Greenport Harbor Brewing Company: Cold Beer Here! 7/23/16

Posted by nofowineaux in Brewery, Uncategorized and tagged with Black Duck Porter, cabernet franc, Fork and Beans, Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, Harbor Ale, merlot, North Fork, North Fork Roasting Company, OGB Dry Hop, Otherside IPA, Summer Ale July 26, 2016

http://greenportharborbrewing.com/#welcome

The flag said “Cold Beer.” Hard to resist when it’s 90 out!

Even with breezes off the bay, it was too hot to sit outside at a winery, so we decided the weather demanded some nice cold beer. Off we went to Greenport, to the original—which they now describe as the “boutique”—site of our favorite East End beer maker. They also have a huge facility in Peconic, more a beer barn than a tasting room, which is often very crowded. On Valentine’s Day weekend we walked in there and walked out, as it was clear there were no seats available plus a long line to even get a tasting.

Look for this sign on a back street in Greenport.

The slightly confusing menu.

We quickly found a place at the bar in the small upstairs space, and were soon joined by a genial couple who had not been to a beer tasting before. We had opted to share one tasting flight, and after seeing how generous the pour was, they decided to follow our example. You get six “tastes” (actually a good-sized glass) for $8.00. By the way, they no longer give you the glass to keep. The menu is somewhat confusing, as our new friends found, as they were not sure whether you get each taste for $8 or all six, or which of the many varieties listed are included. The starred ones, we explained, were in the tasting, and they are served in order from lightest to darkest, or most intense in flavor. We may have to stop in another time to try some of the other options. A line on the chalkboard separated the beers that are always available from the seasonal and/or experimental ones.

The tasting room features changing exhibits of local artists’ works.

We were also on a mission of sorts, as we had brought an empty growler—the refillable jug the brewery uses—to fill with beer for our dinner of barbecued ribs and Harbes sweet corn.

Summer Ale 5.3% (alcohol level)

Of course, since this is the first taste, it is the lightest. The color is a light gold, the taste is clean and tangy and light, not at all hoppy. It would be the perfect beer to consume after an afternoon of gardening in the warm sun, as it would go down very easily and was quite refreshing. It was also our new friend’s favorite, though not ours. We decided she and I had opposite tastes!

Summer Ale next to our growler.

Harbor Ale 5.3%

After a quick rinse with water from a pitcher, the server filled our glass with this perennial classic of Greenport Harbor. It is a reliably good beer, with a touch of bitter hops, and could certainly go with our ribs, though we were not decided yet.

Harbor Ale

OGB Dry Hop 4.1%

The menu describes this as a “Berliner Weiss,” or in other words a wheat beer. In general, I tend not to like wheat beers, and this is no exception. “Tastes like flavored water,” opines my husband. “The Germans can keep it!” I reply. The aroma and taste are both rather yeasty, with some funkiness, and it’s quite fizzy. It might go well in a shandy. We didn’t finish our portion.

Fizzy wheat beer

Otherside IPA 7.4%

I seem to recall from a former visit that “otherside” refers to California hops, but our server today seems very uninterested in giving us any details unless we ask more than once for information. He’s much more forthcoming to a young fedora-hatted couple down the bar from us. This is our favorite so far, quite hoppy, with a fuller mouth feel and more flavor than the Harbor Ale. I think we’ve found our rib accompaniment.

Otherside India Pale Ale

5. Black Duck Porter 4.7%

This is generally my favorite of their beers, I explain to the friendly couple next to us, and he agrees that he likes it. It’s a porter that would not be out of place in an English pub, with an aroma of coffee and tastes of coffee and chocolate, with just the right balance of sweet and bitter. If you like dark beer, this is the one for you—but it would not complement our ribs. Maybe it would go well with shepherd’s pie, or a plowman’s lunch of cheese and bread and pickles. We’re getting hungry, and we notice that they also no longer put out bowls of pretzels. Oh well.

Black Duck Porter

Fork and Beans 6%

“American Stout,” says the menu, and the name is explained when the server tells another couple that they actually brew this with coffee beans sourced from the North Fork Roasting Company, a coffee place in Southold that roasts their own beans and has quickly become a popular spot. This dark brew smells and tastes like a strong espresso. You could have it with breakfast and think you were getting your caffeine fix for the day! We both find it a touch too bitter. I wonder how it would taste topped with whipped cream.

Fork and Beans, as in North Fork and Roasting Company espresso beans!

Reasons to visit: the Otherside IPA, the Black Duck Porter, the Harbor Ale; a seasonally changing roster of beers; a hefty and low-priced serving of beer, given the six generous tastes for $8; the chance to fill your growler with nice fresh beer (we did take the Otherside IPA). For more of a party atmosphere, with music and food often available, you can check out their location in Peconic.

Coffee Pot Cellars: It’s the Bees Knees July 9, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Adam Suprenant, Beasley's Blend, chardonnay, Coffee Pot Cellars, Cyser, gewurztraminer, Laura Klahr, Meritage, merlot, North Fork wine tasting, sauvignon blanc July 14, 2016

http://www.coffeepotcellars.com/

Bees feeding on honey

“Watch what happens when I pour some honey in here,” says Laura Klahr, leading a group of fascinated wine tasters over to the glass-fronted bee hive set into the wall of the Coffee Pot Cellars tasting room. As we watch, the bees gather around the stream of honey, licking it up with their tiny tongues. They seem to be enjoying their snack just as much as we enjoyed our tasting.

Laura waiting on a group

What, you may wonder, do bees have to do with wine? More than you probably think, but here the fact is that Laura is a beekeeper who happens to be married to wine maker Adam Suprenant, and Coffee Pot (named for the distinctively shaped lighthouse just off Orient Point—they don’t serve coffee) is their joint venture, where you can find his wines and her honey and beeswax products, plus one item that combines both their passions. More about that later.

As we stand at the bar in the cozy tasting room, we are treated to Laura’s stories about the wines, bees, and their adorable dog named Beasley and his opinions about wine. More about that later, too. Her lively presence makes us glad that we chose to bring our son and his fiancée with us on this tasting.

Laura consults with Beasley on his favorite blends.

The menu offers several tasting options, but I recommend you go for all six wines for $12. You won’t be disappointed. Between tastes you may want to browse the bee or wine-related gift items.

2013 Sauvignon Blanc $19.99

This is a steel-fermented white with a metal/mineral aroma, and tastes of citrus and melon with a touch of white peach. There’s a bit of top of the mouth sweetness, but overall this is dry, and would go beautifully with seafood. We imagine it would complement the oysters we had earlier at the rustic oyster bar in Greenport.

2013 Chardonnay $19.99

“The grapes work so hard to grow,” says Laura, “that we just want to celebrate them.” In order not to interfere too much with the natural flavor of the grapes, they age these in eleven-year-old oak barrels, so if you don’t care for oaked chards you may like this one. We smell fermented pineapple, with just a touch of vanilla, and taste green apple. Lovely summer sipper. Our guests opine it would go well with shrimp, or maybe brie.

Cyser $14.99

What, you may be wondering, is Cyser, and how did it get into the middle of this tasting? Cyser is Laura and Adam’s fusion of their interests, a bubbly hard cider made with honey, like a mead. I have tasted mead, and this reminds me of it a little, but it is much tarter than you would think from the ingredients and has only half a percent of residual sugar, says Laura. Our son wants to know if malolactic fermentation has taken place, so Laura gets Adam on the phone so they can chat about this possibility. Laura tells us that her bees helped pollinate the apple orchard where the apples were grown, and then a different type of bee contributed the honey. Fascinating. We enjoy it, and imagine its apple and honey taste would have gone well with the excellent pulled pork sandwich we had at First and Main—or maybe latkes! We buy a bottle as a gift. By the way, the Cyser was not listed on the menu as part of the tasting, but everyone in the room gets a taste.

2013 Gewürztraminer $21.99

So I’ve been saying for a while now that this or that wine tastes like gooseberries, and my husband kept saying, “I don’t know what gooseberries taste like.” Saturday I found gooseberries at Briermere (just before I bought the obligatory pie) and brought them home so we could all taste them. Fruit that tastes a bit like a vegetable, we decided, tart and green, but with a touch of sweetness. And…that describes this steel-fermented Gewürztraminer.

Beasley standing guard on the Coffee Pot lighthouse.

Beasley’s Blend $15.99

According to Laura, the name for this wine arose from a discussion about what kind of wine Beasley, their cute friendly dog, would go for. The label features Beasley standing guard on the Coffee Pot lighthouse balcony, and the wine inside is a good pre-dinner sipper, easy to drink with pasta dishes, for example. We smell black cherry, plum, licorice, and taste a good balance of fruit with a touch of earthiness. Good work, Beasley! Nice touch—she rinsed our glasses with a bit of red wine before moving from the whites to the reds.

2011 Merlot $19.99

These merlot grapes, we are informed, come from McCullough’s vineyard. Our son detects an aroma of blueberry, and his fiancée adds pomegranate. The taste is typically cherry, nicely dry. Perhaps if we get some pork belly from Eight Hands Farm this would go well with it.

2010 Meritage $25.99

59% merlot, 23% petit verdot, 14% cabernet franc, and 4% cabernet sauvignon; 90 points from Wine Spectator: but statistics only tell you so much. 2010 was a good year on Long Island, and this is a lovely example of a wine from that year. Delicious, we all agree, with lots of dark fruit, nice tannins, and a bit of a coffee aroma to add to the usual Bordeaux blend smells. It is getting close to time to go home and cook dinner, and we must be hungry as we start to speculate about what this wine would go well with. Lamb shish-ka-bob? Steak? Oh yes. And we buy a bottle for the cellar.

Beeswax candles

Reasons to visit: where else can you taste wine and learn everything you ever wanted to know about bees?; Laura and Adam, still wine country’s cutest couple; all the wines but especially the chardonnay, the Cyser, and the Meritage; lots of bee-related gifts (I’ve had the honey and it is excellent.).

Osprey’s Dominion: Attention Was Paid June 10, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with cabernet franc, Carmenere, chardonnay, Cuvee Osprey Sparkling, Fume Blanc, gewurztraminer, Long Island wine, Malbec, merlot, North Fork, Osprey's Dominion, Petite Verdot, Pinot Gris, pinot noir, Richmond Creek Red Blend, White Flight Edelzwicker, wine tasting June 12, 2016

https://ospreysdominion.com/

One of the three servers who were quick to wait on us.

“Have you decided which wine you want to start your tasting with?” we were asked by the third server in about 10 minutes as we studied the lengthy menu. We had not, though we welcomed the attention because on our last two visits we had felt rather neglected. This time the tasting room was practically empty, most likely because we had decided to come on a Friday rather than a weekend day. The last time we tried to come to Osprey’s we couldn’t even find a place to park.

The large airy tasting room

It’s not hard to see why Osprey’s is popular. The tasting room is large and airy, with ample outdoor seating where you can bring a picnic or buy a snack from their limited menu. Mellow music of the Frank Sinatra type was on the sound system, but they often have live music. In fact, for the summer they have live music on Friday nights from 5-8, and they suggest you “pack your dinner or snack.” In addition, they offer many different wines at reasonable prices with varying taste profiles. The tasting menu lists ten whites, nine reds, and five “reserve” wines. A flight consists of three tastes for $8 or five for $12. We decided to do two consecutive tastings, one of whites and then one of reds, of five tastes each.

Line up of bottles on the bar

Though the servers were pleasant and attentive, they offered only minimal comments on the wines, even when we engaged them in conversation, though one of them had more extensive discussions with us about wine preferences. We did get some help on where to start our tasting, since we wanted to try the Pinot Gris from the Reserve menu. She advised we start there, so we did, and she was correct.

2014 Pinot Gris Reserve $20

The aroma is lovely and flowery, like honeysuckle and orange blossom. We taste crisp pineapple and tangerine. The menu informs us that the wine is aged six months “sur lies,” so we expect a bit more depth, but this is a light wine and an easy summer sipper. (Sur lies—or lees—means the wine sits on the sediment that falls out of the juice, I’ve been told, and should lead to a more complex taste.) It was a good place to start our tasting.

2014 Fumé Blanc $15

This is actually 100% sauvignon blanc, fermented in oak, so you get that vanilla aroma from the wood. I also taste a bit of vanilla. Again, this is a light white, with less of the citrus you get from a steel-fermented sauvignon blanc.

2014 “White Flight” Edelzwicker $15

I’m not sure why the menu calls this White Flight, but I bet it’s so that people don’t have to try to pronounce Edelzwicker! In any event, people should try this blend of 87% pinot gris, 8% gewürztraminer, and 5% riesling. The menu describes it as an Alsatian blend; I describe it as delicious. The aroma includes bread dough or yeast and spice—perhaps nutmeg. The wine has all sorts of interesting flavors, with nice fruit and just a slight touch of sweetness. In need of whites for summer meals, we buy two bottles.

2012 Gewürztraminer $17

Although our server describes this wine as dry, I find it a bit sweet for me, though that sweetness would make it a good match for spicy food. The aroma is intriguing, and after saying apple, ginger, and “heavy,” we settle on apple cider doughnut. The taste is quite fruity, and not exactly what we expected in a gewürztraminer.

Cuvée Osprey Sparkling $25

For our last white we decide to try their sparkling wine, made from 70% chardonnay and 30% pinot noir, using the “Méthode Champenoise,” and served in a proper champagne flute. “Candy wine,” says my husband. I agree. Dump.

They were excited about their new sparkler. We were not.

Richmond Creek Red Blend $12

We get a clean glass for the reds, and I clear my palate with some crackers sitting in a basket on the bar. 42% cabernet sauvignon, 11% pinot noir, 26% cabernet franc, and 23% merlot: in other words, a Left Bank Bordeaux blend. We’re always on the lookout for inexpensive reds for our frequent pasta dinners, so we decide to begin our red tasting by trying one of their line of less-expensive wines. It smells good, of dark fruits and plums, and tastes quite nice, too. I would buy this one, though I have to say it has no depth or tannins. Still, it is a pleasant sipper and would go with a simple pasta dinner, and is quite a bargain for Long Island reds–and I do like to support the local wineries!

It’s a measured pour.

2010 Cabernet Franc $20

Like many Long Island wines, this one blends merlot with the dominant grape, in this case 88% cabernet franc plus 12% merlot. The aroma combines spice, pepper, and a mellow tobacco, and the taste has lots of dark fruits plus a touch of black olive. It would go well with, for example, lamb chops with fresh herbs.

2012 Carménère $24

We get another clean glass to try this wine, the only Carménère on the North Fork. I’m always interested to try new tastes. 2012 was a pretty good year, and this is a pretty good wine. The menu describes it as “jammy”; though I’m not sure I agree, it is a rich red with some nice tannins that could stand up to steak.

2012 Malbec $24

So here is a perfect illustration of the necessity of trying different vintages. The last time we were at Osprey’s in February of 2015 we bought two bottles of the 2010 Malbec, which we quite enjoyed. This time, though the wine is not bad, we are not moved to buy it. It has nice blueberry and pepper aromas and is a pleasantly dry red, but lacks the depth of the 2010.

2012 Petite Verdot $35

Even though Petite (or often petit) Verdot is most often used as a part of a blend, I find I tend to like it by itself. It has a beautiful dark color and tends to be fruity and jammy and big. This one does not disappoint, though I think it might get better with age, as it is mouth-puckering dry. (I know, I don’t like sweet wines; now I’m complaining about dry. As the Greeks say, moderation in all things.)

Nice day for sitting outside.

Reasons to visit: wide variety of wines at reasonable prices; large pleasant tasting room and outdoor area; the Edelzwicker, the Gewürztraminer, the Cabernet Franc, the Carménère, the Petite Verdot; small selection of wine-related gifts; Friday night live music and BYO food. However, be aware that in season on the weekends it can get very crowded.

Roses are in bloom all around the grounds.

Lieb Cellars: Très Èlégant May 21, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with cabernet sauvignon, duck pate, Lieb Cellars, Malbec, NoFo, North Fork, petit verdot, Reserve Blanc de Blancs, Reserve Cabernet Franc, Reserve Meritage, Reserve Merlot, Reserve Pinot Blanc, Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, wine tasting May 23, 2016

http://liebcellars.com/

The somewhat industrial looking outside belies the very attractive inside.

“I love Paris” was being crooned on the sound system as we entered Lieb Cellars’ elegant tasting room on Oregon Road. Oregon Road, you may ask? If you’ve been to Lieb, you’ve probably been to their tasting room on the corner of Sound Avenue and Cox Neck Road, but this is their second location, and a lovely one it is. As we walked through the parking lot, we heard birds singing and looked out at a bucolic scene of farm fields and vineyards.

Typical scene along Oregon Road–plowed field ready for planting!

We were greeted by a friendly hostess who escorted us to a table with comfortable chairs in a corner of the attractive tasting room. Many people were sitting outside, but it felt a touch too chilly for us to sit out there. However, I could definitely see coming here on a warm afternoon and getting a glass of wine (suggestions at the end of this review) and some snacks—I’m particularly interested in trying the duck paté—to share with friends.

The hostess will show you to your table.

The pleasant waitress explained to us that they now do table service, though one could still sit at the bar, and handed us menus. The four drink options included 5 of primarily their Bridge Lane whites or 5 Bridge Lane reds for $16, 6 Reserve wines for $20, or 5 “Director’s Cut” options for $12. The last list included their sparkling cider, Rumor Mill, which I liked when I had it in the past. Since we have sampled the Bridge Lane offerings several times at their other location, we decided to go with the reserve list. The waitress brought us a package of slim bread sticks to cleanse our palates along with a tray bearing our first three tastes on a paper with numbered and named spots for each one.

The menu also includes non-alcoholic drinks for the designated driver.

2011 Reserve Blanc de Blancs $30

Although this is a Méthode Champenoise sparkling wine, it was served in a regular wine glass, which might have accounted for the paucity of bubbles (or it might have been open for a while). Despite the bubble issue, this is a perfectly pleasant sparkling wine, not too dry, with some minerality and tastes of unripe pear and the typical yeasty toasty aroma. But if I wanted an inexpensive sparkler I’d go for a Cava or Asti Spumonte—or, if I was determined to have a Long Island sparkling wine, one of Sparkling Pointe’s better wines, such as Brut Seduction. They use pinot blanc grapes for this, aged 36 months.

Three whites

2014 Reserve Pinot Blanc $22

Of course, this is also made with pinot blanc grapes, and is, our server told us, their “signature wine.” I’m not sure why, since, though it’s not bad, we did not particularly care for it. It is steel fermented with 0% residual sugar, we were told, which might account for the perception I had of something metallic about the smell and taste. “Like licking foil,” I said, which my companion thought was a rather strange thing to do. It might be better with food, such as something in a cream sauce, since it is quite crisp.

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $26

This is a new wine for Lieb, and so far our definite favorite. The aroma is complex, with notes of honey, fresh cut grass, pineapple, and maybe a touch of cat pee (or that smell when you’ve had cut flowers in a vase too long). The taste is also complex, and I compare it to kiwi and something green with a touch of smoke or funk. My husband says, “I could drink a lot of this.” It may not be a crowd pleaser, since it is rather dry, but we like it a lot. We took a mental inventory of our wine cellar and decided not to buy it, but we might change our minds at some future date.

One can also sit at the bar.

2014 Reserve Merlot $24

Now it is time for our reds, and rather than change our glasses the waitress quickly flips over the paper in our little tray to reveal spaces named and numbered for reds. Even though there are a few drops of wine in each glass, we don’t get new glasses, as she pours out our tastes and gives a brief rundown on each wine. The merlot, she notes, also has a bit of cabernet franc in it, and all the reserve reds are aged ten months in Hungarian oak. We feel the merlot is a fairly typical Long Island merlot, with dark fruit aromas and tastes, including plum and cherry, plus a touch of earthiness.

The reds, including our favorite of the day, the Meritage.

2014 Reserve Cabernet Franc $40

I would hope for more depth and complexity in a $40 bottle, though this is a perfectly competent red and would be good with pasta. Aromas of plum and tobacco and dark fruit tastes, as one would expect.

2013 Reserve Meritage $35

Described simply as their Bordeaux blend, this is our favorite wine of the day. Though the aroma is similar to the cabernet franc, the taste is much more interesting. Cherry, chocolate, plums, perhaps a touch of leather or tobacco. It could have more body, but we like it enough to also contemplate buying a bottle. I ask our waitress what the proportions of the various grapes are in the wine, and she disappears into the back for quite a while, during which we decide that cabernet sauvignon probably dominates over the merlot. When she returns we discover that we are right, as she hands us a printout with a detailed rundown on the wine: 47% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 17% malbec, 2% cabernet franc, and 1% petit verdot. Plus more detail than we need, though it is interesting to see the comments on the type of yeast and bacteria used. Winemaking, we have often heard, is both an art and a science. Also, this is aged 16 months in Hungarian oak. As we have heard before, 2013 was an excellent year, and this is a good example of the lovely wines made from that harvest.

Comfy chairs and couches abound.

Reasons to visit: prettily bucolic location on a back road with comfortable seats and an appealing array of snacks and variety of tasting menu choices; the Reserve Sauvignon Blanc and the Reserve Meritage. If I were coming to have the duck paté, I would pair it with the Meritage, though a selection of their cheeses and charcuterie could also go well with a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc—or the Rumor Mill sparkling cider. No limos or buses (though they allow both at their other location).

Despite the cool weather, several groups opted to sit outside.

Laurel Lake: The Personal Touch May 14, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, chardonnay, chardonnay estate reserve, CJ's America Grill, gewurztraminer, Juan, Laurel Lake, merlot, NoFo, North Fork, Pinot Gris, pinot noir reserve, syrah, Wind Song Red, wine tasting May 16, 2016

http://www.llwines.com/

Juan sat down next to us at the bar and explained his ideas about winemaking. Although there were several large groups at Laurel Lake, and Juan was actively helping to serve them, he and the servers behind the bar also took the time to answer our questions and solicit our opinions about the wines—which were largely favorable except for one, which I will discuss later. Introduced to us as “our winemaker from Chile,” Juan told us that he enjoys talking to customers and finding out what they do and do not like about his wines. “The wines reflect the personality of the winemaker,” he told us, including whether the winemaker is a man or a woman. If so, then Laurel Lake’s wines should be outgoing and friendly and easy to like.

The main tasting room manages to be both spacious and cozy.

The menu offers flights of four tastes for $15, of a fairly generous pour, out of seven whites and nine reds. We opted to share a flight of whites and a flight of reds, skipping, for example, the rosé and the moscato. We also skipped the riesling, which we noticed comes in a pretty blue bottle. That price has actually gone down from our last visit, in 2014, when it was three tastes for $15. In general, the prices for the wines are quite reasonable. We noticed people eating snacks brought from home, although once their food truck arrives Laurel Lake no longer permits outside snacks.

The music group on the porch, with a view of a group enjoying the warm weather outside.

As we sipped, a music group set up in the large porch to one side of the attractive tasting room. The large groups also headed outside, so the main room remained relatively calm. We also noted a small but amusing collection of wine-related gifts.

Some of the gift items

We don’t need a mouse pad, but if we did…

2015 Pinot Gris $21.99

Pinot Gris is the French equivalent of Pinot Grigio, one of my frequent choices when opting for a glass of house white, as it tends to be reliably dry. I would be perfectly happy if I had gotten this as a glass of house wine, as it is dry and mineral-y, with a touch of sweet fruit. It smells a bit like asparagus, we decide, wondering if our current diet of local asparagus has influenced that thought. Lobster bisque, we decide, would be a perfect pairing.

2014 Chardonnay $18.99

This is their steel fermented chard, with an aroma of not-quite-ripe pineapple and some mineral. The taste is again a combination of dry and a touch of sweetness, and fades quickly. Evanescent, we say. As the wine warms a bit in the glass we also taste a hint of pineapple or tropical fruit. We note that people coming to the bar are quite insistent about wanting their wines really cold. We prefer wines not quite as cold, so you can really taste them. I decide that chicken cordon bleu would be a good accompaniment.

The pour is fairly generous.

2013 Chardonnay Estate Reserve $23.99

The tasting notes inform us that this spends 12 months in oak, and we have a discussion with one of our servers about preferences for oaked vs. non-oaked chards. “Which do you like?” she asks, and we realize that it depends. In general, we don’t like the really heavy buttery taste and texture of a heavily oaked chard, but a bit of oakiness is often quite pleasant. As is this wine. If you like Long Island chardonnays you should like this one, with its slightly vanilla smell and touch of citrus and tropical fruit taste. Nice long finish, too.

2014 Gewürztraminer $22.99

It could be an aperitif wine, or a dessert wine, or a wine to have with blue cheese and charcuterie, we decide, but it is a bit too sweet to enjoy just by itself. The tasting notes say to have this with spicy food, a frequent recommendation for sweeter wines, but we feel you’d lose some of the subtlety of this wine if you did. The aroma is complex, as is the taste.

Wind Song Red $17.99

The tasting notes say this is “like a nice Chianti.” I don’t think so! We feel quite misled by the note, which is an issue we take up with Juan, who sheepishly admits they were written for a previous iteration of this blend. They needed an inexpensive red crowd pleaser for the menu, hence this wine, the only one that has us looking around for a dump bucket. A blend of merlot, syrah and a “mystery ingredient,” which, after a guessing game, Juan admits is chardonnay (!), this is quite a sweet red. We compare it to red candy or fruit salad. Fresh glasses with most tastes, by the way.

2012 Pinot Noir Reserve $29.99

We’ve been on a raspberry pie kick at Briermere recently, with raspberry peach last week and raspberry plum this, and the wine smells to us like those pies. With 18 months in oak, this has some tannins at the end, and is a fairly light red. I could see it with veal chops.

2011 Syrah $19.99

My husband refrains from singing “Que sera, sera” when we choose this wine, for which I am grateful. This is our favorite of the day, with delicious aromas of dark fruit and rich tastes of dried plum (a.k.a. prune) and other fruits. It would go well with pastas and meats, and we decide to buy a bottle.

One cabernet

And the other cab

2011 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve $25.99

Our server, having engaged us in various discussions of our choices, asks if we would like to divide our final taste between the steel fermented cab sauv and the oaked one. Sure, we’re always up for that sort of interesting comparison. The steel cab has a funky aroma and is very dry and tannic, really rather austere. The Reserve is interesting and complex, also dry and tannic, with tastes of black raspberry and maybe a few other flavors. We buy a bottle of that, too.

Reasons to visit: an intimate space that also has ample room on the porch and outside for groups; the chance to chat with Juan or the very friendly and knowledgeable servers; the Pinot Gris, the Syrah, and the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve; reasonably priced wines for Long Island. While we were there, the owner of CJ’s American Grill came in and we noted that we like their wine policy, which is to feature local wines at a moderate price. Oh, and yes, the wines are outgoing and friendly and easy to like.

Nice decor

We liked the syrah.

We indeed felt welcome.

Sign of spring!

Twin Stills Moonshine: All in the Family May 7, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Uncategorized, Vodka and Whisky and tagged with Apple Pie, cocktails, Coffee, Frikken Likken Good Tea, Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, honey, LiV vodka, Mattituck Strawberry Festival, Moonshine, North Fork, o'Old School Lemonade, Portugal, Riverhead Cider House, Shine, Southern Sunrise, Strawberry, tastings, The Red Neck, Twin Stills Moonshine, whiskey May 9, 2016

http://www.twinstillsmoonshinedistillery.com/

We asked our server about the honey used in the delicious honey-flavored whiskey, and he turned to a woman next to him and asked, “Ma, where do we get our honey?” After proudly telling us about their local sources, including their own beehives which they just started, she added, “My husband is from Portugal. That’s a drawing of his grandfather on the label. ” This tiny distillery is the definition of a mom and pop store, with the stills in a back room of what used to be a little deli on Sound Avenue.

The honey flavor

We had been eagerly awaiting its opening, intrigued by the idea of moonshine and rumrunners, given Long Island’s interesting history with both during Prohibition, and this chilly rainy May day seemed like the perfect opportunity to sample some warming whiskey. It took them a while to open due to delays in getting their license.

A view along the bar. That’s “mom” in the background.

The tasting room is small, with a bar along most of its length plus an alcove, but in the warm weather they plan to also use the porch and a patio area along one side of the building. If you want snacks with your drinks, you’ll need to sit outside. And you may want those drinks. The moonshine whiskey—also referred to as “shine”—is made from locally sourced corn and barley, plus other ingredients which are, to the greatest extent possible, also local. In the future they’d love to add a Portuguese-style grappa to their menu, which is what the owner’s grandfather made back in the original “twin stills” back in Portugal. The drinks go down quite smoothly, despite the high proof, and some seem like guaranteed crowd pleasers.

The alcove off to one side of the tasting room.

The menu offers three tastes for $9 from their menu of five choices, plus beers from Greenport Harbor Brewery and ciders from the soon-to-open Riverhead Cider House on tap. They also offer shots and cocktails, with a menu of interesting combinations, for $7-$9. A 375ml bottle of flavored shine is $20, and a bottle of the 100 proof original is $25. We decided to each get a flight, so we could sample all the flavors.

Honey 80 proof

When I have a bad cold, I like to make myself a hot toddy, a mixture of whiskey, honey, and hot water or tea. Lemon optional. It may not cure anything, but it does make you feel better! The honey shine reminded me of a hot toddy—just add hot water. You can really taste honey, and it has an unctuous mouth feel that is quite pleasant. I could see sipping this by the fire after dinner on a cold winter night. Their cocktail idea is to add it to iced tea with a twist of lemon, which they call “Fricken Likken Good Tea.”

Apple Pie 50 proof

This is a good choice if you don’t actually like whiskey at all. It tastes of apples and cinnamon and is too sweet for us. It might be good in a mixed drink if you balanced the sweetness with something tart. One mixed drink they make is called “The Red Neck,” and includes the apple pie flavor plus cranberry juice and a twist of lemon.

Coffee 80 proof

I used to drink Black Russians as my preferred after dinner drink, and this reminds me of that. It is our favorite flavor, and we buy a bottle to take home. We are told that it is made with “real coffee beans,” but any further details are secret. At any rate, it tastes like good coffee mixed with whiskey, with some sweetness.

The strawberry is a pretty color.

Strawberry 60 proof

We were afraid this would be cloyingly sweet, but the intensity of the strawberry flavor means it is not. It reminds me a bit of LiV vodka’s strawberry after dinner drink, though again the mouth feel is different. They recommend mixing it with lemonade and garnishing it with a strawberry, a drink they call “Southern Sunshine.” They plan to use local strawberries when they are in season, which, despite the cold wet weather, should be soon. After all, mid-June is when the Mattituck Strawberry Festival takes place.

Tiny but pretty cups

Moonshine Whiskey 100 proof

At this point, I think I should point out that the tastes are served in adorable but tiny pottery cups, “hand made in Portugal,” we are told, so though the alcohol level is high you will not be. We are both single malt scotch drinkers, but this is a very different tipple. You don’t get any of the peaty or smoky notes of a scotch, as this is a simpler drink. It’s fine well-iced, which is how they serve it. The cocktail menu suggests mixing it with lemonade and pineapple juice, garnished with a chunk of pineapple, for an “o’Old School Lemonade.”

The menu is on the obligatory blackboard, and you can also see the cider taps. Note the saying.

Reasons to visit: you want to try something new; you like whiskey; you want a cocktail; the coffee and honey flavors; you want to buy various flavors to make cocktails at home; the cozy tasting room and the chance to chat about the making of whiskey (though they are somewhat sparing on the details).

The “old tymer” on the label is grandpa, the inspiration for the twin stills.

Cute little building

The Winemaker Studio: Moment of Fame March 26, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with A Mano, Anomaly, Bordo, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, La Strega, Malbec, Mattituck, merlot, North Fork, pinot noir, Sciardonne, The Winemaker Studio, Tredici, Wine Press, wine tasting March 29, 2016

http://anthonynappawines.com/tws_home.html

“We’re going to Nappa’s tasting room,” I said to our guests, who, having recently returned from a tour of California’s wine country, wondered why we weren’t heading to JFK rather than further east. I clarified, “N-a-p-p-a; it’s his name.” Ah. We further explained that although Anthony Nappa owns and operates The Winemaker Studio, it earns its name as a studio because it is a showcase for a variety of wines produced in small quantities under their own labels or names by winemakers who also work for larger vineyards. Just as an artist may do commercial work but also produce his or her own creations, these winemakers have the artistic freedom to experiment and express their own ideas about wine production. A good example of this is Nappa’s Anomaly, about which more in a moment.

We were particularly interested in visiting this tasting room because we had just read an interesting article about one of their wines in the most recent issue of Wine Press magazine.

The menu varies from time to time, and today’s menu offered a choice between four of Nappa’s wines for $12 or five of Russell Hearn’s wines for $12. We also could have opted for a local beer on tap or coffee, and the Provisions shop connected to the tasting room offers a variety of sandwiches and other edibles. However, having just had a delicious and very satisfying brunch/lunch at A Mano in Mattituck, we were happy just to taste some wines. In order to facilitate our conversations about the wines, we decided that each couple would share one tasting of the Nappa wines, choosing four out of the menu of six varieties. Both couples opted to skip the riesling, made from Upstate grapes, when the server informed us that it was on the somewhat sweet side. Our server, by the way, was very informative and friendly, and we had some nice chats with him about wine.

Our server did a great job.

2014 Anomaly $19

Anomaly is a good illustration of what happens when a winemaker decides to experiment. It is a white-ish wine made from red pinot noir grapes, and each time I’ve had it it has been different. A couple of years ago it was a very light pink and I liked it very much. The last time it was definitely white, though a somewhat darker yellow than many whites, and I didn’t care for it. This year it was almost orange, and we all liked it! The aroma included peach and spice, and we tasted citrus and boysenberry with nice tartness and acidity, with still some fruit on the finish. As we speculated on what it would go with, we decided it would make a nice aperitif. One friend speculated that it would go well with “odds and ends from the refrigerator.” Hers must be well stocked, as she began to muse on eggplant dip and bits of charcuterie. Or with a salade niçoise, she continued, and it would make terrific vinegar. They bought a bottle.

Pretty color

2013 Sciardonné $20

Because it is made from chardonnay grapes, steel fermented but allowed to go through malolactic fermentation, this wine can be drunk on its own, as it is less tartly citrusy than other chards. It would be great, we agree, with lobster, or with mussels cooked with bacon or sausage. We are still full from lunch, but I guess food is on our minds. Before we move on to the reds, we’d like some water, but before our friend can pull a bottle from her bag our observant server offers us all glasses of chilled water. Many H2O jokes ensue. One can drink it chilled or at room temperature; recent vintage; crisp and light; no residual alcohol. I’ll spare you the rest…

The 2016 H2O vintage…

2014 Bordo $20

We were particularly curious to try this wine since it was featured in an article in Wine Press magazine, a very useful free publication you can pick up at many restaurants and wineries on the North Fork. You would think from the name that this is a Bordeaux-style wine, but “bordo” is in fact the Italian name for cabernet franc (which is an ingredient in Bordeaux wines). We sniffed and noted an aroma of cherry, but also something metallic. “Burnished copper,” said my husband; “Like a wet penny,” opined one guest. The taste was somewhat peppery, a touch earthy, with some cherry, and rather light. You could drink it with cheese or pizza, but it is not a wine you would want to sip by itself.

The famous Bordo

2014 La Strega $22

At this point we diverged for our last tastes. We opted for La Strega, partly because I wondered why name a wine “the witch.” “Malbec is not the easiest grape to work with,” chuckled our server. If you are expecting a big bold Argentinian malbec, this is not the wine for you. It is steel fermented, said the server, with a perfume-y smell, with perhaps a whiff of oatmeal, and is much lighter than most malbecs. Rather crisp and delicate, it is not our favorite.

The witch!

2013 Tredici $35

Meanwhile, our friends opted for the Bordeaux blend, of 67% merlot, 18% cabernet sauvignon, and 15% cabernet franc. This is another dry wine, with not a ton of fruit, with tastes of fig and tobacco. It is aged 18 months in oak. We sense something green about it, perhaps a bit of a taste of asparagus. Our friends think it would pair well with paella, with its blend of seafood and sausage and strong flavors.

You can see the next door food shop through this window.

Reasons to visit: The chance to taste some offbeat wines off the beaten track; a cute tasting room with colorful folding chairs; one can buy sandwiches, etc., next door, so they do ask you not to bring your own food; the Anomaly and the Sciardonné. We haven’t tried it, but they do a happy hour from 4-7 on weekends, which might be fun.

Pindar: Sunshine on a Cloudy Day February 20, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Autumn Gold, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Cayuga, chardonnay, Croteaux, Feisty Acres, Long Island, merlot, North Fork, Peacock Chardonnay, Pindar, proprietary blends, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve Merlot, Riverhead Farmers Market, sauvignon blanc, seyval, Sunflower Chardonnay, wine tasting, Winter White February 22, 2016

http://www.pindar.net/

It was a cloudy day as we headed to Pindar.

A beautifully deep rich voice singing “sunshine on a cloudy day” greeted us as we entered Pindar’s large tasting room, and that seemed like an appropriate message. It was a cloudy day, and, as the French say, “A day without wine is like a day without sunshine.” Pindar often offers musical entertainment, and is often crowded. Today, however, there were only a few couples at the bar and the tables in a room that, according to their web site, can accommodate 3,000 (!). Because of the crowds, we hadn’t been there in a few years, but this visit reminded us that we like many of their wines, though not all. Their prices also are quite reasonable, which may have something to do with the economies of scale, as they say they are the largest vineyard on Long Island.

We quite enjoyed her singing.

The menu offers 5 tastes for $10, out of 14 choices, including four characterized as “sweeter” and two dessert wines, plus another list of three “limited” wines at $3 per taste, and a sparkling wine. The list is further divided into reds, whites, and “proprietary blends,” so it took us a while and some discussion to decide what to do. We finally decided to share two tastings, first the whites, including two of the proprietary blends (marked with an * in my review), and then five of the reds. We chose to skip the rosés, as we tend to find no one’s measure up to Croteaux’s. Since the pour is rather generous, we were glad we chose to share. They also offer a selection of cheeses and crackers, and do not allow outside foods.

One view of the bar–one of the bars!

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $14.99

In general, we feel Long Island sauvignon blancs tend to go better with food, as they tend to be too lemony to just sip, and that’s true of this one as well. The aroma is of mineral and peach. Very refreshing, I could see having this with lobster, as its tartness would offset the crustacean’s richness. My husband notes that the end is too lemony for too long for his liking, especially sans food.

*Autumn Gold $10.99

This is a blend of Cayuga, Seyval, and chardonnay grapes, our server informs us, as will be our next choice, though in different proportions and different residual sugar amounts. We ask if the Cayuga is from upstate, since it is an upstate grape, and are informed that they grow all their grapes in their own vineyards. We like this better than the first wine. It has a touch of sweetness and a bit of funkiness which are well balanced with green apple and citrus tastes. I also smell some minerality. This is a very buyable wine, and we get a bottle of it to take home.

*Winter White $10.99 for 750 ml., $17.99 for 150 ml.

“Our most popular white,” notes our server as he pours this blend. We smell tropical fruits, and are ready to like this one but find it much too sweet for our tastes. The menu describes it as “semi-dry,” which makes us wonder about the wines they categorize as “sweeter.” You could serve it to someone who actually would prefer soda—or maybe with Thai food. We dump it.

The mysterious peacock, which may be a reference to Hera’s favorite bird.

2013 Peacock Chardonnay $9.99

There’s a pretty peacock on the label, so we ask (as we did two years ago) about the name of the wine. Still no answer! This spends eight months in French oak, and we do smell a bit of that woody smell. We don’t really care for this one, either. The taste reminds me of over-ripe bananas plus a really tart grapefruit—they say “citrus rind”—and then too much sweetness. We don’t dump, but we also are not fans.

2013 Sunflower Chardonnay Special Reserve $18.99

Why sunflower? This time we get an answer—a sunflower appeared spontaneously in the midst of the vineyard. The menu describes this as “100% new barrel” fermented, from a “special 3.9 acre vineyard block.” Sniff—vanilla and grape juice. This has more body than any white so far. I say nice. My tasting buddy says it is “not offensive at the end.” One could sip this, and it would also be good with a seafood diavolo, since it has some sweetness to it, but not too much.

2013 Cabernet Franc $21.99

Now we switch to reds, and get a new glass. Our server tells us this was just released. Hmmm…smells good. Berries, forest floor, maybe wet leaves. Tastes light, more of a roast chicken or game bird red than a steak red. It would have gone well with the quail from Feisty Acres we bought at the Riverhead Farmer’s Market and had for Valentine’s Day dinner. But it is soft, pleasant, and quite drinkable.

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $18.99

Another pretty label, this one with Pegasus, the flying horse, on it, reminds us that Pindar is named for the Greek poet and owned by the Damianos family, who are Greek. The wine spends two years in American oak barrels, and has just been out for six months. I like the aroma, which has a bit of a black olive smell. This is another fairly light red, dry, with some tannins and tastes of stewed prune and spice, maybe allspice. My husband thinks it could use more time.

Pegasus, the flying horse

2013 Merlot $18.99

Merlot is the most popular red wine grape around here, and this is a fairly typical example of a merlot, though with more of a café au lait aroma than most. My tasting buddy says it reminds him of Hopjes candy. I’m thinking mocha. Again, nice and soft, dry at the end, with some nice fruit flavor, but not particularly interesting.

Another Greek reference--the Argo, Jason's chip.

Another Greek reference–the Argo, Jason’s ship.

2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon $34.99

“This,” says our server enthusiastically, “is my favorite!” Yes, I can see why. It is quite good. Oak (two years in French oak), cherry, and tobacco aromas, with lots of berry tastes, this would have gone well with the lamb chops we had last night. Very drinkable.

2010 Reserve Merlot $34.99

The menu informs us that these grapes were hand-picked and the wine spent two years in French oak. We smell black cherry and dark plum and taste lots of dark fruit tastes. Yes, it is better than their other merlot. Then again, everyone says 2010 was a very good year, especially for reds.

Lots of snacks

Reasons to visit: big room that accommodates a crowd (which might also be a reason not to go!); frequent music performances; good prices for Long Island; the Autumn Gold, Sunflower Chardonnay, 2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2010 Reserve Merlot; they sell cheese and crackers and other snacks; lots of choices; wines that non-wine drinkers may prefer.

Plenty of room at the bars

Pretty stained glass window

Clearly they’ve won lots of awards.

Macari: Still a Good One January 2, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Bergen Road, Block "E", cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Cuvee, Dos Aguas, Dos Aguas Red Blend, estate, Long Island, Macari, Malbec, Merlot Estate, Merlot Reserve, Michelangelo's, North Fork, petit verdot, riesling, sauvignon blanc, Sette NV, vintage, viognier January 4, 2016

http://www.macariwines.com/

The entrance

For our first winery of the new year, we headed to Macari, which we had last visited when it boasted the award of “Best Winery of 2014.” We would have been back sooner, but cancelled our visits when the attractive tasting room proved too crowded and noisy for us. This time, in the doldrums of January, there were still plenty of people, including a large group in the room off to one side, but we found a place at the bar and a smart and attentive server.

Plenty of space for large groups in the side room.

The menu offers three options—Estate, of four of their lower priced wines for $10; Cuvee, of five for $15; and Vintage, of five of their best wines for $20. Since none of the lists overlapped, we decided to share two tastings, one of the Cuvee and one of the Vintage. Because both menus included whites and reds of varying types, we wanted to alternate so as not to try to follow a riesling with a sauvignon blanc. Why? As we’ve learned, if you try to taste a light dry wine like a steel-fermented sauvignon blanc after a sweeter, more substantial wine like a riesling, you won’t be as able to appreciate the lighter wine.

Our server first wanted to pour our two tastings simultaneously, but after we explained the philosophy behind our preference she quickly caught on, and made sure to pour the wines in an order that made sense. We were particularly impressed with her ability to keep track of what we were doing since she also was serving other customers and running off to the side room as well. She also was enthusiastic about the wines, sharing her preferences and knowledge about the wine, only once having to resort to a “cheat sheet” to give us information we requested.

As we sipped, we admired the nicely done holiday decorations and the attractive labels on the wines, and afterwards we browsed the small but good collection of wine-related gifts. Note they don’t allow outside foods, and sell a variety of snack and cheese items. I’m listing the wines in the order in which we had them, marking the Vintage wines with an *.

Sauvignon Blanc ’14 $24

This is a steel –fermented sauvignon blanc, with an aroma that reminds me of the water in a vase after the flowers have begun to decay—which doesn’t sound all that appealing, but is fine when combined with citrus. Good, we decide, nicely crisp, but delicate, with a touch of sweetness—perhaps more Meyer lemon than lemon. Of course it would pair well with local oysters or clams, but if you had it with shrimp I would leave out the cocktail sauce, which would overwhelm this wine.

Sauvignon Blanc ’14 (concrete egg) $27

Ooh, this is just the sort of exercise I love: Trying two wines side by side, made from the same grapes, but treated differently. In this case, “concrete egg” refers to the egg-shaped concrete cask they use to ferment the wine, our server explains, and adds that since concrete is more porous than steel but less porous than wood, and without the flavor added by a wood cask, the results are quite different and, she thinks, better. We agree. The aroma is complex, with perhaps a hint of nutmeg or other spices and a taste that is a touch sweeter without being too sweet, with some acidity and a taste of greengage plums. No finish. Mysteriously, the label bears the word “Lifeforce.”

*Dos Aguas ’13 $27

“Dos Aguas” refers to the two waters between which the vineyards are located: Peconic Bay and Long Island Sound. Many people feel that these “two waters” contribute to the North Fork’s excellence as a grape-growing region, since they have the effect of moderating the climate. This is a blend of chardonnay, viognier, riesling, and sauvignon blanc, and is another good wine. The aroma makes me think of sticky fruits and the taste includes minerality, figs, and tangerines. Though the riesling does contribute some sweetness, it is well balanced with some acidity. It would go well with one of my favorite dishes, pasta tossed with a variety of seafood.

*Riesling ’13 $23

Ah yes, we are definitely glad that we tasted this one last of the whites, as its sweetness would have interfered with appreciating the others. This is the only wine, our server informs us, that uses grapes not grown on the estate, since the riesling grapes in this come from the Finger Lakes region (not unusual for Long Island wineries, as upstate is known for its good riesling). The aroma is honey, the taste like a green apple on the sweeter side, like a Mutsu, not a Granny Smith. “Toot suite,” jokes my husband, as he complains that this wine is sweeter than he likes. It is sweeter than a dry riesling, but I don’t find it unpleasantly so. With spicy food you’d welcome that flavor.

Merlot Estate $15

Burnt sugar? Cinnamon toast? We discuss the smell, which in any event is not typical for a Long Island merlot. Our server lets us in on the secret that although this wine is more than 80% merlot it also has some syrah, cabernet franc, and cabernet sauvignon, which may help explain the aroma. It may also explain the taste, which is quite good for an inexpensive merlot, and makes this a good choice for a table wine. It is fairly soft, with no tannins and some acid, and would go well with veal or pork, rather than steak.

Full disclosure: We already knew we like Sette.

Sette NV $19

We are quite familiar with Sette, since we often order it in local restaurants. In fact, we just shared a bottle of it at Michelangelo’s last week, when it went well with eggplant parmesan and pasta with sausage and broccoli rabe. This is a blend of 50/50 merlot and cabernet franc (not of seven wines, as you might assume from the name, which instead refers to the town Settefratti, which was the home town of the Macari family). The smell is warm, with some spice and wood, the taste cherry with again some acid but not much tannin.

Cute drawing on the Dos Aguas.

*Dos Aguas Red Blend ’10 $30

Blend? Yes, of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. We smell wet hay and wood, taste pleasant dark fruits. This is a soft, easy to drink red, and would be good, I opine, to sip while cooking—and ruining the food? theorizes my husband. Ha.

*Merlot Reserve ’10 $36

After aging 26 months in French oak, this wine has more tannins than the previous reds, with a typical merlot aroma of cherry plus oak. Not powerful, but pleasant, this is a good wine if you want to introduce someone to Long Island merlots.

Apparently the Bergen Road is also available in a huge bottle.

*Bergen Road ’10 $46

Since I ask, our server looks up the proportions of this red blend: 56% merlot, 26% cabernet sauvignon, 13% cabernet franc, 3% malbec, and 2% petit verdot. A Right Bank Bordeaux. The color is quite dark, and so is the taste, with plenty of tannin and acid and delicious dark fruits. Yum.

Block “E” looks and tastes very like a sherry.

Block “E” ’12 $32 (for a small bottle)

Ice wine is supposed to be made with grapes picked after the first frost, but since that frost tends to come pretty late on the North Fork (as in it just happened), instead the grapes are picked fairly late, when they have developed quite a bit of sugar, and then frozen before being made into a dessert wine. In both color and taste this reminds us of a semi-sweet sherry, with a bit of a honey aroma. When I ask, we are informed it is made from merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and malbec grapes. Good dessert wine, it would be nice with some almonds.

Reasons to visit: good all-around winery, with plenty of tasty options and a big room with tables for groups; nice selection of gifts; reasonable prices (if we didn’t have all the wine we need at the moment we would have bought several of the wines); the “concrete egg” Sauvignon Blanc, the Dos Aguas white and red, the Merlot Estate, the Sette, the Bergen Road.

Sherwood House: Cozy by the Fire November 22, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Blanc de Blancs, cabernet franc, Cabernet Sauvingnon, chardonnay, merlot, North Fork, Oregon Road Chardonnay, Oregon Road Merlot, Sherwood House, white merlot, wine tasting December 2, 2015

http://www.sherwoodhousevineyards.com/About_Us.htm

A view of the fireplace plus musicians

It feels as though you are walking into someone’s living room, albeit one with a bar along one side and a couple of folk-ish singers in one corner. The fire in the stone fireplace surrounded by comfy couches is what you notice when you first enter in the winter. The welcome from the servers is equally warm, and they do a good job of keeping track of each customer and giving information about the wines.

Sherwood House offers two menus: the Premium Flight of four wines for $12 and the Top Reds Flight of 4 reds for $15. They also offer cheese and/or salumi plates for $15 or $20, prepared by Lombardi’s Market in Mattituck. We decide to share the Premium Flight, thinking we may stop back at some point to try the other one. The pour was generous enough that we decided we had made the right decision.

Array of bottles

White Merlot $19

We compared this to Anthony Nappa’s Anomaly and to various rosés we have tried, and found some similarities and some differences. Like a rosé it has a faint strawberry aroma, though we felt the smell was a bit funkier than most, and like Anomaly it was neither a red nor a white nor a rosé, but its own thing. The color is a very light pink, the taste is lemony and refreshingly dry (1-2% residual sugar, notes our server), and the aroma has a slight mushroomy tinge to it. Good for summertime barbequed chicken!

You can see the pink tinge of the White Merlot.

2013 Oregon Road Chardonnay $19

This is an unoaked chard, a bit on the sweet side for an unoaked chard, with a touch of overripe pineapple plus lemon flavors. “Not much to say,” opines my tasting buddy, as we swirl the wine to open up the flavors.

Generous pour.

2012 Chardonnay $30

“This wine spends 12 months in second year oak barrels,” our server tells us. I now know what this implies! As I’ve learned, the extent to which being aged in oak affects a wine depends on whether the wine was aged in new oak barrels (in which case the oak affects it more heavily) as well as how long it was aged. As expected, we can taste and smell some butterscotch, but not too much, and some toasty, pineappley flavors. My husband claims it reminds him of Reese’s peanut butter cups. It’s not sweet and has some interesting layers of flavor (once we warm up our too-cold taste). It would be great with lobster.

2012 Oregon Road Merlot $19

A combination of 80% merlot and 20% cabernet sauvignon, the wine spends 12 months in oak. Noting our seriousness, our server provides us with a clean glass for the red, something I always appreciate. The aroma reminds me of perfumed soap, but fortunately it doesn’t taste like that! We get blackberry, some cherry, some woody flavors, and no tannins. Soft, we decide, and just okay.

2011 Cabernet Franc $45

Wait, you cry, didn’t she say you get four tastes? Well, yes, but once again the fact that we take notes and discuss each wine seriously gets us an extra taste. And happily, this is the best of the bunch. Our enthusiastic server notes that the reds are “where we shine,” and I would agree as to this one. The aroma includes some scents of forest floor and dried herbs, the taste is very cherry berry, with some tannins and some interest to it. Not sure it is worth the price, but it is a lovely wine.

Reasons to visit: Good place to sit in winter with a glass of wine (I’d choose a red) and listen to music while contemplating a fire in the fireplace; the 2012 chardonnay, the 2011 cabernet franc. They also offer a blanc de blancs.

if you get bored with your tasting you can check out the funky objets at Material Objects next door.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

Category Archives: Uncategorized