We had done our civic duty and voted in the Board of Education election, and found ourselves at 3:30 in the afternoon with nothing to do, so we took ourselves to Clovis Point. As we sat on the shaded deck, looking out at the sunlit vines and listening to some soft classic rock, I commented to my tasting buddy that this was a very civilized way to spend an afternoon. The chairs are comfortable, and the flowers on each table are a nice touch. We also appreciated the way our tasting was served to us—in a series of little carafes, with each of us getting our own glass. We had told our cheerful and attentive server that we’d be sharing one tasting, since it consisted of seven wines for $30. And indeed, it was plenty, and we left feeling no pain, but also perfectly compos mentis.
Only one other table was occupied, by a small group speaking French, who seemed to be enjoying themselves very much. We took our time with our tastes, discussing the wines and munching on North Fork Potato Chips ($6 for a large bag). Our server also supplied us with a plate and napkins, so we could dole out each serving.
One more note on civilization—the name “Clovis point” refers to a projectile point originally used during the Ice Age, 12,000-13,000 years ago, a mark of very early civilization! Now you know what the meaning is of the symbol of the winery, which is found on their bottles.
2021 Sauvignon Blanc $29
Our tasting started, as many local ones do, with the sauvignon blanc, a light, easy-to-drink white. It has a pleasant, flowery aroma, and a bit of a funky taste, plus definite minerality. “There’s not a lot to it,” opined my husband, and I replied that it would go well with oysters.
We really liked this way of serving a shared tasting, as it is more hygienic than sipping from the same glass. Quite civilized.
2021 Chardonnay $25
This is their steel-fermented chard, another light white, with a touch of petrichor in the aroma. It has some lemon tastes, and actually complements the potato chips very well, which leads me to think that it would go well with charcuterie. My tasting buddy notes that the taste is a bit floral at the end.
2021 Black Label Chardonnay $28
Some people like oaked chards, and some don’t, so this combo—80% steel and 20% barrel aged—might please everyone. At least, it pleases me! It smells similar to the previous chard, but the taste is different—smoother, juicier. Mouth-watering, we decide, and buyable, though we don’t get a bottle this time.
2021 Rosé $22.50
Interestingly, though this is 95% cabernet franc and only 5% chardonnay, the aroma reminds me of the chardonnays. It has some typical strawberry flavor, and though my husband says he is “neither up nor down” on it, I think it is a nice summer sipper. This is another light wine, and I could see pairing it with a Catapano goat cheese and some crackers.
2020 Merlot $29
Merlots are very common on the North Fork, and often very similar, with a taste and aroma of cherries. This one is no exception, with also some notes of spice and pencil shavings (What, you never chewed on a pencil when you were a kid?).
2019 Cabernet Franc $45
Oh my. That’s quite a price jump, but, on the other hand, this is quite a wine. The tasting notes suggest mocha and coffee, and I add complex and interesting, with a brambly aroma. I could see pairing this with a nice steak dinner.
2016 Artifact $45
Though I caution my husband that this is a port, he complains that it is too sweet. Well, but for a port it is not too sweet. It is aged 44 months in neutral oak. I think it smells a bit like licorice (I, unlike many people, like black licorice.) and berries. Yes, I could see lingering after dinner over a glass of this, cracking walnuts and pretending to be in an English novel. The name, by the way, is a nod to the Clovis point concept.
Lees left in the glass after drinking the port.
Reasons to visit: pleasant outdoor area; music on the weekends; they have a menu of snacks but also allow outside food, as long as you don’t bring a cooler; the Black Label Chardonnay and the Cabernet Franc, plus the Artifact if you want a not very sweet port.
What’s in a name? In this case, the literal truth. Claudia Purita planted, tends, harvests, and produces the wines herself—well, there’s some help, notably from her daughter who is often in the tasting room, but basically this is her show. We saw the truth of this as we sat on the deck doing our tasting, when Ms. Purita and her daughter walked past us, schlepping a shelving unit into the tasting room, where they quickly set it up.
And that careful supervision has resulted in some lovely wines. But first, a few words about the tasting room—or should I say shack, as it is a tiny building with room for maybe half a dozen people to stand at the bar, surrounded by a small deck with room for maybe twenty more, plus some picnic tables on the grass. The sign at the entrance asserts in big letters “NO BUSES, NO LIMOS, NO GROUPS OVER SIX PEOPLE,” because clearly, they just don’t have room.
Half of the petite tasting room.And the other half!
We hadn’t visited the tasting room since before the pandemic, making do with bottles of the grüner veltliner from Vintage, the excellent liquor store in the Mattituck strip mall, so we were happy to head there on this warm, sunny day. Maybe too warm—by the time I got to tasting the merlot, it was approaching deck temperature, which was 84 degrees. In the summer they put up awnings, giving the deck some shade, but who expects 84 degrees in April?
In any event, our welcome was warm, and the young woman behind the bar greeted us and presented us with the menu of tastings, explaining our options, and assuring us that we could sit outside and she would be happy to bring our tastings to us. There are two set flights, one dubbed “Regular,” of four wines for $20, and the other labeled “Reserve,” with four pricier wines for $30. We could also have crafted our own lists for a little more, but we opted to share a Regular flight, as that seemed to offer a good range of wines we might likely buy. They also have wines available by the glass. We noted that they now offer an antipasto plate and bags of truffle potato chips, as well as a few non-alcoholic beverages and vodka, gin, and rye from Montauk Distilling.
Our flight was brought out in a cute little wooden box, with each wine and the order in which to drink them clearly labeled. Our server explained each wine, and then left us to our tasting, checking back a couple of times to see if we needed anything else.
2019 Sauvignon Blanc $25
Dry, crisp, with tastes of tropical fruit and tangerine, this is a perfect wine to sip on a porch on a hot day. It has “some zip to it,” commented my tasting buddy. It would go well with charcuterie.
The gruner. The pour was generous enough that we were happy to share one tasting.
2020 Grüner Veltliner $22
This is one of our favorite North Fork whites, and this vintage does not disappoint. We taste Granny Smith apple and other fruit in this light but complex wine, which my husband dubs “tasty.” We like to drink it with Chinese take-out, especially dumplings.
2018 Chardonnay $25
Our server notes that this is aged, half in oak and half in steel, making it the “best of both worlds.” I don’t care for it, and leave it for my fellow taster to finish. To me, it has a chemical smell and taste, almost like the chlorine in a swimming pool. That may not be a good thing, my husband quips, “but at least it keeps the place clean.” He likes it, so maybe it’s just some quirk of my taste buds!
The view of the vines. One year, a hailstorm decimated her crop, but Ms. Purita has persevered.
2915 Merlot $25
As our server foretold, this is a typical North Fork merlot, with lots of cherry flavor and aroma. It has some light tannins, and would go great with a burger or pasta dish. My buddy notes it has a lot of body, but I wonder whether that’s a perception based on how warm it has gotten. We sit back and finish our wine—he has the chard, and I have the merlot—as we listen to some pleasant, soft guitar music. I thought about getting a glass of something else, but we really need to get out of the sun, so perhaps we’ll come back another day to try some other wines.
A view of Ms. Purita’s daughter, working in the tasting room.
Reasons to visit: an intimate setting where you may get to meet the owner/winemaker; the sauvignon blanc, the grüner veltliner, the merlot; a relaxed vibe. We buy a bottle of the grüner and another of the merlot to take home.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Our visiting pup.
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.
The entrance to the patio from the parking lot is well-shaded.
The sky was threatening rain, so I was glad I was able to park just steps from the back door of Roanoke’s Love Lane wine shop in the roomy parking lot off Pike Street. Roanoke has two tasting rooms, but the one at the vineyard is for members only. However, all are welcome to their Love Lane venue, a small but pleasant store front in the midst of Love Lane’s shops. Love Lane, by the way, is a great destination for foodies, since in one small block you have the terrific Village Cheese Shop, the Sweet Shoppe and its gourmet chocolates, Ammirati’s sandwich restaurant with its many choices, Lombardi’s Italian market, North Fork Donut Company, and Love Lane Kitchen, where the lines outside prove its popularity. Not to mention, just around the corner, Agora, a Greek market, and Good Food, where I get empanadas.
The view out the front window, where you can see Lombardi’s market, which has all sorts of prepared foods and pizza, as well as meats, etc.
Despite all these offerings on Love Lane, we and our guests had just had lunch at CJ’s Grill, in the Mattituck Marketplace, where the service was a bit slow, but the food was delicious and the servings were generous. This was fortunate, since the pour at Roanoke is also generous, and it was good to have a well-lined stomach. The tasting menu just has one flight listed for non-club members, of four wines for $16. We liked them all so much, and the price was so reasonable, that I bought one each of all four wines, something I have never done before.
Roanoke does have a well-shaded patio in back, where we would have sat if the weather had cooperated. However, it had turned chilly, so our party of five voted to sit inside. We had the room to ourselves, which was nice, and our server and a friend of his who was hanging out at the bar helped us push two small tables together and rearrange the chairs so we were quite comfortable. Each couple shared a tasting, with the designated driver supplied with a glass of water (which we all also got).
Though we didn’t need any snacks, one of our guests asked for a cracker or two, and got a nice little basket of crackers.
As I was paying for our tastings and bottles, I noticed a small list of cheeses and snacks, but I forgot to ask about their policy for bringing in food. I’ll assume dogs are probably allowed on the outside patio, but I would call and ask before coming. By the way, Roanoke also carries Wölffer Estate wines, including their very popular rosé, Summer in a Bottle.
As we sipped, one of our guests asked how this year had been, and our server told us that it looked likely to be a very good year for the harvest, as grapes enjoy the hot dry weather we had for most of the summer. Something to look forward to!
The labels are quite attractive.
2021 Sauvignon Blanc $26
This is a steel fermented wine, with a bit of that mineral aroma steel-fermented wines get, plus a lovely floral scent. We all like the crisp, lemon-lime taste, with more depth than many sauvignon blancs. This is a very drinkable wine, and would be good with food, like a lobster roll.
2021 The Wild $23
What’s so wild about this? It uses wild yeast, which cedes some control over the result to nature, rather than using commercial yeasts. Channing Daughters also uses wild yeasts—those occurring naturally in the air and soil—for their L’Enfant Sauvage. As a result, the taste of the wine can vary from year to year. This one worked out well. A clone of chardonnay, with some muscat, it is steel-fermented, but is softer than some steel chards. Instead of citrus, it has a toasted nut flavor and a long finish. Our guests buy two bottles.
2020 > (Greater Than) $25
Why is the name of this Bordeaux-style blend the mathematical symbol for greater than? There’s a story behind it. Originally, this was called Bond, but it turned out a California winery also had a wine called Bond—a very high-end wine—and they had copyrighted the name. Uh-oh. So Roanoke asked its wine club members for alternative names, and someone came up with the idea of greater than, as in greater than the sum of its parts. And indeed it is. This is a blend of 67% cabernet franc, 19% merlot, and 14% cabernet sauvignon. The aroma includes cherries (likely from the merlot) and spice. I say nutmeg. The tasting menu compares it to a Briermere cherry tart. It’s not sweet, but it is soft, with no tannins, so it’s surely a drink-now wine. I’d have it with mac and cheese—maybe the mac and cheese from Meats Meat, also in Mattituck, just around the corner on Main Road.
2020 Marco Tulio $28
There’s a story behind the name of this Bordeaux blend as well. It is named for the father of one of the founders, who lived to be 99 years old, and died just short of his 100th birthday. His photo adorns the bottle. This one has much more of the cherry aroma and flavor, not surprising, given that this blend is 66% merlot, 21% cabernet franc, and 13% cabernet sauvignon. This is drier than >, with some slight tannins. I taste tart plums and a little spice. I think I’d pair it with spaghetti carbonara.
Reasons to visit: cozy tasting room conveniently located in the midst of Love Lane’s food mecca; all four of the tasting menu wines; a place to buy Wölffer Estate wines.
The last time we were at Chronicle Wines—back in 2019, when it was still called Peconic Cellar Door—the five-year-old daughter of one of the owners put in an appearance with her nanny, so it seemed like a good place to visit with a couple of granddaughters in tow. And indeed it was.
The bar is a holdover from the Winemaker’s Studio.
Since our pre-Covid visit, Chronicle, helmed by Robin Epperson-McCarthy and Alie Shaper (both of whom were in the tasting room when we arrived, and gave us a warm welcome), has expanded into the next-door shop-front space previously occupied by Anthony Nappa’s Winemaker’s Studio. Alie assured us that Anthony, who is the winemaker for Raphael, is still very much in the winemaking business, and continues to runs his wine club for the wines he makes separate from Raphael. This new room is outfitted more like a lounge, with cushioned seats and small tables, plus the bar, while their original space has bigger tables. Since there were six in our party (counting the two youngsters) we opted for the big table, promising Robin that we would ignore the stacked boxes of a recent delivery—which they soon began putting away.
The lounge area.
The tasting menu offers two options, a white and orange flight of five wines for $25, or a red and rosé flight of five tastes, also $25. Since we wanted to try the full panoply of their wines, we decided to share one of each flight amongst the four of us, which turned out to work beautifully. Alie brought to our table a chilled bottle of water plus a tray of empty glasses so we could share the wines without sharing a glass. We also ordered a few snacks for the girls and ourselves—a box of cranberry almond crisps, a bag of North Fork potato chips, and a jar of olives—plus lemonades for the girls, and settled in.
Snacks!
While we waited for our flights to arrive, we examined the art on the walls, as Alie and Robin make a point of featuring local artists. Today’s paintings are by Cherryl K. Bradley. The granddaughters were quick to observe that “Queen of the Scrambled Brain” contained both a crown and some hearts, and wondered whether it showed the state of mind of someone who had difficulty with love.
The Queen of the Scrambled BrainFollow the Sun
Both Robin and Alie stopped by our table from time to time to see if we had any questions and make sure we had everything we needed. Although they work together, they each have their own brands of wines: As If, Brooklyn Oenology (BOE), Chronicle, Haywater Cove, and Saltbird Cellars. The tasting included some from each brand.
2024 Chronicle Chardonnay Pét-Nat $30
Sparkling wines are always a nice way to start a tasting, as they get one in a celebratory mood. This one was no exception, having a pleasantly yeasty aroma, nice carbonation, and a taste we discussed as either lemon verbena or lemon pie. One of our guests pronounced it “lively.”
2018 BOE Pinot Gris $15 (on sale)
Even though this one is on sale, we opted not to buy any, since we found it both thin and earthy, if that makes sense. I sensed a bit of a metallic taste, or maybe minerality would be a better term.
2019 Saltbird Cellar Sauvignon Blanc $25
We sensed an aroma of lemon and green apple, and one guest opined that “it has some sort of fruit taste, but not sure which.” We laughed over our shared tendency to guess gooseberry, though none of us is quite sure what a gooseberry tastes like. This might go nicely with some gravlax.
2014 As If Serendipity White Blend $15
Our favorite of the whites, this is a blend of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and viognier, lightly oaked. It has more body than the others, with a “nice roundness,” according to one guest, and a thyme honey taste, while still being tart. We each buy a bottle.
2020 BOE “Broken Land” orange wine $30
You may be wondering about how the granddaughters—ages eleven and eight—are occupying themselves as we sit and sip. They have their Kindles to read and snacks to munch, but they are also taking an interest in our discussions. They sniff the wines appreciatively, and agree or disagree with our descriptions of the aromas. Dad asks the eight-year-old, who, with her sister, has been helping him with some amateur basement winemaking, if she knows what an orange wine is. She confidently and immediately replies, “It’s a wine made with white wine grapes, fermented on the skins.” Overhearing this, Alie notes that if she were eighteen she’d hire her on the spot. Meanwhile, we sip this blend of gewürztraminer, sauvignon blanc, and pinot gris, and decide we like its aroma of orange blossoms or honeysuckle better than its flavor, which is a bit thin for us.
NV Haywater Cove Rosé $15
Rosé makes a nice transition from whites to reds, since it is made from red wine grapes, but fermented with minimal skin contact. This one is a blend of merlot and cabernet franc, and is very much in the Provençal tradition of light, dry rosés. We note that it is a good wine for hot weather, and could see drinking a nice chilled glass of this on the porch. My tasting buddy likes its strawberry aroma and flavor.
2019 Saltbird Cellars “Red Skies” $30
Though we find this blend of syrah and cabernet sauvignon pleasant, we don’t feel it is a $30 bottle. The aroma is earthy, and the wine is light, with tastes of raisins and grapefruit peel.
2020 Saltbird Cellars Merlot $27
The aroma has a slight whiff of basement, and the wine is very dry and light, with a touch of cherry flavor. One of us suggests it would go well with roast chicken, to which I reply, “What doesn’t?” We have some difference of opinion over this one, which one guest pronounces sophisticated, but which I find unimpressive.
2017 Saltbird Cellars “Harbinger” $36
When a wine has a non-varietal name, that often means it is a blend, which this is: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and petit verdot. The night before, we bought steaks at Center Cuts and cooked them on the barbeque, so we were wondering whether any of the reds we tasted today would stand up to such steaks. This one would not. It has some cherry and dark fruit taste, but is again rather light, though one guest notes it has “chewy tannins.”
2013 Chronicle Wines Red Blend, limited edition $40 (? Not sure)
Yummy aroma of dried fruits, delicious taste. And yes, this wine could stand up to a big steak. It has lots of dark fruit flavor, is dry, with a nice mouth feel. This is a Bordeaux blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec, syrah, and petit verdot. We both buy a bottle.
Reasons to visit: Alie and Robin are eager to please, and will tell you all about their wines; pleasant small tasting room; the Pét-Nat, the As If Serendipity white blend, the Haywater Cove Rosé, and the Chronicle Red Blend; if you are interested in such things, they also sell canned wines and spritzers; dogs allowed outside.
Looking like a villa in Tuscany, the Raphael tasting room sits on the Main Road in Peconic. A covered veranda in the back looks out onto the grape vines, and the warm weather this week made it really feel like Italy. We drove in past the miniature villa gateposts, around the Italianate fountain, and parked in the lot. Through heavy wooden doors that would not be out of place on a palazzo we went, entering a huge space where a disembodied voice said, “Welcome!”
The voice soon materialized into a young woman, who cheerily asked us if we wanted to sit inside or outside. Noting that there was plenty of room to be socially distant from other tasters, we opted to sit inside at a table facing outside, where she left us with a couple of menus.
As we perused the menus, she returned with two bottles of Poland Spring water. I no longer buy bottled water, but these would be convenient for the future. It was lunch time, and on a previous visit we’d had very good flatbread pizzas. However, they no longer have them (or at least, not during the week), and the menu features a selection of cheeses, crackers, hummus, etc., all a la carte (so if you want crackers with your cheese, you need to order them). We also noticed that every tasting comes with a “snack.” “What is that?” we asked. “Sort of a grown-ups Lunchables,” she replied. Ah. We decided to add a serving of hummus ($8) and tortilla chips ($10), most of which we ended up taking home, as the chips were a huge bag and the humus a 10-ounce container (very good, by the way). The snack was indeed quite mini, consisting of about four crackers and as many slices of bland cheese, plus some slices of spicy sausage. However, it did remind us of how in Italy one is often served some sort of snack with a glass of wine, like a dish of olives, or like the time in Bologna when there were three of us sharing a bottle of wine, and the waiter brought a plate of cheeses and sausages (no charge).
Meanwhile, we were debating over which flight to get, as they have six different options. We could see by looking at other tables that the serving per taste is quite generous, but we wanted to try a panoply of wines, so we decided to just plan not to finish each glass, and get a flight of four whites for $25 and four reds for $25. Both flights were brought to our table on labeled strips of paper. Our waitress launched into her little scripted speech about each wine, enlivened by her personal preferences, with which we agreed. For example, we had a little chat about riesling, which she noted she sometimes dislikes as too sweet, but felt the current iteration of Raphael’s riesling is one she likes. I was a bit concerned when she described a couple of the reds as “summer reds,” and when I tasted them I saw why.
As we sat and sipped and munched and looked out at the vines, my tasting buddy said that Raphael gets an A+ for service and setting. As to the wines…
2021 Rosé of Pinot Noir $30
Our server explained that this is a “true” rosé, made from red wine grapes treated like white grapes. It is a pretty color, and had a pleasantly fruity aroma. We liked the taste, too, with notes of citrus and black cherry, not too sweet, not too dry. A good summer sipper.
The snack.In an effort to counteract the blandness of the cheese and the spiciness of the sausage, I combined them.
2021 Sauvignon Blanc $30
All their whites are fermented in steel, which sometimes leaves a slightly metallic aroma, which this has. It is a touch petillant, crisp and light. A little fruity. Nice.
2021 Pinot Grigio $30
In France, they call this grape pinot gris. We like this wine the best so far, with a taste of baked pears. Not much aroma. Good for sipping or with food, like roast chicken, or even pork chops.
2021 Riesling $30
Many rieslings have a smell described as “cat pee,” which, having had a cat in the past, I can say this one has, though faintly. There is some sweetness here, but there is also a bit of a funkiness which takes the edge off the sweetness. Pleasant. Though my husband finds it too sweet for him, I think it would be fine with something spicy, like Thai food.
2019 Cabernet Franc $36
This is one of the wines she described as “summery,” and I think I know why. It is soft and fresh and easy to drink, with slight tannins, a berry aroma, and tastes of ripe dark fruits.
2019 Pinot Noir $50
“Not a very exciting red,” opines my drinking pal, and I agree. It’s not bad, just kind of mellow and soft. When I tell him the price, he says, “We’re not getting it!” He also thinks that people may not, in general, want strong reds, which would account for the popularity of a wine like this.
If you plan to go, check their website, and the winery is sometimes closed for private parties.
2019 Estate Merlot $30
As our waitress noted, we are in the middle of merlot country here, as that grape is “happy” on the North Fork. This is a fairly typical North Fork merlot, with nice cherry flavor, but ultimately meh.
The Malbec.
2020 Estate Malbec $36
This is my favorite of the reds, with a beautiful dark color, yummy fruit aroma, and dark fruit tastes—though again, no tannins. “It’s not oomphy,” says my husband, and I agree.
Reasons to visit: beautiful building and veranda, with vineyard views; attentive service; generous pour for the flights; the whites more than the reds, though all the wines were drinkable; the Rosé of Pinot Noir, the Pinot Grigio, the Malbec; nice place to come with a couple of friends.
There’s a fairly extensive gift shop, which may be another reason to visit.
If you check out the McCall wines web site and scroll down to the bottom of the shop page, you’ll see something unusual: ground beef, $15. Huh? Yes, the McCalls raise Charolais cattle and sell the grass-fed beef, some of which can be found in the winery shop. You might also spot the white cows in one of their fields as you drive along the Main Road. As I was paying our bill after our tasting, Mrs. McCall urged us to come back on a Thursday or Friday, from 4-8, when they serve burgers made from their beef. If I do, I’ll post about it! And I already know which wine I’ll get a glass of to go with that burger: Ben’s Blend.
The outdoor setting is quite pleasant.
The turn-off to the McCall winery is rather subtle, and easy to miss, but it is basically across the street from Pellegrini. You drive around back to a grassy parking area, where you see a lawn dotted with picnic tables and a rustic barn. Inside, there’s a new bar, which wasn’t there the last time we came in 2018, and a couple of stalls with cozy seating areas. Since it was a beautiful day, we opted to sit outside, and Mrs. McCall supplied us with menus. In a few minutes, a server came by with glasses and a bottle of water, a nice touch.
They have a fairly typical small menu of snacks, but we’d just had lunch, so we didn’t get anything. The rest of the menu listed four different flights, of three or four wines each, so we decided to share two flights, so we could try a range of their wines. Then we realized that there was some overlap, in that if we got the pinot flight ($23) and the reserve flight ($30), both included the “Hillside” pinot noir. Could we sub in the estate merlot instead? Sure. And the reserve flight includes a chardonnay aged in oak. Hmmm. A discussion ensued, in which we were assured that the chardonnay is “lightly oaked.” I really do not like those buttery, California-style oaked chards, so we shall see.
We enjoyed the dappled shade of the trees, but that might make this a bit hard to read!
Service is friendly and informative, and we chatted with one server about how they fared during the pandemic, since we had not been there since before it. “We were busier than ever,” she informed us. People just were grateful to have someplace to go, and were very respectful, masking if they got up from their tables, for example. She noted that the outside tables are well-spaced. The view is bucolic, as you look out onto the grape vines—though the sense of country peace was temporarily marred as a trimming machine was going up and down the rows. Fortunately, it finished well before we did.
The noisy machine…well. it is a working farm.
Overall, my husband commented, the place got plus marks for setting, but he was not overly impressed with the wines, which we found drinkable but not special. We did like the way the wines were served, especially since we were sharing the flights. We each got a wine glass, and then the tastes were brought to the table in little carafes, set down in the order in which they should be tasted.
Pinot Flight:
Our first flight.
2021 Whole Cluster Rosé $24
“Better than average,” opined my tasting buddy, as we sipped. This has lots of strawberry aroma, though the taste is more lemony and tart than some rosés. It definitely has some character. I said it was mouth-watering. Made from pinot noir grapes.
The warm day made our carafe of water quite welcome. We also used it to rinse our glasses between tastes.
2015 Pinot Noir Estate $30
This one had almost no aroma, and the taste was also somewhat thin. Very dry. I got some blackberry or sour cherry flavor. My husband said it was “simple, not sophisticated.” I think it would be fine with food, but it’s not a sipper.
2014 Pinot Noir “Hillside” $59
“Hillside” refers to the fact that this pinot is from a different area of the vineyard, with somewhat different terroir. We like it better than the previous one, as there is more body to it. The menu says “hibiscus,” but since I don’t know what that smells or tastes like, I can’t say if that’s accurate. I do get some berry taste, and it is very dry.
Reserve Flight:
Our second flight, after we had poured the chardonnay back into the carafe and poured the merlot.
2018 Chardonnay Reserve $39
As I feared, we do not care for this. It smells and tastes very strongly of pineapple, and is too sweet for us. It does have a pretty golden color. We pour our tastes back into the carafe.
2015 Merlot Estate $24
This is our replacement for the Hillside pinot, and we like it better. It’s a fairly typical North Fork merlot, with cherry aroma and taste, dry, with some tannins.
This is about half of what was in the carafe.
2014 Merlot Reserve $30
I always find it instructional to taste various iterations of the same grape, especially from the same winery. This merlot is “more interesting,” according to my tasting pal, with aromas of cherry, leather, and tobacco. It has lots of tannins, and we discuss that it is the opposite of “fruit forward.” Fruit backward?
2014 Ben’s Blend $58
Named for their original winemaker, who sadly died too young, this is their Bordeaux blend, a mix of 30% each cabernet franc, pinot noir, and merlot, plus 10% petit verdot. We like it the best of the day, appreciating its aromas of berries, leather, and tobacco, plus some nice blackberry fruit tastes. It definitely needs food, however.
Our “extra” taste of the chardonnay, thoughtfully served with clean glasses.
Extra! Mrs. McCall stops by our table and sees the almost full carafe of chardonnay. You haven’t tried the chardonnay yet? She asks. No, we tell her, we tried it and didn’t care for it. “Would you like to try our unoaked chardonnay?” she asks. Sure! So she brings over a carafe of it. We like it much better. It is crisp and refreshing, with tastes of citrus and green apple, and we buy two bottles, at $20 each.
Reasons to visit: pleasant outdoor setting with a backdrop of the vines; cozy interior; they allow dogs, but call first to be sure there aren’t any other canine visitors; the Whole Cluster Rosé, the Unoaked Chardonnay, Ben’s Blend; no outside food Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so I assume it’s okay during the week; lovely service; Thursday and Friday burger nights, and you can buy the beef.
The trailer from which they serve burgers on Thursdays and Fridays.
NoFo Wineaux 