Monthly Archives: April 2024

McCall Wines: Cherries for the Win

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

April 19, 2024

Ornamental cherry trees line the road to the tasting room.

Cherries for the win?  Have I been playing slot machines?  Nope, just going to a winery during cherry blossom season.  As we walked towards the entrance to McCall’s winery with our friends, the winery aficionados, we paused to admire the blooms on some ornamental cherry trees, noting that the Greenport cherry blossom festival was scheduled for Saturday.  Then, as a nosh with our tastings, we got the fruit and nut tray, on which the star was definitely the juicy dried cherries.  (At $10 I thought it was a bit overpriced.)  And, as we were leaving, I commented that those dried cherries were the star of the day.  Were the wines bad?  No, just underwhelming. 

We had already made some inroads in the nut and fruit tray, but it was still a small serving.

We were headed to a tasting for the second time this week to take advantage of Locals Week.  About twenty-two wineries were offering two for the price of one tastings, with some also featuring 10-15% off bottles of wine.  It seems that no one checks your id, by the way, so even if you are not local you can probably safely enjoy these deals next spring. 

Miguel behind the bar, with a photo of Theodore Roosevelt over his shoulder.

McCall has a cool little tasting room that began life as a stable, and still has stalls, repurposed as nooks for tables, with all sorts of farming bric-a-brac decorating the walls.  We also noted a display of articles about Theodore Roosevelt, and wondered about the connection.  Miguel, the general manager, was manning the bar, and he explained that Russ McCall admired President Roosevelt for his dedication to conservation, a cause Mr. McCall also champions.

This is just a small sample of all the “stuff” on the walls.

The room was also cool in temperature, and we kept our jackets on, even after Miguel turned on a little stove heater next to us. 

We ordered two tastings, with each couple sharing one, and Miguel brought us the wine in little carafes, plus glasses.  He also brought us a bottle of chilled water and some cups, always a nice touch.  We decided to both get the Rouge Flight, of three wines for $25, so we could compare notes as we sipped and chatted.

  •  2016 Estate Pinot Noir                $30

“I much prefer pinot noir from Oregon,” our friend, who has been to several wineries in Oregon, noted.  This wine has the sweet aroma of Cheracol, a cough medicine much favored by my mother when I was little, but is dry, with slight tannins.  It has a bit of a cherry taste, but is not very interesting.  “Okay, but not spectacular,” opined my tasting buddy.

This may look like a lot of wine for one tasting. That’s because our server misunderstood when we ordered, and thought we wanted four flights, not two. Very nicely, he only charged us for what we had ordered.
  • 2016 Estate Merlot        $24

This was our favorite of the day, a fairly typical North Fork merlot, dry, with some taste of not quite ripe plums.  We discussed the prevalence of merlot and chardonnay on the North Fork, figuring they grew well here.  Perhaps the pinot noir grapes are not as happy here as in Oregon?

  • 2018 Field Blend             $26

I assume “Field Blend” means all the grapes for this blend are grown in the same field.  According to their website, this is a blend of 75% merlot, 14% cabernet sauvignon, 6% petit verdot, and 5% cabernet franc.  It has lots of red fruit taste and a slightly funky aroma.  It’s fine, but, again, not exciting.

One of the cozy nooks created by the old stable configuration.

Reasons to visit:  pleasant, quiet tasting room; dogs allowed; burger night, which will recommence on May 16th “and continue every Thursday and Friday 4-8 pm through the summer”; the Estate Merlot.  Burger night features delicious burgers made with beef from the Charolais cattle the McCalls raise, and has become quite popular.  Make reservations if you want to go!  I wrote about it in my blog on August 3, 2023.

No bud break yet!

Sparkling Pointe: Perks of Being a Local

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

April 15, 2024

It was too nice to stay indoors, though the tasting room is quite attractive.

We were not celebrating tax day, but rather “Locals Week” in the wineries.  So we called up our friends the winery aficionados and headed to Sparkling Pointe, where they were offering two tastings for the price of one.  Since both couples prefer to split tastings, it worked out perfectly.

A view of the terrace and our first taste, an easy-to-drink rosé.

The weather, in this fickle month of April, was also perfect, warm and sunny, so we opted to sit outside on their lovely terrace overlooking the vineyard. As soon as we settled ourselves, a waitress appeared with four glasses of their NV (non-vintage) Cuvée Carnaval Rosé, a “welcome toast” offered to everyone.  More about that later. 

After we told our waitress that we would be getting the two-for-one flights, the “Grand Tasting Flight,” ($25 for four tastes) plus a package of Z Crackers ($6), which were slim and light and salty, we began chatting.   It had been a while since we were out together, so there was plenty to talk about, plus we always enjoy discussing various winery issues, such as price points. For example, we wonder whether North Fork wines tend to cost more than some similar wines from elsewhere due to the high cost of living on the Fork.

Tom Rosicki, the owner, with his wife Cynthia, of Sparkling Pointe.

As we were chatting, a tall blond man came over to our table, and introduced himself as Tom Rosicki, one of the owners.  We asked him about the Brazilian connection evident in the “Carnaval” names of some of his wines and some of the décor of the tasting room and shop.  He said that he and his wife Cynthia, the inspiration for the name of his new favorite of their wines, had gone to Rio and fallen in love with the place and the people.  Carnaval is a reference to what they call Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or Fat Tuesday, and is a huge celebration in Rio, with elaborate parades and costumes.  “Guess how many times I’ve been there?” he asked.  “Twenty?”  Nope.  “Sixty-three!  And we’re going again next week.”  He also pointed out a statue far away at the end of a row of vines, and informed us that it is a (small) replica of the famous Christ the Redeemer statue which has become a symbol of Rio, like the Eiffel Tower for Paris.

The colorful painting over the bar is all about Carnaval.

After he left our table, I wondered if his chattiness had anything to do with my notebook, but he then ambled over to the other tables on the terrace and visited with everyone else who was there.  So I guess he just enjoys visiting with his guests.  By the way, he also offered that the winery is a popular wedding venue.

At the end of the row, you can just make out the statue.

Sparkling Pointe, as hinted in the name, only offers sparkling wines, which they can’t call champagnes, since only wines made in the Champagne region of France can bear that name, but the wines are made using the méthode champenoise, a traditional, hands-on method that produces champagne-like wines.  Though we liked some of the wines better than others, and had some differences of opinion, overall we enjoyed the experience.

  1. NV Cuvée Carnaval Rosé           ($36)

A blend of 39% pinot noir, 27% chardonnay, and 34% merlot, this is a good choice for a first impression, as it is definitely a crowd pleaser.  It has the expected strawberry aroma and taste of a rosé, plus beautiful bubbles.  It is dry, but not too dry, with a pleasant fruitiness.

2.  2019 Brut          ($31)

I have had the opportunity to taste many variations on champagne, from a rather awful libation called Cold Duck to vintage Dom Perignon.  This falls somewhere in the middle, more towards the Dom Perignon side of the range.  Another blend, this time of 50% chardonnay, 36% pinot noir, and 14% pinot meunier, this tastes like a classic champagne, dry, with tastes of apple and pear, and it also has the characteristic yeasty aroma of sparkling wines, caused, I’ve been told, by the second fermentation in the bottle.  I like it.

3. 2021 Topaz Impérial Brut Rosé               ($44)

The waitress pours the last of the bottle into our glasses, and we wonder whether we are underwhelmed by this wine because it has been open too long.  It has barely any bubbles, and not much taste.  We much prefer the Carnaval Rosé (which is also cheaper).  This wine blends 45% chardonnay, 40% pinot noir, and 15% pinot meunier.

This label is another nod to Brazil.

4. 2018 Blanc de Blancs                  ($48)    

True to its name, this is 100% chardonnay.  We enjoy its warm yeasty aroma and tastes of apples and toast.  The waitress mentions starfruit, but we’re not sure what that tastes like.  As I recall, starfruit’s appearance is more dramatic than its taste.  Nicely dry.  I like this, too.

5. NV Cuvée Carnaval Blancs        (30)

If you read my blog, you know I prefer dry wines to sweet ones, though I do make an exception for dessert wines.  This is not quite as sweet as a dessert wine, but it is a bit sweet for my taste.  It is a blend, again, of 47% pinot noir, 28% chardonnay, 23% merlot, and 2% muscat.  Though muscat is such a small percentage of the mix, our friend wonders whether it contributes to the sweetness.  I taste thyme honey and citrus. 

The little gift shop has some Carnaval costumes and masks, and also some of the snack items for sale.

Reasons to visit:  you like sparkling wines (duh!); lovely patio and attractive tasting room; the Cuvée Carnaval Rosé and the 2019 Brut, in particular, though the only one we really did not care for was the Topaz Impérial Brut Rosé; no outside food allowed, but they do have a nice menu of cheeses and charcuterie and other snacks.  No pets, and they request that children stay seated.