Jason Damianos | NoFo Wineaux

December 7, 2022

*The nautical theme begins outside; note the roped pilings.*

As we settled ourselves around Jason’s ship-shaped bar (mast and all), I joked, “And it’s not a pirate ship!” I expected the server to agree, and explain that its design is a reference to the famous Greek ship, the Argo, whose captain was the hero, Jason. Instead, he offered, “It’s a Viking ship.” Assuming he was kidding, I laughed—but he wasn’t. Though he’s worked for the Damianos family for years (They also own Pindar and the two Duck Walk tasting rooms.), no one had ever explained to him the mythological inspiration for the bar. Jason Damianos, sadly, died in an auto accident not long after opening the tasting room, but the family continues to run it. Though pleasant and attentive, our server was similarly not informed about the wines. I hope after our gentle teasing he will be better informed for the next visitors.

*The mast is designed like a classic Greek sailing ship*‘s mast.

We had chosen to go to Jason’s because our visitors brought with them their very well-behaved pooch, and, according to the web site, they welcome dogs. Then the sign on the door said, “No Pets.” What to do? I poked my head into the empty room, and asked, and the server welcomed us in, doggie and all. Whew.

We hadn’t been to Jason’s since February 2019, both due to the pandemic and because we had found the wines overall too sweet for our taste. They seem to have partially corrected that, although Golden Fleece (a reference to the object of Jason’s quest), their most popular wine, is still much too sweet. By the way, if you like to look at animals, you can stop outside to see the sheep and alpacas, another reference to the famous quest. Oh, and the rest rooms are labeled Gods and Goddesses, reinforcing the mythological theme.

A tasting consists of four wines for $15, chosen from the list of eleven, served in little plastic cups on a labeled tray. The servings were adequate for each couple to share a tasting. We decided to mostly have the same wines, so we could compare notes, and all decided not to buy any wines to take home. They allow you to bring in snacks, and also sell a selection of crackers and cheeses. Our guests bought a package of crackers as palate cleansers.

2020 Viognier $27.95

I often find viogniers quite pleasant, and this one was okay. The aroma reminded me of fresh-cut grass, and the taste was somewhat grassy as well, with some herbal notes. However, one guest found it somewhat vinegary, and too sharp for her taste.

*The plate has an insert of numbers, and our server explained to taste them in a clockwise order.*

2021 Sauvignon Blanc $24.95

Consulting my notes, I see that the last time we were here I characterized the sauvignon blanc as watery, and it still is. It’s a very light white, with some notes of melon with lemon squeezed over it.

Golden Fleece $18.95

Our guests ordered this one, and gave us a sip to taste as well. A blend of chardonnay, seyval blanc, Cayuga, vidal blanc, and riesling—according to the tasting menu, though our server was unable to tell us in what proportions—this tasted mostly like a rather sweet riesling. Not my type, though, as I mentioned above, this is apparently their most popular wine.

*There’s an outside porch area, though not for a chilly rainy day.*

2019 Merlot $34.95

“This is a competent merlot,” opined one guest, and I agree. It is dry, with some cherry taste and aroma, somewhat light, with some notes of oak and smoke. As we were sipping, we got into a discussion with our server, who by this time had exactly one other group to attend to, about how the Damianos family run three separate wineries. He explained that, in addition to the eleven wines at Jason’s, the other two places offer thirty different wines each, with each meeting different requirements as to taste. However, the same winemaker does them all. That’s impressive, and part of why I find wine so fascinating. The same grape, grown in the same area and type of soil, can end up tasting quite different, depending on time of harvest and after harvest treatment.

*The bottles are adorned with an image of the Argo. It was manned by a group of heroes dubbed the Argonauts.*

2019 Meritage $36.95

Although this is their Bordeaux blend (again, I don’t know proportions or grapes), it is thin, almost watery, with a slight taste of black olives. Meh.

Reasons to visit: you like to look at sheep and alpacas; you are fascinated by Greek mythology; you need to bring a dog with you (despite the sign on the door, the website does say, “Pets are welcome!”); you like sweet wine.

*This alpaca seemed quite curious about us.*

Jason’s Vineyard: Not-So-Golden Fleece February 9, 2019

https://www.jasonsvineyard.com/

If you remember your Greek mythology, you will realize that the boat-shaped bar at Jason’s Vineyard is meant to evoke the famous ship, the Argo, on which the Argonauts, led by Jason, set out to find the Golden Fleece—not, as we once heard a guest guess, a pirate ship.

A view to the outdoor veranda and a portrait of Jason.

Jason was (he sadly died young, just a few years ago) a member of the Damianos family, whose other vineyards are Duck Walk and Pindar, which we reviewed recently. We decided to check out Jason’s and make it a trifecta. Having met and had a great chat with Jason, whom we ran into in a local store, back when he was planning to open this winery, we wanted to like it. Though we were pleased by some of the wines, overall we found some of the same issues as with the other Damianos family wines, a tendency to over-sweetness and simplicity.

The tasting room is of average size, but they also have a plastic-sheeted veranda and an outdoor seating area for larger crowds in the summer. The bar is surrounded by bar stools, so you can perch as you sip. We observed one group nibbling on food they had clearly brought with them, and there are also a few snack items for sale. In an outdoor enclosure we saw several sheep and alpacas, I suppose another reference to that famous fleece.

The menu offers five tastes for $15, and after some calculating we realized that we could do two tastings and try almost all of their wines. You pay in advance and get a little pile of black “coins,” which the server collects as she pours each new taste. The tastes, by the way, are quite generous, so that we found ourselves dumping those that didn’t delight with more frequency than usual. They also have Greenport Harbor beer on tap.

2015 Chardonnay $21.95

The aroma of this steel-fermented wine is rather typically chardonnay-ish, with plenty of lemon and tropical smells. The taste is also rather strong for a chard, and we decided it would go better with chicken than any sort of delicate seafood.

No that’s not water–our water glasses are in the back–that’s how light the sauvignon blanc is.

2017 Sauvignon Blanc $24.95

The first thing I noticed was the very light, almost watery color of the wine. That turned out to be predictive of the taste, which I described as wine-flavored water. Grassy aroma.

2017 Pinot Blanc $34.95

“Are they keeping the wine outside?” wondered my tasting buddy, as we tried to warm up the very cold glass so we could assess the wine. On the other hand, we liked this the best so far. Although the aroma is slightly chemical, the taste balances citrus with a sweeter fruitiness, perhaps guava. This is a white you could have with pork chops.

2015 White Riesling $24.95

Isn’t saying white riesling redundant, we asked our server, who chuckled and admitted she was equally baffled. In this case, the chem lab aroma led to a taste we did not care for. It was sweet, but with a bitter aftertaste, like honey being used to disguise medicine, as my mother used to do to give me aspirin when I was little.

Golden Fleece $18.95

Given the name, we were not surprised to hear her describe this as their “signature white.” It is a blend of chardonnay, seyval blanc, Cayuga, vidal blanc, and riesling. Though she didn’t have any information on the proportions, she said it was predominantly chardonnay. Having been forewarned that this was on the sweet side, we were pleasantly surprised to find that, although it did remind us of white grape juice mixed with tropical fruit and tangerines, it was not cloyingly sweet. However, we did dump most of this and the previous taste.

Two merlots.

2014 Merlot $27.99

Our server poured this along with an “extra” of a taste of the 2000 Merlot, which they are offering for just $12 a bottle. One sip and we knew why the low price—my husband described it as “if not over the hill, at least standing at the top and about to walk down.” It smelled like forest floor and machine oil and tasted smoky and thin. Which made the 2014 taste better. It’s a typical North Fork merlot, with dominant cherry tastes and light tannins. The extra, by the way, was not given to us because of the book, but according to the server is being given to everyone, so they are clearly looking to offload the 2000. We dumped our taste.

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $27.95

We had hopes for this wine, as it smelled really good, of dark fruits, but the taste was very light, with no depth and not much fruit. Dump.

2015 Meritage $29.95

This is an unusual blend for a red, of cabernet, merlot, and chardonnay, aged 24 months in French oak. The aroma reminded me of Cheracol cough syrup, but the taste was not bad. My husband described it as “not sophisticated, but tasty.” A light red, it would be fine with pasta or, for a Greek meal, pastitsio.

2013 Malbec $29.95

We get some wet basement funkiness in the smell, but fortunately it tastes better than that. Though it is not complex, we get some nice dark fruits and light tannins. Dry and drinkable. We decide it could go with barbeque, but for this level of wine we’d rather head to Vintage, our local liquor store, for one of their $12 bottles.

2007 Dessert Wine $28.95

As we were deciding which wines to get, we hesitated between this and the rosé in order to total ten tastes. Our server, seeing what we liked, steered us to this one, telling us that the rosé was on the sweet side. This, of course, is sweet as well, comparable, she said to a port, with 19.5% alcohol, made from cabernet. A good drink for a cold day, she suggested. It does taste port-like, rather sweet, but, my husband opines, with no depth or gravitas. We try it with the heart-shaped chocolates that are in a bowl in front of us, which does improve the experience. I could see sipping this by the fire with a piece of chocolate cake. Or maybe just the cake…

We noted the nautical theme even at the entrance.

Reasons to visit: you like to visit the sheep and alpacas, though you are sternly warned not to feed them; very generous pour; you can bring your own snacks; the chardonnay, the Meritage, the malbec; the bar is cool; they also have the Absenthe, which we tried at Pindar.

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Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

Tag Archives: Jason Damianos

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