Roanoke Vineyard March 10, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cheese shop, Roanoke Vineyard; dry Riesling; Grapes of Roth; The Wild; chardonnay; muscat; Cabernet Franc; Prime Number; North Fork; wine; Love Lane; Mattituck; Cheese Store; Merlot March 13, 2013

http://www.roanokevineyards.com/

We slogged through the slushy remains of the March snow to do some errands on Love Lane in Mattituck, and found the new tasting room for Roanoke Vineyards open in a pretty little storefront, right across the street from the very popular Love Lane Kitchen and just down the block from the worth-a-detour Love Lane Cheese Shop. We had been to their other tasting room, a small barn-style building near the western edge of the “Wine Trail,” and had enjoyed our visits there, especially one day a couple of years ago when they had a paired wine and chocolate tasting. Roanoke also carries wines from Wölffer Estate, on the South Fork, and the wines made under his own label by Roman Roth, the winemaker for both. We were particularly interested to try Roth’s Riesling, which had recently been called the best Riesling on Long Island, so we were disappointed to find it was not on the tasting menu. Not to worry! Robin, the very knowledgeable and chatty server said, “Oh, I have a bottle open, so you can have a taste.” Great. The standard tasting is $10 for four wines, out of a list of eleven, and the pour is quite generous. You can also buy tastes at $3 each, or wine by the glass. The Riverhead room is open until 9 on weekends, but this one is open until 7 on Saturday and 6 on Sunday, at least for the moment. By the way, if you want their wines you’ll have to either go to the tasting room or order them by mail, as at last word they do not sell in restaurants or stores.

2010 Dry Riesling by Grapes of Roth $22

A light and pleasant aroma that combines lemon and wet hay met our noses, as we warmed the glasses in our hands to get the chill off, with a not unpleasant undertone that reminded our son of paint thinner. The taste starts a bit sweet, but then finishes quite tart, with notes of Meyer lemon and green apple. It would be great with turkey or duck, or even on its own, and we decide to buy a bottle, as does our son. I don’t know if it’s the “best” Riesling, but it is certainly very good.

2011 The Wild $20

I was interested to taste this, since I love Channing Daughter’s L’Enfant Sauvage, which also uses wild yeasts. Basically, this is a chardonnay plus a muscat field clone left to ferment with the wild yeasts in the air, and the results were, on the whole, quite successful. The aroma was a bit funky, which worried us, but it tasted delicious. After a somewhat sweet beginning, we began to taste a bit of pepper, some unripe pear, and pink grapefruit on the good long finish. The wine also has a bit of a tingle on the tongue. Very nice.

2009 Cabernet Franc $34

Robin informs us that Roanoke’s field on the far west of the North Fork provides a slightly warmer and longer growing season, which allows them to do a better job of ripening their Cab Franc than other locations. The aroma of sweet blackberry, with a hint of oak, certainly seems promising, but the taste is less so. Perhaps with time? It’s not bad, just a bit flat and lacking in complexity.

2009 Prime Number $40

There’s a complicated story behind this name, and Robin laughs as she explains how they had One and Two and then decided to combine them and make one better wine, but didn’t want to call it Three. Also, prime indicates their ambition for this cabernet sauvignon and merlot blend, as does the pole vaulter on the label. They’ve raised the bar. Indeed they have. This Bordeaux style features aromas of plums and a hint of smoke (but not too much smoke, sometimes an issue), with plenty of cherry and berry flavors and enough tannins to make it a good match for elk or venison or other lean game.

Reasons to visit: Two locations, including a centrally located one on Love Lane in Mattituck, a street worth exploring; Prime Number; Roman Roth’s Riesling; a pleasantly intimate setting; closeness to the Cheese Shop, one of my favorite places on the North Fork, where you can pick up good bread and almost any cheese you would want to buy for a picnic lunch; also close to Bookhampton, one of the few independent book sellers around, well worth a visit,

Long Island Spirits February 17, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Liv, Pine Barrens American, Rough Rider Bourbon, vodka, whiskey February 22, 2013

http://www.lispirits.com/home.html

Although in general we only visit one tasting room per excursion, we made an exception this time so we could try some local bourbon. We have been to the Long Island Spirits tasting room before, but only to taste the vodkas. Our freezer now contains their entire line of vodka and flavored vodkas, but that’s another story. The tasting room is up some shiny wood stairs, which, our son-in-law notes, could be a bit of a hazard after a tasting, into a large barn-like room with views over the fields.

Today we want to try the “brown” spirits. For $13 you can try any two of the three on offer, and you get to keep the glass, plus they give you a little bag of crackers to clear your palate and a small bottle of water. A tasting of three vodkas is $9. The distillery also has a nice collection of t-shirts and gift baskets for sale. Since we’ve just come from Comtesse Thérèse, we all share one tasting!

Pine Barrens American $45

This is a single malt whiskey (not Scotch), with some sweetness and aromas of grain and warm spices. They make it from a barley-wine-style ale, we are told.

Rough Rider Bourbon $40

I’m not sure, but I wonder whether the name commemorates Teddy Roosevelt’s use of the Montauk dunes to train his Rough Riders before they headed to Cuba. In any event, this bourbon is actually mostly crafted in the Midwest, but then aged here in Long Island chardonnay casks. The aroma is of caramel, and while it is okay, it is “not fascinating,” says the son-in-law, an excellent creator of cocktails, and we agree. It would make a good Old Fashioned or Manhattan, which indeed proves true that evening during our home cocktail hour.

Reasons to visit: you’re tired of wine (just kidding); you want to try spirits made locally; you want to buy some vodka or whiskey for cocktail time; interesting flavored vodkas; nice gift baskets.

Comtesse Thérèse February 17, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Aquebogue, blanc de noir, cabernet sauvignon, Canadian Oak, chardonnay, Comtesse Therese, Hungarian oak, merlot, NoFo, rose, Russian oak, sauvignon blanc February 22, 2013

http://www.comtessetherese.com/index.html

It was what Winnie-the –Pooh calls a “blustery day” (This is what happens when you hang out with a 21-month-old.), and we thought we’d check out the Jazz on the Vine program at Jamesport Vineyard. When we couldn’t find a place to park, we left and headed a little way down the road to Comtesse Thérèse, a combination bistro and winery. We had only been there in the summer, when the tasting room is a charmingly disheveled back patio, with cast iron furniture and a view of the herb garden (and of the chef as he steps out of the kitchen to pick some herbs), so we weren’t sure what to expect. The wind blew us around the front and through the door of the restored old house, where we quickly found ourselves in a cozy bar with a friendly and accommodating bartender. Fortunately, since we had promised our granddaughter music, there was quiet jazz playing in the background. The four of us settled into a corner of the bar and looked over the menu. The option of 4 tastes for $8 sounded good, and the bartender intelligently figured out how to give us tastes of 8 wines—four and four—so we could sample a wider selection. Although we didn’t stay for a meal, we have eaten there in the past and been very pleased with its French bistro-style food and emphasis on local produce.

2011 Chardonnay $13

The bartender starts us all off with their steel-fermented chardonnay, which is on sale. An aroma of fresh-cut grass heralds a taste of steel and green apple, with some honey notes. It is surprisingly mellow for an all-steel chard, and a bit unctuous, according to our son-in-law. Very buyable, which we both accomplish.

Russian Oak Chardonnay 2009 $22

Ooh, nice legs, we say. This chard spends 4 months in oak, and we do detect an oaky aroma. The flavor is light, with some notes of Meyer lemon—or maybe lemon dots!

2011 Sauvignon Blanc $28

I think I smell a trace of something metallic as well as the more typical honeysuckle. Nicely dry and a bit grassy, all we need now is a dozen local oysters!

2011 Rosé $22

Well, Croteaux remains the standard of excellence for NoFo rosés. This one has a nice raspberry aroma, but has not much character and is somewhat monochromatic. Well chilled on a hot day it might be fine, and the finish is nice.

2011 Blanc de Noir $24

We like this rosé better, with its apricot aroma and edge of citrus flavor, though it is a bit sweet for our taste.

2008 Hungarian Oak Merlot $24

My notes for this wine are somewhat obscured by a 21-month-old’s “decoration,” but then I gave her a page from my notebook and another pen so she could take notes just like grandma. Although this wine doesn’t have much aroma, it has a pleasant cherry flavor with some earthiness at first and tannins at the end.

2007 Aquebogue Estate Merlot $25 (for the 08)

Noticing our serious approach to the tasting, the bartender gives us the 07 Merlot rather than the 08 because, he says, it is better. We do like it. It has nice fruit with some acidity to add interest.

2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon $30

This one is a favorite with our daughter and son-in-law, who buy a bottle. It has aromas and tastes of black fruits, like plums. It would be good with lamb, because it has enough acidity to cut the fat.

2007 Canadian Oak Cabernet Sauvignon $32

And we prefer this one, and buy a bottle! This is somewhat heavier than the Estate Cab Sauv, with more complexity and cherry flavors as well. It would pair well with steak. The bartender informs us that they are the only winery in the area to use Canadian oak.

Before she opened her own tasting room, we met “Comtesse Thérèse”—actually Tree Dilworth, an attractive young woman—at The Tasting Room, now The Winemaker’s Studio. We had a delightful conversation with her, and were impressed with her passion for wine, but no, she is not actually a “Comtesse”!

Reasons to visit: Cozy attractive bar area in the winter, charming garden in the summer; 2011 Chardonnay,2011 Sauvignon Blanc, 06 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 07 Canadian Oak Cabernet Sauvignon; you can go on after the tasting to have a meal in the pretty, intimate bistro. Oh, and if you want to take notes, they have lots of feather pens.

Channing Daughters Winery February 2, 1213

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Blaufrankisch, cabernet franc, channing daughters, dornfelder, Due Uve, merlot, Mudd, muscat, North Fork, Over and Over, Parrish Art Museum, pinot grigio, Ramato, Sag Harbor, Sculpture Garden, South Fork, Sylvanus, syrah, Tocai Friuliano February 4, 2013

http://www.channingdaughters.com/

We decided to celebrate Groundhog Day with a visit to the South Fork, especially since such a trip is easy in the winter, when we don’t have to contend with the traffic on Route 27. We started with a visit to the new Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill. Designed to be reminiscent of a typical Long Island potato barn, it is a long one-story building, with a soaring roof and multiple skylights, letting in plenty of sunlight on this cold but bright day.

We particularly enjoyed a gallery devoted to William Merritt Chase and his lovely paintings of Long Island scenes as well as his classic portraits. Another room full of Fairfield Porter paintings was also interesting. We then headed to our favorite winery, Channing Daughters. I did write about a visit there last summer, but then we only concentrated on their roses. This time we decided to do a standard tasting.

Channing Daughters is located on Scuttlehole Road, a charmingly rural road just outside of Sag Harbor (which we used to call the un-Hampton, though it is getting more and more Hamptonized). Down a pebbled driveway one comes to the small cozy tasting room, which looks out one side to the vineyard and the other into the cellar, where one can see the huge vats of future wine. The owner of the winery, Walter Channing, named it for his four daughters. He also has decorated the tasting room and the grounds with his wood sculptures, many of them made from whole trees, with the roots on top, carved into various shapes. Here’s one from the parking lot:

On this cold winter day, there were only a few small groups in the tasting room. The very well-informed servers noted that they do not allow bus-loads! The standard tasting that day included six wines for $10. As wine club members our tasting was free, and we could have chosen any wines from a list of about 20, but we decided not to.

1) 2010 Sylvanus $24

Sylvanus is named for the legendary Green Man, the Roman equivalent of Pan, the god of woods and fields, and also for the field where this wine’s grapes are grown. One of the aspects of Channing Daughters we like is their interest in experimentation, and for this wine they used all grapes grown in one field, for a blend of 60% muscot, 30% pinot grigio, and 10% pinot bianco. An aroma of oranges and perfume precedes a nicely dry wine with pleasant fruit and a hint of almond flavor. I would like this wine better with food, rather than as a sipping wine, and it would pair well with local oysters or other briny seafood.

2) 2010 Tocai Friuliano $24

Fermented almost completely in stainless steel, with only a hint of oak, this lovely wine has an almost honey-like texture with a hint of grapefruit at the end. I could see sipping this on a nice summer afternoon, perhaps with some tomato crostini. We also notice that, unlike some places, the wines here are not too cold, and the servers confirm that this is indeed the policy. We like this because when a wine is too cold you can miss the nuances of its taste.

3) 2010 Ramato $34

As a transition from white to red, we sample what is called an “orange” wine, a white pinot grigio fermented on its skins to give it a subtle orange color and interesting complexity. I detect a faint aroma of orange candy and, not surprising given its 6 months in oak, a taste of oak. We decide its somewhat unctuous texture does not make it our favorite, though it would pair interestingly with lemon curd or lemon meringue pie (which, my husband notes, he never eats!).

4) 2010 Due Uve $22

Due uve means two grapes, and that is what this wine contains–syrah and merlot. Because of Long Island’s climate, you’re never going to get “big hot wines,” says the server, and agrees that this wine exhibits the typical local earthiness which some people “go crazy for” and others dislike. We like some earthiness, but not when it overwhelms. This wine has nice fruit–berries–and some hints of black pepper, and just a hint of earth. It spends 16 months in oak. I’m thinking it would be good with pasta with a short ribs sauce.

5) 2008 Sculpture Garden $27

Given that there actually is a sculpture garden on the grounds (ask the server for directions), and that the oldest vineyard (planted in 1982) is named Sculpture Garden, it was perhaps inevitable that one wine would be named this. Plus the merlot grapes in it come from that vineyard. I could see wandering the sculpture garden on a nice warm day with a glass of this easy-drinking wine in hand, but it’s too cold today! A blend of 95% merlot and 5% blaufrankisch, this wine has a pleasant berry aroma and cherry tastes, with some earthiness, some pepper, and not a lot of depth.

6) 2007 Mudd $40

No, the name is not a misspelling of mud! This wine’s grapes come from the North Fork vineyard run by Steven Mudd, a well-known vineyard manager who works with a number of wineries. Terrific wine! This is a Bordeaux blend of 60% merlot, 21% syrah, 9% dornfelder, 5% cabernet franc and 5% blaufrankisch with an aroma reminiscent of a pine forest, and lots of black fruits and plum flavors. Definitely yummy, and would be good with roasted lamb shanks, as its dryness would cut the fat of the lamb while it has enough fruit not to be overwhelmed.

Extra! Because he has it out, the server asks if we would like to try the Over and Over. We would.

7) Over and Over–Variation 5 $37

It is hard to explain the method used to make this wine, so perhaps the best I can do is refer you to Channning Daughters own web site, where it is explained in detail, but basically this is made using the “solera” method, where some wine from various years is combined with wine from other years and then fermented together. We had tried one iteration (probably 3 or 4, muses the server) we did not care for, but this one is definitely a success, with blackberry flavors and aromas. Nice.

http://channingdaughters.com/wine_order/index.php

Reasons to visit: One of best wineries on Long Island, with lots of interesting experiments. In addition to the above listed wines, I also love their L’Enfant Sauvage, made with wild yeast, their Scuttlehole Chardonnay, which is basically our “house” white, and their Research Cab, a good red.

Martha Clara January 5, 2013

Posted by nofowineaux in Uncategorized January 7, 2013

http://www.marthaclaravineyards.com/

We hadn’t been to Martha Clara in years, mostly because it has a very successful and busy tasting room and we tend not to enjoy crowds. So we figured we were pretty safe on a random and chilly January Saturday. However, there were many, many people there! Fortunately, most of them were in the large performance space next to the tasting room, sitting at tables, enjoying the music of a band named Chain Reaction, which was covering songs from Lady Gaga to Michael Jackson. That room also offers a menu of panini and other light snacks, so you can get a glass, half carafe, or bottle of wine (about seven wines were “on tap”) and enjoy the music while you eat and drink. Martha Clara, owned by the Entenmann family of bakery fame, tends to offer many different events, including comedy nights. They also have a small menagerie of animals one can visit, including goats and at least one llama. They also assert they are pet friendly, and leashed dogs are welcome, and we did see at least one dog in the tasting room, but we saw a very sad-looking pooch in the car next to us as we parked.

You enter Martha Clara’s large rustic-looking building through the gift shop, which is fairly large and features spectacularly ugly items as well as some very nice things, plus a refrigerated case with cheeses, etc. The tasting room has several long bars, and there are French posters on the walls. There are three tasting menus: Barrique, $10 for five wines, including both reds and whites; Aromatic, $10 for five white wines; and Reserve, $12 for five of their better wines. We opt for one Aromatic and one Reserve, and tell the chatty and cheerful server that we will be sharing. Unlike in some places, she does not alter the order of the wines to accommodate our sharing, but pours each in the prescribed order. However, we are able to modify the sipping order ourselves, based on the thumbnail sketches she gives of each wine. The Reserve selections are marked with an asterisk *.

*2003 Blanc de Blanc $23.99

We start with one of their sparkling wines, made from chardonnay grapes. It is light and semi-dry, with a bit of green olive aroma and some unripe pineapple notes. This would be a good choice for a sparkling wine to have with food, such as a chicken in a cream sauce.

2011 Sauvignon Blanc $20.99

We allowed this to stand while we tasted the Blanc de Blanc, which turned out to be a good idea, since this, and all the other wines, both white and red, are served a bit too cold for in-depth tasting. In fact, the room itself is rather chilly. We find the aroma of fresh-cut grass preferable to the somewhat funky taste of this wine, which has a rather sour finish. Not one I would care to drink.

2010 Semillon $20.99

This is a grape one rarely finds on Long Island. The wine has a honeysuckle aroma and is both tart and sweet. Light, it would make a pleasant summer sipper on the porch.

*2010 Estate Reserve Chardonnay $25.99

This is their only oak-aged white, and has, our server notes, won many medals, and one can smell the characteristic aromas of oak and vanilla. The taste has lots of vanilla as well, with a butterscotch finish. It would be good with spicy food, such as Indian curries.

2011 Pinot Grigio $19.99

Pinot Grigio is my go-to wine when I have to order a glass from that familiar neighborhood restaurant litany of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, etc., as it is usually pretty reliably potable, and not too sweet. Martha Clara’s Pinot definitely fits that description, as it is good, with some tastes of citrus and pineapple, and would be drinkable either with food or just for sipping. If we needed a white at home I could see buying this.

2010 Chardonnay $18.99

Steel fermented, with aroma of peaches and some citrus flavors and nice fruit, this is a buyable white, and we like it better than the barrel fermented chardonnay.

2010 Viognier $21.99

This is one of the wines on tap, and we notice our server dispensing it from the tap rather than a bottle. Both the aroma and the taste remind us of very ripe pineapple, though the server mentions lemongrass as a flavor. It’s also a bit pleasantly petillant.

*2010 Estate Reserve Merlot $32.99

We have let this sit while we have the chardonnay and the viognier, but it is still somewhat too cold. Long Island merlots tend to have a tobacco aroma and a blackberry taste, and this wine does, too. It has enough tannins that it may last a few years and be better for it.

*2007 6025 $39.99

Our server explains the name: it is the address of the tasting room. She also says that this is their best red, and it is a not entirely traditional Right Bank Bordeaux. 6025 combines 45% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Syrah, 6% Petit Verdot, and 5% Malbec. The aroma is of raspberries and other red fruits, and the taste is nicely fruity with a dry finish, but does not seem worth $40 to us. At the end, there is a slight undertone of sawdust.

*Clusters $29.99

Hello, Pesach! This dessert wine, in a slim bottle, tastes remarkably like Cheracol cough syrup or red candy.

2009 Syrah $26

As we’re getting ready to pay and leave, the server comes over with one more taste, and tells us they’re giving a free extra taste to everyone. I’m glad the taste is free, because this sour watery wine is one I wouldn’t buy in a million years.

Reasons to visit: lots of agritainment, with both children and dogs welcome; Blanc de Blancs, Pinot Grigio, steel fermented Chardonnay, Viognier.

10 of the Reasons Why I Love the North Fork

Posted by nofowineaux in Summary Recommendations, Uncategorized and tagged with A Mano, Briermere, Catapano, Cooper's, D'latte, food, Founder's Tavern, goat cheese, Greenport, Hellenic Snack Bar, McCall's, Michelangelo's, North Fork, North Fork Table and Inn, oysters, pasta dishes, restaurants, Riverhead, Tweed's Bison Bar, vineyards, wineries December 27, 2012

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Laurel Lake Vineyards December 2, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, gewurztraminer, Laurel Lake. Syrah, North Fork, pinot noir, riesling, sauvignon blanc, winter December 6, 2012

http://www.llwines.com/

In the winter, the North Fork is even more laid back than in the summer. (In fact, the only intense season is October, when the pumpkin-pickers and maze-wanderers coincide with the harvest-season wine-tasters to actually cause traffic on Main Road and Sound Avenue.) However, the wineries are still open, though for some only on the weekends; most of the restaurants are still open, though some close for the season; and a few farm stands are still open, featuring Brussels sprouts and winter squash. On an unseasonably warm December afternoon, with fog shrouding the vineyards, we decided to head to Laurel Lake Vineyards, on Main Road near Laurel Lake Park.

The tasting room is housed in a pretty building that looks like an old-fashioned Colonial farm house, with a wide veranda and stained glass windows. On one side of the veranda there is a large seating area, screened at this time of year by plastic sheeting from the elements. Inside, the tasting bar is attractively designed to look like a saloon bar, with a large mirror behind it. They have a small selection of wine-related gifts—t-shirts, stoppers, etc.—and some local art for sale.

The tasting menu is divided into whites and reds, and a standard tasting is any three for $7, with a fairly generous pour (plus the usual wines by the glass or bottle). Since there are eight reds and nine whites to choose from, we will have to return! Unfortunately, I was suffering from a sore throat (but not yet the stuffy nose that arrived the next morning, thank goodness) so we opted not to share, and I took three reds and my husband took three whites. The server was candid in his recommendations on which to choose, and I liked his choices for the reds.

Whites

2012 Sauvignon Blanc $19.99

A pleasant grassy aroma forecasts a clean grapefruit-y taste, with some sweet notes, almost as if it had been in oak, though it is a steel-fermented wine. This would be good with seafood or for sipping.

2012 Gewurztraminer $21.99

He finds this one too sweet, so much so that it is not a good capture of the varietal. Rather than fruit, it tastes more like honey, so I suppose this could function as a dessert wine. We also note that the whites are being held in a wine refrigerator set at 44 degrees, which seems a bit too cold to us. We mention this to the server, who laughs and notes that some people actually ask them for ice to put in the wine, which they do not have. “Room temperature” in the past meant chillier than room temperature now, but we find we prefer our wines warmer than they are often served.

2010 Riesling $19.99

This one is also sweet, but “not unbearably so,” and would be good with spicy food. Though it starts sweet with some buttery notes it ends with a bit of a tang.

Reds

2009 Pinot Noir Reserve $29.99

So there is a school of thought that sees the “reserve” moniker as a bit of a scam, but I’m willing to allow it! Though there’s not much aroma to this wine, it has a nice dry berry taste. It’s good, though a bit thin on the finish.

2008 Cabernet Franc $21.99

I really like this one! There’s some eucalyptus aroma, and red berry tastes, with what their tasting notes call a “smooth velvety finish.” They also say it’s good with steak, and I agree. Buyable!

2009 Syrah $19,99

This, as my grandma said with each new grandchild and then great-grandchild, “beats the bunch.” There’s lots of fruit on the nose, with yummy blackberry and some green pepper tastes. Since it is not as heavy as some Australian syrahs, I could see this as cutting the fattiness of a lamb dinner. They also suggest having it with pastas and smoked ham. This is a slightly unusual grape for Long Island, but I happen to like syrahs (and shirazes) in general. Very buyable, and we do, buying one of this and one of the cab franc.

We have heard that some of the owners and winemakers are Chilean, and wonder if this explains the sweetness of the whites. The tasting menu also includes a list of restaurants where you can find their wines, and I can see why a number of places would feature these pleasant, well-priced wines.

Reasons to visit: pretty tasting room, generous pour, lots of different wines to taste, very reasonable prices, 08 Syrah and 08 Cab Franc, sweet whites if you like them!

Clovis Point Vineyard November 17, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Archaeology, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Clovis Point Vineyard, merlot, North Fork, rose November 19, 2012

http://www.clovispointwines.com/

Just like my last entry, this one also has a link to Long Island history. However, instead of going back to the 19th century, this one goes back about 10,000 years, to when the people who lived on Long Island hunted woolly mammoths with stone tools, like the clovis point used by this winery as its name and symbol.

On a brisk but beautiful November day we continued our recovery from hurricane Sandy with a visit to this winery. When we pulled into the parking lot, we were at first a bit concerned by the presence of two large buses and a limo, but when we entered the attractive converted barn serving as a tasting room we were relieved to note that one large party was out on the lawn and another in the awninged side veranda, and there was room at the tasting bar. A band called the Earthtones was playing folk rock, a bit too loudly for our taste, but the music was pleasant, and we also enjoyed looking at the paintings of local scenes on the walls (all for sale, some at very reasonable prices). They also have cheese trays and chocolate pairings available for about $10.

There are three tasting menu options, plus of course wines by the glass and bottle, which we saw several groups doing. You can have the “Cold” tasting, three whites and one rose for $8; the Reds, four reds for $10; or the Premium, also all reds, for $14. We opted for one Cold and one Premium, planning to share as usual.

1. 2010 Chardonnay $18

According to our well-informed server, all their whites tend to the light and bright side. This steel-fermented chard is light, with a lemon aroma, and a taste that reminds us of lemon candy. A bit too sweet for us, but if you like your chards on the sweet side you might like this one. It contains 1.3% Gewurtzraminer, which might account for some of the sweetness.

2. 2011 Chardonnay $18

However, this chard also has 1% Gewurtz, and yet is quite different. The aroma is somewhat like chamomile tea, and though it is also steel-fermented it is quite mellow, with some notes of honey, and nice legs. Buyable! This would be a pleasant sipping wine, and the server points out that it won a gold medal. We discuss how interesting it is that essentially the same grapes can have such different tastes.

3. 2008 Barrel Chardonnay $25

So this is their oaked chard, having spent 10 months in oak barrels. It has a somewhat off-putting smell of rotten wood, though the taste is fine. As it sits in my mouth, I taste vanilla, oak, and burnt pear. Though not unpleasant, I don’t particularly care for it. As we discuss it, the server gives us a taste of the 2009 Barrel Chardonnay for comparison. What a difference! We like this one much better, with tastes of butterscotch and refreshing citrus. This also spent 10 months in oak.

4. Clovis Point Rose $20

Made from cabernet franc grapes which spent three days on the skins, this is a pleasant rose with tastes and aromas of watermelon and strawberry, and would make a nice summer sipping wine. I could see having it well iced with a few strawberries in it.

Now we move on to the Premium tasting, for which we get a clean glass, always a nice touch. We also notice that those who buy a few bottles of wine get an attractive cloth bag to carry them in. (And if you buy three bottles, the tasting is free.)

5. 2008 Cabernet Franc $27.50

Our server characterizes this as “European style,” and notes that it won a silver medal. The aroma is “forest,” we decide, some fruit, some oak, a bit of smoke. The taste is good, with dark cherry fruit and also a bit of smoke and oak. This, we decide, is buyable.

6. 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon $27.50

Though primarily cab sauv, this wine also has 2% merlot and 2% cab franc, and 07 was only the second year they made it. This is also a good and buyable wine, with an aroma of cedar and berries and tastes of red plum. The tannins are soft, and it is easy to drink. I think I’d like it with duck, but not in any kind of complex sauce.

7. 2007 Vintner Select Merlot $35

Again a blend, the merlot is 85% merlot, 6.5% cab sauv, 2.5% syrah, and 1% petit verdot. This one also won a medal, this time double gold, we are told, and that it is called “select” rather than “reserve” because they are saving the term “reserve” for really exceptional wines. An aroma of smoke and coffee preceeds a somewhat odd but pleasant flavor I think tastes like lychee fruit.

8. 2007 Archaeology $60

How did this blend of merlot, cab sauv, cab franc, petit verdot and syrah get this name? They had a contest, with the wine club members voting on the anonymously contributed names. As it happened, this was the name the owner submitted…The aroma has some of that earthy terroir, and also black fruits. The wine is fairly dry, with nice fruit and is good, but not worth the $60. However, if you join the wine club it is only $40, and at that price would be worthwhile!

Reasons to visit: Pleasant tasting room with cheese trays available; good 2011 Chardonnay and 09 Barrel Chardonnay; also some good reds; art for sale; well-informed servers; nice rustic view from the veranda.

Paumanok Winery October 27, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Assemblage, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Festival Chardonnay, Festival Red, merlot, oysters, Paumanok, riesling, rose, Tuthills Lane November 4, 2012

http://www.paumanok.com/

“Blow, blow sea winds along Paumanock’s shores/I wait and I wait till you blow my mate to me!”–Walt Whitman

Who knew that our visit to the Paumanok tasting room a day before hurricane Sandy would come to seem so prophetic, since as we arrived there I quoted the above lines from a poem by Whitman about a lovelorn seagull. He liked to use the old Native American name for Long Island, and so, apparently, does this vineyard.

Paumanok had somewhat fallen off our radar because it is not included in a map of the wineries published by a wine growers association. According to our well-informed and intelligent server, some years they choose to join, and some they don’t. In any event, their Festival Red had been mentioned in an article on $20 wines by Eric Asimov, so we decided to check them out.

The tasting room is a pleasant, barn-like space, with a tasting bar that could be bigger and a large patio area outside. They offer four different tasting options (aside, of course, from the usual by the glass or bottle prices): Festival Flight, $8 for 4 (mixed red and white); Paumanok White, $9 for 3; Paumanok Red, $12 for 3; or Grand Vintage, $15 for 4. We opted for one Festival and one Grand Vintage flight, and our server re-arranged the order of the wines to maximize the correct tasting order.

1. 2011 Festival Chardonnay $16.99

This is a light “spritzy” white, with lovely green apple or pear blossom aromas and tastes of pears and minerals. Nicely tart.

2. 2011 Semi-Dry Riesling $19.99 AND 2011 Dry Riesling $22 (not actually on on the tasting, but she gives it to us so we can compare)

Hmmm…the aroma of the semi-dry reminds us of some goldenrod honey friends of our made, and so does the taste. Pleasant, but we prefer the dry one.

How interesting that the same grape can give such different results! The Dry Riesling has an aroma of lemon-lime, with lots of flavors, some flower, some gooseberry. Excellent and very buyable!

3. 2011 Dry Rose $17.99

They blend all four of their reds–merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and petit verdot–for this pleasant rose. The aroma reminds us of wet grout (Next time you repair your bathroom tiles, see what you think of that smell.), and there is the typical strawberry taste of a rose.

4. 2011 Festival Red $19.99

This is a blend of the same four reds, and is the one mentioned in the Asimov article (as our server also points out). Well, we agree–this is a very buyable and good red, with blackberry and some spice flavor, with some tannin. It reminds us of another everyday red we like, Red Rooster from Old Field.

5. 2010 Assemblage $50

This, clearly, is from the Grand Vintage tasting, and is very good, but not worth the price. It is a blend, with 21% petit verdot, so it is a fairly big red. Perhaps with time…?

6. 2010 Cabernet Franc Grand Vintage $45

Interestingly, the aroma of this one once again reminds us of goldenrod honey. The taste, however, is of cherry, with some woody notes, and is very fresh. Our server notes that it will age well. Good.

7. 05 Cabernet Sauvignon Tuthills Lane Vineyard $60

They have three different parcels of land (of about 30 acres each), so this one is named for the particular place where the vines are grown. The aroma is cherry and mineral, and the wine is dry but soft, with some lovely fruit flavors. We are informed that Robert Parker gave it a 90, and the quote from him is almost delirious. Perhaps he got a bit carried away?

8. 07 Merlot Tuthills Lane Vineyard $60

Not much aroma to this one, with some fruit/berry taste and some wood. Parker (according to the tasting menu) described the taste as “cherry pit” and gave it a 92. Not sure why.

But wait, there’s more! Out on the patio, in the calm before the storm, they are selling platters of oysters, $20 for a dozen. So we buy two glasses of the Dry Riesling ($6 each) and pay for a plate of oysters and enjoy the late October sun on the patio as we gaze out at the vineyard. The oysters are wonderful–essence of ocean! Too good to even need a squirt of lemon, they are fresh and brimming with liquid, and come, we are told, from Peconic Bay right near Southold. The wine goes perfectly with them, and I decide this is a great way to start celebrating my birthday (which I will continue that evening with dinner at Noah’s in Greenport).

Reasons to visit: Pleasant tasting room with well-informed servers (and buses and limos by appointment only); Festival Red, Dry Riesling; oysters if they have them.

Palmer’s Winery March 24, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, North Fork, Palmer, Pinot Blanc, reserve chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, Select Reserve October 26, 2012

If you like the atmosphere of a British pub, you’ll like the look of Palmer’s tasting room. We went there on an early spring afternoon, after stopping at Bayview for fresh local spinach and horseradish root, before I started this blog, so this is a catch-up entry. The cozy room has comfortable booths and signs on the walls advertising British products, stand-up tables, and more outside room for the summer. The tasting room is towards the back of the property, as the front building houses their cellar and production facility, of which you can take a self-guided tour.

The tasting menu offers six different flights of three wines each, for $8-$10. They also sell a cheese and cracker tray and bags of North Fork potato chips for $3. We opt for the Winemaker’s Reserve white and red tastings, planning as usual to share, and the server brings our glasses to a booth. Generous pour!

1) Pinot Blanc 2010 $19.99

This is a very nice white, aged on the lees. It has a spicy aroma, with some hints of cinnamon or allspice. We sense some peach taste, some minerality, and some acidity, with a back of the mouth sweetness. Overall, this is a dry crisp wine and would pair well with oysters.

2) Sauvignon Blanc 2010 $19.99

Calling Dr. Brown! The aroma reminds us of celery soda or seeds. Less acid than the Pinot, we taste a fruit salad of apple and grapefruit. This somewhat interesting wine has a front taste that is a bit acid, and end that is flat and apple-y, and is, we decide, a food wine, not a sipping wine.

3) Reserve Chardonnay $18.99

Aged in French oak, this is a fairly typical Long Island Chard, with aromas of vanilla and toast. We taste ripe peach as it opens up, with a citrus after taste. I’d like this with lobster or a chicken dish.

4) 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon $24.99

This simple red has a blackberry bramble aroma and berry taste, a bit on the sweet side, though the aftertaste is dry. Nice.

5) 2008 Cabernet Franc $28.99

Nice sipping wine, we judge, with aromas of blueberry and other berries and a pleasant but unassertive taste. A bit sweet for us, with not much in the way of finish.

6) Select Reserve $28.99

Bordeaux, here we come. This is a classic Bordeaux blend of Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, and Merlot, though the taste is not quite as good as a “real” Bordeaux. The aroma is of berries, with some minerality, and the flavor reminds us of stewed prunes (which I happen to like). Maybe given time?

None of the wines are bad, though we don’t choose to buy any. If I did, I’d probably get the Pinot Blanc.

Reasons to visit: Comfortable tasting room, if you get a booth. Pleasant pub-like decor. Generous pour, and we liked all the wines, though we loved none of them.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork