Monthly Archives: July 2023

Croteaux Vineyards:  Ooh La La

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 20, 2013

Many (many!) years ago, while traveling in Europe, we rendezvoused for several days in Paris with dear friends.  Recently, they came north from Florida to escape the summer heat, and we were delighted they included a trip to the North Fork in their itinerary.  To honor those memories of France, we made salade niçoise for lunch, and then took them to the most French of the North Fork wineries, Croteaux.  Croteaux only makes rosés, and makes them in the dry Provençal style.

This view makes the garden look empty, but behind me it was full.

Happily, the weather cooperated, and it was pleasantly warm and sunny, because you want to sit in the lovely garden when you go there.  We followed a path from the parking area to an entrance in a barn, where we were promptly greeted and escorted to a table where we were given a nice cold bottle of water and some cups.  As we looked around, we noted that the garden was fairly crowded though they have added additional tables in an extended area.  Soft music set a relaxing mood.

You can scan the QR code or we can give you a printed-out menu, we were informed.  We opted for the printout.  Puzzlingly, the printed menu lists the prices of the wines as $39 and $37, while they in fact are $29 and $27. They should probably fix that. 

Croteaux only has table service—no standing at a bar.  They also offer a nice menu of real food, and we saw several very good-looking lobster slider rolls sail past our table enroute to lunchers.  I can definitely see coming here for a chilled glass of rosé and a lobster roll. 

This tub filled with water bottles is typical of the slightly funky aesthetic of the garden.

After some discussion, we decided that each couple would share one tasting—which proved to be more than enough, since, as much as we all liked the wines, we left over quite a bit.  One tasting of their six still wines is $28.  One could also opt for a tasting of their three sparklers for $26.  In past years we have belonged to their case club, which is their version of a wine club.  Buy a case (which one should do early in the season), and you’re in.   

If you are familiar with rosé, you can skip this paragraph… Rosé is usually made from red wine grapes, and how long they sit with the skins on determines how dark the rosé is. Rarely, it is made with white grapes, which then also sit with the skins on.  Some people think rosé is some sort of blend of red and white—which it actually could be, but not in the sense of here’s some red wine, let’s mix it with white until it is a pale pink. 

Our tasting in progress…you are told the order in which to try them, but then we kept going back and forth.

 2022 Chloe Sauvignon Blanc       $29

As you can tell by the name, this is made from white wine grapes.  This is a rosé for white wine drinkers, with a sweet aroma of honeysuckle and peach.  The taste is also of peaches and other stone fruit, but it is a dry wine.  Delicious, we all agree.

  • 2022 Merlot 181              $29

Of the six wines we tasted, this is our least favorite.  It is more austere, less fruity, than the others, and really needs to be paired with food, like seafood in a rich cream sauce.

  • 2022 Merlot 3                   $29

I smell orange blossoms and minerals, and we joke about licking rocks from the beach.  Lots of strawberry and orange tastes, with a long finish, make this rosé a real contrast to the 181.

  • 2022 Merlot Sauvage      $29

I explain to our friends that “sauvage” refers to the use of wild yeast, and one friend, a music aficionado, says the word “sauvage” reminds him of a line from the Benjamin Britton ballet, “Les Illuminations,” “J’ai seul la clef de cette parade sauvage.” The line is from a poem by Rimbaud.  Thus illuminated, we sip the wine, and are quite pleased.  Comments include “mouth-watering,” “a lot of taste,” and “peaches again.”  It also has a very pleasing minerality.  We each buy a bottle.

There are helpful tasting notes undeneath each glass.
  • 2022 Merlot 314              $27

I swear, this smells like orange juice.  Yummy.  It is fruity, and would pair well with charcuterie.

  • 2022 Jolie Cabernet Franc            $27

They saved the best for last, we decide, as we enjoy this flavorful sipper, with notes of strawberry shortcake and spice.  We also each buy a bottle of this one, as well.

The pretty bottles make nice gifts.
When it is time to pay, you go through the doorway in the background, where there is a little retail store.
Checks are charmingly delivered attached to shells.

Reasons to visit:  the lovely, relaxed garden setting; dogs are allowed; you like rosés; all the wines we tasted, but especially the Sauvage and the Jolie; nice menu of snacks.

Some of the items for sale in the retail store.
Cans of wine are becoming increasingly popular.

Lenz Winery: Intangibles

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 18, 2023

The rain seemed to be holding off, and a breeze made the temperature pleasant, so we decided to do an outdoor tasting.  We also wanted to be outside because our guest had brought his dogs, and we wanted to include them in the day’s activities, so we headed to Lenz. 

Primrose and Chewbacca quite enjoyed their first winery experience.

Sometimes I wonder whether how much I like a particular wine or winery is based on certain intangible factors, like the weather, or my mood, or little facets of service.  How objective is wine tasting anyway?  So much depends upon individual likes and dislikes.  On this day, we combined the peace of the courtyard (there was only one other party there), the nice breeze, the good company, and two happy dogs with wines we generally liked, with a few extras thrown in, to decide this was a great tasting experience. 

The courtyard offers a selection of shaded and unshaded tables.

Why were the dogs happy?  In addition to not being left at home, they were quickly provided with their own water dish and then—with permission from their owner—treats from the excellent server.  In addition to pampering the pooches, she timed the delivery of our tastes perfectly, falling in with our leisurely schedule and giving us just the right amount of information about each.

The North Fork wine country is celebrating its 50th anniversary, based on its beginnings with the Hargraves’ winery, and Lenz is not far behind, this year observing their 45th year in operation.  They say the older the vines, the better the wines, and that does seem to ring true here.

After perusing the menu, we decided my husband and I would share a Summer Flight, $30 for five fairly generous samples, and our guest would have the same flight, so we could compare notes.  We could also have opted for the Grand Flight, which features five of their pricier wines for $35.  There is also a chocolate pairing flight…maybe another time.  We also got a little $2 bag of North Fork potato chips, deciding to eschew the heftier options since I had cheeses and charcuterie waiting at home (including a nice chunk of 8 Hands pâté). 

  •  2016 Sauvignon Blanc                  $27 (for the ’22)

What an auspicious start to the afternoon!  We all found this sauvignon blanc delicious, with an aroma of honeysuckle and lots of fruit tastes, with a touch of lemon on the finish.  In fact, we liked it so much that we each bought a bottle to take home.

The pour was generous enough to share.
  • 2021 Firefly Rosé                             $20

Why Firefly, we asked.  Because it is named after the owner’s boat.  Ah.  A blend of malbec, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon, this is a yummy rosé, with tastes of tropical fruit—not quite pineapple, but sort of reminiscent of pineapple. 

I didn’t stop to ask about it, but Lenz often has displays of art for sale, which I assume this was. (It was about to rain, so we left quickly.)
  • 2022 Blanc do Noir Rosé               $24

If you look on the menu, you will see that this is not included in the tasting, but our lovely server brought it out for us, saying she wanted us to taste this before the other rosé, which we did.  Power of the book or the charm of the doggies?  Who knows.  In any event, this was a very light rosé, with a slight aroma of strawberry and tastes of strawberry and cherry, ending with some citrus and acidity.  Though we like it, we find it a bit too light, and actually prefer the Firefly.

  • 2017 Estate Selection Chardonnay             $22

We had a good chat with our server about oak vs. steel-fermented chardonnays.  As I’ve mentioned before, I tend to favor steel—I don’t like that buttery, oaky taste of oaked chards—but I have had some I liked.  This one is aged 50/50 in oak and steel, so sort of the best of both worlds.  I introduce our friend to the actual wine descriptor of “cat pee aroma,” which he finds amusing, but I do detect a trace of it in this wine.  However, the wine itself is quite drinkable—our friend says smooth—with a touch of citrus and not too much oak.

  • 2015 Gewürztraminer                    $30

Another gift!  Before you move on to the reds, says our server, is there any other white you’d like to try?  Hmmm…yes, I say, how about the gewürtz?  I like One Woman’s version of this wine very much, so let’s see how Lenz does.  I sniff and sense orange blossoms, a very flowery aroma.  A sip.  This wine is not shy, I opine, by which I mean it has a lot of taste!  Ripe fruit, spice…what would you eat with it, asks our friend.  Charcuterie!  Yes, it needs food that can stand up to it. Good.

  • 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon             $27

Pleasant, is the word we settle on for this light, easy-drinking red.  It has “not much depth,” notes my husband, but not every red has to be powerful.  For example, this one would go well with roast chicken.  It has some nice berry tastes and aromas.

  • 2017 Estate Selection Merlot       $22

Last wine!  We hasten our leisurely pace, as storm clouds are starting to gather. This is a good, fairly typical North Fork merlot, with an aroma I compare to Cheracol (a cough medicine you have to be of a certain age to know), and tastes of cherry and dark berries.  Nice, and a good price, too. 

The tasting room inside is cozy.

Reasons to visit: pleasant courtyard; dogs not just allowed, but pampered; the sauvignon blanc, the Firefly Rosé, the gewürztraminer, the merlot; a menu of real food, in addition to the usual cheese, etc.; an old-school winery where they take their wine-making very seriously.  By the way, though they have a small restroom inside, they also have the most deluxe port-a-potties I’ve ever seen, with air conditioning and a real sink.

I generally avoid port-a-potties, but these were deluxe.

Peconic Bay Vineyards: Celebrating the Fourth on the Second

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

July 2, 2023

#peconicbayvineyards #northfork #winetasting #barrelfermentedsauvignonblanc #theMoke

www.peconicbayvineyards.com

A patriotic flower pot.
The vines make a perfect photo backdrop.

We were a little wary of venturing out to a winery on the weekend before July Fourth, but Peconic Bay proved to be an excellent choice—just enough people to feel celebratory, not so many that it felt crowded.  It was also a good choice since it fit with our plans for the day, which included a visit to the Horton Point Lighthouse (If you haven’t ever been there, go. Note that it is only open on weekends, but the volunteers who staff it are lovely, and very well-informed, and the little museum is well set up.  Our guests braved the climb up the tower, but I had been, and once was enough.  We paid $5 to park in the lot and $10 for the family to enter.)  Then, we needed to be at Braun’s at 4:30 to pick up our steamed lobsters for dinner, and Peconic Bay is right next door.  The timing worked out perfectly.

The outdoor space is more comfortable than the indoor room.

I had made a reservation, and they sat our party of six around a firepit (obviously not lit on this warm afternoon) shaded by an umbrella.  The outside patio is a lovely place on a nice day, but the indoor tasting room is small and rather spartan, so I think this is one of those places I’ll go to in the summer.  As we perused the menu, we enjoyed the cool jazz of a group whose name I couldn’t quite catch.  The menu offers two flights, the Crossroads of three wines for $18, and Reserve, of three wines for $20.  One could also opt for pairings of three wines with chocolate, cheese, or oysters.  We were planning to pick up some oysters with out lobsters, and we wanted to try the full panoply of wines, so we decided that each couple would share both flights.  That worked out well, and there was plenty of wine, but the sequence ended up being a bit of an issue, since both tastings include some whites and some reds. As a result, we kept going back and forth between the two flights.  My notes, therefore, are in the order in which I tasted the wines, not separated by flight.

We also ordered a little dish of Marcona almonds ($4), and another of olives ($8), both quite good, and two non-alcoholic drinks for the minors in the party.  They both gave positive reviews to the Beach Ball cold brew strawberry hibiscus caffeine free tea ($5) and the Subtle Tea lemonade ($4).  They also enjoyed seeing a few dogs on the patio, and noting the cute Moke, a jeep-like vehicle in which one can tour the vines.

We asked our server if they made the wines on the premises, and he enthusiastically explained that the separate building on the other side of the parking lot contains their wine-making facility and their cellar, filled with stainless steel tanks and oak barrels.    

  •  2021 Sauvignon Blanc                  $28

We all agree that the aroma is lovely, which I describe as flowery.  The taste is tart, with lots of acidity and a long finish.  It would go well with oysters, but I am planning to make martinis for my guests, one of my favorite beverages to go with oysters—another is a dry sparkling wine.

  • 2021 Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc $35

This is from the Reserve flight, and we decided it would be fun to taste the two side by side.  One member of the party explained to the minors that two wines made from the same grape, grown in the same place, could taste very different depending on how they were made.  I like this better than the steel sauvignon blanc, which surprised me a little, but it is not oaky, and our comments are:  “nice, round, smooth, yum.”  It has a bit of a vanilla aroma, and would go well with lobster.

The flights come with handy little tasting notes.
  •  2016 Blanc de Blancs                    $40

The collective decision is to try the Blanc de Blancs next, as it is starting to lose its bubbles already.  One guest compares the aroma to privet, a flower we’ve been smelling all day.  Maybe.  It is quite tart, and not a sparkler for sipping on its own.  I eat a few almonds and then try it, and find it improves when paired with food.

  • 2021 Steel Chardonnay   $28

“The more I drink it, the more I like it,” opines our guest.  It has a bit of a funky aroma and taste, but otherwise is similar to most North Fork chardonnays, with citrus tastes and some green apple.

  • 2020 Merlot       $35

“Not exciting,” is the group judgment on this “serviceable” merlot.  I taste and smell cherry, as is typical, with a touch of tobacco from the oak.  Someone observes that it is “too tangy.”

  • 2020 Malbec      $35

Though it has no body, this wine is spicy and herbal, with tastes and smells of dark fruit, lavender, and rosemary.  “Meh,” says one guest.  I say it’s a nice wine.

Reasons to visit:  pleasant outdoor patio overlooking the vines; convenient location next door to Braun’s; the barrel fermented sauvignon blanc; all the wines were drinkable, if not exciting; live music; oysters and other pairings; the Moke!

The winemaking facility is on the other side of the parking lot.