Envelope | NoFo Wineaux

December 7, 2021

In the midst of a week of unsettled weather, we took advantage of a sunny day to venture to the South Fork. We had two goals in mind—to have lunch with cousins we hadn’t seen in years, and to pick up our wine club selections at Channing Daughters. Lunch at Sant Ambroeus in Southampton was delicious, and we took home enough left-over pasta for dinner that night. The cousinly meeting went so well, that our cousins decided to come with us to Channing Daughters, which they had never been to. They enjoyed the tasting, so I hope this will not be the last time they trek there.

*On the right, you can see two sculptures by Walter Channing, the founder of the vineyard.*

Aside from liking their wines, we admire Channing for the wide variety of their wines, the unusual grapes they grow, and their willingness to experiment. There are about thirty wines on their list, plus five different vermouths, an amazing amount for such a small winery (about 15,000 cases per year). We also appreciate how generous they are at tastings for wine club members. We had two tastings of four wines each, but then decided to try a number of other wines, plus a vermouth, and Laura, our server, was delighted to accommodate us.

We had not been there since Covid, opting to have our selections sent to us, so it was interesting to see their adaptations. The outside patio area is now enclosed in clear plastic, with propane heaters which quickly made sitting out there comfortable, though we kept our jackets on. They request that you make a reservation most days, though Tuesday is not one of them, since they are a small space. They also ask that you wear a mask inside the building, but, obviously, the masks come off when you sit for a tasting! They have clever wire racks, which hold five glasses vertically, thus making the most of the limited table space, and they also offer a menu of snacks, which is new. Our cousin picked up a bar of sea salt chocolate for us to share, since we hadn’t had room for dessert at the restaurant.

Before we left, we filled a case with a variety of additional selections, including the “Autumn” vermouth and three bottles of the Scuttlehole Chardonnay (our favorite), and our cousins bought two bottles of L’Enfant Sauvage and two of the Petit Verdot. Though we encountered some traffic as we wended our way back to the North Fork (the “back road” I discovered years ago is now well known), we felt that the trip was well worthwhile.

A standard tasting is $28 for five tastes, free for wine club members, who may also get wines not yet on the list.

2019 Sylvanus Petillant Naturel $28

Starting from the top of the rack, we choose this bubbly white, made from 50% pinot grigio, 40% muscat ottonel, and 10% pinot bianco. It is light, crisp, and refreshing, the sort of bubbly I could see pairing with charcuterie and some rich cheeses. Lovely.

2016 L’Enfant Sauvage $38

Some years I really love this wine, fermented with wild yeast (hence the name) and aged in oak, and other years I do not. This year’s version is…delicious. We all like it. I often don’t care for chardonnays aged in oak, but this one is not at all buttery. It smells of apples and, according to the cousin, fresh cut grass, and tastes fruity and deep. It might be nice to drink this with a dish of sauteed wild mushrooms, to match the wild with the wild.

2015 Envelope $42

This is one of their orange wines, made by fermenting white grapes with their skins on, as I explain to the cousins. As we chat, I realize that, over the years, I have gradually amassed a bunch of random facts about wine. What a great way to get an education! It may be psychological, based on the color, but I swear I taste Mandarin oranges plus lychees. This is a fairly tart wine, and would be good with pork belly, to cut the fatty taste.

2020 Lagrein $35

A young red that I think could use some aging, it nonetheless has a delicious aroma of fruit and tobacco. I taste dark purple plums, and could see serving this with lamb chops.

Autumn Vermouth $28

Spicy, fruity, complex, tasty—these are a few of the adjectives we share after I request a taste of this vermouth. It is made from red wine, and includes a panoply of ingredients. It will be great as a light cocktail, on the rocks.

2016 Research Cab $40

Our cousin requests a taste of this, since, she notes, she likes cabernets. Our server also brings a sample of the Petit Verdot, noting that it has more of the kind of fruity flavor those who like cabernets are looking for. And she is right. Though I like this blend of 68% merlot, 16% cabernet sauvignon, 4% petit manseng, 3% syrah, 2% barbera, 1% malbec, 1% petit verdot, 1% sangiovese, and 1% blaufrankish (I told you Channing likes to experiment!), the cousin does not. It is quite tannic and dry, and could probably benefit from a few more years in the bottle. The aroma includes berries and cherries (the merlot, I’m sure) and spice, as does the taste.

2018 Petit Verdot $38

Oh yes, very nice. How smart she was to bring us this, as I buy a bottle as well. It is deeply fruity, yet dry, with some notes of spice (anise?), cherries, and berries. Just last week I had a petit verdot at Macari which I liked, and this compares well with it. This may be my favorite red grape!

Reasons to visit: you are on the South Fork and want to try a winery (you can skip Duck Walk; Wölffer is also very good); the carved wooden statues by Walter Channing are worth looking at; knowledgeable servers who are generous with “extra” tastes; an astonishing array of wines and vermouths—plus they also carry some local gins and vodkas; L’Enfant Sauvage, Petit Verdot, Autumn Vermouth, plus most of the whites, rosés, and many of the reds; no outside food, but they do sell snacks.

http://www.channingdaughters.com/

Outside the tasting room you are greeted by this statue made by Mr. Channing from a tree turned upside down.

I have a confession to make. Though my blog is titled Nofo for North Fork, my favorite East End winery is actually on the South Fork, just outside Sag Harbor, to be exact. Why do I like Channing Daughters so much? For one thing, I’ve never had a wine of theirs that I disliked. We joined their wine club years ago (we get the wine delivered) and are fascinated by the wide variety of different wines they offer, especially for such a small winery. According to their web site, they have “three dozen different bottlings.” Their web site is worth visiting, to learn about the interesting experiments they do. When they introduced rosés, they made six or seven different ones. I bought a case of six varieties, and we enjoyed them all. They also started making vermouths a few years ago, using local herbs where possible. They do a better job with reds than many Long Island wineries, and their Scuttlehole Chardonnay is the one against which we measure all other steel-fermented chards. In fact, we served it at our daughter’s wedding.

We also like the intimacy of the tasting room, which is augmented in the summer by some outside tables. And in the tasting room, we’ve always found the servers to be knowledgeable about the wines, happy to answer any questions guests pose to them. Certainly our server on this visit fit that description, discussing both the wines and the business of a winery with well-informed intelligence. For example, we started talking about the contrast between summer and fall crowds, especially in the Hamptons, and he discussed the challenges of staffing a tasting room for a seasonal spike in visitors.

Because we are wine club members, we did not have the regular tasting. Instead, our server made sure that we got to try some of their newest releases, including the bottles that had arrived in our most recent shipment. A regular tasting consists of six wines for $14, and the pour is on the generous side. Even though I won’t be writing about most of the wines on the regular tasting menu, I don’t hesitate to recommend that people go there. You won’t be disappointed. And while you’re on the South Fork, you can also visit Wölffer Estate, if you want a second winery visit. (However, I don’t recommend Duck Walk.) Then you can drive into Sag Harbor and walk up and down Main Street, checking out the art galleries, book store, and boutiques, and ending with dinner at Il Cappuccino (or one of the other restaurants). We haven’t been there recently, but we used to be quite enamored of the garlic knots.

In Sag Harbor you can also see a film at the cinema, which shows off-beat or art house type films.

2015 Scuttlehole Chardonnay $18

As I said, this is our favorite East End chard, named for the street on which the winery is located. It is a crisp, dry, steel-fermented wine, with lots of lemon tastes and, as they say, mouth-watering acidity. It goes great with food, especially fish and seafood, like Peconic Bay scallops.

Part of the array of different wines they make.

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $23

There is a little tocai fruliano (8%) mixed in with the sauvignon blanc, and both are slightly oaked. The aroma is interesting, almost candy-like, with some floral notes, and the taste is equally complex. We discuss, and identify stone or mineral and peach and peach pit. Because it is only slightly oaked it is still quite crisp, and, like their wines in general, dry. Nice.

Envelope has a rich color.

2012 Envelope $42

Why “Envelope”? Because the idea was to “push the envelope” of what a chardonnay could be. Though “pushing the envelope” could describe what they do with many of their wines (like Research Cab, or Over and Over, or L’Enfant Sauvage), the results with this one are quite good. It is what is called an “orange” wine, though it is not quite orange, because it spends more time on the skins, giving it a deeper color than your average white. A blend of 66% chardonnay, 26% gewürztraminer, and 8% malvasia bianca, it has an almost vegetable-like aroma, which my husband compares to his favorite veggie: Brussels sprouts. Not a sipping wine, it would go great with charcuterie, where its tart edge would complement the richness of the meats.

2015 Rosso Fresco $20

This one is also on the regular tasting menu, and is their sort of all-purpose red blend, a mixture this year of 47% merlot, 30% blaufrankisch, 10% syrah, 10% dornfelder, and 3 % cabernet franc. Now that’s a blend I bet you won’t find anywhere else! I compare the aroma to funky cherry pie. The taste is of plums and other dark fruits, and is again dry, with some tannins. My tasting buddy thinks it would go well with a stew, and now that the weather is turning colder perhaps I’ll make one. Our server also mentions that the winemaker used to be a chef, so he is very attuned to making wines that go well with food.

2014 Petit Verdot $32.40 (for wine club members)

I tend to like petit verdots, so I was eager to taste this one, and I was not disappointed. Our server described it as “smoky, dark, and full-bodied,” and suggested it was a good wine to cellar. I agree. The taste makes me think of dark chocolate with a cherry inside, but it is quite tannic and I think would benefit from some aging.

2015 Muscat de Boom $30 (for a small bottle)

Funny name for a really delicious after dinner wine, this is made with muscat ottonel grapes which are partially fermented and then dosed with grape brandy. It is slightly viscous, like a thin honey, but not cloyingly sweet, and would pair well with dark chocolate and almonds. Almond Joy? Why not!

Reasons to visit: it’s one of the best wineries on Long Island; you’re on the South Fork and want to visit a winery or you’ve decided on a day trip to Montauk and want to stop at a winery on your way; the wood sculptures made by Mr. Channing; a wide variety of wines to suit every taste; the Scuttlehole Chardonnay, the Envelope, the Rosso Fresco, the Petit Verdot…actually, all their wines!

More of the array of wines.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

Tag Archives: Envelope

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