Tag Archives: East End Select Barbeque Red

Pellegrini Vineyards: Perks of Being in a Club

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

March 17, 2023

Perhaps because everyone else was elsewhere drinking green beer, we had the tasting room to ourselves.

No St. Patrick Day parades for us and our friends; instead, we were off to do a wine tasting at Pellegrini, where we are members of the wine club.  Many wineries offer clubs, with varying perks and policies.  We have only opted for two:  Pellegrini and Channing Daughters.  Both of them offer special prices for their wines, quarterly releases of wines for club members, special events, and free tastings.  Our friends are members of some wine clubs, but not Pellegrini, so they were curious about what would be on offer.

Unlike more and more local wineries, Pellegrini does not offer much in the way of snacks (You can buy NOFO potato chips.), though a little bag of oyster crackers comes with each tasting.  However, the advantage is you can bring your own snacks, and I offered to supply some.  Well, I got a bit carried away, but we all enjoyed the cheese, crackers, prosciutto, and Marcona almonds from Village Cheese Shop and the charcuterie from 8 Hands Farm.  Since I brought a nice slab of 8 Hands pâté, I felt obliged to also pack Dijon mustard and cornichons.  To continue the theme of local goodies, I also opened a bag of North Fork potato chips.  Lunch accomplished!

Most of the goodies I brought, including a little jar of truffled honey. The cheeses are an aged gouda, Village Cheese Shop’s homemade truffled brie (So good!), and Humboldt Fog.

We had so much fun eating and talking that my wine notes are a bit sketchy, but I will say we all liked every taste, though to different degrees.  We got four tastings, of four wines each, with some overlap.  The tasting room felt like our own private space, since the only party that entered quickly decided to sit up in the little balcony. I also recommended that our friends try the North Fork Project Merlot, a bargain at three one liter bottles for $30, which we both bought before we left, sated and happy.

In no particular order (though our lovely server Kasey carefully informed us of the recommended order of tastes for each flight), here are the wines I took at least a note or two on, some based on the flights my husband and I got, and others on the flights our friends chose.

This flight includes the ice wine, the almost orange wine on the right.
  • 2020 Stainless Steel Chardonnay                $22.99

This was my first taste, and I quite enjoyed it.  In the car on the way to the winery we had discussed the merits of steel vs. oaked chardonnays, with one friend very much preferring oaked, and me…not.  As they say, in wine there are no wrong answers.  This is a light, fruity, minerally wine, with tastes of pear and apple.

  •  2019 Vintner’s Pride Chardonnay              $34.99

Our friend ordered this, and characterized it as smooth and buttery, but not overly oaky—the latter a term he actually refuses to use, since he denies tasting oak in any oaked chard.  This one is aged 100% in French oak puncheons for 18 months, and for contrast his wife ordered the next chard on this list.

  • 2019 Pellegrini Vineyards Chardonnay      $24.99

Not that different from the VP chard, opined our friend, though this one is aged 90% in oak barrels and 10% in stainless steel, 9 months in French oak puncheons.  Is stainless steel chardonnay a plot by wine makers to make less expensive wine they can sell for a higher price, or is it a way to accommodate differing tastes?  The world may never know… 

  • 2021 Pellegrini Vineyards Rosé                   $24.99

If you like a very light, almost tasteless rosé, this is the rosé for you.  I continue to prefer Croteaux rosés.

  • 2017 PV Cabernet Franc                $32.99

Although this is simply called cab franc, it is actually a blend: 85% cab franc, 4% cab sauvignon, 8% merlot, and 2% petit verdot.  In any event, it is a rather light red—Kasey had recommended we drink this before the other reds—with some cherry and spice flavors.  Our friend thinks one might even serve this lightly chilled, like in the summer.  It goes well with the charcuterie.

  • PV Steakhouse Red          $21.99

One feature of Pellegrini we like is that they have some reds that are not too pricy yet drink very well, and this is one of them.  A blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot, this has a nice minerality with soft tannins and some dark fruit tastes, and would, indeed, go well with a steak.   

  • 2017 Merlot       $32.99

Another blend, this is 85% merlot, plus 10% cabernet sauvignon and 5% petit verdot, though it basically tastes like a merlot.  It’s fine, but I actually prefer the—much cheaper—North Fork Project Merlot.  This, however, could be characterized as more sophisticated.

  • 2020 PV Gewürztraminer              $24.99

My recollection from past tastings is that the gewürztraminer is not overly sweet, and our amiga confirms that this is so.  Easy to drink.

  • 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon             $24.99

Our friend likes this blend of 94% cabernet sauvignon, 4% merlot, and 2% cabernet franc better than the merlot.

  • 2015 Regalo                       $49.99

Pricey, but really good, is my verdict on this wine, which is the last in my tasting.  Regalo means gift, and this is a gift reserved for wine club members. A blend of 50% petit verdot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, and 5% cabernet franc, this is a complex, delicious wine, with lots of blackberry, plum, and other dark fruit flavors and aromas. 

  • 2021 East End Select BBQ Red                    $26.99

Although this doesn’t have a varietal designation, this iteration of their steel-fermented red is 100% petit verdot.  I have a sip, as it is in my husband’s tasting, and note that it has more sweetness than, say, the Steakhouse Red.  I guess it would go well with ribs or pulled pork, though my wine of choice with barbeque (like from Meats Meat) is beer.

  • Finale Ice Wine                 $39.99 (375 ml)

Time for dessert!  A blend of gewürztraminer and sauvignon blanc, ice wine is made by freezing and then pressing the grapes, resulting in a sweet taste.  The vineyard web site notes it pairs well with nuts, so I am glad I provided Marcona almonds for our friend.  She likes it, and compares it to savoring one’s platonic ideal of a fruity sucking candy, with some notes of honey.

I love the comfy chairs!

Reasons to visit:  pleasant tasting room where buses and limos are verboten; you can bring your own snacks; dogs are allowed; the comfy chairs are conducive to lingering; with fourteen wines to choose from (twelve of which I’ve mentioned), there are wines for every taste; my favorites are the steel chardonnay, the Steakhouse Red, and Regalo; one friend likes the gewürztraminer and the ice wine, the other the VP chardonnay and the cabernet sauvignon, plus the North Fork Project Merlot. 

Pellegrini: Club Time Again

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

September 8, 2021

Many wineries offer visitors the opportunity to join their wine club.  We have limited ourselves to two—Channing Daughters and Pellegrini—but I’ve often read the brochures of other places.  I can certainly see the advantages of wine clubs, both for the members and the wineries.  As a member, you get a regular—usually quarterly—supply of wines from a winery you have liked, plus various perks, including free tastings and/or glasses of wine, reduced prices on bottles, and invitations to or reduced prices on various events at your chosen winery, such as musical performances or catered meals.  And the winery, obviously, has a guaranteed income stream, plus a loyal following.  Win/win.

 

Living on the North Fork offers the added convenience of needing only a short drive to pick up one’s wine club selections—though I think all of them also will mail your selections to you, subject to the laws in your state. 

Another perk of living on the North Fork is the fascination of watching the vines go from winter dormancy to spring bud break to fall ripening.  Right now, the vines are beautiful.  The little newsletter which came with our club choices describes what is happening to the grapes now:

“Veraison refers to the time when the grapes begin turning color and the vines start to transport their energy from their roots into the grapes.  During this period of ripening, the acid levels in the grapes fall (particularly malic acid which leaves tartaric acid as the primary acid) and hexose sugars (glucose, fructose) begin to accumulate in the grape.  The chlorophyll in the berries is replaced by carotenoids in white varieties and xanthophylls in the reds.  The end result is that the fruit begins to get more flavorful, colorful, concentrated, and sweeter, which is crucial to making delicious wine!”

We took our four tastes to what we now think of as “our” table, out on the front lawn, on this warm, breezy day, and had a pleasant time, despite the traffic going by on Main Road.  Two other small groups sat nearby, drinking glasses of wine.  The courtyard was tented yet again, and the server noted they’d had two weddings the past weekend, and another was scheduled for the weekend to come.  We took care to try wines we’d not had the last time—easy given the menu of fourteen wines.

*2019 Gewürztraminer $24.99

This is probably the hardest wine to spell, and also one that is not always easy to like.  I liked this one, but my tasting buddy did not, proclaiming it “too sweet.”  I insisted that what he was calling sweet was actually fruitiness, and said I tasted gooseberries.  He disclaimed any knowledge of what gooseberries taste like.  We both agreed that the aroma was agreeably fruity, and there was a definite citrus flavor, like a sweetish lemon.  I noted some minerality on the finish, and that it would be good with spicy food.

*2020 REJOYCE $24.99

A blend of 65% chardonnay and 35% sauvignon blanc, this wine has a pleasant smell of freshly cut grass plus metal.  It’s definitely not sweet, with flavors of lemon (a lot) and cucumber.  It would be good with oysters or clams.

*2015 Cabernet Sauvignon         $69.99

According to the description on the placemat, this wine spends 19 months in French oak—which might have been a bit too much.  It is quite oaky, with some berry taste, but I compared it to chewing on tree bark.  My husband said it was “tangy.”  The aroma is of sweet berries and tobacco.  Maybe it needs to age longer.

*2020 East End Select Barbeque Red      $24.99

Made from 100% petit verdot grapes, but aged in steel rather than oak, this is, as the name suggests, intended as a more casual wine.  I taste berries and plums, and assert it is dry.  My tasting buddy and I diverge again, as he insists it is too sweet.  I argue that he’s seeing fruit, once again, as sweetness.  “Not in my mouth!” he replies.  Well, that’s wine tasting for you.  Disagreement is perfectly acceptable.  He also notes that he could see drinking this with cheese during cocktail hour, but not with a meal.

Reasons to visit:  good all-around winery; snacks allowed; they also sell the North Fork merlot, chardonnay, and rosé, all well-priced reliable everyday wines ($30 for three big bottles); the gewürztraminer, REJOYCE, and BBQ Red.