Kontokosta Winery: Absorbing the Crowds May 28, 2017

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Cabernet Franc Reserve, cabernet sauvignon, Croteaux, Field Blend, Kontokosta Winery, Long Island Sound, merlot, North Fork, North Fork Potato Chips, sauvignon blanc, viognier, wine tasting May 30, 2017

http://kontokostawinery.com/

The grey skies meant many people opted for wineries rather than beaches.

We should have known better than to try to go to a winery on a non-beach Sunday over Memorial Day weekend. But we had friends visiting, and we wanted to take them to Croteaux for a tasting. As we headed east, we passed winery after winery where the parked cars had spilled over onto lawns and roadsides. Uh oh. And indeed, Croteaux was filled, with Michael Croteau outside, waving off cars trying to cram into his small lot. Where to go? Our friends hadn’t been to Kontokosta since shortly after it opened, and we figured that as far east as it is, and as big as the tasting room is, we would be able to get in there.

There was plenty of room when we arrived, but by the time we left all the seats were filled.

We were right, and even though parking there had also extended to a grassy area, there was room at one of the long tables in the tasting room for us to sit and enjoy our tasting. However, by the time we left, it was SRO! We also observed many people who had chosen to take a glass of wine out onto the expansive lawn and wander down to the Long Island Sound, visible in the distance.

You can see the Long Island Sound in the distance.

A tasting consists of any three wines from the menu for $12, so we decided to get three whites and three reds, not tasting the rosé or a few of the others, while our friends opted to share a tasting. Maybe next time we’ll check out the others. We also got a couple of bags of my favorite chips—North Fork Potato Chips. If you haven’t tried them, do. They are crispy kettle-fried chips, and totally addictive. Kontokosta also has a menu of cheeses and charcuterie, plus non-alcoholic drinks. The server poured out our nine tastes, explaining each one, and we took our glasses to a table.

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $25

We were talking about getting some oysters later, so we decided to start with what is often a perfect oyster wine. This wine smelled great—like mango and flowers—and tasted pretty good, too. We found it tart, with some nice kiwi and vegetable tastes, with a pleasant finish. One nice detail—it was not served too cold!

2015 Viognier $25

Sometimes I think I like to order this wine because the name is fun to say. In any event, I don’t think I would choose this particular viognier. My husband’s first judgement was “restrained flavors,” to which I added “undistinguished.” It has a bit of a wet basement smell, though also some minerality. The taste is very light and uncomplicated.

The server lining up our tastes of the whites.

2015 Field Blend $22

Our friend also ordered this one, and she immediately categorized it as a “dessert wine.” It is on the sweet side, though not cloyingly so. A blend of 47% riesling, 41% viognier, and 12% sauvignon blanc, it has a candy and honeysuckle aroma and tastes like peaches. We decided it could go with spicy Thai food, where the fruit of the wine would match well with the coconut and peppers of Thai, but not so well with Indian dishes. You could also have it with charcuterie.

2014 Merlot $34

The server tipped the end of the bottle into our glass, which meant we ended up with a fair amount of sediment. Oh well. This is a pretty typical North Fork merlot, with lots of cherry tastes, pleasantly dry, with some tastes of tobacco and chocolate. Nice.

The reds (of course).

2014 Cabernet Sauvignon $29

We liked this one better, with lots of dark fruit tastes like purple plums and berries, plus some tannins. It is more complex than the merlot, though the finish is quite short. Dry.

2014 Cabernet Franc Reserve $40

Though, as is often the case with Long Island reds, we felt it was not worth the price—and our friends, who also tried this, agreed—it is very nice indeed, with fruity aromas and soft tannins. We tasted raspberries and a touch of spice, like pepper. If I were to get a glass with which to wander down to the water, I would choose this.

2013 Anemometer Red $50

Our friends also tried this one, and said it was very good. A Bordeaux-style blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and merlot, it has lots of oak and cherry tastes.

Snack menu. I highly recommend the North Fork Potato Chips!

Reasons to visit: a pretty location next to Long Island Sound, walking distance from Greenport; the sauvignon blanc and the cabernet sauvignon; an attractive modern tasting room with a soaring ceiling and long tables; usually not too crowded, even on busy days—except not this past weekend!

In the background you can see their wind turbine, an increasingly frequent sight on the North Fork.

McCall Wines: Feeling Rustic May 21, 2017

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Braun's, Chardonnay Reserve, Chardonnay Unoaked, Croteaux, Love Lane Cheese Shop, Marjorie's Rose, McCall Wines, Merlot Reserve, North Fork, pinot noir, Pinot Noir Hillsde, sauvignon blanc, wine tasting May 23, 2017

http://mccallwines.com/

Although they are right off Main Road, when you pull around to the back you feel as though you are in the country.

Although they are right off the Main Road, there is a rustic feeling to the McCall Wines tasting room and property, a sense of peace and quiet—at least when it is not crowded. Part of this is due to the tasting room itself, located in a former horse barn, with the stables repurposed as tasting alcoves, and the other part is the lawn outside, dotted with picnic tables and adjacent to the vines.

Inside tasting area, in a repurposed horse stall.

On this sunny afternoon, we shared the place with several other couples and small groups. We could have stood at the bar or sat inside at a table, but we decided that the sun had been making a rare enough appearance that we needed to sit outside and enjoy the pretty day. Mrs. McCall brought us our tastes, except when we decided to pop in and get them ourselves. She served them two at a time, in a two-ounce pour that felt quite generous.

Part of the outside area, with a view of the vines.

The menu offers four choices: Blancs, four whites for $12; Corchaug, four reds for $16; Premium, a mixture of two whites and two reds for $14; and Estate, four of their higher priced wines for $20. They also offer a small menu of cheese and crackers, and request no outside food on Fridays-Sundays. We decided to do a shared tasting of the whites and then the Corchaug reds (named for the Native American name for Cutchogue). We had high hopes for the reds, since McCall had started out only making red wines, but we were also pleasantly surprised by how much we liked the whites.

2016 Marjorie’s Rosé $18

Yesterday we attended a Case Club event at Croteaux Vineyards, our standard for North Fork rosés, so we had a recent comparison in mind when we tasted this mostly merlot pink wine. It was quite different from the two Croteaux wines we had sampled, but fine in its own way. The aroma had almost as much minerality as strawberry smell, and the taste also balanced minerals and sweetness, though a bit sweeter than we like. My husband said it reminded him of pancakes with strawberry syrup. Well, maybe not that sweet. This is a rosé one could enjoy sipping well-chilled, though I prefer the leaner style of Croteaux. (The wine is named for Mr. McCall’s mother.)

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $24

Mrs. McCall informed us that this was made in the French style, like a Sancerre wine (think sauvignon blanc=Sancerre and chardonnay=Chablis). Good choice. Although it did not have much aroma, it had some lovely tastes of citrus and kiwi and maybe gooseberry as well, plus some minerality and even a bit of salt. Refreshing, was my tasting buddy’s summation. We liked it.

2015 Chardonnay Unoaked $18

This is a pretty typical North Fork steel-fermented chardonnay, with citrus tastes and just a touch of sweetness. The aroma reminded me of wet rocks, with almost a chemical note. It’s a fairly tasty steel chardonnay, and might overpower a delicate fish. However, it would have gone well with the fillets I made the other day which were topped with an anchovy and onion sauce (thank you, Marcella Hazan and Braun’s fish store).

2014 Chardonnay Reserve $39

Not surprisingly, the oaked chardonnay smelled like Werther’s butterscotch candy, and tasted rather butterscotch-y as well. Not my favorite, but I could appreciate that it has layers of flavor.

2013 Pinot Noir $30

When I told my husband this was a light red that would pair well with roast chicken, he told me I needed to think of another food pairing. Okay, I said, pork chops. This reminded me of a Beaujolais, a picnic wine, though it has a bit of a tannic tingle that makes it a touch more interesting.

These two Pinot Noirs look similar, but taste different.

2013 Pinot Noir Hillside $39

When Mrs. McCall brought us our first red tastes, along with fresh glasses, she explained that this one is called “Hillside” because…the grapes are grown on a hillside. Really. But that’s not as simplistic as it sounds. Because of the hilly location, this part of the vineyard has better drainage, which concentrates the flavors of the grapes. Although it is similar to the other Pinot, the aroma is stronger and the taste features more dark fruit and is somewhat mellower, with a longer finish. My husband noted that he wasn’t wearing socks, but if he were, they would not have been knocked off by this wine. Good, but not exciting.

2012 Merlot Reserve $24

Does anyone still know what Cheracol is? It was a cherry-flavored cough syrup I became quite familiar with in my pre-tonsillectomy youth. Fortunately, though this merlot smells like Cheracol, it doesn’t taste like it! The wine is dry, with lots of tannins, and not a ton of fruit, with a long finish. We’re thinking it could even use more time to age, and, as my tasting buddy opined, it “shows promise.” If we had room in the cellar (well, we just bought a case of Croteaux rosé), we might have bought a bottle to keep for a few years.

2010 Merlot Reserve $39

2010 has a reputation as a great year on the North Fork, especially for reds, and Mrs. McCall was quite enthusiastic about this wine—deservedly so. I think the technical term is “yummy.” The tannins are relatively soft, so my guess is one should drink it now. The aroma is of cherry tempered by wood, and the taste has lots of complex fruits, while still being dry. If we had stayed on and ordered some cheese to go with a full glass of wine, this would have been my choice (Instead we went home and sat on our porch with wine—a lovely Meritage from Coffee Pot Cellars–and cheese from Love Lane Cheese shop!).

The tasting barn.

Reasons to visit: lovely bucolic setting; calm place that limits groups; unusual tasting room; the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc, the 2010 Merlot Reserve; nice picnic tables for during the week if you want to bring some snacks.

Sherwood House Vineyard: Sip and Shop May 12, 2017

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Apolloni Vineyard, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Hound's Tree, merlot, North Fork, Oregon, Oregon Road, Red Blend, rose, Sherwood House, Sherwood Manor, white merlot, William Ris, wine tasting May 14, 2017

http://www.sherwoodhousevineyards.com/

https://www.hounds-tree.com/

I happened to snap this at a sunny moment.

On a cool spring day, when clouds and sun took turns dominating the sky, we stopped into Sherwood House’s tasting room, which we had not been to in almost two years. Though the tasting room looks much the same, with its cozy fireplace, there have been a number of changes in the winery itself. We immediately noticed that there were three options on the tasting menu: a Sherwood House flight of five wines for $16, a Hound’s Tree Estate flight of five wines for $16, and a flight of four Library and Estate wines for $24. We decided to go with one flight of Sherwood House wines and one of Hound’s Tree, tasting them side by side, since there seemed to be comparable choices on both menus.

The friendly and helpful server explained that Hound’s Tree was a new winery that had bought the Oregon Road vineyard from Sherwood House and was making wines in a West Coast style, in partnership with Appoloni Vineyards, a winery based in Oregon (the state, not the road!). Meanwhile, the owner and winemaker of Sherwood house planned to go on making their wines in their own style, which is influenced by French methods. What a nice opportunity to compare styles!

The shop adjoins the tasting room.

After our tastings we browsed the beautiful shop which adjoins the tasting room. It used to be called Material Objects, and is now called William Ris East. It features fine art, sculpture, and antiques (according to their sign), plus jewelry and pottery. We saw many pieces we liked, and if you are looking for some real art it is a good place to go. One caution: the pour in the winery is fairly generous, so don’t make any decisions on buying art if you’re not compos mentis!

Although the Sherwood House web page mentions music on Saturday afternoons, on this quiet Friday a singer/guitarist set up in a corner and serenaded us with Beatles tunes, among others. A party of women at a table, who were sharing a bottle of rosé and a cheese tray (bought at the winery and provided by Love Lane cheese shop), seemed to enjoy his performance very much, as did we. As we chatted with the server, she took note of my notebook and asked directly if we wrote for any publication, so we admitted that I did a blog. As a result, she gave us two extra tastes. I’ve labeled the Sherwood House choices SH and the Hound’s Tree choices HT.

We enjoyed the music.

2014 Oregon Road Chardonnay SH $19

This is a pretty typical North Fork steel-fermented chardonnay, with aromas of pears and minerals and tastes of unripe pear. It is both sweet and tart, so well-balanced, with a nice long finish. It is definitely a good food wine. This, like the other whites, is served too cold (not their fault—wineries are obliged to set their refrigeration at a specified temperature), but we warmed the glass in our palms to get a better sense of the wine.

2015 HT Estate Chardonnay $24

Really different! We get a vegetable aroma—roasted asparagus or Brussels sprouts—and maybe a slight burnt smell. The taste is also quite different, with some vegetal notes and lots of rock and minerality and even salt, as well as some pear. However, we like this one, too, and it would also be good with food. Maybe something rich, like a roast chicken, while the SH chard might do better with scallops.

2013 Estate Chardonnay SH $35

Nope, you won’t find this on the regular tasting menu, but our server thought we should try their one oaked chardonnay. 70% oak, she said, which explained why, though it has some of that butterscotch smell, it does not taste overly oaky. It had a touch of sweetness, but “not unpleasantly so,” opined my husband. Though not a sipper, this would stand up to many different foods. I could see having it with pork chops.

2015 Estate Rosé HT $22

A blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot, this rosé has a deep pink color and a sweet aroma that I insist smells like red Twizzlers. My drinking pal suggests “fireplace” and cherry juice. In any event, it is a very dry rosé, with more citrus than strawberry taste. I wouldn’t choose it as a sipper, but I think it could be very nice paired with some charcuterie.

Oregon Road White Merlot SH $19

When we saw “white merlot” we immediately thought of Anthony Nappa’s Anomaly, which is a white pinot noir (no longer called Anomaly), but this is quite different. I described it as “evanescent,” as it is very light and the taste seems to dissipate very quickly. The aroma is of strawberries, salt, and minerals, and I actually think it would be fun to drop a few strawberries into a glass for summer sipping.

The two rose style wines provided quite a contrast in both taste and color.

2013 Oregon Road Red Blend SH $19

We agreed that this was the perfect price point for this very nice red table wine, a blend of merlot, cabernet franc, and cabernet sauvignon. My guess is the blend is heavy on the merlot, as I got lots of cherry in the smell and taste. My husband pronounced it a “perfectly acceptable” dinner wine. It is fairly dry.

2015 Cabernet Franc HT $28

Eh. Not particularly a fan of this one, which we felt was rather “tame,” in my husband’s opinion. Light for a cabernet franc, it is not a red you’d want to pair with a steak or other hearty meat. Maybe veal.

Though these two reds may look similar, they actually taste quite different.

2012 Merlot SH $38

This one we like better than the previous wine. It has mouth-watering tannins, lots of cherry taste and aroma, and also some scents of forest.

2015 Merlot HT $28

Again, we prefer the Sherwood House style, as we find this red just okay, with not a lot of fruit or depth. It’s not bad, just not very interesting.

2015 Cabernet Sauvignon HT $28

Aromas of dark fruits, like plums and berries, good tannins, dry, and tastes of dark fruit. Again, not exciting, but perfectly acceptable.

2012 Cabernet Franc SH $45

I like this one the best of the reds so far, although it has almost no finish. The aroma is a tad funky, with some notes of forest floor as well as dark fruits. Another nicely dry wine, it would go well with a cheese platter.

2010 Sherwood Manor SH $45

This is our other extra taste, and a good one it is. It’s the most interesting wine of the day, with lots of varied flavors and aromas and tannins that make us think it would continue to age well.

One time when we came here they were selling oysters on the porch.

More art from the gallery.

Reasons to visit: cozy tasting room with a fireplace that is in use in the winter; the opportunity to browse a gallery with beautiful pieces; the Oregon Road Chardonnay, the Sherwood House Estate Chardonnay, the Hound’s Tree Estate Rosé, the Oregon Road Red Blend, the Sherwood Manor; music even when it isn’t scheduled.

We think these crates can be used to store wine.

One Woman Wines and Vineyard: Happy to be Back April 29, 2017

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Claudia Purita, gewurztraminer, gruner veltliner, merlot, North Fork, One Woman Wines and Vineyard, Tribute, wine tasting May 1, 2017

https://www.onewomanwines.com/

Somehow we had let more than a year elapse before our return to one of our favorite wineries, so we were delighted to come back to One Woman. One of the servers was happy to see us back, as well, remembering that we had come before in the fall! That personal touch is no surprise at this tiny winery, which is very much the work of one woman, Claudia Purita, who, according to her web site, is totally hands on in the vineyard and the winery. Her devotion shows in the wines, which are all well worth seeking out.

Some ad hoc entertainment.

Out on the porch, a large group was celebrating what seemed to be one person’s birthday, and had arrived in a huge RV. A friend of the winery serenaded them with his guitar. They had made a reservation, which was fortunate, because the winery is very firm about no groups larger than six without a reservation. Our friend the server urged us to come in the summer, when they have bonfires and movies on Saturday nights. The tasting menu offers various options, and we decided to share four tastes for $10, forgoing tastes of the chardonnays and the rosé.

The menu offers various options.

2015 Tribute $26

A blend of all their white grapes—chenin blanc, chardonnay, grüner veltliner, and gewürztraminer—this is a perfect warm weather wine, great for sipping chilled. It has a flowery aroma of honeysuckle and peach, and also has some peach tastes, as well as a lovely minerality.

2015 Grüner Veltliner $26

At the moment, they are the only winery on Long Island with this grape, though our server told us that Macari has planted some, so they may be producing a grüner too. It smells fruity, maybe like gooseberries. The taste is mouthwatering, dry, with some mineral and stone. It would be good with a rich chicken dish, like a creamy casserole. It is steel fermented.

2015 Gewürztraminer $28

Mmm. Smells so good. Flowers, fruits, vegetables. Delicious! I think this may be the best gewürztraminer on Long Island, dry yet with lots of fruit taste. The server takes pains to point out that it only has 1% residual sugar, since some people think all the fruitiness means it is sweet. We also taste minerals and salt. It would be great to sip, but would also pair well with food. Our other server notes it is perfect for Thanksgiving—so we buy two bottles just in case we have turkey some time soon.

2013 Merlot $38

This is aged in new French oak for 18 months, and has the typical cherry flavor of local merlots. Light and dry, with good tannins, this might benefit from further aging.

An aerial photo shows the extent of the vineyards.

Reasons to visit: a bunch of excellent wines; an intimate setting off the beaten track; the Tribute, the Grüner Veltliner, the Gewürztraminer. Because we bought two bottles of wine, our tasting was free.

Peconic Bay: Not your Typical Tasting April 29, 2017

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Atwater Estate Bubble Pinot NOir, Baco Noir, Blanc de Blancs, Brotherhood New York Red, cabernet sauvignon, Cayuga, chardonnay, Hudson Valley, Long Island, merlot, North Fork, Peconic Bay Winery, riesling, Saperavi, Seneca Lake, Standing Stone, wine tasting May 1, 2017

This sign lured us in.

The last time we went to Peconic Bay for a tasting was in 2008. Then it closed. Or did it? They continued to make wines, marketing them through the store they opened in Tanger Mall, Empire State Cellars. We loved that store, which was amply stocked with wines from many of the Long Island wineries, as well as beers and liquors and other items from all over New York State. Unfortunately, they closed. Or did they?

The door was open, so we walked in.

Recently we noticed that Peconic Bay had hung out a sign saying “Open,” and touting a new sparkling wine, so we decided to check it out. We walked into an empty tasting room on a sunny day when every winery we drove past seemed to have a large complement of limos and cars. We were enthusiastically greeted by a woman who seems to be the manager of the place as well as its only employee. Over the course of our tasting, we learned various bits of information about Peconic Bay, but not why it closed and opened—and may or may not close again.

The ciders we could have tasted.

The tasting, which includes four wines, is free. (!) Each taste is small, served in tiny plastic cups. They also offer a tasting of ciders for $5, but we decided not to do that. On the counter were also a dish of Backyard Brine bread and butter-style pickles and another of pretzel sticks with Herlocher sweet mustard for dipping.

IMG_3606 (2)

As we sipped, we learned that the tasting room had been re-opened by the owner with the mission of selling out his stock of wines. Then they decided to recreate a mini-Empire State Cellar experience, and stocked a variety of New York State beers and other products, including Twin Stills moonshine, an apple-based gin, Greenhook Gunsmith whisky, various ciders, and more. Now they may or may not have “switched gears,” in the words of our friend behind the counter, to continue to sell Peconic Bay wines and other local drinks—or not. We’ll keep our eyes on them!

We were sorry when they closed.

2012 Peconic Bay Riesling $10

Riesling is a wine I never want to buy unless I’ve tasted it, since it can be sweet or dry or somewhere in between, and taste good or…not so good. This is a very nice riesling, dry, with a bit of that cat pee smell, and a taste of grapefruit and unripe peach. Not to be sipped on its own, but it would be fine with food, and the price is certainly alluring.

2011 Blanc de Blancs $25

This sparkling wine, made using the sparkling wine bottle-sealing facility at Lenz, is made from their own chardonnay grapes. It has a bit of a yeasty caramel aroma and is pleasant, dry, and not complex. They make it using the méthode champenoise.

Atwater Estate Bubble Pinot Noir $16

From an upstate Seneca Lake winery, this is a pink sparkling wine made from 85% pinot noir and 15% Cayuga grapes. It has a bit of the strawberry taste you’d expect from a rosé, and is less sweet than I had feared. It’s light, and would be a fine casual wine if you wanted to take a sparkler on a picnic.

Brotherhood New York Red $10

Another upstate wine, this one from the Hudson Valley area, this is a light, steel-fermented red blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and baco noir (which I had to ask her to spell for me). She described this as a “Beaujolais style picnic wine,” and I agree. It would be perfect with a croque monsieur, for example, and I think I would like it chilled. You can taste the cherry from the merlot, and also a somewhat piney taste.

2014 Saperavi $30

Yes, I said four wines, but given our interest and seriousness, she felt we should try one additional wine. A silver medal winner from Standing Stone winery, this is a light, pleasant red, dry, with some tastes of pomegranate and other fruits. It’s a dark red, so I expected it to be richer than it was, but maybe it needs more aging. I researched the grape a bit, and learned it is a cold-weather tolerant grape, originally from Georgia—the country, not the state.

Reasons to visit: a quiet place (unless others figure out that they’re open again); a free tasting; some very inexpensive wines (we bought both the riesling and the Brotherhood New York Red for everyday drinking, which she gave us in a nice canvas Empire State bag); a large choice of a variety of artisanal beers and other New York State drinks. Note: don’t depend on finding them open! It they’re closed, I recommend you go across the street to Coffee Pot Cellars.

We had the room to ourselves.

Some of the many brands available there.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

Monthly Archives: May 2017