Martha Clara: Playground or Winery? September 3, 2016

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

https://www.marthaclaravineyards.com/

The capacious “backyard” of Martha Clara.

Plenty of room for dogs and children.

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

Food truck!

Noah’s menu

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

No room in the Members Only barn

The bars were pretty crowded, too.

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

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

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

2014 Gewürztraminer Estate Reserve $27

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

2012 Cabernet Franc $27

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

2013 Merlot $24

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

2012 Syrah (Cote Rotie Style) $24

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

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $30

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

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

2013 Estate Reserve Chardonnay $27

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

2014 Northern Solstice Blend $18

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

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $22

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

2014 Pinot Grigio $22

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

2013 Estate Reserve Riesling $26

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

2014 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir $37

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

2013 Northville Red (Bordeaux style) $27

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

2013 Estate Reserve Merlot $35

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

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

Also, horse and wagon rides.

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

The gift shop has a bunch of local products.

Palmer Vineyards: Fun Hanging Out August 20, 2016

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

http://www.palmervineyards.com/

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

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

We enjoyed his performance.

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

The “charcuterie platter” and some whites.

2015 Albariῆo $27.99

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

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $24.99

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

The bar on the veranda

2014 Viognier $24.99

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

2015 Pinot Blanc $21.99

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

2014 Syrah $24.99

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

The indoor space is particularly nice in the winter.

2014 Merlot $24.99

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

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $28.99

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

The bachelorette party organizing for a photo.

2012 Cabernet Franc $28.99

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

Rainy day!

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

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

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

I like this pattern on the side of the bar.

Pellegrini Vineyards: Refuge from the Rain August 10, 2016

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

http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com/

Our view was of the rain lashing the courtyard.

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

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

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

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

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

2015 Rosé $19.99

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

A tray of whites.

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $24.99

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

2014 East End Select BBQ Red $18.99

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

Mostly reds

2011 Petit Verdot $29.99

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

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

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

2014 Medley White $21.99

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

2015 Stainless Steel Chardonnay $19.99

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

2014 Chardonnay $19.99

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

2010 Merlot $29.99

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

2012 Cabernet Franc $29.99

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

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

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

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

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

Lieb Cellars: Très Èlégant May 21, 2016

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

http://liebcellars.com/

The somewhat industrial looking outside belies the very attractive inside.

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

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

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

The hostess will show you to your table.

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

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

2011 Reserve Blanc de Blancs $30

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

Three whites

2014 Reserve Pinot Blanc $22

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

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $26

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

One can also sit at the bar.

2014 Reserve Merlot $24

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

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

2014 Reserve Cabernet Franc $40

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

2013 Reserve Meritage $35

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

Comfy chairs and couches abound.

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

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

Laurel Lake: The Personal Touch May 14, 2016

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

http://www.llwines.com/

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

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

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

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

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

Some of the gift items

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

2015 Pinot Gris $21.99

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

2014 Chardonnay $18.99

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

The pour is fairly generous.

2013 Chardonnay Estate Reserve $23.99

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

2014 Gewürztraminer $22.99

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

Wind Song Red $17.99

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

2012 Pinot Noir Reserve $29.99

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

2011 Syrah $19.99

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

One cabernet

And the other cab

2011 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve $25.99

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

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

Nice decor

We liked the syrah.

We indeed felt welcome.

Sign of spring!

Diliberto Winery: Sal’s Place April 16, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Campania, Cantina, chardonnay, Diliberto Winery, Italy, merlot, North Fork, Sal Diliberto, sauvignon blanc, Tre, wine tasting April 18, 2016

http://dilibertowinery.com/

A view to the vines, still pretty bare.

Hang out in Diliberto’s tasting room for more than about ten minutes and you are likely to meet Mr. Salvatore Diliberto himself. He may emerge from the kitchen with a dusting of flour on his shirt from the thin-crust pizza he makes or enter from the cellar, where he has been guiding a barrel tasting. We’ve been there enough times that he recognizes us, so he sat down at our table to chat for a few minutes. He’s a friendly guy, and passionate about his wine-making.

The room feels like a piazza in Tuscany–almost.

He also loves Italy, as you can tell from the moment you enter the cozy tasting room (augmented by a semi-enclosed outdoor patio) with its trompe l’oeil murals of a “Tuscan hill town” and its sound track of Italian pop music or opera. Scenes from an aerial film of Italy are projected on a flat screen TV over the piano which is sometimes used for performances of live opera, on occasion sung by Sal himself. In addition, he guides tours of the Campania region of Italy. We think it might be fun to go on one of his tours, as we have enjoyed several cooking demos he has given in the tasting room.

It's fun to look over at the video and try to identify which town is being shown. Oh look, that's Siena!

It’s fun to look over at the video and try to identify which town is being shown. Oh look, that’s Sienna! A marble quarry? Pisa and its Leaning Tower!

Your wine tasting, which is brought to your table in attractive round-bottomed glasses, is accompanied by a snack of your choice from the menu. We had olives and cheese and crackers. You can choose three wines for $13 or five for $21. There are six wines on the menu, so we opted to share a tasting of five, which today did not include the rosé. We also noted that glasses of wine are $10, so if you wanted to come for a lunch of pizza and a glass of wine you could have lunch for $37—which we saw two twenty-something couples doing (note that the winery is adults-only, no children allowed). Not a bad deal for the North Fork.

Snack!

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $29

We like the pleasantly flowery aroma and dryness of this steel-fermented wine. It is lemony with nice acidity, and tastes better once our snack arrives and we drink it with the provolone and crackers.

The line-up

2014 Chardonnay $30

This oaked chard is described on the menu as “buttery,” and we agree. In general I prefer un-oaked chards, but this one is nice. You can smell the vanilla from the oak casks, and the wine is a bit sweet, so we think lots of people would like it. I would not advise eating olives with it, however, as the two tastes do not enhance each other.

2013 Merlot $29

Soft, is the first word I think of to describe the aroma of this rather typical merlot, and green is what I think of the taste. It’s a bit thin, a bit tannic, and overall just okay. We notice some sediment in the glass, and would like to ask Sal about it, but he has disappeared into the kitchen from which two freshly baked pizzas soon emerge.

2014 Cantina $27

If you think of a casual red and white checked tablecloth Italian restaurant, you will be right on track for the taste of this wine. We like it, and think it would pair beautifully with pizza or pasta. The aroma has a slight note of hay or grass, the taste of this mixture of half merlot, half cabernet franc is more rounded than the merlot by itself. My husband says “balanced,” and I agree, though he disputes my thought of sweet stewed prunes for the taste. It goes great with the cheese. We buy a bottle.

2013 TRE $37

Tre means three, and there are three grapes in this Right Bank Bordeaux-style wine: 65% merlot, 20% cabernet sauvignon, and 15% cabernet franc. At first we’re not bowled over, but actually as the wine sits we like it better. Perhaps it needs more aging, as the menu suggests. We smell black cherry, but the taste lacks depth. Not bad, but not worth the price.

Array of bottles

Reasons to visit: a calm, pretty room in which to sip wine or enjoy lunch; the sauvignon blanc and the Cantina; the pizza; snacks; you can pretend you’re in Italy; Sal.

View to the patio

The Winemaker Studio: Moment of Fame March 26, 2016

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

http://anthonynappawines.com/tws_home.html

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

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

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

Our server did a great job.

2014 Anomaly $19

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

Pretty color

2013 Sciardonné $20

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

The 2016 H2O vintage…

2014 Bordo $20

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

The famous Bordo

2014 La Strega $22

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

The witch!

2013 Tredici $35

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

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

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

Pindar: Sunshine on a Cloudy Day February 20, 2016

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

http://www.pindar.net/

It was a cloudy day as we headed to Pindar.

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

We quite enjoyed her singing.

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

One view of the bar–one of the bars!

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $14.99

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

*Autumn Gold $10.99

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

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

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

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

2013 Peacock Chardonnay $9.99

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

2013 Sunflower Chardonnay Special Reserve $18.99

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

2013 Cabernet Franc $21.99

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

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $18.99

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

Pegasus, the flying horse

2013 Merlot $18.99

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

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

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

2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon $34.99

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

2010 Reserve Merlot $34.99

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

Lots of snacks

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

Plenty of room at the bars

Pretty stained glass window

Clearly they’ve won lots of awards.

Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard: It Helps to be First January 30, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Angel Chardonnay, Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Farm house rescue and sanctuary, horse rescue, Long Island, merlot, Mirage, North Fork, Sweet Isis, White Satin, wine tasting February 1, 2016

http://www.baitinghollowfarmvineyard.com/

The first winery you come to on Sound Avenue, traveling west to east as most visitors do, is Baiting Hollow, and I can’t help but wonder if that has contributed to its popularity. To be fair, its tasting room is located in an attractive building that is based on what was originally a farmhouse built around 1861, it has an extensive food menu so you can easily have lunch there, and it has an attractive charity to which it donates the profits of certain wines. It also frequently features musical entertainment, welcomes limos and buses, and its wines are all crowd pleasers.

The band was warming up when we left.

The charity is interesting. They operate a horse rescue sanctuary, where they house horses which were destined for slaughter. If the day had been warmer, we might have gone out back to take a peek at them. We did spot one horse through a window. In the summer, they offer pony rides for children. A number of their wines are marked with a horse’s head on the menu. These wines are named for particular horses, and the profits from their sale are donated to their charity, as are the profits from the pony rides.

Considering their charity, this photo was not surprising. Note the clever use of a wine bottle, too.

The food menu, in addition to the expected snacks and cheese plates, also included today warm soups and chili, and such dishes as “merlot meatball sliders” for $12.99. We saw several family groups eating lunch when we were there, early in the day on Saturday.

We were glad we went early, since most of the time when we go past Baiting Hollow we are scared away by the crowds of cars and limos. Today it was nice and quiet, though a band warming up promised livelier times to come. Instead we had peace in which to savor the wines, and a server who seemed to know all about them.

The tasting menu offers several options for one ounce tastes: one taste for $4, three for $9, four for $11, or six for $16. We opted to share one six-taste flight, chosen from a menu of three whites, two rosés, four reds, and two dessert wines. Our server apologetically gave us tickets for the six, assuring us that he would remember where we were. We opted to sample our choices at a nearby table, returning to the bar for each new one.

One of the bars.

White Satin 2013 $27.99

This is a blend of a couple of different whites with an aroma of chalk or stone and peach pit. Happily, it tastes better than it smells. White Satin is a dry, fairly tart white with tastes of blood orange or tangelo and maybe kumquat, with some interest. My tasting buddy objects to the finish, saying, “I don’t want that taste in my mouth.” It would be better with food, maybe a nice fresh bluefish. I like to bake bluefish fillets on top of potatoes, with a few slices of bacon on top.

Angel Chardonnay 2013 $27.99

One of the horse charity wines, this is typical of those Long Island chardonnays which have spent some time in oak and some in stainless steel. When you smell it you can detect traces of the wood, plus some mineral and lemon aromas, and the taste includes both lots of lemony citrus and a touch of vanilla (from the oak). Nice. It would also go well with local fish, perhaps the blackfish I oven “fried” several times this fall.

2007 Merlot $26.99

We decide to skip the rosés and the riesling, thinking they might be too sweet for our tastes, and move on to the reds. No new glass. Sniff. “Gasoline?” says my husband, perhaps a bit influenced by all the time he spent last week behind our snow blower. I tilt more towards berries, but I get what he means. There is a sweet slightly chemical aroma. The taste is light and pleasant, with a touch of smoke but not enough to be unpleasant. While not for sipping, this would be fine with chicken or game birds.

Mirage $27.99

Another wine named for a horse, with proceeds going to the horse rescue, this is their Bordeaux blend, a mixture of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. Again, this is a fairly light red, not complex, dry, with berry tastes, and is pleasant enough. Though it would not stand up to a steak, it would be fine with veal or lamb. The tasting notes say “bold.” I say not so much.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $28.99

You can’t tell a wine by its smell, an adage I just made up, is certainly exemplified by this wine, which smells kind of funky but tastes quite good. It’s my favorite so far, with lots of mouth-watering acidity and fruit. It is easy to drink, either as a sipper or with food, and is just the right amount of dry.

Cabernet Franc 2012 $28.99

Just as my husband wonders whether one can actually tell one North Fork red from another, we try this one. The aroma is quite different from the cab sauv—somewhat reminiscent of Cheracol, that old cough syrup, with no funkiness—and so is the taste. Lots of blackberry, we decide simultaneously, nice and dry, and less fruity than you’d expect from the aroma. If I were having roasted Crescent Farms duck breast I’d pair this wine with them.

The glass of Sweet Isis.

Sweet Isis $32.99 (for 375 ml.)

No, we did not get a free taste! I decided I wanted to taste one of the dessert wines, and my husband accidentally came back to our table with a whole glass of Sweet Isis. A taste would have been $5. The last of the horse rescue wines (thus named for a horse, not a certain group), this is a white wine dessert wine, with lots of fresh pear and apple tastes. I was concerned that a whole glass of it with no food (blue cheese would have been perfect) would cloy, but somehow as we sat and chatted and sipped it all disappeared. It was sweet, but appropriately so, and could also go with charcuterie as well as with a cheese platter. Very likable.

Food was served at this bar.

Gift items

Reasons to visit: it’s the first winery you come to; horses!; lots of food options; music; you don’t mind crowds; lots of gift items; the Angel Chardonnay, the cabernet sauvignon, the cabernet franc, the Sweet Isis.

Their rules

Kontokosta Winery: Sounds Good to Me January 17, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Blum Merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Estate Merlot, Field Blend, Greenport, Kontokosta Winery, Long Island Sound, North Fork, Old Mill Inn, Orient Chardonnay, oysters, riesling, sauvignon blanc, viognier January 19, 2016

http://kontokostawinery.com/

Windows line the walls of the tasting room.

It was time to revisit Kontokosta Winery, with its lovely location overlooking the Long Island Sound, and we found the perfect reason to go there. We recently learned that old friends of ours had bought a house near Greenport, but, what with work on the house and not much time for other activities, had yet to visit a winery. Well, we said, it is high time to remedy that situation, and they were happy to go with Nofowineaux to a winery so close to their house.

Proving that you can’t rely on last year’s review, a major change in the menu switched the Anemometer white and red from their least expensive wines to their priciest—and they weren’t even on the regular tasting menu, but needed a supplement of $5 each to taste. So I can’t tell you if they’re worth it, but many of the other wines are.

Our server was proud to point out that they had won some gold medals.

The menu offers five whites for $15 or four reds for $15, so we opted to share one of each, and our friends chose to follow our lead. Since it is a carefully metered one-ounce pour, that was fine. They also have a menu of snacks and sweets and non-alcoholic drinks (called “Sound Bites,” a play on their location and their motto of “Sound Wines”), and forbid outside foods.

The tasting room is a high-ceilinged large space, with tables and a bar, where we opted to stand. Considering it is January, we were impressed by how many people were there, but it was a three-day weekend. Our server did a good job of keeping track of where we were in our tasting, and, as she saw our seriousness, began to give us more information on each wine.

A few gift items, including olive oil, are offered.

2014 Orient Chardonnay $22

Like many North Fork tastings, this one began with their steel-fermented chardonnay, which our friend compared to a “non-sweet Limoncello.” Not a bad comparison, since this had plenty of lemon flavor and aroma, plus some nice minerality, and maybe even a salty tang. Good.

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $25

As we sniffed the aroma of mango and citrus, one of our friends compared it to “Joe Malone perfume.” Not being familiar, I can’t confirm or deny this, but the wine does have a lovely flowery scent. The taste is equally pleasant, with good grapefruit and pineapple and other tropical fruits, plus mouth-watering acidity. When we comment that this would be good with oysters, a discussion of North Fork oysters and where to get them ensues. When the Old Mill Inn re-opens in the spring, we’ll have to meet there for their happy hour oysters.

2014 Viognier $25

Getting into the spirit of commenting on each wine, our friends describe the viognier as “more restrained and less dramatic” than the first two wines, and we agree. The aroma is a bit sweet, with some mineral or rock and maybe a spice. Cinnamon? Nutmeg? We can’t decide. But this is another very drinkable wine, again on the tart, dry side, and would be good with creamy clam chowder.

2014 Field Blend $22

63% viognier and 37% sauvignon blanc. Why? Because they had that much of each left over last year, and only one vat in which to ferment them! Nice to be able to drink your experiments, though we don’t like this as much as the previous wines. It is quite light, and smells just like the viognier.

2014 Riesling $22

Dry! Just .2% residual sugar, says our server, and we believe her. It tastes more like a sauvignon blanc than their sauvignon blanc, very tart, with lots of acidity. If you like a fruity somewhat sweet riesling, or even if you are thinking of a riesling to complement spicy food, this is not it.

2008 Blum Merlot $19

A year ago we had the 07 Blum Merlot, and was told this was the last of it, but I guess they had one more year of these vines before Ray Blum’s vineyard was sold to Sparkling Pointe, which tore out the merlot vines. The aroma has lots of sweet cherry in it, and none of the barnyard which we detected in the 07. Our friend thinks there’s a bit of a whiff of creosote, which is possibly from the French oak it was aged in. It tastes less fruity than it smells, with some woody notes but no vanilla. We get new glasses for the reds, by the way.

2013 Estate Merlot $34

We like this merlot much better, and all agree that we taste and smell lots of blackberry, plus minerals and flowers. “Easy on the tongue,” opines our friend. That may be the tannins, since the end taste is quite dry. This one is aged in Hungarian oak, as are the rest of the reds.

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $29

As our server pours this, she brings out another bottle and two fresh glasses and pours us another wine, the 2012 Cab Sauv (about which more in a moment). Our friends are impressed with what I call the power of the book. Often, when wineries see you are serious about the wine, they give you a little something extra. Sometimes it is another taste of a wine not on the menu, or other times just some extra attention and more stories about the making of the wine. I appreciate both. We like this one, as it has lots of rich fruit flavors and aromas but is still pleasantly dry.

Our special extra taste!

2012 Cabernet Sauvignon $29

I should really label this 8A, since it is an “extra.” Our server explains that she thinks we should try this, as there are only a few cases left, and she thinks it is really excellent. She’s right. It is similar to the ’13, but mellower and smoother and fruitier. We buy a bottle.

2013 Cabernet Franc $40

“Hmmm,” muses our friend, “I think I detect a note of Robitussin.” Ha ha. But it does taste of dark fruits, perhaps plums, again with some nice minerality and some promising tannins. We get into a discussion of the meaning of “terroir,” and wonder if Kontokosta’s wines have more minerality than some others because of their location on the Sound, which we can see out of the windows.

Yes, that is the Long Island Sound in the background.

Reasons to visit: you are in or near Greenport and don’t want to travel too far; almost all of the wines, but especially the Orient Chardonnay, the Sauvignon Blanc, the Estate Merlot, and the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon (but hurry before they sell out); the location on the Sound (maybe some time we’ll get there in the warm weather so we can stroll towards the water).

The day was cold and grey, with the first snow of the season, but the welcome was warm.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

Tag Archives: cabernet sauvignon