we drink.

Yes, yeasts. If we turn to the truly extensive Lallemand catalog of wine yeasts, we find type Lanvin QA23TM is “a complementary yeast for developing varietal Sauvignon Blanc passion fruit character,” per the company. Hence, the passion fruit-y variety. Unaferm SVG, a yeast collected from the Loire Valley—home of two dry Sauvignon varieties, Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé—is highly recommended for Sauvignon Blanc: “In tastings of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé wines fermented with different yeasts, those fermented with SVG scored higher than the wines fermented with other yeasts commonly used for Sauvignon Blanc. These Sauvignon Blanc wines were described as having more intensity and a better balance of mineral, citrus and spicy notes,” notes Lallemand.

And what of that survey? you ask. It revealed that wine-drinkers had a strong preference for the citrus-y style of Sauvignon Blanc. So I’m going to take a wild guess that winemakers will be sending in requests for Lallemand’s Uvaferm SVG. Yeast, too, has its fans.

Schenectady County Opens America’s First-Ever Maple-Beer Trail

Conor Pochna
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Schenectady County Opens America’s First-Ever Maple-Beer Trail

You’ve probably heard of wine, beer or bourbon trails—interconnected maps of wineries, breweries or distilleries that take imbibers from one delicious tour stop to the next, all while nipping at intoxicating samples. This weekend, Schenectady County will be unveiling its own trail—one that’s sure to be sweet and sudsy.

In a US first, Schenectady County will be celebrating the grand opening of the first-ever maple-beer trail, a scenic, quarter-mile path connecting two of the greatest gifts known to man: maple syrup and craft beer (or in this case, Wolf Hollow Brewing Company and Riverside Maple Farms). While it has quietly been open since the end of January, the trail’s getting its true coming out party this weekend. On Sunday, February 17, the brewery and maple syrup-maker will be co-hosting the trail opening from 10am-6pm, and patrons are encouraged to hike, snowshoe, cross-country ski and sled between the two venues (clearly, you’ll need a “designated sleigher” to pull your sled back and forth for you, if you choose that mode of transportation).

On one side of the trail, Riverside Maple Farms will be offering free tours of its farm and facilities, where guests can learn how its syrup is made and, of course, sample its product. The Mac Factor, a popular Upstate New York food truck, will also be onsite offering customers an assortment of mac and cheese from 10am-4pm. And over at Wolf Hollow Brewing—which has a number of in-house-brewed beers on tap, including its flagship Wolf Hollow Amber and Campout Stout—Buzzard’s Bay Barbeque will be serving up delicious, smoky BBQ goodness, and the brewery will be offering limited-edition pours from casks featuring Riverside Maple Farms’ amber syrup. (Wolf Hollow also has its own burger mini-menu, too, with veggie options for you none carnivores.)

Of course, the trail itself is also part of the attraction as well, so bring your winter weather gear and be ready to get your heart rate up between maple-beer stops. And so you don’t get lost along the way, you’ll find green maple leaf signs that point the way towards Riverside Maple Farms and wolf paw signs that point you back to Wolf Hollow Brewing Company—not to mention a warm bonfire to cozy up to at the start of the trail on the Wolf Hollow end.

The trail is open Saturdays and Sundays from noon-6pm going forward, so even if you miss this weekend’s celebration, there’ll be plenty of time to check out the trail another day. So grab your puffy coat and bring your appetite: It’s beer and syrup time!

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