Jason’s Vineyard June 30, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Uncategorized July 2, 2013

http://www.jasonsvineyard.com/

With all the rain we’ve had recently it may turn out to be really useful that the bar in Jason’s Vineyard is shaped like a ship. To be exact, it is supposed to resemble the Argo, that mythical ship built by the goddess Athena and crewed by all the great warriors of Greece, the Argonauts, led by the hero Jason, on a quest to win the Golden Fleece. It was a heroic quest, and Jason did win the Golden Fleece—with the help of Medea, the king’s daughter—but his story did not end happily, and I’m afraid the same mixture of good and bad applies to Jason’s wines as well.

We had been here in 2009, shortly after it opened, and so we were interested to see how the wines had developed since then. Jason Damianos is the son of the owner of Pindar Winery. A tasting costs $7 for 4 tastes, from a menu of twelve, so we opt for two tastings to be shared, enabling us to try 8 of the wines. Jason’s has an interesting system. When you enter you go to the cashier and pre-pay for your tastings, and she then gives you tokens which you turn over to your server one by one as you try each wine. I would guess it helps everyone keep track of what is happening, as I am sometimes amazed at the ability of servers to remember which wine each of five or six customers is up to. The tasting room is a good size, and there is a large roofed porch to one side, where we saw at least one group sharing snacks and glasses of wine. In addition to wine, they sell some wine-related tchotchkes, t-shirts, nuts and other snacks, and we notice Greenport beer on tap. We left before the live entertainment started.

2011 Sauvignon Blanc $22.95

Although this is not the first wine on the tasting menu, our server recommends we start with it, as it is their driest white. Aromas of citrus, asparagus, and minerals greet our noses, followed by a sour grapefruit taste. Though this is dryer than any of the whites we tried in 09, the dryness is not balanced by sufficient fruit, and we differ on how unpleasant we think this is. I would drink it, but my husband says he would prefer not to.

2. 2008 Chardonnay $29.95

We could have chosen the 07 Chardonnay, which is also on the menu, and the server says there is really no difference between the two. Both are aged for 9 months in new French oak, and of course have the typical vanilla/woody aroma of an oaked chard. Though the wine is too cold, we warm it in our palms and sip. Not bad. Strongly vanilla, with some flavors of almonds and toast, it would be nice with a creamy double cream cheese.

3. 2010 White Riesling $24.95

There’s that cat pee aroma. The server describes it as off-dry, but we say sweet. Apricot. Apricot fruit leather!

4. Golden Fleece $16.95

Finally, our quest to taste the first wine on the list is fulfilled! This is a blend of 41% Chardonnay, 24% Seyval Blanc, 20% Cayuga, 9% Vidal Blanc, and 5% Riesling, which we find intriguing, since three of these grapes are not usually grown on Long Island, but instead are found Upstate. After some conferring between the servers, we are told that indeed, all the grapes are grown on Long Island. Well, quests don’t always end happily. The aroma of the wine reminds us of rotted fruit with some wet rock thrown in (like the rock Jason used to make the seed-grown warriors battle each other, perhaps). This is less sweet than the Riesling, with some mid-palate honey tastes, though the finish is a bit tarter. We taste some cantaloupe. Though we like it better than in 09, we find it still too sweet for us.

5. 2001 Merlot $16.95

By the way, here they rinse your glass between each taste, not just at the transition from white to red. I used to think this was a good idea, but I’m coming to wonder if the residual water affects the taste of the wine at all! This Merlot and the 06 both spend 24 months in new French oak. We smell the typical earthy aroma of many Long Island reds, with some notes of fig jam. Some ripe fruit flavors, but all in all we’ve had better Merlots.

6. 2006 Merlot $24.95

Again, local earth smell, but this one is better. It’s dry, with some nice berry/cherry flavors, ending with a tobacco flavor that reminds me of a dessert we once had in Bologna which was sprinkled with tobacco. Really! There are lots of tannins, and we think this could age well.

7. 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon $16.95

Our server informs us that this wine generally tastes best if you open it well before you want to drink it and let it aerate. I guess that would dissipate the phenol/chemical aroma we find so unpleasant, but I’m not sure it would improve the taste, which reminds us of sour sucking candy. I NEVER want to drink this, says my husband.

8. 2010 Malbec $26.95

Finally, a red we like! Though the aroma reminds us of clothes which have sat too long in the closet, with perhaps some trace of cedar, it tastes pretty good. The first taste is of cherry coke, but it ends nicely dry. This is a sippable red and would also pair well with lamb chops.

We skipped the Meritage, which is a blend we’ve tried at other places, and their dessert wine, which is served with a piece of chocolate, and also their lone rosé.

Reasons to visit: You like sweet wines; you want to see a bar shaped like a Greek sailing ship (complete with a furled sail!); the 08 Chardonnay and the 2010 Malbec.

Kontokosta Winery June 23, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Anemometer Red, Anemometer White, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Greenport, Hellenic, Kontokosta Winery, merlot, North Fork, olive oil, Orient Chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, viognier, windmill June 25, 2013

http://www.kontokostawines.com/

One great aspect of choosing to write about North Fork wineries for a blog is that there is not much risk of running out of material. Not only do wineries change their offerings with each new harvest—necessitating return visits—but new wineries are constantly springing up. Case in point, as Rod Serling liked to say, Kontokosta Winery in Greenport, which opened its very attractive doors on June 12^th. As you head east towards Orient Point on Sound Avenue you pass a flashing light, where you could turn to head into Greenport. Instead, stay straight and you’ll come to a gate on your left, which leads to a long gravel drive and then to a parking lot next to a large imposing building, bracketed by vines, a view of Long Island Sound, and a tall windmill, about which more later.

Inside, the spacious tasting room is sleekly modern in style, with a serene black and white color scheme. We note several tables where a happy party is taking photos of themselves and a long tasting bar. We find a space at the bar, where a lovely young woman explains the choices to us. All the servers are clad in black shirts with the Kontokostas logo on the chest, a discreet three red bars. One of the servers is a gentleman we recognize from several other venues, including the Tasting Room and Empire Cellars, and he assures us we are about to experience some terrific wines. A tasting consists of four one ounce pours for $10, chosen from a menu of ten wines, five white and five red. There’s also a three-pour tasting and wines by the glass. We opt for two four-wine flights, one of white and then one of red, both of which we share, skipping the rosé and the Blum Merlot.

NV Anemometer White $16

Why Anemometer, we ask, noticing the representation of a spinning anemometer on the bottle? The winery is very proud of its use of wind power, our server notes, and in fact everything on the property is powered by wind. Our friend from other venues notes that on a very windy day you can see the electric meter spin backward, so that LIPA ends up owing them money. On to the wine, which is a blend, though primarily sauvignon blanc. Refreshing, we agree, with an aroma of Meyer lemon and mineral, with tastes of citrus and honeysuckle at the end. This would be good for summer sipping, and also would go well with turkey dishes. Very buyable!

2. 2009 Orient Chardonnay $17

The grapes for this wine come from a vineyard in Orient, hence the name. A lightly oaked chard, this is just okay, and a bit sour. There’s plenty of orangey-lemon tastes, and some oak at the end, but we don’t find it particularly pleasant.

3. 2012 Sauvignon Blanc $25

Not surprisingly, we find this wine reminds us of the Anemometer White, though with some different tastes. Overall it is a bit sweet for us, with aromas of honeysuckle and green plum and tastes of wildflower honey with a vegetal note at the end. My husband says green beans…not sure I agree. This is the first wine they made here.

4. 2010 Viognier $25

Bedell is the only other North Fork winery to use this grape, so we are interested to see how it compares. At Bedell we had their 2011 Viognier, which we found very pleasing, with complex spicy fruit and citrus flavors. This one has aromas of blood orange and peach, with peachy tastes and some tannins, but not so complex.

5. Anemometer Red 2006 $19

I would expect this to be a blend, but it is 100% syrah, we are told. The aroma has some of that East End barnyard smell, plus red berry, and the taste reminds us of red sucking candy. While not for sipping, this would be okay with food, such as pork chops.

6. 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon $22

We smell ripe berries and plums, and not much earth, and taste lots of fruit, with a nice dry finish. I’d love this with a nice medium-rare duck breast, and it could stand up to steak as well.

7. 2007 Merlot $29

Again we smell that earthy barnyard aroma, plus some mineral. This is just okay—dry, with decent fruit, but a bit of a chemical acetone taste at the end. You could have this with a rich pork dish and it would be fine, but it is overpriced for what it is.

8. 2007 Cabernet Franc $29

“This is one of my favorites,” enthuses our server, and we can see why, as it is definitely the best of the reds, with lots of fruit and a lovely aroma of ripe berries, not too sweet but not too dry, either. Oh, she adds, all the reds are aged in new French oak.

After we finish the wines, we are offered tastes of three olive oils they are selling—all for $28—an extra virgin, a Minneola tangelo and a jalapeῆo lime. They’re nice, but we’ll stick with Vines and Branches. We also learn that the winery is proud of its use of recycled materials in its construction, which is partly reflected in their slogan, “Sound Life, Sound Wine,” or as they say on their FaceBook page, “Registered with the USGBC under the LEED New Construction 2009 rating system, our winery has been designed to meet the gold certification level. To meet these high standards, the building is constructed of 100% recycled steel and reclaimed wood siding, and will be powered by wind energy.”

The windmill!

We enjoy the view out the large window to the Long Island Sound on this lovely June day as we wrap up our visit with the purchase of a bottle of the Anemometer White.

Reasons to visit: You’re in Greenport without a car and you’d like to go to a winery; you’ve tried all the others and are looking for a new winery; Anemometer White and 07 Cabernet Franc; the chance to appreciate a lovely view while doing a tasting; you’re on your way to the Hellenic and have some time to kill before dinner.

Nofowineaux Goes to Virginia

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Bull Run, chardonnay, Melange, Nana's Rose, Norton, Paradise Springs, Petit Manseng, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Sommet Blanc, Virginia June 19, 2013

http://www.paradisespringswinery.com/

Who knew? Virginia has over 230 wineries, and, according to the Virginia Winery Guide 2013 map, is divided into “9 winemaking regions” and features “25 wine trails.” I just went to one winery, but I was duly impressed. A New York area wine lover could do worse than schedule a wine tasting trip to Virginia (and you can visit the house of Thomas Jefferson—founding father AND wine lover—as long as you’re there).

My brother took me to Paradise Springs Winery in the über-cute town of Clifton, Virginia. The winery itself is down a winding country road bordered by beautiful estates and woods, and features a large tasting barn, an old log cabin, and ample outdoor areas where we saw many people picnicking, tossing Frisbees, and just relaxing. Lots of people. Happily, there was room at the long bar in the tasting room, and an attractive and knowledgeable young woman named Kat took care of us. A tasting of seven of their wines cost only $10, and since it was Father’s Day they added a complimentary tasting of Swagger, their Port style wine. Small dishes of round crackers on the bar are there as palate cleansers. They also offer a fairly extensive menu of snacks, including cheeses from $8-$12, but many of the people we saw seemed to have brought their own picnics.

2011 Chardonnay $29

For a barrel-fermented chard, this was not overly oaky, with slight aromas of vanilla and apple, and a taste of Granny Smith apple. Very good, either as a sipping wine or with food.

2. 2011 Petit Manseng $27

Kat explains that this is a grape that is often used for dessert wines, but they harvest it early and make a dry style wine with it. My brother and I agree that it is delicious, with some tastes of pineapple and pear, with some citrus zing and a slight strawberry aroma. Kat notes that it would be good with spicy food, a good call. Buyable!

3. 2012 Sommet Blanc $24

This is a blend, 65% Vidal Blanc, 16% Traminette, 14% Riesling, and 5% Chardonnay. Now I’m wishing for a nice bowl of lobster bisque, because this wine would go well with any creamy seafood dish, as it is nicely dry but with plenty of fruit and some aromas of spice and flowers.

4. 2012 Nana’s Rosé $22

Here’s a rosé that could challenge Croteaux, and indeed, Kat tells us that it is a French style rosé, so it is dry and full of flavor from the Merlot grapes from which it is made. Great summer sipper, as I soon prove.

5. 2011 Mélange $27

Another blend, this is their Bordeaux-style wine: 53% Cabernet Franc, 24% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Petit Verdot. We like this one very much, as it has plenty of red berry or cherry fruit, yet enough tannins to be interesting. We learn that the Cabernet Franc grapes are the only ones grown on the winery’s property, with the rest bought from others, such as Chrysalis vineyard. Also buyable.

6. 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon $32

Perhaps with more time this wine would be better, but we find it a bit thin, not the rich flavor that is promised by the tasting notes.

7. 2011 Norton $28

My brother is quite eager to have me taste this wine, as the Norton grape is a native Virginia grape, once cultivated by Thomas Jefferson himself. Thinking of Concord grapes, I’m expecting this to be too sweet and, though it is somewhat “jammy,” it is also good. Kat says it is great to make mulled wine with this in the winter. A mineral aroma precedes some sour cherry flavors, with a bit of a not unpleasant vegetable after taste.

8. Swagger, Edition I $39

Get out the cigars and the small glasses, send the ladies to the parlor, it’s time for that after dinner sip of port! J.K. But this is a very nice Port-style wine, again not too sweet but, after being aged 17 months in Virginia bourbon barrels, full of all sorts of deep flavors.

My brother and I each opt to buy a bottle of the Petit Manseng and the Mélange. Must be something genetic. Then we each get a glass so we can sit outside and sip and chat. I opt for the rosé ($7 for a glass), and find that it does indeed hold up well over the course of a full glass. Unfortunately, the young man playing guitar is not nearly as talented as the wine. Afterwards, we walk up the road and hike down to Bull Run—yes, the actual stream that was the site of a Civil War battle!

Later that evening, my brother opens a bottle of Horton Vineyards Norton wine, and I like that even better than Paradise Springs’ version.

Reasons to visit: You’re in Virginia and you want to try a winery; you’ve hiked the trail to Bull Run and you need some refreshment after your hike; you live in Washington, D.C. and this is the closest winery to the city; plenty of nice wines to try; picnic areas and a family atmosphere; Petit Manseng and Mélange and the chance to try the Norton (nothing to do with Jackie Gleason) grape.

Coffee Pot Cellars June 2, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with bees, chardonnay, Coffee Pot Cellars, honey, Meritage, merlot, North Fork, Osprey's Dominion, sauvignon blanc June 3, 2013

http://www.coffeepotcellars.com/

“I have to put out the wine tasting flag,” said Adam Suprenant, the owner and winemaker for Coffee Pot Cellars, “because people keep coming in wanting a cup of coffee!” He grinned affably and looked around his spare but pleasant tasting room, which just opened a week ago on Main Road in a building formerly occupied by a real estate office. Mr. Suprenant is the winemaker for Osprey’s Dominion, but he also decided to express himself with his own label, named, not for a pot of coffee, but for the lighthouse in Orient which supposedly looks like a coffee pot. He makes just four wines, so, he noted, “They’d better be good!” That they are; not a clunker in the bunch.

The tasting room features a very attractive bar made from reclaimed poplar wood, a small selection of wine-related items, and honey and beeswax products made by Blossom Meadow, a venture of his fiancée, who manages about 100 bee hives around the North Fork. Over on a shelf sits a demonstration hive, with a glass front so you can watch the busy bees at work.

We each had our own tasting, $7.00 for all four wines, or $2.00 per taste, and also enjoyed Mr. Suprenant’s comments on how he made each wine.

1. 2011 Sauvignon Blanc $17.99

Because not many vineyards grow sauvignon blanc grapes, Coffee Pot Cellars buys these grapes from Osprey’s Dominion, but Mr. S. makes the wine his own way. A slightly mineral aroma precedes tastes of citrus and honeydew, with a nicely long and interesting finish. Definitely a good raw seafood wine!

2. 2011 Chardonnay $15.99

“This is my Hurricane Irene wine,” Mr. S. notes, remembering how the intense rain and wind of the hurricane was followed two days later by heavy rain, forcing the early harvesting of the grapes. “The wine was very lean,” he adds, so he allowed some malolactic fermentation, but aged the wine in older oak barrels, avoiding the over-oakiness and butteriness of some chardonnays. We like this wine quite a bit, with its honey-vanilla aroma and just a hint of butterscotch amid the citrus flavors. Buyable!

3. 2008 Merlot $17.99

This is the wine Coffee Pot started with, and merlot is of course Long Island’s most-grown red wine grape. The fruit for this and the chardonnay all came from one vineyard in Aquebogue, from a vineyard where the grower only grows grapes for others, rather than making his own wine. That allows the wine to express its terroir, but not, we are pleased to note, with the earthy or dirt barnyard smells of some local reds. “People ask me if Long Island wines will age well,” our new friend says, “and I say depends on the wine. This one is doing quite well, and many will age for 6-8 years and just get better.” We smell a pleasantly brambly aroma and taste pleasant berry and good tannins, though not a lot of depth. Pretty color, too.

4. 2008 Meritage $21.99

After making just merlot, Mr. S. decided to try a blend, so he went to some winemakers at Premium Wine Group (at Lieb Cellars) to see if they had any wine they were not interested in using. After some mixing and tasting, he came up with this very lovely wine, mostly merlot, 19% cabernet sauvignon and 6% each petit verdot and cabernet franc. Smells like a Briermere berry pie to me! The petit verdot adds a bit of black pepper to the delicious fruit flavor, so it is sweet but not too sweet. “I’ll only make this in the best years,” he explains, and also describes how he puts the wine through an oxidative process to eliminate that earth flavor, and also filters out the yeasts so they will stay the way he wants them to be. Buyable.

We buy a bottle each of the Chardonnay and the Meritage, plus some honey and a box of cat-shaped beeswax candles.

Reasons to visit: A chance to talk to the winemaker and learn all about how he makes his wines; four quite tasty wines; honey and beeswax products; a nice quiet tasting room.

Macari Vineyards May 18, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with chardonnay, Collina, Cutchogue, Dos Aguas, Early Wine, Macari, merlot, North Fork, riesling, sauvignon blanc, Sette May 20, 2013

http://w ww.macariwines.com/

This weekend we went to what we call the “Irish” winery—not because it is Irish, but because a friend, hearing the name but not seeing it, thought it was McCary! In fact, so Italian (not Irish) are they that the Macari family has given several of their wines Italian names, including Collina, for the hills on which their vineyard is located, and Sette, for Settefrati, the town in Italy from which their family emigrated.

Macari has two tasting rooms, a commodious building just off Sound Avenue and another, formerly the Gallucio Family Winery, on Main Road in Cutchogue. We’ve been to both, but this time we went to the one on Main Road. As you enter, you see the road forks both up the hill and down. Both ways lead to parking lots, so you can pick either way, but the uphill one enables you to drop off passengers at the door. Both rooms have outdoor areas far enough from the road to feel pleasantly rustic.

We had an irrational prejudice against Macari because early in our winery-visiting days we walked in right behind a group of bachelorettes who stumbled out of their limo, beer cans in hand, plastic flowers in their hair, and proceeded to be quite raucous. Not Macari’s fault!

The Main Road tasting room is a pleasant space, with a curving copper-topped bar and a nice selection of gift items, including hand painted wine glasses and tea towels with the word Wineaux on them. A white flight of four tastes is $8 and a red flight is $12. They also offer artisanal cheeses and salumi for $7-10.00, including crackers. The servers are pleasant and well-informed, though it is a bit disconcerting to hear the same spiel delivered word for word to your neighbors at the bar. By the way, if you want to go you should go soon, as they are celebrating their 15^th anniversary with a very nice sale on many of their wines.

We opted to do one tasting of whites and one of reds, sharing as we went.

2012 Sauvignon Blanc $23

This bears the subtitle “Katherine’s Field,” and our server noted it is their “signature wine.” This steel-fermented white has aromas of herbs and baked pear (they say), and we think thyme and unripe cantaloupe. We also taste unripe cantaloupe, along with a tart acidity and not much fruit. Not really for sipping, but it would be a good oyster wine.

2. 2010 Riesling $27

Though this uses grapes from upstate, it escapes the sometimes over-sweetness one finds with that fruit. A flowery aroma precedes tastes of grapefruit and dried apricot which unfolds quite pleasantly on the palate. Good finish and, we conclude, a really lovely well-made Riesling.

3. Collina Chardonnay $13

The server describes this as their “house white,” and notes that it is a combination of oak and steel-fermented wine, which should make it quite pleasant but does not. I think of the taste and smell as reminding me of a vacation house that has been closed up too long, with a sensation of damp and slightly moldy wood. We dump the remainder in the spit bucket, something we rarely do. Even on sale for $10, I can’t see buying this!

4. 2012 Early Wine $17

This is a special production of their Austrian winemaker, and is called early wine because…it is picked early. In late August, they harvest these mostly chardonnay grapes, and age the wine not at all, yielding an almost clear liquid. We think it will be tart, but instead it is rather sweet, with aromas of grass or hay and tastes of pear with a slight edge of lemon. Not bad, but not for us.

5. Collina 48 Merlot $13

New glass for the reds, always a nice touch. Mostly Merlot, with 5% each of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, this is a simple table-type wine that would be better with food than just sipping. We smell tobacco and bay leaf and taste some berry, but the taste leaves the tongue quickly and is quite dry and tart.

6. Sette Red Blend $19

Named for Settefrati (seven brothers), the village from which the Macaris emigrated, this is our favorite of the wines so far. A 50/50 blend of merlot and cabernet franc, this wine smells to us like a combination of cocoa mulch (try it on your garden some time, but I warn you, every time you weed you’ll crave a chocolate bar) and green olives, with nice plum flavors. Very buyable.

7. 2007 Merlot Reserve $36

After 16 months in French oak, this merlot is then aged for four years, so it was just recently released. We detect a bit of menthol in the aroma, and also berry pie (a smell you’ll recognize if you’ve ever been to Briermere while they are baking). The taste starts sweet, then becomes quite nice, with black cherry and enough tannins that our tongues tingle. Interesting, and quite good.

8. 2008 Dos Aguas $27

Two waters, we ask? For the Peconic Bay and Long Island Sound, the two bodies of water that frame the North Fork, she replies. A Bordeaux blend, Dos Aguas combines 70% merlot with 17% cabernet sauvignon, 8% malbec, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. Strongly spicy aromas of nutmeg and berries, maybe some plum, make us anticipate a delicious wine, but it is not to be. Really not much to this one at all.

They also have, available by the glass but not included in the tasting, a couple of rosés and some dessert wines as well as a few additional wines. We buy two bottles of Sette and two Wineaux tea towels (how could we not?).

Reasons to visit: pleasant tasting room and outside seating area in a rustic setting; 2010 Riesling and Sette Red Blend; some nice gift items; choice of two tasting rooms so if you want to go there you can be flexible as to your route.

The Winemaker Studio May 11, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Anomaly, asparagus, Bay View farm stand, Bordo, Briermere, cabernet franc, Dieci, Glorious Gin, Greenhook, Leo Family Cellars, Luminous Riesling, McKenzie Gin, Nappa, North Fork, pie, Pine Barrens Whiskey, pinot grigio, Sciardonne Chardonnay, Shiraz, SuHru, Winemaker Studio May 13, 2013

http://anthonynappawines.com/tws_home.html

I love spring on the North Fork. We stopped at the Bay View farm stand and bought fresh local spinach and asparagus and leeks and rhubarb and duck breast and bacon, and at Briermere for a blueberry crumb pie. And now a short pause for a disquisition on Briermere pies…Yum. Later that evening we had sautéed duck breast with a local red wine, garlic, and maple syrup reduction, accompanied by spinach salad with bacon and hard-boiled egg, with a dressing made from Vines and Branches olive oil and Cara Cara Orange White Balsamic vinegar, and steamed asparagus. All seasoned with artisanal North Fork salt! Pie for dessert, of course. With it we had Bordo wine from Anthony Nappa, about which more later.

After all that shopping we felt thirsty, so we decided to stop into the Winemaker Studio on Peconic Lane. This attractive store front used to be called The Tasting Room, and though the name and cast of characters have changed, the idea is the same: to showcase smaller wine producers who lack a place of their own. Run by Anthony Nappa, it features his wines as well as wines by others whose “day job” is as winemaker for other vineyards. They buy their grapes, some from upstate, and make their wines at Premium Wine Group, a facility housed at Leib Cellars but used by many. Nappa used to make wines for Shinn; Russell Hearn, originally from Australia, was the winemaker for Pellegrini until he and his wife Sue decided to make their own label, SuHru (Sue and Russell, with an H for Hearn); John Leo works for Clovis Point and also makes his Leo Family wines; and Erik Bilka works at Premium and also makes his own Influence brand.

The Studio has several features which causes it to stand apart from most tasting rooms, aside from the variety of different labels it offers, because in addition to wine it also offers a beer taste from Southampton Publick House, some coffee drinks, and local gins and whiskies, plus cheese or cheese and salumi platters for $15. The gin brands include McKenzie and Glorious, and the whiskies and ryes include Pine Barrens and Greenhook. If you go there for Happy Hour—from 5-7 p.m.—you might want to try them. The airy room includes a nice bar plus little tables and chairs, with art on the walls by local artists. Sometimes there is a dog or two in residence, though not today. Oh, and the room is attached to a pleasant little food shop which includes both local brands and some hard to find labels.

The wine menu offers nine tastes, at $2-$4 per taste, and we opt to share four whites and four reds, skipping the lone rosé. Chris, our server and we believe the manager of the shop, is impressively knowledgeable. We overheard him giving very good advice to some neophytes to the region on which tasting rooms to visit based on which wines they had liked of his selections. He also knows all about the wines he serves, and yet was tactful enough to let us sip in silence when he saw that was what we preferred.

2011 Nappa Anomaly $19

This wine is an anomaly because it is a white wine made from pinot noir grapes, and since it spends no time on the skins it is white, not the rosé one would expect. Yet the aroma reminds us of strawberry candy, a smell one would associate with a rose. However, the taste is very much its own thing: some earthiness, some citrus—perhaps key lime—some minerality, dry but fruity and quite delicious. It is all steel fermented, so it is quite a refreshing, clean drink.

2. 2012 SuHru Pinot Grigio $16

I often drink pinot grigio, but this does not taste like any I have had. The aroma is sweet, like white grape juice, with a bit of that cat pee smell. The taste is also sweeter than a typical pinot grigio, maybe because the grapes come from upstate. The tasting notes say pear, and I don’t disagree. Though many would like it, it’s not for me.

3. 2012 Nappa Luminous Riesling $18

This is another wine made from upstate grapes, and though Chris categorizes it as “on the dry/off dry cusp,” we find it a bit sweet. As is typical of the wines in this room, it is not typical! An aroma of honeysuckle heralds a goldenrod honey and pineapple taste, with a hint of citrus.

4. 2012 Nappa Sciardonné Chardonnay $18

Pronounce the name of this wine in the Italian manner, in which “sci” is pronounced like a soft “sh,” and you’ll get the joke of this Italian-style wine’s name. Although this is a steel-fermented wine it does undergo malolactic fermentation, and so has some of the buttery taste associated with chardonnays. However, it does not have that overly buttery flavor of an oaked chard, and the aroma of “pine forest after a rain”—my husband’s idea—is quite lovely. Very buyable.

5. 2012 Nappa Bordo $20

We sniff and discuss—tomato leaves? Maybe. Definitely vegetabley, with a hint of minerals. Good fruit, with some typical cabernet franc tastes of berries, but not too heavy. The color is a light and pretty red. This would go perfectly with the duck we just bought, we think, and are later proven correct. Buyable.

6. 2011 SuHru Shiraz $22

The syrah grape is called shiraz in Australia, and Hearn is from Australia, so…I tend to like syrahs or shirazes, whatever they are called, and this is no exception. A slight cardamom aroma leads to dry but good berry tastes with some nice depth. Unlike some shirazes, this is not overpowering. They say a taste of Earl Gray, but I don’t get it. However, this is definitely a buyable wine.

7. 2010 Nappa Dieci $35

To get the reason for this name, look no further than the date. A blend of 37% cabernet sauvignon, 44% merlot, and 19% cabernet franc, this is a Bordeaux style wine, though not as interesting as a French Bordeaux at this price point. However, it is a pleasant wine and would be good with food.

8. 2007 Leo Family Cellars Red Blend $40

Aromas of mineral, earth, and blackberry are not surprising for this merlot/petit verdot blend. This wine is really interesting, and we comment that it is a humble name for an ambitious wine with lovely depth of flavor. We also admire the label!

Intrigued by the liquors on offer, we try the McKenzie and Glorious Gins, and end up buying a bottle of Glorious Gin, which has a really interesting herbal flavor and makes a very good Gibson later that night. We also get two each of the Sciardonné, Bordo, and Shiraz.

Reasons to visit: A chance to taste some experimental and interesting wines in a pleasant setting; availability of local liquors and beer as well; Happy Hour ; with the little shop next store you could buy dinner (except for produce) and something to drink with it as well; an ever-changing roster of wines.

Diliberto Winery April 13, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Cantina, chardonnay, Diliberto Winery, merlot, syrah, Tre April 15, 2013

The trompe l’oeil murals make you feel like you’re in Italy.

http://www.dilibertowinery.com/

“April is the cruelest month,” according to T.S. Eliot, and the weather has certainly borne that out, with a couple of warm days followed by cold and rain. Today is at least sunny, though a bit on the cool side, as we head over to Diliberto’s Winery, one of the places we’ve been to fairly frequently, though not recently. We look forward to sitting in his cozy tasting room with its trompe l’oeil mural of an Italian street scene, listening to Italian opera, and pretending we’ve gone to warm sunny Italy for a day.

The room is presided over by Sal Diliberto himself and his wife Maryann, though Sal is in and out of the room as he ducks into his big kitchen to prepare his homemade pizza and other treats. A table of wine club members is getting wines by the glass and two pizzas for a late lunch or early cocktail hour treat, and we know from past tastes that the pizza is good, with a crisp thin crust and fresh ingredients ($15, and there’s also a cheese platter available). Sometimes, especially in the winter, Sal (also a lawyer, with a practice in Queens) has held cooking classes, showing a room full of tasters how to make pizza, pasta, or gnocchi. He calls this “Sunday with Grandma,” though HE is “grandma”!

In the past we’ve also liked his wines, especially his reds, which tend to complement Italian food very well (no surprise). However, this time our response is rather mixed. Perhaps he’s had an off year or two, since we were last here in 2011—though he does recognize us. The drill here is to order at the small bar, then sit at one of the ten or so tables—more in the summer, when the patio is open—and wait while the server brings each glass. The menu lists four wines for $12, and/or two premium wines for $9, and we opt for one of each, and I’ve marked the premium wines with *. As we sip, we listen to Sal visit with the customers, many of whom are clearly regulars, and to recorded opera (sometimes Sal himself sings, or has a performer in) and watch “Visions of Italy,” a public television show that features aerial views of the cities and countryside of Italy. One could be in a sidewalk café in an Italian village, especially when he emerges from the kitchen with freshly made pizzelles, a little free treat.

2008 Chardonnay $19

An aroma of wet cardboard and acetone greets our nostrils, but we hope the wine tastes better than it smells. This is a very tart, lemony chardonnay, with some notes of unripe pineapple, making it a tough chardonnay to like, though it would probably be okay with oysters or with seafood in a rich white sauce.

Wines are served in good glasses.

2. *2007 Tre $39

A blend of three wines—hence the name—including 65% merlot, 20% cabernet sauvignon and 15% cabernet franc, this should be similar to a Bordeaux. We had really enjoyed the 03 Tre, so we had high hopes for this one. Eh. Brambly aroma, some earthiness, a taste of prunes, some tannin.

3. 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon $25

Hmmm…is wet laundry a wine word? Because that’s what this wine smells like! It is dry, with some blackberry, but would not enter the pantheon of great cabernets, especially as the finish is somewhat sour.

4. 2009 Cantina $18

We’ve liked Cantina in the past, as it is a good Italian table wine, a blend of half merlot and half cabernet franc. A few years ago we signed up for a barrel tasting with Sal and found ourselves and our guests—my brother and sister-in-law—as the only customers. We got into such intense and interesting conversations about wine that my notes stop after the first barrel, the 07 cabernet franc, but we really liked that. However, we find this Cantina somewhat on the thin side, with some earthiness, some tartness, and some fruit. It would be better with pasta than as a sipping wine.

5. *2002 Merlot $31

The tasting menu proudly proclaims that this is a New York State Gold Medal winner, and indeed it is our favorite of the wines we’ve tasted so far, despite a definite aroma of acetone again. We note a good berry taste, nice legs, and not much tannin. It also seems to get better as it sits in the glass, and we like the second taste better than the first.

6. 2009 Syrah $20

This wine would also, we decide, be better with food than as a sipping wine, as it lacks some of the richness and depth one expects from a syrah. The aroma is metallic, and I taste pomegranate. However, we opt to buy a bottle of this and one of the Cantina, as buying two bottles means the tasting is free, and we often need reds to go with Italian food.

Reasons to visit: Sal’s cooking and the chance to chat with him about his wines or food or any other subject; a pretty tasting room; opera instead of the usual folk/rock/jazz music; the 2002 Merlot. An apple orchard is right down the street, and we highly recommend both their apples and their warm cider. One note: prominent signs indicate No Children and No One Under 21 Allowed, so be forewarned.

The piano is not just for show, but gets used by performers.

Osprey’s Dominion April 6, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Flight Edelzwicker, gewurztraminer, Meritage, merlot, North Fork, Osprey's Dominion, Richmond Creek Merlot, sauvignon blanc, Unwooded April 8, 2013

http://www.ospreysdominion.com/

http://ospreysdominion.olhblogspace.com

Having a bachelorette party? Then this may just be the perfect spot for you. We saw at least five during our tasting at Osprey’s Dominion, and our server noted, “I need a drink. I just served three bachelorette parties in a row.” The first part of the long curving bar in the large, airy tasting room is reserved for limo parties, and they get a “special” menu with four tastes, with choices winnowed to two in each category. One group we noted had a rather extensive cheese and cracker platter, but we weren’t sure if they were served it or brought it. A guitar player in one corner varied his somewhat folksy play list to accommodate one group of women who danced in front of him.

On the other hand, we liked many of the wines, and our server had his spiel on each wine well memorized, with useful notes on each, and was happy to make suggestions as to choices and the order in which to drink them. However, another server who took over for him when yet another group of gigglers demanded his attention just poured, with hardly any commentary. We felt somewhat abandoned at that point.

A quick look at the gift items revealed a small assortment of not very creative choices, except for one neat idea: they will let you order a personalized label for some of their wines, though you have to order at least a case.

The menu for those not from a limo offers two options (aside, of course, from buying a whole glass): $8.00 for any five from the menu, or $5 for three choices. A blackboard outside also offered a special of $20 for two tastings and a serving of sausage, cheese and crackers. The “serving” consisted of a small sleeve of Ritz-type crackers, and a pre-packaged box with slices of mild pepperoni and fairly flavorless processed cheese. Not worth it, but we were hungry after a shopping trip to Greenport and a quick stop at our marina to look at our slip for the coming summer (where we spotted two ospreys on their nest, which may have subconsciously influenced our choice of winery). As we frequently do, we ordered different wines so we could taste ten of their offerings, and so tried many of their wines (their website says they have 23, but not all are on the tasting menu). We did not try their sparkling wine, their port, or their spiced wine (served warm).

2011 Sauvignon Blanc $15

Our server notes that this is a good place to start, as it is a fairly neutral wine. The aroma is somewhat flowery, and we note tastes of green apple and lemon. Good, and would be nice with oysters or lobster.

2. 2010 Unwooded Chardonnay $15

“This one is more like a pinot gris than a typical chardonnay,” says our server, and we can see his point. Like other steel-fermented chards it has a mineral aroma and tastes of citrus, especially lime. The first taste on your tongue is a bit sweet, but it quickly turns tart.

3. 2010 Gewürztraminer $20

“This one just jumps out of the glass at you,” said our server, who will soon be moving to North Carolina to take a teaching job. This is certainly a Gewürztraminer that does its own thing, and does not taste like a standard wine from this grape. The aroma combines fermented pear juice and some cat pee (or like the smell of water that flowers have stood in for too long), but is not unpleasant. The flavor is both sweet and somewhat nutty, with a tart finish.

4. 2010 “Flight” Edelzwicker $24

It was interesting to taste this German-style wine next to the Gewürztraminer, since it has some of that grape, as well as Pinot Gris and Riesling in it. We really liked it, and it is an unusual wine for Long Island, which is always fun. The aroma is somewhat mineral, with a slight trace of cat pee, and it tastes like ripe green plums with some sweetness and complexity. It is certainly buyable, though we don’t opt to do so.

5. 2007 Merlot $20

Now we switch to reds, and our server rinses our glasses once again. A lovely aroma of berry and ripe plum, with none of the dirt that one often finds in Long Island merlots meets our noses, followed by good fruit flavors of ripe cherry with hints of chocolate. This is a prize winner, and we agree, and are especially interested to see that it is on sale, for $39 for three bottles, so we plan to buy it. (The last time we were here, a couple of years ago, there was no charge for the tasting when we bought several bottles of wine. Not so this time.)

6. Richmond Creek Merlot $14

It’s so fascinating to find that two wines from the same grape and the same vineyard can be so different. As much as we like the 07 Merlot, that’s how much we dislike this thin, sour, very dry wine. It has no finish, which is fortunate, and I’d hate to have that taste linger on my palate.

7. 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon $20

This one’s just okay, with mineral aroma and a whiff of earth, not much fruit and few tannins.

8. 2008 Cabernet Franc $20

2008 was a very rainy year, and the cab franc suffers accordingly. Though we smell leather and plums, the wine itself is thin, with only a little fruit and not much finish.

9. 2007 Meritage $24

Somewhat of a Bordeaux blend, the Meritage has 67% Merlot, 17% Carmenere, 10% Petit Verdot, and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. We like its aromas of dark cocoa and fruit, and it tastes good, too, with all the ripe fruit flavors lacking in the previous two wines. Our substitute server has to consult a notebook to give us the varietal breakdown.

10. 2007 Reserve Merlot $35

Really good! Lots of ripe berry aroma and plenty of fruit with no dirt make this a better than average Merlot—and they’ve priced it accordingly.

Reasons to visit: Good for a large group, and very accommodating to bachelorette parties; they encourage picnickers in the summer to buy a bottle of wine and use the outside terrace while listening to music; the Flight Edelzwicker (called flight because the owner is also a pilot) and the 07 Merlot; good prices for most of their wines. But this is not the place if you like individual attention and a quiet atmosphere!

Castello di Borghese March 16, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with cabaret songs, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Castello di Borghese, chardonnay, estate, Meritage, merlot, North Fork, pinot noir, reserve, sauvignon blanc March 18, 2013

http://www.castellodiborghese.com/

“March winds do blow/And we shall have snow…” Yes, indeed we shall. As flurries swirled around us, we drove along Route 48, trying to decide on a winery to visit. First we went past Vineyard 48, but the presence of no less than eight buses in the parking lot dissuaded us (but if you want a party, that might be the place for you) and so we headed on down the road to Castello di Borghese, Long Island’s oldest vineyard. It was originally started by the Hargraves, who then sold it to Prince Marco and Princess Ann Marie Borghese (hence the name castello=castle) in 1999.

The pleasant tasting room has two main areas, a nicely set up bar and gift shop area and a larger room with tables and chairs, where Marguerite Volonts was singing beautifully and playing guitar. When she segued from songs like “Autumn in New York” to some French cabaret songs we could imagine we were in Paris. The tasting menu offers two basic options, as well as separate tastings of their more pricey offerings, such as Meritage. You can taste four of their Estate wines for $9.00 or five of their Reserve wines for $12.00, so we opt for one of each. However, as Nancy our server notes our careful swirling and sipping and note-taking, she begins to suspect something, and when Ann Marie Borghese comes out from the back room she asks point blank if I am a blogger. They’re onto me! So we get some additional tastes, but I note that two other groups who also evince seriousness about wine are also given some extras. Borghese also offers an $18 cheese plate.

The following notes are in the order in which we tasted the wines, with the Estate wines marked with a *. Oh, and they were sold out of the Riesling which we wanted to taste.

*2011 Estate Chardonnay $18

This is a fairly typical steel-fermented chardonnay, with aromas of vegetable, mineral, and pine sap. Though not for sipping, it is nicely tart, with notes of green apple and lemon, and would be a good summer wine, maybe with a rich seafood dish.

2. 2011 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay $26

Typical aromas of vanilla and oak greet our noses, but the wine itself is much less buttery than most oaked chards, is a bit too lemony for our taste, and the finish is weak.

3. *2011 Sauvignon Blanc $24

They are quite proud of their Sauvignon Blanc, which has won some competitions, and (having already ascertained that I am a blogger) they give us both tastes of this. I have to admit that it does not knock my socks off (and, as my husband notes, it is hard to knock my socks off), which seems to disappoint them, though it is a pleasant wine. There’s not much aroma, primarily of some minerality, but it tastes better than it smells, though it is very light. I could see having this with oysters (which would probably improve how much I like it), which would highlight the flavors of lemon and herb (thyme?).

The Borgheses are justifiable proud of their reds, and they give two reasons for why they are so good. One is that the vines are older than most others on the North Fork, and the other is that Cutchogue has a very favorable micro-climate, with more sunny days than anywhere else in New York State, giving the grapes more time and warmth in which to ripen. They are expecting great things of the 2012 vintage, since it was the warmest year yet, with a very warm spring followed by a hot summer and a harvest that came just before Hurricane Sandy.

4. *2008 Pinot Noir Estate $30

As we hold the glass up to the light, we comment on the pretty light ruby color of the wine. The aroma has some earthiness as well as sticky berry scents. Though there is not much tannin, the taste is very good, with a balance of sweet and dry and not-quite-ripe Bing cherry tastes. Nice long finish, too.

5. 2008 Pinot Noir Barrel Fermented $48

“The oldest Pinot Noir grapes on Long Island,” we are informed. Aroma? Cedar? Terroir? Pencil shavings! Fortunately, it tastes of berries, not pencil shavings, with nicely balanced tannins and a tart finish. Very good indeed.

6. *2007 Merlot Estate $25

The color of this is slightly darker than the Pinot, but also very attractive. A strong aroma of berries precedes tastes of sweet berry, cedar, and just a touch of tobacco, with a long fruity finish. Excellent, and very buyable, which we do.

7. 2007 Merlot Reserve $30

We love doing side by side tastings of two wines made from the same grape in the same year, but given different treatments. Interestingly, we like the Estate better than the more expensive Reserve, though this is also a very good wine. We again scent cedar and taste lots of fruit, and less sweetness than the Estate Merlot, so perhaps more balanced. The difference in treatment is that the Estate is aged for 13 months and the Reserve for 18, both in oak barrels.

8. *2010 Cabernet Franc Estate $27

Nice legs! No, we’re not being sexist, we’re just commenting on the way the wine forms “legs”—drips, essentially, along the sides of the glass when we swirl it. Aromas of plums and spice herald tastes of dark ripe cherry and spice, and the tannins promise room to grow. Nancy also points out that this has won awards, and would be a good wine to cellar. We agree, and buy two bottles of this as well.

9. 2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve $44

Again, it’s interesting to taste two similar wines side by side. This Cab Franc has more fruit aroma than the other, with some notes of toast and earth but lots of delicious fruit. We taste blackberry, and they say mulberry (which we might agree with if we remembered what mulberry tasted like), and nicely balanced tannins. I’d love to have this with venison or some other lean game, maybe bison from North Quarter Buffalo Farm!

10. *2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate $29

Okay, so if you’re counting you realize that our tasting should be done, but we never turn down extras (and we almost never spit, either). We smell pine tar and fruit, and then taste a dry red with a surprising hint of citrus at the end. We’re not liking this until Nancy offers us drinks of water to refresh our palates, at which point we find it tastes much better. This would be great with pizza or Italian pasta dishes.

11. 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve $44

Lovely aromas with lots of fruit, maybe currants, and not much earthy terroir, this is a good wine, but we’re not sure it is worth the price, since we’re not sure how well it would age. Again, we seem to prefer the Estate version.

12. Meritage $60

I have wandered off to peruse the few gift items, assuming our tasting is over, when I am called back for one last bonus tasting, the Bordeaux-style Meritage. This is a blend, 50% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and it would certainly give a French Bordeaux a run for its money (especially given its great legs). Beautiful color and nice legs, an aroma of mineral and spice, and a really delicious taste of berry and spice make this a wine I’d happily drink any time, though the price would limit when! If you go, definitely taste it, as it is worth the extra fee.

Reasons to go: pleasant room with well-informed and generous servers and the chance to chat with an owner; the red wines, many of which are better than the average Long Island reds (not so much the whites, though maybe the Riesling would have been an exception); avoidance of busloads; a pleasant room in which to sit and listen to music if they are offering that (check their web site).

Vines and Branches March 11, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Vines and Branches; olive oil; vinegar; Favolosa; Cara Cara Orange March 13, 2013

http://www.vinesandbranches.net/

And now for something completely different, as Monty Python used to say. On Main Street in Greenport there is a terrific olive oil and vinegar store. If you want to take a break from tasting wines, stop in here and taste their wares. All the many, many different oils and vinegars are available for trying, with tiny cubes of bread for dunking if you’re not into drinking them straight.

When you walk in to the store an employee will come over and offer to explain how everything works. Take the time to listen, because there are so many choices you might become overwhelmed. The table closest to the door features pure olive oils from various places, arranged from mildest to strongest. The mildest one tastes slightly of freshly mown grass, and is only slightly peppery. A middle one has creamy flavors of artichoke and herbs–Favolosa, it is called, and it is our favorite–while the strongest one is a bit overwhelming. After you make your choice, the salesperson will fill your choice of bottle size from the metal urn, label it, and then seal the top on.

You can also try fused and infused oils and vinegars. “What’s the difference?” I ask. The fused ones have actually been crushed together, while the infused ones have had the flavorings added later. I discover Cara Cara Orange-Vanilla White Balsamic Vinegar, which has a refreshing tart-sweet orange flavor. I’m picturing it on a salad of oranges, olives, and red onion.

As we wander around the store, my son and I note other specialty foods, but decide we have what we need.

At the checkout, your purchases are carefully wrapped in tissue paper and decorated with a bit of ribbon, so if you need to bring someone a house gift, look no further. I now have a loyalty card, and look forward to my free bottle on my tenth visit.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork