Category Archives: Tasting

Sherwood House September 29, 2012

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

Two of our tastes.

http://www.sherwoodhousevineyards.com/

It was a chilly rainy September Saturday, but the agritainment business was in full swing.  We passed up the Harbes Pumpkin Fest and stopped in at the Garden of Eve Garlic Fest (disappointing–no pickled garlic, only one booth making garlic braids, and lots of booths selling the same jewelry we saw at the Maritime Festival) before ending our outing at Sherwood House Winery, on the main road.  They have a little tasting shack in Mattituck, on Oregon Road, in the midst of their vineyard, but now they also have a very nice though small tasting room on Main Road in Jamesport.  They share their space with a shop called Material Objects, which sells various interestingly quirky household items.  Inside the room, there was a lovely fire in the fireplace, very welcome on this damp afternoon, and a group of people sitting around it in comfortable chairs, enjoying a tasting.  We stood at the bar, where we chatted a bit with wine club members doing a tasting and pick-up and other people.  A musician in the corner played quietly.

The tasting choices are the $8 Estate Flight of four wines, the $10 Premium Flight, also of four wines, or the $14 Owner’s Flight, of four of their highest quality wines.  We opted to share one Estate and one Premium.  A couple next to us got the Owner’s Flight, which began with a champagne-style sparkling wine, and the information from the well-informed and alert server that their winemaker is from the Champagne region of France.  Hmmm…maybe next time…

In the notes that follow, the even-numbered notes are from the Premium tasting, and the odd-numbered ones from the Estate one.

1.  2011 Unoaked Chardonnay         $18

Their only all-steel fermented chard, this pleasant wine has a lemony aroma and a nice, light, clean taste with a creamy finish.  It would make a lovely summer sipper, out on the deck, perhaps.  Good, and buyable.

2.  09 Chardonnay          $30

In contrast, this chard spent several months in oak, and has the usual, though faint, aroma of vanilla and wood.  We taste unripe pear, with some grapefruit, but an unpleasantly sweet finish that we don’t care for.

3.  2011 Bouquet Rose          $18

Screwtop!  The server informs us that this is not their own wine, but is made from their grapes by another wine maker, and is in the tasting because they have sold out of their own rose.  Made from cabernet franc grapes, this reminds us of cherry Kool-Aid!  Dumpable.  Light and sweet, if that’s what you like.

4.  05 Merlot          $34

This one is good with chocolate, says the server, and we agree (Though we would like to have the chance to try it WITH chocolate, none is on offer…).  The aroma is dark cherry, with some oak, and the taste is moderately dry, with a faint hint of the earthy terroir, but otherwise nicely fruity.  This merlot spends 18 months in oak, and is a lovely wine, and would be good with pork chops or turkey (starting to think about Thanksgiving).

5.  04 Oregon Road Merlot          $16

This is our favorite of the day, and we buy two bottles to have with barbequed ribs tonight.  Not a lot of aroma, but lovely fruit tastes with a slight hint of smoke.  13 months in oak, we are told.

6.  06 Merlot          $25

This one spends 18 months in oak, and is also very good.  The aroma is of black raspberry, and though it is dry there is plenty of plum and raspberry flavor, with a bit of oak and a slight touch of smoke.

7.  04 Merlot          $20

The 04 also spent 18 months in oak, and it is interesting that Sherwood House tends to hold onto their reds for several years before release.  Again, aromas of berry and oak, with some sweetness and a light taste.  Pleasant, but not exciting, and while we would not refuse to drink it we have no inclination to buy it.

8.  08 Merliance          $40

Merliance is a blend–what Lewis Carroll would call a “portmanteau word”–of Merlot and alliance, and is made from grapes grown by Castello Borghese, Clovis Point, McCall’s, Pellegrini, Sherwood House and Wolffer Estates, each of which contributes two barrels of wine to the mixture.  Though not worth the price, it is a nice wine, with a flowery aroma and nice legs.  The proceeds from the sale of this wine benefit various events and research sponsored by the alliance.

 

Reasons to visit:  Really nice reds, a cozy tasting room with a fireplace for cold days, the chance to browse an interesting household goods store.  Buyable:  Unoaked Chardonnay and Oregon Road Merlot and 05 Merlot.

 

 

Sannino Bella Vita September 22, 2012

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

This is our first side-by-side pairing, of two chardonnays.

http://sanninovineyard.com/

After a good two-hour bike ride and before a visit to Greenport to see the Maritime Festival and the Peconic Plein-Air art exhibit, we stop at Sannino Bella Vita winery, formerly Ackerly Pond, on Peconic Lane.  This is a small winery on a side street, so, though there are plenty of people here, it is not the madhouse some of the bigger wineries on the main road can be, especially in the fall.  Live music is quietly provided by a flautist and a guitar player, and one of the guests outside on the little patio is swaying to the music.

Mr. Sannino is also a contractor, as well as a wine-maker, and he bought out Ackerly Ponds and combined their wines with his own, so you can taste both styles side by side if you like.

The full tasting, which includes all 9 wines, is $15.  You can also opt for a half tasting for $8 or a premium tasting of three special wines for $8.  We go for one full tasting, which we will share.  (There’s also a pitcher of sangria on offer, for $3 per glass, and a cheese tray for $15.)  The servers use a spout, so the pour is a carefully calibrated one ounce.

1) 06 Ackerley Pond Riesling          $18.99

This is a very tart riesling, with tastes of lime and green apple and a thin mouth feel.  This would probably be better with food, and actually might be fun to cook with, like with a fish in a wine and cream sauce dish.  Tasting it blind, one would probably not guess it was a riesling.

Our lovely server asks if we would like to taste the next two chardonnays side by side, as one is an Ackerly Pond (AP) and the other a Bella Vita (BV).  We say yes, and she fetches a second glass, and we note that the glasses are etched with the name of each vineyard, so we can keep track of which is which.  Nice touch.

2) 09Bella Vita Chardonnay           $20

Steel fermented and light, this chard has lots of citrus flavor, but is just okay.

3)  06 AP Chardonnay           $14.99

In contrast, the AP chard spent several months in oak, and the vanilla flavor of oak is there, but not very strongly, as well as citrus, but not a lot of depth.  There’s also a faintly metallic aroma.

Here comes another pairing!

4)  2011 BV Merlot Bianca          $20

This is a white wine made from the merlot grape, as the name suggests, given no contact with the skins.  Interesting tang.  The aroma is of slightly over-ripe fruit, though not in an unpleasant way, and the taste reminds us of an unripe peach.

5)  2010 BV Snow Merlot           $15

Basically a rose, this is a light, not complex, but pleasantly interesting wine, with side of the tongue sweetness and some strawberry flavor.

And a third pairing…

6) 04 AP Merlot          $19.99

This is our favorite so far, a dry red with a lovely chocolate aroma, and lots of plum and berry taste, with a faint mintiness and none of that earthy terroir of the North Fork.

7) 2010 BV Merlot          $30

Aged for a year in oak, this wine has a faint red candy aroma and nice plum flavors.  Again, no dirt!  This is also good, but a bit pricey for the quality.

8)  06 AP Cabernet Sauvignon           $27.99

We detect an aroma of oak.  Another fairly un-complex wine, with a thin mouth feel.

9)  2010 BV Spiced Wine           $13

Served warm!  We decide this spiced wine, made with cabernet sauvignon and other wines and flavored with cinnamon and similar spices, would be very nice on a cold winter’s night, especially if one were in a hot tub.  It reminds us of the Swedish drink Glogg (Imagine an umlaut over the o.).  The server notes that it would also be good if one added orange slices and cranberries to the glass.  Yes, it would.

Though we don’t buy any bottles, if we did need more red we’d buy the 04 AP Merlot.

Reasons to visit:  Intimate setting, ability to meet the owner (who has been there each of the three times we’ve visited), the ability to make interesting comparisons between two different styles of wine-making.  They also run a wine club in which one can make one’s own wine from their grapes.

One Woman Winery September 2, 2012

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The Gruner Veltliner!

http://www.onewomanwines.com/

On the way home from a boat ride with our son and two of his friends, we stop at One Woman Wines and Vineyard for a tasting.  The tiny tasting shack seems crowded at first, but the three lovely young women behind the counter–including Claudia Purita’s (the one woman behind One Woman) daughter Gabrielle–soon sort everyone out, and we all embark on tastings.  There are seven wines on the list, and one can have two for $6, three for $8, or four for $10.  We decide to share a three and a four, and thus taste all seven.  Our son and his friends each opt for tastings of four.  The pour is generous, and we all are feeling good after boating and swimming and enjoying this last summer weekend.  As we sip and ponder, we also enjoy the lovely wildflower arrangements in the shack–also by Claudia!  Several parties have taken their tastings to the outside tables, and a small group seems to be having their own impromptu jam session.  We decide to start with a comparative tasting of their three chardonnays.

1) 08 Chardonnay          $20

This is a pleasant chardonnay, with flavors of pear and vanilla, with a nice fruity aroma and a long finish.  Definitely buyable.

2) 07 Chardonnay         $20

Surprisingly, this has that barnyard aroma we usually find in Long Island merlots.  Fortunately, it tastes better than it smells,with lots of vanilla and some sweetness.  Nice legs.

3) 08 Estate Reserve Chardonnay     $40

This spends 8 months in French oak, and has an orange blossom aroma with again plenty of vanilla and a taste somewhat like caramel candy.Though it is mellow, my husband feels it is too oaked for him, though I like it.

Now we move on to the rest of their wines.

4) 2010 Gewurztraminer          $20

Lovely honeysuckle/floral aroma and flowery/sweet taste make this a nice sipping wine, though not to my taste particularly.

5) 2010 Sauvignon Blanc          $ $24

Their tasting notes say flavors of lemon grass and green apple, and I have to agree.  Though they say it is a Sancerre style, we’re not so sure. However, we do agree that it is a very good wine that would pair well with local oysters.

6) 2010 Gruner Veltliner          $26

Wow–the star of the day!  I don’t know if any other wineries are trying this grape, but it is certainly rare.  It is light and tart, but with plenty of fruit flavors, mostly grapefruit.  Crisp. Good.  We all buy bottles of it!  Nice bonus–on this day, there is a special offer of a free tasting if one pays cash for a bottle of wine, which we do.  We also knew we’d like the gruner since we had tried it at Biere, Claudia’s husband’s restaurant in Greenport, which in its current iteration features Belgian-style fare including excellent mussels and frites, a delicious cheese tray, and interesting beers on tap.

7)  08 Merlot          $28

This is One Woman’s only red, and it is a good standard L.I. merlot, with blackberry flavors and aromas, but not in the same league as her whites, which are really good.

As we get ready to leave, Gabrielle says they are about to release two new wines, and we promise to be back.

Reasons to visit:  Pretty rustic location a bit off the beaten track; nice whites, especially the Gruner Veltliner.

Lenz Winery 8/25/12

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The first round at Lenz

http://www.lenzwine.com/

After a 28-mile morning bike ride, we are ready for some refreshment, and so we head to the Lenz Winery, on the main road, one of a row of wineries.  They have an attractive barn-like tasting room, as well as some outside tables, and they sell some of the art that is on their walls as well as a small selection of wine-related tchatchkas.  A chalk board suggests one ask about their cheese tray, but we don’t.  There are two tasting menus, the Estate wines, 6 for $10, and the Premium wines, 5 for $14.  Being good at sharing, we order one of each, and our well-informed and bright server asks if we would like him to coordinate them so we can taste the wines in groups.  We do!

The first round consists of three wines, the 2010 Blanc de Noir ($15), the 2006 Cuvee ($30) and the 2008 Gewurztraminer ($20).

1)  The Blanc de Noir is a rose, with a sweet beginning and a tart finish, and a taste of green tomatoes.  It would work with oysters.

2) Champagne!  The 06 Cuvee is a methode champagnoise sparking wine that is quite good.  They use pinot noir grapes.  Although the aroma reminds us of cut grass that has been left in a pile for too long, the flavor is dry and good, with notes of green apple.  This wine, the server tells us, is aged for 6 months.

3) In the past we have liked their gewurz, but this one does not thrill us.  Neither here nor there, is one comment.  Some sweetness, some spice, a bit of ginger.

The second grouping lets us compare three chardonnays.  I love this type of tasting, since it is always so fascinating to see how the same grape can be so different depending on how it is treated.

4) 08 White Label Chardonnay          $12

This mostly steel fermented chard has a honeysuckle aroma, and though it is a bit sweet is is nicely balanced and not too citrusy.  Very buyable!

5) Gold Label Chardonnay         $20

This is an oak-aged chard, and has the expected vanilla/caramel notes with a roast pear aroma.  It starts tart and ends a bit acidic.  Though it has a bit too much flavor for simple foods, it might be really good with a seafood in cream sauce dish.

6) Old Vines Chardonnay          $25

“Old vines” because the vines are 25 years old, this variety is “only made when we have good grapes,” we are told.  This is in the tradition of a white Burgundy, with flavors of spice, pears, and some vanilla.  Excellent!

Now we move on to the reds, with a grouping of two cabernet sauvignons and a merlot/cab sauv blend, again facilitating fascinating comparisons.

7) 08 Cabernet Sauvignon          $23

The aroma reminds us of one of our favorite NoFo treats:  Briermere blackberry pie!  Soft, simple, and uncomplicated, this would make a pleasant sipping wine.  Good!

8)  08 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (plus other grapes) blend     $17

Another right bank Bordeaux.  We feel this could use more time to age, as it is very soft and dry, with no aroma.  Not bad for an everyday Bordeaux, however.

9)  2002 Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon          $40

Yum!  The server tells us this wine has had 10 years in the bottle to “calm down,” an interesting way to put it.  He also says it could sit another 10-15 years, but we doubt that.  We go on to have a discussion of the cabernet sauvignon grape, which, he says, has thicker skins than other grapes, and so needs more time to ripen, meaning that it is also more subject to the vagaries of weather and thus more difficult to work with.  They’ve done a good job with this one, which has lots of fruit, an interestingly complicated aroma, but not much tannin.  Though expensive, this could be worth the price.

The last grouping pairs two merlots.

10)  07 Estate Select Merlot          $23

How can a wine smell like coconut suntan lotion?  I don’t know, but this one does!  Though it is dry, we taste lots of fruit and sense plenty of tannins.  We like this one, and buy two bottles, one for a friend and one for us.

11)  02 Old Vines Merlot          $55

We sense some of the earthy terroir aroma of the Long Island merlot, but only a little.  Again, this is dry, with tastes of black cherry and chocolate.  Though good, we don’t think it is worth the price.

Reasons to visit:  some good reds, especially the Old Vines Cab and the Estate Select Merlot; the chance to do some comparative tastings across grape types; the Old Vines Chard.

Waters Crest 8/11/12

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http://www.waterscrestwinery.com/

Waters Crest has probably the worst-located winery on the North Fork, in a strip mall around the corner from the Southold town dump, which is too bad, because their wines are generally quite good.  The tasting room is small but pleasant, with a selection of gift items including some cute t-shirts and a cheese tray for $9.99. Jim Waters makes all his own wines, but buys his grapes from local growers, not having his own vineyard.  He started as a home winemaker, and, as we’ve learned from talking to other winemakers, that’s often the first step to becoming a professional wine-maker. (The server, Jenny, also tells another couple how Jim was a volunteer at Ground Zero, and after that decided to follow his dream.)  We bonded with Jim and his wife on our first visit, when we discovered they had looked at and contemplated buying the house we eventually bought in Mattituck!

The tasting menu now includes all seven of their wines, for $15, or you can buy individual tastes of whites for $2 each or reds for $3 each.  We opt to share one tasting.

1)  2011 Rose          $24.99

This is a simple and refreshing rose, with a fresh strawberry aroma and taste, fairly tart.

2)  2011 Chardonnay          $18.99

Although it is steel fermented, it has some interesting notes of vanilla and caramel which makes us wonder if it spent any time in oak, though Jenny says no.  It has a pleasantly lemony finish.

3)  2010 Reserve Chardonnay          $25.99

Delicious.   A somewhat smoky, mineral aroma makes us wonder how this will taste, but the wine has a nice balance of fruit and is not too oaky.  Jenny says it spent 10 months in new French oak barrels.

4)  2008 Merlot          $39.99

We get new glasses for the reds, always a nice touch.  This is a lovely soft Merlot, with a berry aroma and dark plum flavor, without too much of the North Fork dirt flavor.  Not much in the way of tannins.

5)  Due Sorelle          $34.99

Two sisters–named for the Waters’ daughters Michelle and Lauren–combines two wines, Merlot and Cabernet Franc to good effect, with lots of yummy pepper and fruit flavors including cherry.  Mild and mellow, this is dry despite the good fruit flavors.

6)  2008 Campagnia Rosso          $49.99

This is a right bank Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot.  The aroma is somewhat funky and off-putting (earthworm?) though the taste is better than the aroma. However, it is not our favorite of the wines.

7)  2007 Cabernet Franc Grand Vin          $39.99

Though the aroma of this is also somewhat earthy, the flavor is excellent, lots of ripe fruit with some mineral on the finish.  We buy a bottle!

Reasons to visit:  some nice wines, especially the 07 Cab Franc Grand Vin and 10 Reserve Chard; intimate setting, with the frequent chance to chat with the owner.

Bedell Cellars 8/7/12

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

http://www.bedellcellars.com/

If someone ever gives an award to a winery for attention to design, Bedell should get it.  From the pretty flower-surrounded parking lot to the attractive type-face of their signs to the arty labels on their wines, it is clear that someone is paying attention to appearance, and doing it very well.  The tasting room is well-designed, and the outside veranda lovely.  Even the servers wear a “uniform”–checked shirts with the Bedell logo.  Happily, the wines are equally well-designed!  We are here on a warm late summer afternoon with our daughter, son-in-law, and a now 14-month-old distraction, so not all of my notes are as comprehensive as they could be.  However, many of the technical details of their wines are readily available on their web page.

There are two tasting options (as well as the usual ability to buy wines by the glass or the bottle):   The Estate tasting includes 5 wines from their lower priced line for $10, while the Premium tasting gives you 5 tastes of their higher priced wines for $15.  We opt for one flight per couple, with one pair trying the premium and the other the estate so we can taste all ten wines.  The pour is small, but since we are there at the end of the day (4:30), a couple of times we get the benefit of a little extra to empty a bottle!  The servers are very knowledgeable and pleasant, and we also enjoy chatting with another young couple with a baby in tow, and our granddaughter enjoys meeting the calm and very friendly golden lab who is allowed into the room just to say hello.

Estate Tasting:

1)  2010 First Crush White          $18

This is a mostly steel-fermented blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling that is light and tart and refreshing.  The aroma is of mineral and chalk, and the fruit is subtle but there, with a pleasant dryness.

2)  2011 Chardonnay          $25

The server explains that this wine spends some time in neutral oak barrels (in other words, in barrels that have already been used for previous fermentations, and so have lost much of their oaky taste) in order to give the wine a better texture, and indeed, it does have a pleasant mouth feel.  The tasting notes also point out that beach stones are used in the casks, which we learn help to keep the cask full.  How much, if anything, they do for the flavor is debatable.  The flavor is pleasantly citrusy.

3)  2011 Taste Rose          $18

This is a light, fairly nondescript blend of Merlot, Cab Franc and Cab Sauv.   Can’t compete with Croteaux’s roses.

4)  2010 First Crush Red          $18

This is a Beaujolais Nouveau style of light red, and would be nice slightly chilled with a roast chicken.  The aroma has some of that North Fork earthiness, but it tastes better than it smells.

5)  2009 Merlot          $20

Nice berry aroma, and a typical Long Island Merlot, though without the earth flavor that is sometimes too prevalent.

Premium Tasting

1)  2011 Sparkling Rose          $35

This is NOT a champagne-style sparkling wine, but rather one made by injecting CO2 into the tanks.  It is a refreshing blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, and Merlot, but tastes a bit too much like a pink soda to me.

2)  2011 Viognier          $35

Winner!  This is a delicious white with lots of citrus and pleasing amount of complexity, despite a somewhat funky aroma.  Since I have no earlier notes on this wine, my guess is it is a new one for Bedell.

3)  2010 Gallery         $40

The Viognier grape also appears in this blend, which adds Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to the mix.  The aroma reminds me of lemon candy, and the taste has a sweetness of ripe fruit to it, but it is a pleasant wine.

4)  2010 Taste Red          $35

Yum.  The server notes that this was aged for 12 months, and is a Bordeaux-style blend of Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cab Franc, and Malbec.  The aroma is intensely berry berry, and the taste is lovely, with lots of fruit but dry.  Good tannins.

5)  Musee          $75  (!)

This rather pricey wine is also a Bordeaux blend, with an aroma of coffee and plum.  It spends 14 months in a combination of oak and old oak, and is a blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv, and Petit Verdot.  Though it is a good wine, with some complexity and good fruit flavor and a nice finish, we feel it is not worth the price.

Our son-in-law buys the First Crush Red, a good choice, we all agree.

Reasons to visit:  beautiful room and attractive labels; good though expensive wines; First Crush Red.

Mattebella Vineyards

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http://www.mattebellavineyards.com/

May 19, 2012

I’m catching up on past entries, made before I started this blog.  We visited Mattebella on a beautiful sunny day, our second visit.  This is a fairly new winery, and when we came last year we were almost the only ones there, but now it is more crowded.  Chris, who with her husband owns and operates the winery, remembers us.  She’s lovely–very friendly and outgoing, happy to chat about her wines.  The vineyard is named for their children–Matt and Bella!  Although the tasting room is a tiny shack, they have plenty of chairs and tables on a rustic patio, close to the vines.  They have six wines, at $2-4 per taste, served in lovely round-bottomed glasses.  We opt to share a full flight.  Although Chris is being helped by John, who is very knowledgeable, service is slow.  We actually see one couple get up and leave, having not been served, but it is a lovely warm day and we are in no hurry.

1)  08 Chardonnay          $16

An aroma of honey and, surprisingly, spinach.  We taste apricot and red grapefruit, but it is a bit sweet.  Maybe too sweet to have with a meal…but it would make a good aperitif wine, as it is nice for sipping, with a pleasant finish.

2) 09 Chardonnay          $17

A little plate of creamy brie and sliced baguette comes with this wine, and Chris urges us to taste it both before and after we have the brie. Good move.  The aroma is grassy, and a bit like white grape juice (I know, shocking, a drink made from grapes that smells like grape juice!).  The wine is tart with a light oak taste and some zingy acid at the finish.  After the brie, it is definitely less acid, with nice fruit as the flavors blend in the back of my mouth.  This wine is light, and good cold, and clearly good with brie.

Chris tells us that all their grapes are hand-picked, and they use all organic growing methods.

3) 2010 Rose          $16

This rose is 90% Merlot, with aroma and taste that reminds us of watermelon.  Actually, it reminds me of a watermelon infused with vodka I once had (and I’m not going to say anything more about that).  There’s a slight tingle, and it is a simple, nice wine, but not as good as Croteaux’s roses.

4)  Famiglia           $15

This is a good basic red table wine, which would be fine with pizza.  There’s an aroma of tobacco and dark fruits, and the taste is dry with some minerality.

5)  07 Old World Blend          $30

This is a Bordeaux blend–Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot–and we bought a couple of bottles last time we were here.  The aroma includes tobacco and the earthy terroir typical of the North Fork.  The flavor is interesting, with some cherry, and a good balance of dry and sweet.

6)  08 Old World Blend          $30

Another blend–Merlot, Cab Sauvignon, and Cab Franc.  We are served a little plate of bread, cheese, and fig jam with this wine, and find that there is a fig taste in the wine that is enhanced by the fig jam.  Fascinating.  Other than that, we taste black cherry, and sense again a slight earth aroma.

We buy 2 bottles of Famiglia, one 09 Chardonnay, and one 08 Old World.  Now I just have to get some fig jam.  I wonder if Briermere carries it?

Reasons to visit:  personal service; the chance to see how some of the wines taste with food; support for a mostly-organic vineyard; Famiglia, 08 Old World Blend, 09 Chard.

Croteaux Winery

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

July 14, 2012:  Bastille Day, the perfect day to visit a French winery!

http://www.croteaux.com/

We are here after another day on the water with friends who like wine, but are not used to wine tastings.  They are a little surprised that you do have to pay for a tasting, and tend to violate the “drink these wines in this order” instructions, but otherwise enjoy the experience.  Croteaux is just off the main road, a little west of Greenport, and used to be somewhat undiscovered.    No more!  The parking lot (a grassy field bordered by rows of corn on one side and vines on another) is pretty full, and so is the tasting “room”–a lovely patio with umbrella-shaded tables and comfortable Adirondack chairs, bordered by a picturesque half-ruined barn.  However, the very competent and attractive young staff guides us swiftly to a table, and asks us if we would like some bread and cheese ($10).  A basket with slices of baguette and a crock of goat cheese quickly arrives.  There are two tasting options:  $10 for 3 of their $19 wines or $15 for 6 of all their wines (the more expensive group sells for $25 per bottle).  We easily decide that each couple will share a tasting of 6 wines.

1)  Merlot 181 (all named for their clones)

The server describes it as “summer in a glass,” and we agree.  It is a light, rosy rose, with a taste of unripe melon and a lemony finish.

2) Merlot 314

This has a lovely flowery aroma and a tart strawberry taste, with some hints of citrus.

3)  Merlot 3

The aroma is not too sweet but not unpleasant, and, even though it is 100% steel fermented seems to have a trace of vanilla.

As a transition between the two groups of three, our server turns over the little label in the tray that held the first three tastes (in attractive round-bottomed glasses) so that the next three are detailed.

4) 181 Sauvage

This wine uses the same Merlot clone as the other 181, but uses wild yeasts, and since Channing Daughter’s L’Enfant Sauvage is one of my favorite wines, I’m interested to see how this will taste.  (By using wild yeasts, the winemaker gives up a measure of control and sees what the air brings to the wine.)  The aroma has notes of mineral or clay, and though the flavor is more interesting than the 181, our friend dubs it “sour.”

5)  Chloe

This is a Sauvignon Blanc Rose with some Cabernet Franc as well.  We like it. The aroma reminds us of ripe peaches and the taste is dry but with plenty of fruit.  This is good, but not like what one expects a rose to be like.

6)  Jolie (French for pretty!)

This is a Cabernet Franc rose, a Bordeaux style, and my favorite of the afternoon, with lots of ripe strawberry/raspberry tastes.

That should be the end of our tasting, but we have a nice surprise in store.  In honor of Bastille Day, we are given free tastes of their two sparkling wines, the Cuvee Sparkle and the Cuvee Rouge Sparkling Cabernet Franc Rose, each $28 per bottle.  The first is light, made in what our server says is the French “charmat” style, and the second I really like, with tastes of lots of berries.  A final nice touch–as we sit and chat with our friends, the server brings a bottle of chilled water for us, a welcome treat on this hot day.  Tres civilized…

Reasons to visit:  great place to sit and relax on a warm day; best roses on the North Fork; you can pretend you’ve gone to France!

Channing Daughters Winery

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

7/7/12

http://www.channingdaughters.com/

Okay, so Channing Daughters is not actually a North Fork winery, though they do get some of their grapes from fields on the North Fork, but it is our favorite winery.   In fact, their Scuttlehole Chardonnay is more or less our house white, and is what we served at our daughter’s wedding.  We are here today (after two ferries and a pleasant drive across Shelter Island) because a relative with a house in East Hampton has invited us for a visit, so we intend to get a bottle of wine to bring and to buy a case of Scuttlehole Chard for ourselves.  The tasting room is small but pleasant, and the staff is always very knowledgeable.   You can also check out the interesting sculptures, often made from tree roots, by the owner.  We decide to try their four rosatos (roses), which all cost $20 per bottle.

1)  2011 Rosato di Cabernet Sauvignon

According to our server, all the rosatos spend about 15 minutes on the skins, and then are steel fermented.  They all are drink-now wines, not keepers!  This one is good, with a pleasant cherry/strawberry taste and some nice spiciness to it.

2)  Franconia 2011

This one uses blaufrankish grapes, and would make a nice aperitif wine, with again some cherry flavor and a tart, lemony finish.

3)  Petit Verdot 2011

The aroma reminds us of unripe cantelope, with a flavor reminiscent of pink lemonade–but without much sugar.  There is some complexity.

4)  Lagrein 2011

This is the best of the four, with sweeter notes at the end and a strawberry aroma and flavor.  We buy this one to bring to the party!

Reasons to visit:  you’re on the South Fork but you want to visit a winery; great wines, including our favorite Long Island chardonnay, their Scuttlehole chardonnay; they experiment all the time with new wines and new methods, so it’s fun to explore.

Addendum:  On a recent visit, all the roses bore “sold out” signs, so if you’re interested in buying them I suggest you get there early next year!

McCall’s Winery

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , ,

June 9, 2012

http://www.mccallwines.com/

This is a small winery where you are most likely to be served by Mr. and Mrs. McCall themselves, a lovely and very friendly couple, especially when it is not too busy—which unfortunately is not the case today, as there is a large party at one rustic picnic table and people at almost every other table.  This winery is right across the street from Pellegrini’s, and is located in a converted barn/stable that still keeps many of the features of its original use.  Our table, for example, is in a horse stall, with wood shavings underfoot, the aroma of which interferes a bit with the tasting!  (The McCalls also run a cattle ranch which provides high end beef, which may often be bought at Love Lane Market.)

We are here with our daughter and son-in-law and a small distraction of just over one year old, so we decide to share two tastings, an $8 flight of 3 wines and a $16 flight of 4 higher-end wines.  The pour here is generous.  They concentrate on reds, though they do have a couple of whites (which we did not taste).

1)      2011 Pinot Noir Rose                        $16

This is a pleasant, light, sipping wine, with some of the Long Island earthy aroma and not much fruit.

2)      2009 Pinot Noir                     $24

The aroma combines dark fruit with some oak.  This is a light burgundy, very pleasant, and would go well with a roast chicken.  It has some of that NoFo earthy terroir, but not too much, with nice black cherry flavor and a tart finish.

3)      2007 Pinot Noir Reserve       $60

Whew—expensive, and, we all agree, not worth it, though this does taste like a real burgundy, with lots of fruit flavor that lingers on the tongue.  There is a somewhat veggie aroma and the color is a lovely dark, um, burgundy.  We do agree that it has enough structure that it will probably cellar well.

4)      2007 Merlot                $30

This is a case where the wine is definitely worth the price.  Yummy, springs to mind.  Lots of dark ripe blackberry flavor right from the first taste, with some mid-tongue dryness and none of the earthy terroir.  Definitely buyable—which we do.

5)      2007 Ben’s Blend       $48

The aroma has that earth/dirt terroir.  Very dry, with nice fruit and some complexity.  I like it, but think it would taste better with food—like lamb chops.  However, everyone else prefers the 07 merlot.

Reasons to visit:  personalized service; good reds, especially the 07 Merlot and 07 Ben’s Blend.