Tag Archives: Burger night

McCall Wines: Cherries for the Win

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

April 19, 2024

Ornamental cherry trees line the road to the tasting room.

Cherries for the win?  Have I been playing slot machines?  Nope, just going to a winery during cherry blossom season.  As we walked towards the entrance to McCall’s winery with our friends, the winery aficionados, we paused to admire the blooms on some ornamental cherry trees, noting that the Greenport cherry blossom festival was scheduled for Saturday.  Then, as a nosh with our tastings, we got the fruit and nut tray, on which the star was definitely the juicy dried cherries.  (At $10 I thought it was a bit overpriced.)  And, as we were leaving, I commented that those dried cherries were the star of the day.  Were the wines bad?  No, just underwhelming. 

We had already made some inroads in the nut and fruit tray, but it was still a small serving.

We were headed to a tasting for the second time this week to take advantage of Locals Week.  About twenty-two wineries were offering two for the price of one tastings, with some also featuring 10-15% off bottles of wine.  It seems that no one checks your id, by the way, so even if you are not local you can probably safely enjoy these deals next spring. 

Miguel behind the bar, with a photo of Theodore Roosevelt over his shoulder.

McCall has a cool little tasting room that began life as a stable, and still has stalls, repurposed as nooks for tables, with all sorts of farming bric-a-brac decorating the walls.  We also noted a display of articles about Theodore Roosevelt, and wondered about the connection.  Miguel, the general manager, was manning the bar, and he explained that Russ McCall admired President Roosevelt for his dedication to conservation, a cause Mr. McCall also champions.

This is just a small sample of all the “stuff” on the walls.

The room was also cool in temperature, and we kept our jackets on, even after Miguel turned on a little stove heater next to us. 

We ordered two tastings, with each couple sharing one, and Miguel brought us the wine in little carafes, plus glasses.  He also brought us a bottle of chilled water and some cups, always a nice touch.  We decided to both get the Rouge Flight, of three wines for $25, so we could compare notes as we sipped and chatted.

  •  2016 Estate Pinot Noir                $30

“I much prefer pinot noir from Oregon,” our friend, who has been to several wineries in Oregon, noted.  This wine has the sweet aroma of Cheracol, a cough medicine much favored by my mother when I was little, but is dry, with slight tannins.  It has a bit of a cherry taste, but is not very interesting.  “Okay, but not spectacular,” opined my tasting buddy.

This may look like a lot of wine for one tasting. That’s because our server misunderstood when we ordered, and thought we wanted four flights, not two. Very nicely, he only charged us for what we had ordered.
  • 2016 Estate Merlot        $24

This was our favorite of the day, a fairly typical North Fork merlot, dry, with some taste of not quite ripe plums.  We discussed the prevalence of merlot and chardonnay on the North Fork, figuring they grew well here.  Perhaps the pinot noir grapes are not as happy here as in Oregon?

  • 2018 Field Blend             $26

I assume “Field Blend” means all the grapes for this blend are grown in the same field.  According to their website, this is a blend of 75% merlot, 14% cabernet sauvignon, 6% petit verdot, and 5% cabernet franc.  It has lots of red fruit taste and a slightly funky aroma.  It’s fine, but, again, not exciting.

One of the cozy nooks created by the old stable configuration.

Reasons to visit:  pleasant, quiet tasting room; dogs allowed; burger night, which will recommence on May 16th “and continue every Thursday and Friday 4-8 pm through the summer”; the Estate Merlot.  Burger night features delicious burgers made with beef from the Charolais cattle the McCalls raise, and has become quite popular.  Make reservations if you want to go!  I wrote about it in my blog on August 3, 2023.

No bud break yet!

McCall’s Winery: Burger Night!

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

August 3, 2023

A little over a year ago, we did a tasting at McCall’s Winery, and as I was paying, Mrs. McCall suggested that we come back on a Thursday or Friday night when they serve burgers, made from the Charolais cattle they raise on their property.  Being burger lovers, we fully intended to do so, but never got around to it.  Then our winery aficionado friends proposed that we join them for a burger night.  We were delighted.

When we arrived, the parking lot seemed full, but our friend found a spot toward the back.  As we waited for the hostess, we commented to our friends that we were glad they had made a reservation, as almost all the tables seemed to be full.  There were groups of friends, couples, and families, all relaxing and eating burgers and drinking wine Well, not the kids of course.  There’s ginger ale on the menu, too.

Speaking of the menu, it is quite simple.  You can have your McCall burger with or without cheddar cheese, $15 either way, with or without crispy French fries, an additional $8.  There is also an “Artisanal Cheese Board” for $24.  Oh, and a package of four homemade chocolate chip cookies for $8, which you order at the same time as your meal, and which come cellophane wrapped alongside your burgers. A bottle of chilled water is delivered to your table shortly after you sit down.

So then the big decision was which wine to order.  We quickly agreed to get a red.  When I was there for a tasting, I wrote that if I came for burger night, I would most likely get Ben’s Blend, my favorite of their reds.  However, a look at the menu made me reconsider that choice, as a bottle of Ben’s was $69.  Yikes.  We settled on the Merlot Reserve, which was $32, and was delicious, a fairly typical North Fork merlot, with lots of black cherry taste.

The burgers were meaty and juicy, the fries crisp and salty, the cookies filled with chocolate chips.  We ate, drank, chatted, and enjoyed the mild summer evening.  “See you next week,” we heard a departing patron tell the hostess, and I can see why.  If you just want a burger in a relaxed outdoor setting, McCall’s is clearly the place to go.