Pugliese: Choose Your Time Carefully October 28, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Bella Domenica, Blanc de Blanc Brut, Blanc de Noir Nature, Chianti, Long Island wine, Merlot Reserve, North Fork, pinot grigio, Pugliese Vineyards, riesling, Sangiovese, Sunset Meritage, wine tasting October 30, 2016

http://www.pugliesevineyards.com/

In the summer, on a weekend, all of these seats would be filled.

We’ve driven past Pugliese Vineyards many times and not stopped in, because the parking lot was clearly full, as were the outdoor tables under an awning next to their pleasant fountain-centered pond. However, on this blustery fall Friday there were only a couple of other cars in the lot, so in we went.

We were immediately greeted by a friendly server behind the bar, who turned out to be a member of the Pugliese family (and also a neighbor of ours), and who pointed out “Mom,” who was busy decorating glasses with her signature flower paintings (which also adorn the attractive bottles). She explained that the tasting consisted of any four tastes from their extensive menu for $12. “This will take some time,” we laughingly informed her, so she gave us some space to discuss. The menu offers tastes in four categories: four Sparklings, seven Whites, seven Reds, and five Desserts. We decided to each do a tasting so we could sample as many different wines as possible. And we could easily return and do a completely different tasting! Our server carefully pointed out which of the pair of tastes we should start with, and answered our questions about the wines, rinsing our glasses with water between tastes.

Two sparklers.

2010 Blanc de Noir Nature $25.99

Since today is my birthday, it seemed appropriate to start with some sparkling wines, so we chose the first two on their list. “This is a completely dry wine, with no residual sugar, made from pinot noir grapes,” we were told. She wasn’t kidding. Many American champagne-type wines err on the side of too much sweetness, but this one is totally crisp and very dry, with some vegetable aromas and tastes. Nice acidity. I don’t think I’d want this for a toast, but it would be good with soft flavorful cheeses (like a nice runny brie) or foie gras.

2010 Blanc de Blanc Brut $25.99

We like this one better, as is more complex with more fruit flavors, though still relatively dry and light. It seems fizzier than the first, though this may be a consequence of how often each bottle was opened. This would work fine if you were pouring sparkling wine for a toast.

Two whites. Note the attractive bottles.

2014 Pinot Grigio $17.99

This has more tropical fruit and pineapple aromas than I would expect from a pinot grigio, with some minerality, which we also find in the taste. My husband says it has a “citrusy tingle.” I think it would go well with something fatty, like pork belly. “Really?” he says. Yup.

2013 Riesling $14.99

By the way, notice the prices. One reason this winery is so popular may be the reasonable prices on most of the wines. The aroma is pleasantly flowery, with maybe a touch of mint. I worry rieslings will be too sweet, but this one is not, with nice fruit and a touch of Meyer lemon at the end. My tasting buddy waxes poetic, “Nice sitting-outside-kick-your-feet-up-easy-drinking wine.” I think he’s already nostalgic for summer and sitting outside on the porch.

Bella Domenica $10.99

Since we often have pasta for dinner, we’re always on the lookout for reasonably priced reds, so we decide to try this one. A blend of merlot and cabernet, it has nice aromas of dark plums, but the taste is both tart and light with not a lot of fruit. It would be ok with burgers, but there’s not much to it. “An excellent value,” says the menu.

2012 Sangiovese $16.99

“Long Island’s only Chianti,” says the menu about this wine, so of course we have to try it. Meh. We would not have said Chianti if we had tried it without the label, as it is rather light with not much to it. Perhaps this is a grape that does not do well on Long Island.

Our final two tastes.

2010 Merlot Reserve $16.99

Merlot, however, does do well, and this is a good example of that. The aroma is a touch funky, with some forest floor and what my husband identifies as asparagus, but the taste is quite good. Dark plum, we decide, dry, with nice acidity. I could definitely see having this with pasta Bolognese, or perhaps some Neapolitan-style pizza (especially as the Pugliese family is originally from Naples).

2010 Sunset Meritage $34.99

50% merlot, 25% cabernet franc, 25% cabernet sauvignon=a Right Bank Bordeaux style. 2010 was a good year on Long Island, and this blend does not disappoint. Again the aroma is a touch funky, but the taste is good, with plenty of tannins which make us think it could continue to age well. Though it has the most interesting flavors of any wine we’ve had today, we feel $35 might be a bit more than we’d want to pay for this one.

Past the room with the tasting bar is a large room with gift items.

Reasons to visit: Good all-purpose winery with lots of room outside for groups; the Blanc de Blanc Brut, the Riesling, the Meritage; reasonable prices and a wide variety of wines many people will like; the creative gift packages of hand-painted glasses and bottles (which can be customized to order).

Photos of local sights are an unusual winery gift item.

Martha Clara: Playground or Winery? September 3, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Aromatic, Bordeaux style, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Cote Rotie style, Entenmann's, Estate Reserve Merlot, Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, Estate Reserve Riesling, gewurztraminer, Legends, Martha Clara, merlot, Noah's Restaurant, North Fork wine tasting, Northern Solstice Blend, Northville, Northville Red, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, Sustainable, syrah, vintage September 6, 2016

https://www.marthaclaravineyards.com/

The capacious “backyard” of Martha Clara.

Plenty of room for dogs and children.

The parking attendant waved us on to the “additional parking” area, so we had a good view of the activities going on in back of the Martha Clara tasting room and barns. Children and dogs were running around, a couple played Frisbee, many people tossed beanbags into a whole line of targets, and a wagon hitched to horses waited to give rides. The delicious smell came from an old-fashioned Airstream camper that had been turned into a food truck. And that was a good thing, since Martha Clara no longer allows you to bring in outside food, preferring that you buy your own from their menu, catered by Noah’s Restaurant in Greenport.

Food truck!

Noah’s menu

We were there with a friend who is a member of the Marth Clara wine club, so we first headed to the Tasting Barn with its sign outside limiting it to wine club members. However, it was full, so we headed on into the main building and, not feeling like standing at the bar in the crowded main tasting room, sat at a table in the table service area. At first the server said we’d have to pay full price, but after assuring her that we had been turned away from the members-only barn she said okay—which resulted in a significant saving for our four tastings.

No room in the Members Only barn

The bars were pretty crowded, too.

We were happy to find a table in the corner, near the windows.

The sleekly bound menu offers four options for tastings, plus a variety of wines by the glass or bottle, and a bunch of snacks. The four flight menus are labeled Aromatic, Sustainable, Northville, and Vintners, and range from $14-$17 for five generous tastes (or $5-$7 for wine club members). The tables were all set with napkins, wineglasses, and water glasses, which we used both for water from the large bottle the server delivered to our table and as a dump bucket. But more on that later.

I opted for the Northville flight, mostly because it included their Syrah, a wine I often like. The two men in the party chose the Vintage flight, and our friend the wine club member decided on the Aromatic because it is all whites, and that’s what she was in the mood for. The Sustainable has a combination of reds and whites, as do the other options. I will tell about my tasting first, and then about the other wines, not all of which I tried myself.

2014 Gewürztraminer Estate Reserve $27

Gewürztraminers are tricky, because they can be very sweet or dry, with a lot or not much fruit, depending on how they are handled. This one is steel fermented, so I had hopes, but then the server explained that it was on the sweet side, and she liked it as an after dinner drink or with “spicy Thai food.” The aroma combines flowers, mineral, and creosote—you know, that smell you get from the railroad tracks on a hot summer day. Fortunately it doesn’t taste like what I imagine creosote would taste like, but rather like lychees in sugar syrup with some minerality at the end. This wine also began the Vintage tasting, and we all found it too sweet. In fact, we all dumped at least part of our serving. But if you like a sweet wine, you’d probably like this one.

2012 Cabernet Franc $27

A light ruby color, this wine is also light in body, with a red candy and wet rock aroma, and a plum taste. It would be a good burger or roast chicken wine. Aged 14 months in oak.

2013 Merlot $24

Merlot does well on Long Island, and this is no exception, a nice, light, dry red with some fruit. I like it. It smells rather oak-y, even though it only spends 12 months in oak.

2012 Syrah (Cote Rotie Style) $24

I would be very happy drinking a full glass of this one. It has aromas of red fruit and pepper, with lots of red fruit tastes, some tannins, and a dry finish. It could pair well with lamb or duck. It’s my favorite of the day, too.

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $30

Again, you can definitely smell the oak. This is somewhat dry, with lots of cherry taste and a nice long finish.

And that was the end of my tasting. However, here are some notes on the other flights.

2013 Estate Reserve Chardonnay $27

Lots of aromas on this one, including vanilla and nutmeg, which is the first on the Vintage list. It is aged “sur lie” for ten months. If you like a smooth buttery chard, this is one for you.

2014 Northern Solstice Blend $18

I liked the bottle for this, featuring an image of a sun, which my friend saw as appropriate for this first on the Aromatic list, since it is, she said, “a perfect summer sipper.” It is a blend of about four or five grapes which the server rattled off too quickly for me to catch. We all sniffed it and agreed that it smelled like ripe pineapple, and my friend said it was “crisp and refreshing” with just a touch of sweetness.

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $22

This is a pretty typical North Fork sauvignon blanc, with honeysuckle aroma and lemon tastes, though it is a touch sweeter than some sauvignon blancs.

2014 Pinot Grigio $22

And this is another great summer wine, said my friend, with some peach tastes and a touch of bubbles on the tongue. It was her favorite of her tasting.

2013 Estate Reserve Riesling $26

We were all intrigued by the smell of this one, identifying vanilla sugar cookie (even though it is steel fermented) and wet rock. Unlike the gewürztraminer, this escapes over-sweetness, and is a light and almost bubbly with some mineral taste. The Aromatic tasting should have ended with the Gewürztraminer, but my friend decided to forego it since she had already tasted it and felt she had had enough wine. As I said, the pour is generous, and we actually dumped some tastes we liked.

2014 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir $37

The Vintner tasting includes some of their higher priced wines, and we got into a discussion of value vs. cost, which I may revisit some time this winter when I don’t have a winery to review. My husband informed us that this was a Burgundy-type wine, but a bit sharp for a Burgundy. It had aromas of plum and prune, and a somewhat grapey (I know, shocking) taste. Good, but not complex.

2013 Northville Red (Bordeaux style) $27

Again, the server listed the grapes in this too quickly for note taking, but it is a Bordeaux-style blend we all liked very much. In fact, my notes include “yum,” “delicious,” “very drinkable,” “layers of flavor,” and “really nice.” We were happy when our friend bought us a bottle!

2013 Estate Reserve Merlot $35

The menu informs us that this was rated a 90 by Wine Advocate. Maybe. It has a touch of that barnyard smell we always used to get from local merlots and hardly ever sense any more, but it tastes nice, with good fruit, some cherry flavor, and is dry.

Here’s something not every winery has–a Tiki Bar!

Also, horse and wagon rides.

Reasons to visit: Lots of space to play and a relaxed, welcoming vibe; some agritainment; the Northern Solstice Blend, the Pinot Grigio, the Syrah, the Northville Red; lots of choices ; catering by Noah’s (We didn’t have any, but I like the food in the restaurant!).

The gift shop has a bunch of local products.

Croteaux: Still Our Favorite Garden August 26, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, Chloe, Croteaux Vinyards, Jolie, Merlot 181, merlot 3, Merlot 314, North Fork wine tasting, Old Mill Inn, Sauvage, sauvignon blanc September 1, 2016

http://www.croteaux.com/

It’s a hot Friday afternoon, but in Croteaux’s shady garden it is just pleasantly warm. We settle into the pair of Adirondack chairs the hostess indicated, and peruse the simple menu. We have plenty of time to do so, since service is a bit overwhelmed by what is clearly a larger-than-expected crowd in the garden, but when our waitress appears we order two tastings of all six of their still rosés for $15 each, plus a basket of delicious herbed goat cheese and fresh baguette slices for $10. They have a few other snack items as well, which is good since they don’t allow outside food. We could have ordered a tasting of three of their sparkling rosés, also $15. The first three on the list are $20 per bottle and the last three are $25.

In case you hadn’t noticed, all they make is rosé. The name also hints at the style of rosé, which is lean and flinty and dry, in the manner of French rosés. All their wines are steel fermented and made to be drunk young. We just finished the last of the case we bought last year, and we are here to decide whether or not to get a case this year. As you will see, vintage clearly matters, as we found some of the wines quite different from last year. Another difference—they used to have a rather extensive boutique with clothes, jewelry, etc., but that is no longer so.

This old barn used to house a boutique.

Merlot 181 (Pomerol)

“181” refers to the clone of merlot used for making this, the lightest of their rosés. The aroma has a hint of strawberry, and also flowers and, believe it or not, asphalt. No, really. There is a distinct chemical smell. The wine itself is dry, mineral-y, and salty, with not a lot of fruit. It is very refreshing, with a long finish of the mineral and salt flavor, but not our favorite.

All our tastes at once!

This one is so light it looks like a white wine.

Merlot 314 (St. Emilion)

Sniff. “Auto repair shop,” opines my tasting buddy. I counter with one of my favorite aromas, though not one usually associated with wine: “hardware store.” For the last few years 314 has been our favorite rosé on the North Fork and we’ve bought cases of it. Not this year. It’s not bad, despite that aroma, but it is very tart and subdued, with very little fruit. Some might even say sour.

The map of France across from the cash register reminds everyone of the inspiration for these wines.

Merlot 3

This is a blend of three clones: 181, 314, and 3. More fruit “on the nose,” as wine people like to say, though it always conjures for me an image of someone balancing a glass of wine on his or her nose. It would be a mistake to limit your use of this wine to a balancing act, as it is quite nice. Still there are notes of mineral and salt, but not overwhelmingly so, with nice strawberry flavor. “More interesting than the usual rosé,” says my husband. I agree that it has layers of flavor, and we both agree that we’ll get a case of this.

Just barely pink

Sauvage (Merlot 181)

“Sauvage” means wild, or savage, and this wine is made with wild yeasts. We like it better than the other 181. Though it has a touch of that chemical smell, it is much fruitier and sweeter than the other wines, with just a touch of minerality. Red candy, I say. It would pair well with spicy food, like Thai duck salad.

Chloe (Sauvignon Blanc with Cabernet Franc skins)

The menu describes this as a “white wine lover’s rosé,” and indeed it is more like a sauvignon blanc than like a rosé. It has a sweet pine smell, like a Christmas tree, and tastes a bit like pine as well. Quite dry, it would pair well with oysters, which gives us an idea. When Happy Hour comes we will head to the Old Mill Inn for their dollar oysters and $3 glasses of wine.

One of the better-kept secrets of the North Fork is the Old Mill Happy Hour, every day during the week. But if you want to go, better hurry. They close down for the winter.

Jolie (Cabernet Franc)

Bright pink, this looks more like what one expects a rosé to look like than the other types. The aroma is somewhat vegetal, maybe like a salad, but also with some fruit. The wine is still dry, but with a fuller flavor. A “red wine lover’s rosé,” they call it. There’s a touch of Meyer lemon on the finish. I like it, but my tasting companion does not. I think you could sip this by itself, though of course it would be fine with roast chicken (as are many wines).

Jolie lives up to its name in appearance–it is quite pretty.

Reasons to visit: all rosé all the time; a very pleasant garden setting where you can relax and sip at your leisure; better-than-average snacks; prettiest bottles on the North Fork; they allow dogs; the Merlot 3 and the Jolie.

This pooch waited patiently for its owners to finish.

They’ve created a wall of bottles with their very attractive bottles. The empty ones, of course.

Palmer Vineyards: Fun Hanging Out August 20, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Albarino, Aromatic, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, charcuterie platter, Crescent Farms duck breast, merlot, North Fork, Palmer Vineyards, Pinot Blanc, sauvignon blanc, Steel vs. Oak, Sweet, syrah, viognier, wine tasting August 25, 2016

http://www.palmervineyards.com/

The entrance to Palmer’s tasting room is in the second building on their property.

Our plans for a garden-setting wine tasting having been scuttled by a completely un-forecast deluge, we decided to head to Palmer Vineyards, which has a cozy tasting room with pub-like booths and an expansive covered veranda. We settled on the veranda where, our guests were happy to learn, their very well-behaved dog was welcome to join us. When a singer/guitarist with a folksy sixties-ish repertoire began to play, we settled in for a relaxing afternoon.

We enjoyed his performance.

The tasting menu offers four different flights, ranging from $15-$18 for four tastes each. We (three couples) decided each couple would share first a flight of whites and then a flight of reds. We gave the flights labeled “Sweet” and “Steel vs. Oak” a pass. Maybe next time. They also have a couple of local beers on tap, plus coffee. My cousin bought a $16 “charcuterie platter” for the table, which was fine but rather meager for the six of us, consisting of a few slices of two different sausages and I believe two different cheeses, plus Carr’s Water Crackers and a few other odds and ends. Since they don’t allow outside food, I think they could do a better job with their edible offerings. We didn’t try the “brick oven pizza.” However, we had an enjoyable afternoon tasting the wines, listening to the music, and chatting about everything.

The “charcuterie platter” and some whites.

2015 Albariῆo $27.99

The server informs my brother that they are the only vineyard on the North Fork to use this grape, and he may be right. Albariῆo is one of my go-to wines when I order just a glass of wine, as it is generally fairly dry with good fruit tastes, and this is no exception. Although there is some disagreement around the table, I find it delicious, with a touch of lemon at the end and tastes of apricot and apple. It smells like honeysuckle, peach, and minerals. Having it with a bite of cheese helps smooth out the sourness of the citrus at the end.

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $24.99

“Great nose,” opines my brother. “It smells like lantana flower,” says my sister-in-law. I don’t know what that smells like, unfortunately, but there is definitely a flowery aroma. The taste is rather orange-y, perhaps like a minneola. “Just lovely,” says my Canadian cousin-in-law. “It’s got some strength to it,” says my cousin. We all agree that this has the best balance of any of the whites, and would be good to sip by itself or with the scallop ceviche my brother and sister-in-law intend to make for dinner.

The bar on the veranda

2014 Viognier $24.99

Our server (we send a representative to the bar to pick up each round) thinks they are also the only ones to use this grape on the North Fork, but I happen to know at least four or five other vineyards use it. In any event, this is not a crowd pleaser. “Not a lot of character on the nose,” asserts my brother. I smell minerality and not much else. This is a light dry wine, with some earthiness. We discuss whether it would be good with the oysters we also plan to pick up, but decide maybe not.

2015 Pinot Blanc $21.99

We all smell and taste pineapple this time. Someone smells vanilla, and someone else says the smell is “earthy.” “Not integrated,” says my brother. I think it would be better with food, and take a bite of sausage. Yes, that does improve it. However, the overall opinion of the whites is “fine, but no home runs.”

2014 Syrah $24.99

Syrah is my other wine-by-the-glass standby, and this one is an acceptable version, though not my favorite. I like syrahs to be bigger and bolder, and this one is a touch thin. It may need more time to age. The aroma is sweet, almost like a sherry. The server told my brother that this spends two years in oak, and they add a bit of viognier to “lighten it up.” It is lighter than most syrahs, with almost no finish. You wouldn’t want it with steak, but it might be nice with some Crescent Farms duck breast.

The indoor space is particularly nice in the winter.

2014 Merlot $24.99

As I explain to my guests, merlot is the Ford of North Fork reds, a generally reliable red. My brother characterizes this one as “an art opening wine,” and I see what he means. Not distinguished, but also not offensive, it has some cherry tastes with a medium body and medium tannins.

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $28.99

Mmm. The aroma is brambly and peppery and the taste is sweeter and fruitier than expected. Soft tannins. We also note some herb and fig tastes. Yum. Just then the singer starts “Here Comes the Sun,” and indeed it does appear. A bachelorette party forms a line on the wet grass with the veiled guest of honor in the middle for a photo shoot.

The bachelorette party organizing for a photo.

2012 Cabernet Franc $28.99

Dark figs and earth and peppers with just a “soupçon of paint thinner.” Not so sure about that last bit! I like it, and it’s very nice with one of the last bits of cheese, which lends it some creaminess. It is also a wine one could sip on its own. My husband thinks it might have needed to breathe longer. We all agree it is good, and has “the most character.”

Rainy day!

Our tasting is done, the sun is out, so we leave to take a walk on the beach.

I wonder what the pooch would have said about the nose.

Reasons to visit: pleasant tasting room with cozy booths for the winter time and a breezy veranda for the summer; the sauvignon blanc, the cabernet sauvignon, and the cabernet franc; dogs are allowed on the veranda.

I like this pattern on the side of the bar.

Pellegrini Vineyards: Refuge from the Rain August 10, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with BBQ Red, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, gewurztraminer, Medley White, merlot, North Fork, oaked, Pellegrini Vineyards, petit verdot, rose, sauvignon blanc, stainless-steel fermented, wine tasting August 12, 2016

http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com/

Our view was of the rain lashing the courtyard.

The thunder was ominous, and we barely made it into the tasting room before a deluge poured from the sky. However, the menacing weather meant that on this Wednesday afternoon we had the tasting room to ourselves (though a couple of other groups arrived later). With no urgent business, we stayed for almost two hours, snacking on hummus and pretzel chips we had brought with us and chatting with our friends who confessed they were neophytes to wine tasting—though not to wine drinking. “I’m a virgin,” my friend joked, explaining that though she’d been to wineries for events she’d never actually sat down for a tasting.

In that case, I was glad I’d chosen to take our friends to Pellegrini, where you can have your tray of tastes delivered to your table and spend as long as you like discussing the wines. Our discussions ranged from the personal to the political, but we did devote some attention to the wines, which our friends generally enjoyed. They had some favorites, and others they didn’t finish, about which more later.

On this rainy Wednesday, we had the room mostly to ourselves.

A tasting includes any three wines you choose from the menu printed on a placemat, which then becomes your guide to the order in which to drink the wines, plus a sample of their rosé, for $12. Since we are wine club members, our tastings were free. We all chose a variety of different wines, so I’m going to comment on my choices first, with some briefer notes on other options.

One tray full. The oyster crackers are useful for cleansing your palate between tastes.

2015 Rosé $19.99

We decided we would all start with this, since it was one wine we had in common, so we could discuss both this particular drink and also how to think about the aroma and taste of wine. A steel-fermented blend of 35% merlot, 32% cabernet sauvignon, and 33% cabernet franc, this is a light dry rosé with a distinctively citric taste we decided was more like tangerine than lemon. It had only a faint bit of the strawberry aroma many rosés have, and lots of minerality. My friend particularly liked the pale pink color.

A tray of whites.

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $24.99

As in the past, I like this wine. It’s a crisp steel-fermented sauvignon blanc with a bit of a gooseberry aroma and nice balance of mineral and lemony citrus. I would have it with local oysters. My friend said she would too—if she liked oysters. Well, then, with scallops? Oh, yes.

2014 East End Select BBQ Red $18.99

What kind of wine do you want to serve at a barbeque? Probably something uncomplicated and easy to drink that goes well with burgers and doesn’t cost too much. Hence BBQ Red. Made from steel-fermented petit verdot, this is simple and direct and light and dry. You could even have it with hot dogs.

Mostly reds

2011 Petit Verdot $29.99

If you want to understand the difference between a wine that has been steel-fermented and one that has been aged 20 months in French oak, you might want to follow the BBQ Red with this petit verdot. This remains one of my favorite North Fork reds, with rich flavors of blueberry and other berries and dark plums, pleasantly tannic and dry. It can stand up to a steak. Our friend agrees, and this is the only glass he, who is not much of a drinker, empties.

Now here are a few notes on other wines, in no particular order, though we did spend some time explaining why the order in which you sample a tasting matters. Basically, you want to go from the lightest to the most flavorful, so you can appreciate each one as it comes.

We commandeered the big table, since we were the only ones there.

2014 Medley White $21.99

I wasn’t sure my friend would like this one, since she is not fond of sweet wines and this blend includes 5% gewürztraminer as well as 55% sauvignon blanc and 40% chardonnay, and I was right. She was not a fan, describing both the taste and smell as “pungent.” It did have a bit of that cat pee smell you sometimes get. She did not finish her glass, but much preferred her next taste.

2015 Stainless Steel Chardonnay $19.99

A fan of pinot grigio, our friend liked this dry, citrusy chard, which she described as “mild.” I like it too, better than their oaked chard.

2014 Chardonnay $19.99

Although this is a blend of 80% oaked chard (8 months aged) and 20% steel chard, we felt this was still too oaky for our taste.

2010 Merlot $29.99

My friends were not fond of this merlot, which they felt could have been fruitier.

2012 Cabernet Franc $29.99

Actually a Bordeaux blend of 84% cabernet franc, 7% merlot, 5% cabernet sauvignon, and 4% petit verdot, this red also was not a favorite with our friends, who perhaps found it too tannic for their taste. I think a few more years of aging would be useful.

We took advantage of a lull in the storm to head out to the parking lot, but the storm was not over!

As we headed to Greenport our phones lit up with storm and tornado warnings, so we pulled over.

Reasons to visit: as I’ve said before, a good all-around winery, with plenty of good choices in both white and red and reasonable prices; nice place to go with friends, as you can sit at a table with your tastes and bring your own snacks; the steel chardonnay, the sauvignon blanc, the petit verdot, the BBQ Red.

We couldn’t resist this photo of Deep Water Grille and deep water on Front Street in Greenport.

Woodside Orchards: Bring the Kids August 3, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Hard Cider and tagged with Apple-Raspberry, cider doughnuts, Cidery, Ginger-Apple, Harbes, North Fork, Sweet Traditional, Traditional Hard Cider, Woodside Orchards August 7, 2016

http://www.woodsideorchards.com/

The sign says caramel apples, but you’ll have to wait until harvest time to try them.

The last time we tried the hard cider at Woodside Orchards’ Aquebogue location, it was October, and the tasting room also featured bins of apples and sweet cider drinks, plus cider doughnuts. This time, we were too early for the apple harvest, so all that was on offer were the hard ciders and the cider doughnuts. However, the five-year-old and the two-year-old we had in tow were pleased with the doughnuts, and worked off their sugar high out in the back yard of the tasting room, playing bean bag toss with a few other children who were also happily running around.

Bean bag toss is available–just ask at the bar for the beanbags. Towards the back you can see the entrance to one of the orchards.

Meanwhile, the adults took turns going back into the tasting room to bring out samples of the four different ciders on offer, at $6 for all four, served in a plastic cup. Each couple decided to share one tasting, which worked out fine. Hard cider has a similar alcohol content to some beers, at 6.8% alcohol, and like beer from a brewery is also available to take out in growlers, $18 for 64 ounces. Unlike beer, hard cider is a fairly delicate drink, more like a sparkling wine than anything else I can think of.

Traditional Hard Cider

The tasting starts off with this rather straightforward cider, a bit bubbly, with a clear taste and smell of apples. It is fairly dry, and would pair well with a pork roast, we decide.

Sweet Traditional

Yes, it is sweet, more like a dessert wine in its sugar level than like a non-dry sparkling wine. However, our daughter finds it refreshing, and could see drinking it on a warm evening instead of a beer, or at the beach with prosciutto and melon. We also decide that, because it goes down so easily, more like a soda than an alcoholic drink, it could be dangerous. I think it tastes very like a Macintosh apple.

Apple-Raspberry

What a pretty color, we all agree. If you need a pink drink, this could be it. The raspberry smell dominates over the apple, and though the taste is on the sweet side it is, interestingly, not as sweet as the previous variety. If you happened to have some on hand, it would go well with spicy barbeque, or you could use it as a liquid when making fruit soup.

The Ginger-Apple was very light.

Ginger-Apple

Here the aroma is a fairly even blend of apple and ginger, but the ginger is barely discernable in the taste. Our son-in-law, an expert amateur mixologist, wonders if one could use it to make a Dark and Stormy instead of ginger beer, but then we all agree it is not gingery enough. Like the others, this is a light, refreshing quaff.

They have a small selection of t-shirts for sale.

Reasons to visit: you are ready for something different; you really love apples; the Traditional; you have children with you so don’t care to be involved in a more serious tasting experience, plus there is a back yard where they can run around while you sit at the picnic tables and do your tasting; in season, the chance to pick up (or pick!) some apples and cider doughnuts (though I think Harbes’ doughnuts are better).

The entrance to the pleasingly rustic tasting room.

Castello di Borghese: Oldie but Goodie July 30, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Cabernet Franc Reserve, Castello di Borghese, Chardonette, Founder's Field Sauvignon Blanc, Hargrave, lavender, Merlot Reserve, North Fork, pinot noir reserve, wine tasting August 1, 2016

Castello di Borghese: Oldie but Goodie July 30, 2016

You can bring your own picnic to the outside tables, but no outside beverages.

http://www.castellodiborghese.com/

“Yes,” our server said, “these grapes come from our 43-year-old vines.” In North Fork terms, that’s ancient history, and since the older the vines supposedly the better the wines, we were quite interested in the Founder’s Field Sauvignon Blanc. The Hargraves were the first to see the potential of grape vines on the North Fork, (then the Borghese family bought their vineyard) and wow, did they ever start something. But in the wine business there is no resting on one’s laurels (or vines), so let’s see how they are doing today.

The pleasant tasting room, with several areas, including a very large room which I would assume is mostly used for parties and such, offers two menus, of Estate and Reserve wines. You can taste four of the Estate wines for $10 or five of any of their wines for $15. Since there are quite a few choices on both menus, including reds, whites, rosés, and dessert wines, it took us a while to choose. In fact, we could easily go back and do a completely different tasting in the near future. We finally settled on one 5-sample tasting, of two whites and three reds. Our server, though at first somewhat tentative about recommendations, began to give us some helpful guidance as we progressed.

The large back room boasts quite a gallery of art.

Another neat feature of the tasting room is their ever-changing display of art works. They have a small selection of snacks for sale, but you can bring your own picnic and settle in at the outside tables. Glasses of wine go for $9-12, depending on which you choose.

They have quite a display of awards they’ve won.

Chardonette/CDB White $12

Since we are always on the lookout for inexpensive whites for weekday meals, especially in the summer, we decided this would be a good place to start. We were right. A mixture of mostly chardonnay with some sauvignon blanc, this is a perfect light summery white, with aromas of herbs and minerals and a crisp taste with some acidity. This is steel fermented, so don’t expect any buttery-ness. The menu suggests matching it with hummus or “smoked beef tartare,” whatever that is. I think it would be a nice aperitif, well iced, with some charcuterie and cheese, on the porch, in the summer. We buy two bottles.

I think the label for the Chardonette goes perfectly with the wine.

2013 Founder’s Field Sauvignon Blanc $29

What a contrast! The Chardonette is a very non-serious white, while this one is quite serious. Complex, with aromas of butter and honeysuckle, this is a combination of oaked and un-oaked sauvignon blanc, with the oaked portion spending two months in new French oak. There’s a touch of citrus at the end, plus interesting layers of flavor, including gooseberry (which, now that I bought some at Briermere a few weeks ago, my husband agrees it tastes like).

2014 Pinot Noir Reserve $50

The menu said 2013 Pinot Noir, but they were sold out of that, and after we discussed that change with our server he confessed that this was his favorite of their wines. He does have expensive taste! He brought us a new glass for the changeover to red. “Mmmm,” said my husband. Anything more enlightening to say, I asked? We smell some cherry candy, taste dark fruits such as plums, plus nice tannins, and perhaps a trace of nutmeg. This is a Burgundy, so we decide it would go well with Boeuf Bourguignon. Making that according to Julia Child’s recipe is an all-day affair, so I guess if I put that much work into a dish it would warrant a bottle of this wine.

2013 Merlot Reserve $33

Our server informs us that this spends 14 months in French oak, which probably accounts for the trace of smoke we smell. We also get plum and black cherry. The wine is dry, with lots of tannins and good fruit, so it would be a good counterpoint to a fatty meat such as lamb. My husband observes that it is very well balanced, with a good finish. “Yum,” I add.

2013 Cabernet Franc Reserve $44

As we discuss which wine to have to end our tasting, our server volunteers that this one is quite interesting, so we go with it. He’s right (again). We sniff and get fruit and a trace of tobacco, then sip and decide the taste is rich. We taste dark cherries with a trace of smoke at the end, but not overwhelming, plus good tannins. They suggest pairing with game, and I could see it with venison steaks.

Bunches of lavender for sale.

Reasons to go: A nice calm tasting room plus picnic tables outside; the Chardonette, the Founder’s Field Sauvignon Blanc, the Pinot Noir Reserve; art on the walls.

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.).

The Old Field: Pleasant Day in the Country June 18, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with barrel chardonnay, Blush de Noir, cabernet franc, Charging Goose Sauvignon Blanc, Commodore Perry, merlot, Mostly Steel Chardonnay, North Fork, rooster tail, The Old Field Vineyards, wine tasting June 21, 2016

http://www.theoldfield.com/

The pretty porch at Old Field.

“I don’t want to leave,” I complained, but our friends had somewhere to go and we had errands to run before our dinner reservation, so reluctantly I left our comfy seats on the prettily rustic porch of the Old Field Vineyards. Old Field is a great place if you want a quiet country setting where you can see ducks and chickens and the occasional goose wander by. You can stand at the bar covered by mismatched tablecloths or go for a picnic table under the trees. We had opted for a nice round table at the shady end of the porch, where our friends set out the snacks they had brought so we munched as we tasted.

Our table in the shade

The tasting menu offers four options: four whites for $9, four reds for $10, four mixed for $8, or four “Weekend Gold” selections for $10. Both couples opted to share a white and then a red, so we could discuss our opinions as we sipped. One improvement over the last time we were here: tastes are now served in proper wine glasses, instead of the little plastic cups they used to use.

2014 Blush de Noir $16

“We had an event last week,” our friends said, “and served this out on the deck. It was great.” I can see that, as this is a very light, crisp almost white rosé with a “slatey strawberry” smell and a touch of citrus.

2013 Mostly Steel Chardonnay $20

Although our friend thought it seemed “tame” after the Blush de Noir, I quite liked this very slightly oaked chard, with just a touch of vanilla and lots of lemon flavor. It has just enough oak to take the edge off the sometimes too acid lemon flavor a steel chard can have.

2013 Barrel Chardonnay $28

The menu informs us that this is a new release, and spends seven months in French oak. You can definitely smell that vanilla aroma of an oaked chard, but this again is not overly oaked. No one, we decided, would complain if you served this. “It’s a people’s wine,” asserts our friend, who I begin to suspect is angling to be quoted in this review. Though I like it, I have to agree that it has no finish, and the taste does not linger.

Charging Goose Sauvignon Blanc $25

The menu had listed Cacklin’ Rosé as the last of the whites, but instead they’ve changed their selections to this new release. That’s fine with me, since I wanted to try this one anyway, and I never think anyone’s rosés measure up to Croteaux. We get into a rather involved discussion of the smell, which we like, and compare to hay, Meyer lemon, berries, and butter. We also like the taste, which combines berries and a mellow citrus. When I suggest it would go well with oysters, we start to plan for our next outing to include oysters, perhaps at Old Mill during Happy Hour or at Jamesport.

Rooster Tail $18

This is their un-dated merlot all-purpose pizza and pasta red, which we have bought by the case in the past. It is still good, especially for the price, with plenty of cherry tastes and an aroma of blackberries. Dry. New glasses for the reds, by the way.

2012 Cabernet Franc $36

We decide we like the smell of this one better than the taste. Not that it is bad, just that it lacks the depth the delicious aroma would seem to promise. It has lots of dark fruit taste, and we agree that if it were less expensive we would happily buy it.

Did you ever notice how many sheds and barns farms have?

2010 Merlot $26

“It blankets you with flavor and then gets out of town,” opines our friend, happy to see me writing down his words. Well, he’s right. After a slightly funky forest floor, peat mossy aroma, the taste is pleasantly cherry and other fruit, but has no staying power. Again, like the other wines, this is a drinkable but not distinguished wine.

2010 Commodore Perry $38

This one is more distinguished. Named for the illustrious ancestor of the owners, they only make this wine in good years, and 2010 was pretty universally considered to have been a very good year for Long Island wines, especially the reds, as we had a nice long warm growing season. We had bought and cellared the 2007 the last time we were here. The smell is delicious, like “a leather tobacco pouch dipped in red wine,” says our eloquent friend. Though it is a merlot, like the Rooster Tail, it has much more depth and interest. You could have it with steak or lamb chops and it would stand up to those strong meat tastes. It’s my favorite of the day.

One of the houses on the property

Reasons to visit: calm rustically bucolic setting with lots of trees and lawn space; the Blush de Noir and the Commodore Perry; a vineyard with a history worth learning about (check their web site) and admirable bio-dynamic methods.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

Pugliese: Choose Your Time Carefully October 28, 2016

Martha Clara: Playground or Winery? September 3, 2016

Croteaux: Still Our Favorite Garden August 26, 2016

Palmer Vineyards: Fun Hanging Out August 20, 2016

Pellegrini Vineyards: Refuge from the Rain August 10, 2016

Woodside Orchards: Bring the Kids August 3, 2016

Castello di Borghese: Oldie but Goodie July 30, 2016

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

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

The Old Field: Pleasant Day in the Country June 18, 2016