Tag Archives: gewurztraminer

Pindar Vineyards: Special Day for Locals

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

March 31, 2023

The day was gray and chilly, but we had a good time anyway.

Pindar is proud of being one of the early vineyards on the North Fork, with their vines planted over 40 years ago.  I came by this bit of knowledge on a free tour and tasting at Pindar, part of an effort by a number of vineyards to attract locals to come and taste their wines.  Friends of ours had noted this program and invited us to join them at Pindar, whose perks seemed the best (other places offered such bargains to locals as ten percent off bottles or two for one).  Good move! We had a good time, learned a lot, and got to taste some wines we then bought and took home.

Nancy is showing us a gewurztraminer vine, one of the original ones planted at Pindar. The roots can go very deep.

Nancy, our tour guide, started us off by the vines, and then took us through all the steps of making wine, from the crush pad to the stainless steel tanks to the French oak barrels to the warehouse, and then back to the tasting room where we got to try five wines.

“Viticulture is farming for masochists,” she informed us, as she explained the work involved in pruning the vines, which she characterized as “an art and a science,” and the perils faced by grape growers.  There are migrating birds who will peck at the grapes, so they look fine but then shrivel into nothing; there are hurricanes on Long Island, whose arrival coincides with harvest season; and there is the lack of crop insurance, because how can you insure for their current value vines that have been growing for over 40 years.  In addition, you have to wait four years after you plant those vines before you can expect to harvest the grapes. The issue of birds has been taken care of, through an ingenious system of nets, which you can see in many vineyards, which remain furled up below the vines and are then raised when the grapes ripen.  As to the other issues…not much one can do about them!

Despite these problems, Pindar has 325 acres of vines, resulting in 60 to 70,000 cases of wine every year.  At first, Dr. Dan Damianos, the visionary who started Pindar (named, like one of his sons, for the classic Greek poet, in homage to their Greek heritage), planted gewürztraminer grapes, judging that the climate and soil would work well for this varietal.  Now they grow twenty-four varietals, and they list twenty-nine different wines on their tasting menu, which includes a number of blends.

The bottling machine, which is about to be replaced by an even better one.

They bottle these wines with their own bottling line, which can do 3,000 a day.  Not every winery has their own bottling facility, with many using Premium Wine Group for this.  Nancy gave a brief lecture on the issue of corks vs. screw caps, with corks reading as “better” wines, and screw caps okay for more casual, cheaper wines. Screw caps work just fine, though corks have the advantage of being biodegradable.

I never knew why the vats have this dimpled jacket.

We then walked into a huge room filled with vast stainless steel vats, where Nancy explained something I’d always wondered about.  The vats are partially encases in a dimpled steel jacket.  It is a glycol jacket, containing polyglycol, used to help regulate the temperature in the vats, and the dimples keep the polyglycol from settling to the bottom.  Too hot or too cold, and the wine is ruined.  They use a windmill to provide about 60% of the energy needed in the warehouse and wine “cellar”—not a cellar, because…polyglycol.  We also learned about another hazard of viticulture—carbon dioxide.  As the juice ferments into wine, carbon dioxide rises to the top of the tanks, where the solid matter must be pushed down into the liquid.  Catwalks provide access to the tops of the tanks, and open doors help dissipate the CO2.

Part of the filtration system.

She showed us their filtration system, and we learned, by the way, that Guinness Stout used isinglass, obtained from the bladders of sturgeon, to filter their brew.  I like Guinness, but I also like caviar!

She also took us outside to see the crush pad, where a machine crushes the grapes. Because Pindar is so big, a lot of the work is done by machines.

The crush pad.

The huge space where red wine ages in French oak barrels smelled enticingly like a forest or lumberyard.  We found out that there are different tastes imparted to wines by French and American oak, with some adding notes of vanilla and others cinnamon, etc.  Pindar now uses only French oak, buying 300 barrels a year, and has phased out their American oak barrels, which they sometimes sell to breweries or to people who want to use them in their gardens.  We also learn about the “angel’s share,” the wine which evaporates from the barrels, meaning they need to be constantly watched and topped up, so that too much oxygen doesn’t turn the wine into vinegar.  The angels must reserve a special place in heaven for wine makers!

Despite the bung stopper, some evaporation is unavoidable.

Finally, our last stop before the tasting room, we saw the warehouse where cases of wine are stacked high.  Nancy held up a four-pack of cans of Winter White, and explained that Dr. Dan, noting the American taste for soda and other sweet drinks, decided to make some sweeter wines, like Winter White, which is the most popular white on Long Island.  More recently, the decision was made to offer it in cans; again, to attract those who might otherwise opt for soda or beer.

Cans of Winter White, ready to go.

Now it was time to taste the fruits of their labor!  The group of about thirty locals lined up around the bar, where glasses stood ready.  Here are my tasting notes:

Nice sized pour.
  •  2020 Dr. Dan’s Selection White Blend      $24.99

Our first taste is a blend of, this vintage, of 53% viognier, plus pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, and riesling.  The percentages may vary year to year.  This is a very drinkable white, with aromas of pineapple and citrus, and tropical fruit flavors like guava and pineapple.

  • 2021 Dr. Dan’s Selection Gewürztraminer               $24.99

We are quite interested to taste this, after learning the history of the vines, and we quite like it.  In fact, we and our friends each buy a bottle to take home.  It is not too sweet, which can happen with gewürztraminers, with an aroma of peaches and tastes that include tangerine and apricot.  “Yummy,” we and our friends agree.

At the tasting, I turned over my menu to see the events list.
  • 2019 Mythology                $42.99

A Bordeaux blend called Meritage, this includes malbec, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, and cabernet franc.  Delicious.  Lots of dark fruit taste and enough tannins that one could probably age it.

  • 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve            $34.99

Nancy, who is still informing us about the wines, explains that cabernet sauvignon used to be harder to grow on Long Island, since it needs a longer growing season to mature.  However, with climate change, the growing season on Long Island has gotten longer.  I guess that’s an upside to global warming! This is another very good red, with tastes of blackberry and other fruits, and an aroma of cedar and tobacco.

Pindar Damianos chatting with a guest.
  • 2015 Cabernet Port         $28.99 for 750 ml, $16.99 for 375 ml

I’m not sure if this was in the original tasting or if it was included after our friend shared his enthusiasm for the port with Nancy and with Pindar Damianos, who was hanging around and talking to the guests.  He discovered that Pindar makes award-winning port in an old issue of a wine magazine shortly after moving to the North Fork, and was happily buying and drinking it.  I can see why.  This is a dessert wine—in English novels, they are always sipping it after dinner while they crack walnuts and chat—but it is not too sweet, with an appealing depth of flavor.  It is made 100% from cabernet franc.  We each buy a bottle to take home.

Cases filled with awards Pindar wines have won.

Reasons to visit:  roomy tasting room with two outside areas; a wide variety of wines for every taste, from sweet to dry, and price, from $14.99 (Winter White and others) to $42.99; all the wines we tasted—White Blend, Gewürztraminer, Mythology, and Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve—plus the port; our friends had also tasted the Gamay Noir before we went on the tour, and bought a bottle of that light red to take home; they have a refrigerated case full of cheeses, etc., to consume there; they have a variety of special events.

Pindar Vineyards: Special Day for Locals

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

March 31, 2023

The day was gray and chilly, but we had a good time anyway.

Pindar is proud of being one of the early vineyards on the North Fork, with their vines planted over 40 years ago.  I came by this bit of knowledge on a free tour and tasting at Pindar, part of an effort by a number of vineyards to attract locals to come and taste their wines.  Friends of ours had noted this program and invited us to join them at Pindar, whose perks seemed the best (other places offered such bargains to locals as ten percent off bottles or two for one).  Good move! We had a good time, learned a lot, and got to taste some wines we then bought and took home.

Nancy is showing us a gewurztraminer vine, one of the original ones planted at Pindar. The roots can go very deep.

Nancy, our tour guide, started us off by the vines, and then took us through all the steps of making wine, from the crush pad to the stainless steel tanks to the French oak barrels to the warehouse, and then back to the tasting room where we got to try five wines.

“Viticulture is farming for masochists,” she informed us, as she explained the work involved in pruning the vines, which she characterized as “an art and a science,” and the perils faced by grape growers.  There are migrating birds who will peck at the grapes, so they look fine but then shrivel into nothing; there are hurricanes on Long Island, whose arrival coincides with harvest season; and there is the lack of crop insurance, because how can you insure for their current value vines that have been growing for over 40 years.  In addition, you have to wait four years after you plant those vines before you can expect to harvest the grapes. The issue of birds has been taken care of, through an ingenious system of nets, which you can see in many vineyards, which remain furled up below the vines and are then raised when the grapes ripen.  As to the other issues…not much one can do about them!

Despite these problems, Pindar has 325 acres of vines, resulting in 60 to 70,000 cases of wine every year.  At first, Dr. Dan Damianos, the visionary who started Pindar (named, like one of his sons, for the classic Greek poet, in homage to their Greek heritage), planted gewürztraminer grapes, judging that the climate and soil would work well for this varietal.  Now they grow twenty-four varietals, and they list twenty-nine different wines on their tasting menu, which includes a number of blends.

The bottling machine, which is about to be replaced by an even better one.

They bottle these wines with their own bottling line, which can do 3,000 a day.  Not every winery has their own bottling facility, with many using Premium Wine Group for this.  Nancy gave a brief lecture on the issue of corks vs. screw caps, with corks reading as “better” wines, and screw caps okay for more casual, cheaper wines. Screw caps work just fine, though corks have the advantage of being biodegradable.

I never knew why the vats have this dimpled jacket.

We then walked into a huge room filled with vast stainless steel vats, where Nancy explained something I’d always wondered about.  The vats are partially encases in a dimpled steel jacket.  It is a glycol jacket, containing polyglycol, used to help regulate the temperature in the vats, and the dimples keep the polyglycol from settling to the bottom.  Too hot or too cold, and the wine is ruined.  They use a windmill to provide about 60% of the energy needed in the warehouse and wine “cellar”—not a cellar, because…polyglycol.  We also learned about another hazard of viticulture—carbon dioxide.  As the juice ferments into wine, carbon dioxide rises to the top of the tanks, where the solid matter must be pushed down into the liquid.  Catwalks provide access to the tops of the tanks, and open doors help dissipate the CO2.

Part of the filtration system.

She showed us their filtration system, and we learned, by the way, that Guinness Stout used isinglass, obtained from the bladders of sturgeon, to filter their brew.  I like Guinness, but I also like caviar!

She also took us outside to see the crush pad, where a machine crushes the grapes. Because Pindar is so big, a lot of the work is done by machines.

The crush pad.

The huge space where red wine ages in French oak barrels smelled enticingly like a forest or lumberyard.  We found out that there are different tastes imparted to wines by French and American oak, with some adding notes of vanilla and others cinnamon, etc.  Pindar now uses only French oak, buying 300 barrels a year, and has phased out their American oak barrels, which they sometimes sell to breweries or to people who want to use them in their gardens.  We also learn about the “angel’s share,” the wine which evaporates from the barrels, meaning they need to be constantly watched and topped up, so that too much oxygen doesn’t turn the wine into vinegar.  The angels must reserve a special place in heaven for wine makers!

Despite the bung stopper, some evaporation is unavoidable.

Finally, our last stop before the tasting room, we saw the warehouse where cases of wine are stacked high.  Nancy held up a four-pack of cans of Winter White, and explained that Dr. Dan, noting the American taste for soda and other sweet drinks, decided to make some sweeter wines, like Winter White, which is the most popular white on Long Island.  More recently, the decision was made to offer it in cans; again, to attract those who might otherwise opt for soda or beer.

Cans of Winter White, ready to go.

Now it was time to taste the fruits of their labor!  The group of about thirty locals lined up around the bar, where glasses stood ready.  Here are my tasting notes:

Nice sized pour.
  •  2020 Dr. Dan’s Selection White Blend      $24.99

Our first taste is a blend of, this vintage, of 53% viognier, plus pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, and riesling.  The percentages may vary year to year.  This is a very drinkable white, with aromas of pineapple and citrus, and tropical fruit flavors like guava and pineapple.

  • 2021 Dr. Dan’s Selection Gewürztraminer               $24.99

We are quite interested to taste this, after learning the history of the vines, and we quite like it.  In fact, we and our friends each buy a bottle to take home.  It is not too sweet, which can happen with gewürztraminers, with an aroma of peaches and tastes that include tangerine and apricot.  “Yummy,” we and our friends agree.

At the tasting, I turned over my menu to see the events list.
  • 2019 Mythology                $42.99

A Bordeaux blend called Meritage, this includes malbec, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, and cabernet franc.  Delicious.  Lots of dark fruit taste and enough tannins that one could probably age it.

  • 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve            $34.99

Nancy, who is still informing us about the wines, explains that cabernet sauvignon used to be harder to grow on Long Island, since it needs a longer growing season to mature.  However, with climate change, the growing season on Long Island has gotten longer.  I guess that’s an upside to global warming! This is another very good red, with tastes of blackberry and other fruits, and an aroma of cedar and tobacco.

Pindar Damianos chatting with a guest.
  • 2015 Cabernet Port         $28.99 for 750 ml, $16.99 for 375 ml

I’m not sure if this was in the original tasting or if it was included after our friend shared his enthusiasm for the port with Nancy and with Pindar Damianos, who was hanging around and talking to the guests.  He discovered that Pindar makes award-winning port in an old issue of a wine magazine shortly after moving to the North Fork, and was happily buying and drinking it.  I can see why.  This is a dessert wine—in English novels, they are always sipping it after dinner while they crack walnuts and chat—but it is not too sweet, with an appealing depth of flavor.  It is made 100% from cabernet franc.  We each buy a bottle to take home.

Cases filled with awards Pindar wines have won.

Reasons to visit:  roomy tasting room with two outside areas; a wide variety of wines for every taste, from sweet to dry, and price, from $14.99 (Winter White and others) to $42.99; all the wines we tasted—White Blend, Gewürztraminer, Mythology, and Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve—plus the port; our friends had also tasted the Gamay Noir before we went on the tour, and bought a bottle of that light red to take home; they have a refrigerated case full of cheeses, etc., to consume there; they have a variety of special events.

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. 

Lenz Winery: Classic

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

April 8, 2022

You can enter through this archway or, if you’re feeling claustrophobic, go around it.

After days of rain, the sun came out and we decided to do our walk in Greenport, strolling up and down Front and Main Streets.  As we did, we noted the crop of newer restaurants we had not yet tried, and vowed to return if the pandemic allows.  On the way home, we stopped in to Lenz to do a tasting, and were glad we did.  Founded in 1978, Lenz is the second oldest winery on the North Fork, and both the tasting room and the wines are classic. 

The room has the barn-like country vibe of many North Fork tasting rooms, with several tables, plus a bunch of picnic tables in the outside courtyard.  Though it felt too chilly to us to sit outside, there was one couple out there, sharing a bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers. Inside, two groups talked quietly as they sipped their wines.  The wines are, for the most part, good representatives of the local terroir.  We liked several of them in particular.

Tastings used to be primarily stand-up, at the bar, but now they show you to a table.  Lenz used to allow outside food, but now they have a menu of real foods, in addition to cheese and charcuterie items.  We were not hungry, but some of the sandwiches sounded good.  I almost went with the tasting menu of chocolates paired with wines…maybe next time. 

The tasting menu offers four options:  the Library Flight, of their most expensive wines, one taste for $20; the Spring Flight, of a variety of wines, five tastes for $25; the Grand Flight, of some of their higher end wines, five tastes for $30; and the aforementioned Chocolate Pairing, of five wines paired with five chocolates, for $35.  We decided to share the Spring Flight, as it seemed to promise the most variety and wines we might buy.  Our flight arrived on a well-labeled tray, and our server gave us her well-practiced spiel about the wines.

  •  2016 Estate Selection Gewürztraminer                 $20

Right from the first sniff, I loved the delicate floral aroma of this wine—orange flowers?  The taste is also delicious, not at all sweet but full of fruit flavor.  A few weeks ago, I had a guava, a flavor I found here, as well as perhaps a touch of nutmeg.  We liked it so much, we bought a bottle.

  • 2020 Firefly Rosé          $20

A blend of cabernet sauvignon and malbec, this is a really luscious rosé, with ripe melon and citrus flavors, dry.  The aroma is so faint, I likened it to driving past a strawberry field with the windows open.

Another area of the tasting room.
  • 2016 Estate Select Chardonnay $22

Our server went into some detail in her introduction to this wine, telling us how it is made from grapes half fermented in steel and half in medium French oak, and asserting it is her favorite white.  I disagree.  It has some pineapple taste, which is fine, but also something else I find unpleasant, sort of a chemical or metallic note.  I also don’t like the smell, which reminds me of plastics. My tasting buddy thinks it is fine. Chacun à son goût…

  • 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon           $25

Well, this is pleasanter.  I smell red lollipop, though my husband says, not that sweet.  Our server noted that this is her go-to red to bring to parties, and I can see why.  It is a soft, very unchallenging red, with fruity flavors of red plum and berries.  It would be fine to sip on its own, but would not stand up to steak.  A crowd pleaser.

There’s a small selection of gift items, primarily t-shirts.
  • 2015 Estate Selection Select Merlot                     $35

Although this is called a merlot, it is blended with some cabernet franc and petit verdot, which gives it more depth and complexity than a simple merlot.  It has some tannins, and I can taste the oak and some fruit.  Nice.

The courtyard will be a good place for tasting when the weather gets warmer.

Reasons to visit:  a classic old-school vineyard, with solid wines and no glitz; the gewürztraminer, the rosé, and the merlot; the cabernet sauvignon if you like soft, simple reds; reasonable prices but also some VERY high-end wines (as in $130 per bottle); nice menu of cheeses and also sandwiches. Note: my husband says the restroom is very small.

I appreciate it when bars have these hooks for one’s belongings.
The vines are still bare–no bud break yet!

Duck Walk: Time to Par-tee

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

March 26, 2022

Our visiting pooch.

This time the only complicating factor—we thought—was the well-behaved pooch our visitors brought with them.  So we carefully planned to go to Jason’s Winery for a tasting, even though we knew Jamesport was holding a St. Patrick’s Day Parade that Saturday.  Looking at a map of the parade route, we thought we could get to Jason’s.  A couple of detours later, we got there—only to discover that it was the site of an after-parade party, with the grounds packed with cars.  Plan B.  We parked on a side road and called a couple of other tasting rooms.  No dogs; no dogs; okay for a dog, but there’s one here now, said the lovely woman at McCall’s, and the room is small.  We popped our heads in anyway, and were barked at.  Never mind.  Then I remembered that Duck Walk is owned by the same family that owns Jason’s and Pindar—the family of Dr. “Dan” Damianos—and is also “pet friendly.” 

Dr. “Dan” Damianos overlooks the tasting room.

Though the rain had commenced to fall heavily, we decided to head to Duck Walk as our last possibility, as the afternoon was slipping away.  In we went, to be greeted by a wall of sound. Though the live entertainment consisted of one man with a guitar, his amp and mic must have been set on the loudest settings, and the room is cavernous, so it was so noisy we could barely hear the woman at the cash register inside the door.  The noise was abetted by perhaps five or six bachelorette parties, easily identifiable by the woman in the midst of each wearing a white veil, including one group whose theme was “disco,” and who were dressed in sparkling outfits.  Should we stay?  We decided to stay. 

The bride-to-be is easily identifiable.
By the time we left, the sun was out. That’s March–if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.

The visiting pooch was a big hit with the bachelorettes, who had a great time petting him and receiving doggie kisses in exchange.  We also noted that Duck Walk allows outside food, and one party was happily consuming picnic lunches, most likely provided by the limo company.  Some bags of pretzels and popcorn are for sale, plus bottles of water.

We paid for two tastings, at $13 for four tastes, and received a little slip of paper to present at the bar.  You can also pay directly at the bar, as we observed.  However, considering how hard the two—later three—servers were working, I’m glad we didn’t give them that additional task.  After seating ourselves at a picnic table as far as possible from the music—which would have been fine at a lower decibel level—we headed to the bar and perused a menu.  There we were confronted with twenty-three possibilities on a complicated list which has the categories “white wine varietal,” “white blends and rosé,” “red blends,” “red wines varietal,” and “dessert & sparkling wines.”  Whew.  One guest prefers her wines on the sweet side, so she consulted with Matt, a superlative server, who kindly marked the sweeter wines—eight in all—on her menu.  Also on offer, they make Absenthe, the “traditional distilled spirit with wormwood,” for $5 per taste.  At the bar, I noted a couple of taps for Greenport Harbor beers.  As I went to get one of my tastes, a couple walked up to the bar and the young man told his companion, “I want a beer,” so I hope they were happy with what they found.

Not sure what the plastic cups are for. Our tastes, of about an ounce and a half, came in nice glasses.

We opted to get up and get each taste, since there was no way to carry all four to our table and we didn’t want to stand at the bar.  Matt did a great job of remembering me each time I came back, and helping me keep track of what we had had.  I’m not sure how he did it, with the crowd around the bar.

I’ll list the wines in the order in which I tasted them, indicating which were in our guests’ tasting with an *.

  •  2020 Reisling*  $21.95

Reislings can vary in their level of sweetness, which is why I rarely buy one I haven’t tasted, and this one is definitely on the side of sweeter.  Our guest compared the taste to “sucking on a lollipop.”  I smell honeysuckle; she tastes peach and butterscotch.

  • 2020 Sauvignon Blanc    $21.95

This is a light, dry sauv, with lots of citrus.  I say lemon/lime, and my tasting buddy says more on the lime-y side.

  • Windmill Red *                $18.95

Yuk.  This smells like dirt—and not the somewhat pleasant petrichor smell—and tastes worse.  It has no depth and an unpleasant taste.  None of us wants to drink it, so I return the glass to the bar, where Matt very kindly replaces it with a red he hopes we’ll like better, for no extra charge.

  • 2020 Pinot Grigio            $21.95

Finally, a wine we like.  This has a pleasantly peachy flavor, with lemon at the end.

  • 2019 Pinot Meunier *    $26.95

Matt gave us this as a replacement, probably thinking of my friend’s penchant for sweet wines.  “Shades of Manischevitz,” is the comment.  Yes, I agree, this tastes very like grape juice.

  • 2018 Merlot      $21.95

We have a brief discussion of merlot, and how it is so popular on the North Fork.  This is a fairly typical merlot, with some nice cherry flavor and good mouthfeel.  Nothing special, but drinkable.

  • 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon *        $21.95

“Not as good as the merlot,” is our consensus, “but okay.”  It is dry, with a hint of tannins, and some dark fruit flavor.

  • 2019 Pinot Noir               $38.95

I get a pleasant bramble aroma and taste, with very soft tannins.  I can see how someone who is put off by big reds would find this pleasant.  Just okay.

  • 2020 Aphrodite *            $21.95

Save this for last, counsels Matt.  Right.  It is, after all, a dessert wine, and comes in a slim, pretty 375 ml. bottle featuring a picture of the goddess of love.  But we don’t love it.  It’s too sweet even for my sweet-loving guest.  It tastes like a sugary fruit salad, though I guess if you paired it with foie gras or walnuts it would be tolerable.  The menu suggests pouring this gewürztraminer wine over vanilla ice cream.  Yes, it is that sweet.

Reasons to visit:  you need a place that welcomes dogs and/or outside food; you are with a group of bachelorettes; the pinot grigio and the merlot; you like sweet wine.

Disco-themed bachelorettes!

Ev & Em Vineyards: Not Quite Ready for Prime Time

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

March 11, 2022

The little sign attached to the big sign said “open,” so in we went.  Laurel Lake was one of the last vineyards we went to in 2020, pre-pandemic—on February first—so we were curious to see how the new owners had changed things.  From the outside, it didn’t look all that different, but as soon as we opened the doors we were amazed at the changes.  If you’ve ever watched “Restaurant Impossible,” you know how much a room can change, but this was huge.  The room even retained a faint smell of fresh paint.

From the outside it doesn’t look all that different.

Instead of having a warm, country vibe, the room has been transformed into a sleek modern space, with the old-fashioned hearth replaced by a gray stone fireplace.  The room seemed particularly bare because they have not yet gotten their furniture.  Supply chain issues, I assume.  I sympathize, since we recently bought a set of eight dining room chairs, only six of which were in the store.  Oh yes, we were told, we will have those other two chairs for you in a couple of weeks.  Three months later we ended up with two chairs of a similar design, which we put at the head and foot of the table to minimize the differences. 

We moved two wire chairs (I believe holdovers from Laurel Lake) from in front of the fireplace and put them next to a shelf display unit, to improvise somewhere to rest our glasses while we sat and sipped.

Even the wood floor looks different, as it is now a lighter color than before.
You can see the large porch area and the grassy field beyond it, where we once sat on a summer’s day.

 If you want to stand at the bar, there’s plenty of space, since it extends all along one side of the room.  And once summer comes, they will have a lot of room—assuming their furniture arrives! —on the covered porch and the grassy grounds.  Summer will also bring a food truck, at which point they will most likely no longer allow outside food.  At the moment, all they have on offer is North Fork Potato Chips, so they likely wouldn’t object if you came with a snack—though there are no tables on which to put it.  (By the way, they do allow dogs on leashes.)

We perused the menu, which had three categories:  the Ev & Em E2 flight, of four wines for $32; Whalebone wines, available by the glass or bottle; and Laurel Lake wines, which they will continue to sell until they are sold out, of four wines out of a list of thirteen, for $25.  Having tasted most of the Laurel Lake offerings, we decided to go for the E2 (E squared?) tasting.  Since the new owner has kept the same winemaker, we were curious as to how the E2 offerings would compare.  The new owner, by the way, is Dan Abrams, of ABC news fame, and the winery’s unusual name is a tribute to his two children.  His book, Kennedy’s Avenger, is for sale at the winery.

Of course, Dan Abrams’ book is for sale in the tasting room.

So we told Danielle, the friendly and chatty server, our choice, and she poured our first taste into a nice big glass.  Each time I got up to fetch our next taste, she and I chatted a bit, and she happily answered all of my questions.  I was wondering what the Whalebone Wine was about, and she said it had to do with an interview in a magazine of that name, on display in the tasting room, for which a couple of wines were created.

  •  2020 Chardonnay          $32

I could immediately tell this was an oaked chard, since it had that piney, woodsy aroma of oak. Fortunately, it was not too heavily oaked, so though it had a bit of an unctuous mouth feel, it also had some refreshing citrus notes and some minerality.  My drinking buddy pronounced it “drinkable.”    

We improvised a place to rest our wine glasses as we discussed our tastes.
  • 2019 Gewürztraminer   $32

Danielle and I had a bit of a discussion about this one, since she said she liked it better than the Laurel Lake version of this grape.  I found it too sweet.  It has a lovely flowery aroma, and tastes of peaches and nutmeg (peach pie, anyone?).  My husband thought it was monochromatic, and definitely too sweet for him.  I much prefer the One Woman gewürztraminer, which was, at least the last time I tried it, much more complex.  I guess this would be okay with spicy Thai food.

  • 2019 Merlot      $40

Would you like a clean glass?  Yes, I would.  Always a nice touch.  There are many, many merlots on the North Fork, and every different price point, starting with the North Fork Project’s one liter bottle for $10 (three for $30 at Pellegrini Winery), surely the best NoFo bargain.  The E2 merlot is at one of the higher price points, and not really worth it, though it’s not bad.  It has a slight fruit/cherry aroma, with soft tannins, and is dry with tastes of fruit and herbs.  Short finish, or as we like to say, the taste evanesces.

  •  2019 Cabernet Franc     $40

Although the winemaker has remained, he has, notes Danielle, tweaked the flavors of the new wines so they are different from the old ones.  We discuss what a nice guy Juan Sepúlveda is, as I once had a long and illuminating chat with him when I came for a tasting and he was hanging out in the tasting room.  In common with a tasting we had when this was Laurel Lake, the reds are still served too cold, so I warm it in my palm.  After it warms up, we quite like this red, with its aroma of berries and wood and tastes of red fruit and spice.  Dry, with some good tannins, which makes me wonder if it would age well. 

From the tasting room you can peek into the wine-making area. Here you can see the light fixtures reflected in the glass.

Reasons to Visit:  time to try a new place, though I suggest you wait until they get their furniture; pleasant outdoor spaces; they will have a food truck; the chardonnay, if you don’t mind some oakiness, and the cabernet franc; dogs are allowed; you’re a fan of Dan Abrams.

Pellegrini: A Brief Visit

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

http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com

Uh-oh. What happened to Rudolph?!

December 21, 2021

It was time, we were reminded in a phone call, to pick up our wine club selections for December, so we popped over to Pellegrini on a gray, chilly afternoon.  Inside, Teri gave us a warm welcome, remembering that we are in the “red only” category.  We decided to do a tasting, mainly sampling the wines in our box to see how we would use them, or whether we wanted more.

We also decided to try this iteration of the gewürztraminer for two reasons:  it is a grape I sometimes like and sometimes do not, depending on how sweet its wine is, and they were offering a special, that if you bought two bottles at $24.99, you got a third one free.  We did, and also bought a three-pack of the North Fork Project Merlot, the best wine bargain on the North Fork:  three big bottles of a very nice merlot for $30.

There were two other small groups in the tasting room, quietly enjoying their tastings, so social distancing was not a problem, and we all wore masks when away from the tables.

Since Teri had some free time, I asked her about a name for one of the wines, a white blend called REJOYCE.  I asked the right person!  It used to be called White Medley, until a winery in California got in touch and informed them that they already had a patent on that name.  Uh-oh.  What to call it?  So Pellegrini had a little contest to come up with a new name.  Teri thought of REJOYCE as a play on words, since Mrs. Pellegrini’s first name is Joyce.  She won three bottles of wine, and a bit of local fame.

  •  2019 Gewürztraminer $24.99

Delicious!  Sweet floral aroma, and tropical fruit tastes, with pineapple and mango predominant.  It would be great with spicy food, and it is not too sweet at all.

  • Steakhouse Red               $19.99

A non-vintage (so they can blend it for consistency) blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot red, this is a tasty though somewhat light wine, with mouth-watering tannins.  We discuss whether or not this merits the name “Steakhouse,” since it is not the kind of big intense red one often thinks of to go with steak, but I think the tannins might do well to cut the fattiness of meat.  Maybe it would complement lamb chops.

  • 2015 Richmond Creek Cabernet Franc    $29.99

“Serviceable” is the term my tasting buddy applies to this pleasant, but not big red.  “Itsy-bitsy” is his next comment.  Nice tastes of fruit and spice.  We’ll be happy to drink it, probably with pasta. (After we got home, I remembered that Osprey also labels wines Richmond Creek, so I’ll have to ask about that next time.)

  • 2015 Regalo       $49.99

“Regalo” means gift, a good term for this blend of 50% petit verdot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% cabernet franc, because it is lovely.  We like this the most, and plan to put it in the cellar for special guests.  It is relatively complex, with good tannins and tastes of fruit and tobacco.

Reasons to visit:  what I’ve said in past reviews, plus this time all the wines we sampled, but especially the gewürztraminer and the Regalo.

Coffee Pot Cellars: Time for a Chat

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October 15, 2021

Watch for the large dinosaur—excuse me—wine-o-saur on their lawn to find Coffee Pot Cellars’ tasting room.  Made from corks inserted into a wire frame, this not-yet-completed structure symbolizes the quirky charm of this little winery.  When you walk in, you will get an enthusiastic greeting from Laura Klahre, the wife of winemaker Adam Suprenant, and possibly also from their little black pug, Beasley.  Beasley, however, is less enthusiastic these days, as his age of fourteen has begun to take its toll, and he was fast asleep during our recent visit. 

Though we last visited Coffee Pot (named for the lighthouse near Orient Point—and no, they do not serve coffee) in November 2019, Laura immediately recognized us, and included us in the conversation she was having with another couple, who also had not been there for a long time, about an amusing incident they had witnessed.  Several new customers came in while we were there, and, since they all opted to sit outside on the wrap-around porch, we had Laura to ourselves for much of our visit.  For them, she set up their complete tasting on a labeled tray, while for us she poured each one separately, so we had time to chat. 

According to the chalkboard, a complete tasting includes six of their seven wines for $15: three whites and three reds, but not the rosé.  However, as Laura put it, to acknowledge the tough year we have all had, and because we are on vacation and shouldn’t have to make decisions, the six is actually seven, as she also pours the rosé.  At the moment, she is using “corn plastic”—which is compostable—rather than glass, because their dishwasher is broken.  It would, she confesses, “hurt my soul” to use regular plastic.  That’s because in addition to her work in the tasting room—which is open Friday-Monday—Laura is a beekeeper and environmentalist, and sells her Blossom Tree Farm honey in the tasting room.  She also makes award-winning jam—we bought a jar of blueberry—and has a project to plant milkweed to help stem the decimation of the monarch butterfly population.  On our last visit, Beasley was wearing little monarch wings to promote this last project, but he’s getting too old to parade around in a costume.

As we sipped and chatted, we noted how much we like the wines, as well as the conversation!  And when we left, we took with us, in addition to the jam, a bottle of the Meritage and another of the rosé.

  •  2019 Sauvignon Blanc                 $21.99

Aged in stainless steel, this has a lovely aroma of melon and flowers, and is quite tasty.  We get lemon/lime, but it is more fruity than tart, though it is dry.  As with most North Fork sauvignon blancs, this would be lovely with some clams or oyster.

  • 2015 Chardonnay           $19.99

I was a bit leery of this, since it is oak aged, but then Laura noted that it is aged in fourteen-year-old barrels—in other words, neutral oak—so I took a sip.  Very nice.  Though you do get a bit of that I -chewed-on-my-pencil taste, overall it is more lemony than oaky. 

  • 2017 Gewürztraminer   $21.99

Thanksgiving is coming, so we discussed what a good wine gewürztraminer is for that holiday, because it is so versatile.  It also has enough taste to stand up to turkey, cranberry sauce, etc.  This is a dry one, which is good for me, with lovely honeysuckle aromas and tastes of pineapple and nutmeg.

  • 2020 Rosé          $24.99

A blend of 95% cabernet sauvignon and 5% merlot, this is a rosé with more oomph than most, with lovely aromas and flavors of strawberry.  This is also dry, and we got into a conversation about dry versus sweet wines, since one person had come in asking, did they have any sweet wines.  I suggested that she could offer them this rosé because, though it is dry, it has lots of fruit, which might read sweet to some.

  • 2016 Beasley’s Blend     $21.99

Laura observed to another customer who had come in and opted to just taste the reds, that her husband loves making reds.  That shows, as all three reds are better than the average North Fork ones.  Beasley apparently likes Bordeaux wines, as this is a Bordeaux blend of 58% merlot, 31% cabernet franc, 6% petit verdot, and 5% cabernet sauvignon.  It smells like cherries, no doubt the effect of the merlot, and is a soft and very drinkable red, with tastes of plums and chocolate.

  • 2014 Merlot      $25.99

If you buy a bottle of this, they plant more milkweed to help the monarchs, as a little blackboard keeps track of them.  Aged 18 months in French oak, this is a fairly typical North Fork merlot, with cherry flavor and aroma. 

  • 2015 Meritage  $28.99

Yum.  We bought a bottle of this to put in our cellar, as it is too good for just weeknight hamburgers.  A blend of 83% merlot, 12% cabernet franc, and 5% cabernet sauvignon, this has interesting tastes that include ripe cherries and cocoa and spice.

Reasons to visit:  a quirky little winery that has very good wines; Laura’s conversation and Beasley’s charm; you can also buy jam and honey and other interesting items; all the wines, but especially the rosé and the Meritage; you can bring your dog if you sit outside.

There’s an antique store next door, in case you want to browse.

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.

Osprey’s Dominion: Easy to Drink

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

July 1, 2021

We celebrated summer by heading to Osprey’s Dominion, after spotting an osprey on his or her nest and taking it as an omen.  On this warm summer early afternoon, the capacious tasting room was empty, and only a couple of tables were occupied outside on the pleasant patio. They still seem to be operating on the pandemic model, with a bunch of tables in the tasting room taken up by a varied selection of gift items, many of them unrelated to wine.  Not sure why.

In general, we like their wines, and during lockdown we drank many bottles of their Richmond Creek label, a very reasonably priced and quite drinkable collection.  So this time we opted for other wines on their flight menu. 

Two hard-working gentlemen (they were busy taking phone reservations for groups and unpacking boxes, in addition to serving flights) behind the bar handed us a menu and a paper with circles, where we were to specify which wines we wanted in our flight.  I know to order tastes from lightest or driest to most flavorful, but not everyone does, so it’s too bad no guidance was offered.  The problem is, if you taste, for example, a wine like an oaked chardonnay before a light wine like their sauvignon blanc, the sauv will seem to have no taste. The tastings are $15 for five or $10 for three, your choice from a menu of 23 wines.  They also offer wines by the glass, and a small menu of snack items. One of those was a Boar’s Head platter, of sliced meats and chips, which we know was fresh because the truck had just pulled up outside.  However, we asked about chips, which they did not have, and instead offered us bags of Wheat Thins, which we took, and for which they did not charge us.  They do still allow you to bring your own picnic, and, apparently, dog, since we saw one on the patio.

Ten wines seemed like more than we wanted to drink, so we opted for two tastings, one of five and one of three.  As it happened, the tastes were so small that I think we could have handled five and five.  We carried our trays outside, where a slight breeze made it pleasant, as we listened to soft rock of the James Taylor variety on the loudspeakers.  They have a gazebo out in the garden, labeled cutely “Grand Ole Osprey,” where they have live music on the weekends and Friday evenings.

  1.  2020 Sauvignon Blanc   $19

Our first taste was a perfect summer sipper, their light pleasant steel-fermented sauvignon blanc.  It has a sweet, flowery aroma and tastes of slightly sweetened lime.

  • 2014 Gewurztraminer   $19

You never know what you’re going to get with a gewurtz, as I’ve had both sweet and dry varieties.  This one is not sweet.  It has a bit of the cat pee smell one often encounters, plus some minerality.  My tasting buddy summed it up by saying it “wants to be sweet but isn’t.” Interesting.

  • 2019 Rosé          $19

Many rosés have lovely aromas of strawberries or other fruit, but this one has almost no smell.  However, it is a very drinkable dry rosé, with a touch of citrus, maybe Meyer lemon, and some tropical fruit, perhaps guava.

  •  2012 Merlot     $22

There are many, many merlots on the North Fork, and this one is similar to most, with its cherry aroma, but with another taste we couldn’t quite identify. It’s a simple, casual red, with some tannins. 

  • 2015 Cabernet Franc      $24

I insist this smells like macerated blackberries, at which my husband shrugs.  It is dry, with soft tannins, another easy-to-drink wine.  My husband says “tangy,” at which I shrug.

  • 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon           $22

We agree we like this one better, from the aroma of berries and flowers to the flavor of mixed berries.  Lots of tannins, so perhaps it could age even more. 

  • 2017 Malbec     $30

Despite the higher price, we would choose any of the preceding reds over this one, which we decide needs more oomph.  My tasting buddy observes that he wouldn’t have thought it was a malbec.  On the other hand, it is another drinkable wine.

  • 2014 Meritage “Flight”  $30

This is a blend, probably of cabernet franc and merlot, and a banner over the bar boasts that it has won awards, so I order it, though originally I was going to end with the petit verdot.  The aroma includes cherry and tobacco, and it tastes of cherries and oak, with more taste than smell.  This is one more in the list of unchallenging, easy-to-drink wines.

Reasons to visit: large tasting room and outside patio areas; all the wines are drinkable, if unchallenging; they allow you to bring a picnic and your pooch (outside), which many places no longer do; music on the weekends; we liked the sauvignon blanc and the cabernet sauvignon best.

Doggie!
I assume this outdoor bar is in anticipation of bigger crowds.