One Woman Winery: Big on Dry Whites September 6, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with gewurztraminer, gruner veltliner, merlot, North Fork, One Woman Winery, reserve chardonnay, Reserve Gruner Veltliner, Reserve Merlot, rose, sauvignon blanc, Tribute, wine tasting September 11, 2015

http://www.onewomanwines.com/

“Don’t you have any sweet wines?” the couple next to us in the tiny tasting shed asked, then left, disappointed. Too bad for them, since if they had stayed they could have tasted some of the most interesting whites on the North Fork. Actually, One Woman has had a dessert wine in the past, but they are all sold out. Meanwhile we enjoyed our tasting, overseen by the same young man who waited on us last year, who not only remembered us, but remembered that we had bought some of the Grüner Veltliner! Very impressive, both his memory and the wine.

One Woman is the labor of love of one woman, Claudia Purita, and it shows in the quality of the wines, all made from estate-grown grapes and bottled themselves. The menu offers a choice of any two tastes for $6, three for $8, or four for $10, plus $4 each for the reserve wines. As we hesitate over which to choose, our server suggests we could share one tasting of all the wines for $20, so we decide to do that. Good choice.

This shot encompasses most of the tasting room.

The tasting room is tiny, augmented in warm weather by outdoor picnic tables and an outside bar area served through a rear window, so this is not a place to go with a group. In fact, if you come with more than six people without a reservation they may turn you away. We noticed some sandwiches for sale, as well as D’Latte gelato (made by Ms. Purita’s husband, and excellent), but not much else. The focus here is on the wine.

The gelato freezer

2014 One Woman Rosé $22

As usual, we compare this rosé with Croteaux’s, and find it compares favorably, though perhaps it is less complex than their 314. We smell roses and strawberries, taste red grapefruit and a touch of lemon at the end, with perhaps a hint of strawberry. Nicely dry.

2014 One Woman Sauvignon Blanc $25

Stainless steel fermented, this has an aroma of tangelos, with some sweet fruity tastes yet a dry, lemony finish. It would be perfect with oysters or clams, like the steamed clams with sausage I had the other night at Pepi’s.

2014 One Woman Tribute $23

What’s the story behind the name? Originally this blend of equal amounts of all their white grapes—sauvignon blanc, gewürztraminer, chardonnay, and grüner veltliner—was produced to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the winery, and also as a tribute to Ms. Purita’s father, Domenico, who had inspired her to work on the land. Then it was so popular they decided to add it to the regular line-up. We inhale all sorts of aromas—gooseberry, Chuckles lemon candy, and more—and the taste is equally interesting and complex, with plenty of fruit but also dry. I could see this with some grilled bluefish fillets.

Our two favorite wines!

2014 One Woman Grüner Veltliner $22

Though there is a rumor that another winery may be planning to offer a grüner, at the moment One Woman is the only place on the North Fork to grow this delicious grape. Our server comments that one might compare it with a viognier. We loved it last year, and still do. Aromas of fresh hay, warm and grassy, then a taste of crisp tart melon, with perhaps some lime at the end. I could see sipping this on the porch, with some Catapano goat cheese or all by itself.

2014 One Woman Gewürztraminer $25

What a different aroma this one has from the other whites, we comment: pine, forest floor, lavender. The taste is complex, with notes of lychee plus some nice minerality, the sweet fruit balanced by the minerality. We like it, but we could see how some people might not, and our server confirms that this is a wine one either “loves or hates.” It would be great with Indian or Thai food, suggests our server, and we agree.

2013 One Woman Chardonnay $25

This “crowd pleaser” is fermented partly in steel and partly in new French oak, so it is not too oaky. With its aromas of butterscotch and vanilla it is a typical lightly oaked chard.

2012 One Woman Reserve Grüner Veltliner $32

So interesting to see what happens when two different grapes get a similar treatment. Since this was also aged in French oak, you do get the butterscotch-vanilla scent, but the taste is different, with lots of citrus and mineral as well as the more melon-y tastes. Really good. This one is not usually in the tasting, we are told, but has been opened specially for Labor Day. Lucky us.

2011 One Woman Reserve Chardonnay $35

Buttered popcorn may or may not be a “wine word,” but that’s what we think of when we smell this one. Although it spends 18 months in French oak, it is not too oaky, with complex tastes of citrus and butterscotch. The aroma is a touch funky and sweet, but the taste is just delicious. “It should get a prize,” opines my husband.

Assessing the merlot

2012 One Woman Merlot $28

This is a fairly typical North Fork merlot, with spice and mineral aromas and plum tastes. We note again that the barnyard odor so many of the reds used to have is no longer around. I wonder why.

2008 One Woman Reserve Merlot $48

Though this merlot could not compete with a great red, it is quite good, and smells really nice, with some scents of chocolate. “It’s at its peak right now,” opines our server. He may be right.

Reasons to visit: Cute little tasting shed; a bit off the beaten path, though it has gotten more popular in the last couple of years; all the whites, but especially the grüner veltliner and the gewürztraminer, of which we bought a bottle each; D’Latte gelato (which you can also get in Greenport).

The flower or twig decorations change every time we come.

A view of the tasting shed

Paumanok: A Bit of a French Accent 8/29/15

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, charcuterie, Chenin Blanc, Dry Riesling, Festival Red, French, merlot, North Fork, oysters, Paumanok, petit verdot, sauvignon blanc, Semi-Dry Riesling, Walt Whitman, wine tasting August 31, 2015

https://www.paumanok.com/

Watch for the oyster sign!

“We have the only chenin blanc in New York State,” asserts our server, so we are interested to taste the wine made from this French grape. But more about that later. On this beautiful late summer afternoon, the outside deck is filled with small groups enjoying the weather and Paumanok’s menu of raw oysters ($25 for a dozen) or large variety of cheese or charcuterie plates from Catapano goat farm and Lombardi’s Market.

Most people elected to sit outside on this beautiful day.

The tasting room is small, but we manage to find room at the bar where we assess our choices. The tasting menu lists nine options, from one taste of their sparkling wine to four whites or four reds for $12 each flight. We opt to share one of each, but that still does not get us tastes of all their wines, in particular most of the Festival line. Maybe next year. The sign outside says “Winery of the Year,” but I’m not sure what that is based on. However, it is a pleasant place, especially in the good weather when you can sit outside; the wines, while none of them send us into outer space, are fine; and I have to favor a place that quotes Walt Whitman on their labels (Walt, born on Long Island, liked to use the Native American name for Long Island—Paumanok—in his poetry.). The gift area has a small selection of t-shirts and other gift items, but no volumes of Whitman’s poems!

The menu of tastings

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $24

If we had decided to have oysters, this is the wine I would have chosen to have with them. The aroma is grassy and minerally, the taste tart and lemony with some tropical fruit notes. Excellent.

Our first two tastes

2014 Chenin Blanc $28

I suppose because the bar is crowded, our server pours our tastes two at a time, which is good, because the wines are too cold, so our deliberate style of tasting—sniff, discuss, take notes, swirl, taste, discuss, take more notes—gives them time to warm up a bit. This is also a pleasant wine, a touch sweeter than the Sauvignon Blanc, with not much smell. We decide we taste some sweet orange, perhaps tangelo. A nice light summer wine, and you wouldn’t want to pair it with any food that was too assertive, as it would get lost.

A good oaked chardonnay if you don’t like oaked chardonnays.

2013 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay $24

Our charmingly French-accented server points out that they have a steel-fermented chard on the Festival list, as we discuss the differences between steel versus oak and what we like about each. We also notice that almost all the wines have screw caps, a boon to the corkscrew-use-challenged. This is not overly oaky, with a toasty aroma and some vanilla taste, but not too sweet. “A crowd pleaser,” we decide. I think it would pair well with shrimp.

The riesling about which we disagreed.

2014 Dry Riesling $22

My husband, a riesling fan, doesn’t particularly care for this one, which he finds not “riesling enough.” I like it. It has a bit of that cat pee aroma, plus some apple. Our server says it has green apple tastes, and we agree, and would add a touch of Key lime citrus. Simple and refreshing, this is a good riesling if you are not particularly a riesling fan.

2014 Semi-Dry Riesling $20

If you are counting, you realize that this is our fifth out of four white wine tastes, which we get courtesy of our server who, noticing our seriousness, wants us to try a different style of riesling and gives us a small sample of a wine from a different flight. This is fairly sweet, almost candy-like, also relatively simple, and not to our taste—but it might go well with Thai food.

2012 Festival Red $20

The label says this “should be enjoyed with red meat,” but I would say not too red. Maybe pork chops or veal or a cheese plate, as it would not stand up to a big steak. A blend of 52% cabernet sauvignon and 48% merlot, this has a slightly piney aroma and is quite drinkable. It is mellow, not complex, with a touch of tannin. “I get a tingle on my tongue,” says my drinking pal.

2012 Merlot $24

Eh. No aroma, not much taste,rather underwhelming. Pischochs, I say, which my husband says I can’t use in a review. It’s a Yiddish term meaning…watery.

2013 Cabernet Franc $30

One of the servers gives us some more information on this wine, noting that 2013 was a very good year, and that this wine, a combination of mostly cabernet franc with “a touch of merlot,” drinks more like a pinot noir than a cab. I would agree. It is another nice wine, with a bit of a funky and blackberry smell and cherry and berry taste. It’s not powerful, though it has some depth.

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $30

Our server, who reveals she is from Toulouse, is pleased when we note that this is actually a Bordeaux blend, a mixture of 16% merlot, 2% petit verdot, and 86% cabernet sauvignon. After she steps away we add to each other “Bordeaux light.” Aromas of cherry, oak and red candy; tastes of red fruit, maybe plums, pleasantly dry. Not a serious wine, we decide, but like almost all the wines we tried, fine.

At this point, we notice that there is no tip jar, which is too bad, since we would definitely have left a nice tip. If we had elected to buy four bottles the cost of one tasting would have been deducted from the total, but we decide we don’t want any of the wines enough to buy four bottles. However, there is nothing wrong with any of them (except that merlot!), so I wouldn’t cross this winery off your list if you were planning a visit. It is particularly a good place to sit outside and get one of their food items with a glass of wine. I’d recommend the Sauvignon Blanc with oysters or the Festival Red or Cabernet Sauvignon with a cheese or charcuterie plate.

I love that they quote Walt Whitman on the label!

Reasons to visit: the Sauvignon Blanc, the only Chenin Blanc in New York State, the Festival Red, the Cabernet Sauvignon; a nice outside deck where you can enjoy their cheese or charcuterie or oysters with a glass of wine; labels that quote Walt Whitman.

One view of the outside deck.

Sparkling Point: Bubblicious? August 15, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Blanc de Blancs, Brut, Brut Seduction, Carnaval Cuvee Rouge, Champagne, chardonnay, Lieb Blanc de Blanc, merlot, New York State, North Fork, pinot noir, snacks, Sparkling Pointe, sparklling wine, wine tasting August 18, 2015

http://www.sparklingpointe.com/#

The entrance to Sparkling Pointe

Every time we visit Sparkling Pointe we go home convinced that we should drink more champagne—or, to be precise, more sparkling wines, since only wines from the Champagne region of France can actually be called champagne. Sparkling Pointe only makes sparkling wines, a focus that disappointed a couple who wandered in as we were enjoying our tasting and left, despite the best efforts of our very knowledgeable and passionate server to persuade them to stay. “Here,” she offered, “try a little sample on me of two very different sparkling wines,” pouring them tastes of the Brut and the Carnaval. They should have stayed.

A view of the chandeliers

The tasting room is a bright, airy space, decorated with large crystal chandeliers and paintings of Brazilian scenes (because the owners like the culture of Brazil, we’ve been told). Outside there are more seats on a shaded patio overlooking the vineyard. We could have opted for table service inside or outside, but, since there is room at the bar, we decide to stay there, which gives us a chance to observe the somewhat frenetic actions of the serving staff, as they quickly move from task to task. “Like a beehive!” observes my husband. Our attentive server not only (noticing our interest) gives us more information about each wine than I can cover in my notes, she also gives us an extra taste, about which more later.

A view of the mural, plus a very active server

The menu offers four tastes for $17, each one in a fresh champagne flute. There is also an extensive menu of snacks—almost all of them of New York State origin, including cheeses and charcuterie, chips and olives, and Tate’s cookies—which is good, since they don’t allow outside food. We also noted quite a few people ordering whole bottles for a table, plus snacks. The shop off to one side is full of gift items, also featuring many New York State grown or made products, as well as the sparkling t-shirts many of the servers wear.

NV Brut $29

This is their least expensive and most popular wine, a non-vintage blend, meaning they strive for consistency year to year. This one is made from 38% chardonnay, 38% pinot noir, and 24% reserve wine—which means they use some of the wine they reserve from each vintage in order to make up the blend. It ages for two years on the lees. The aroma is toasty and yeasty, the wine itself very pleasant, with tiny bubbles that burst on the tongue. The chard probably accounts for the lemony taste, more like a touch of lemon peel than fruit. The wine is nicely dry, but could have more fruit flavors. I think it would be better as an accompaniment for food than by itself. Pretty label.

2010 Blanc de Blancs $42

We clear our palate with our own individual bowl of round crackers, a nice idea—almost ruined by a man who comes to the bar to order a bottle for his table and helps himself to a handful. An observant server quickly dumps the bowl and gives us a fresh one. Nice! This one is a 100% chardonnay, aged 3 ½ years on the lees, with a slightly funky green apple smell. This has tastes of lime and mineral and fruit, and, though not complex, is quite good. We recently had the Lieb Blanc de Blanc, made from pinot blanc grapes, which tasted very different. We prefer this one.

2006 Brut Seduction $72

Now we’re getting serious. They only make the Brut Seduction in a good year for pinot noir, which is not every year on Long Island, as this is 54% pinot noir and 46% chardonnay blend. This one has been aged eight years, and it shows. Wow. The aroma is yeasty and toasty again, but we also smell some bitter almond. Mineral, fruit, layers of flavor—we’ve had excellent vintage champagnes (yes, from France) and this would give some of them a run for their money. Our server thinks it needs another six months in the bottle, which would make it perfect for New Year’s Eve. The tasting menu says it has a “super organoleptic profile”—which is a fancy way of saying it appeals to all the senses. Yes indeed.

The servers are smart and attentive and know a lot about the wines.

Our favorite–not counting the ’05!

2005 Brut Seduction

Not for sale, not on the menu, but we get a taste. The server has noted our seriousness, and my note taking, and we have had a great discussion of sparkling wines. She is so enthusiastic about them that she actually traveled to Champagne, France. The ’05 earned scores in the 90s, and we can see why. We smell a more complex aroma, with fruit and spice, perhaps fennel, and the taste…I wrote OMG. This could definitely stand up to a French vintage champagne.

Our individual dish of crackers, which we almost lost!

NV Carnaval Cuvée Rouge $34

From the sublime to…not our taste. This is described as a demi-sec red sparkling wine, made from 65% merlot, 23% pinot noir, and 12% chardonnay, having spent five days on the merlot skins, which accounts for the pretty garnet color. The aroma is black raspberry, the taste is candy, or raspberry syrup mixed with seltzer. Unlike the others, which are made in the méthode Champenoise, this is made in the méthode traditionelle. If you like sweet, you can try this. I would skip it!

A carnival outfit from the gift shop to get you in the mood for our last taste.

Reasons to visit: you like bubbles; the only winery that only makes sparkling wines; an airy pleasant setting with table or bar service; lots of interesting snacks; smart, attentive servers; nice little gift shop; the ’06 Brut Seduction.

A view of the room during a brief quiet moment.

Looking towards the outside patio

Some of the gift items

In a few years, these grapes will sparkle.

Mattebella Vineyards: Science Experiment! August 9, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with 181 clone, bacon jam, brownies, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Croteaux, double cream brie, Famiglia, Famiglia Red, fig jam, gorgonzola, grana, lemonade, Mattebella Vineyards, merlot, Mr. Tobin, Mrs. Tobin, North Fork, Old World Blend, petit verdot, Pomerol, Premium Wine Group, reserve chardonnay, rose, Sparkling Rose, syrah, wine tasting August 12, 2015

The small tasting cottage

http://www.mattebellavineyards.com/

“So first you’re going to try the 2009 chardonnay and the 2013 steel chardonnay,” our charming server explains, pointing out the ways in which they compare. She also sets down in front of us two pieces of baguette topped with double cream brie, about which more later. Mattebella gives you the opportunity to make side by side comparisons of their wines, and in the process you can learn some interesting aspects of wine making, which I’ll tell you along with my discussion of each wine. We started to compare our experience with doing a fun science experiment.

What amazing hydrangeas!

Another attractive feature of the winery is their beautiful outdoor patio setting, with a variety of comfortable seating surrounded by lush hydrangea and rose bushes. The tasting “cottage” itself is quite small, so this is a place we reserve for beautiful days when we can sit outside and relax while being served. Others clearly think so, too, for though the patio was very quiet when we arrived, several groups walked in shortly after we did and all seemed to be enjoying the experience, including one group of young people who entered into a lively discussion with Mr. Tobin, the owner (with his wife, who was also there) of the winery. It is quite a family place, as evidenced by the active participation of the owners in the tasting room, the name of the vineyard—named for their two children—and the name of most of their wines: Famiglia, Italian for family.

Mr. Tobin entertaining a group.

Service is warm and personal, and the wine tasting includes some small tastes of food, since they believe that food affects how wines taste. The menu has two main options: the Light Flight is $17 for 6 whites and 2 rosés, or the Red Flight, $19 for five reds. (Note—they do not accept American Express, though they take other cards.) You can also order individual tastes for $2-$6, glasses of any of the wines, or a glass of their wine cocktail or sangria for $14. Non-drinkers can order their house-made lemonade or water. We decide to share one of each flight, so we can try all the wines. Though there are a lot of tastes on the menu, our server tells us that it is a one ounce pour, so we figure we can handle it!

Light Flight

2009 Chardonnay $21

We thought the server might have been a little confused when she set two glasses down on the table, but she soon explained that she was serving two wines side by side so we could compare them. The 09 is an oaked chard from a cold season, she noted, which made it fairly “crisp and sharp” and an interesting foil for the 2013 steel-fermented chardonnay. She also set down a pretty pottery plate with two pieces of baguette topped with double cream brie. She recommended that we experiment by tasting each wine, then taking a bite of the cheese, and then sipping the wine again to see how having it with the creamy cheese changed the effect of the wine. Okay! The ’09 has a perfume-y aroma of pear and citrus, with, says my husband, “a fair amount going on.” Once we take a bite of the cheese, we note more vanilla and baked pear tastes, as well as a surprising amount of citrus for an oaked chard. On to the ’13.

Double cream brie on baguette. Yum.

2013 Steel Chardonnay $21

The aroma is faintly grassy, the taste good, with some fruit but fairly dry, maybe a touch of bitter orange. We don’t see as much change with this one after the bite of cheese as the other, but it is a good complement to the cheese. Usually I think of red wine with cheese, but with a soft rich cheese I will now consider whites as well.

2010 Chardonnay $21

Now we are asked to consider another pairing of the same grape, treated similarly (both lightly oaked, this one 20% oak and 80% steel fermented), but from very different years. 2010 is generally considered to have been a very good year on the North Fork, with warm dry weather which led to great ripening of the grapes. No surprise, this is a lovely rich chard, with great depth of flavor, the aroma grassy, fruity, and sweet. If we needed a white at the moment, we’d buy it.

2011 Chardonnay $21

In contrast, 2011 was a very rainy year, and so the grapes contain a lot of water. Wow—this wine is waterier! Although it is only 5% oaked, the taste has lots of oak in it, perhaps because there’s not as much chard taste to counteract it. We smell the expected woodsy vanilla aroma, and the taste is quite light, almost evanescent. Our server characterizes this as a sipping wine. I think if you put an ice cube in it on a hot day you could almost forget you were drinking wine.

Famiglia 2012 $21

Now we get to try two wines from the same vintage year, same grape, but treated differently. This is fun, we tell each other. 2012 was another good year. The Famiglia is 20% oaked, with aromas of vanilla, baked pear, and butterscotch. It is lighter than one might expect of an oaked chard (so for those of you who say “I don’t like chardonnay,” you need to try a bunch of differently treated chards), with some sweetness at first taste which then dissipates. Fine, but we like the 2010 better.

Reserve 2012 $28

This chardonnay has been 38% aged in French oak, and we have no trouble telling which is which just on appearance, since this wine has a darker gold color than the other. Mmm…smells good and tastes good, too. Lots of oak and fruit tastes, mouth-watering, “softer and sweeter,” opines my drinking pal. Very easy to drink. It would be good with spaghetti and fresh clam sauce or sautéed scallops, though you wouldn’t want it with anything too creamy.

2014 Rosé $20

Mrs. Tobin stops by to say hello and give us a bit of background on the rosé. It is 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc and chardonnay, she tells us; the merlot is a Pomerol, the 181 clone also used by Croteaux. The grapes are picked when they are still “crunchy.” We smell and taste strawberry, green apple, and a touch of lime. Very light.

The “fun, party” sparkling rose.

2014 Sparkling Rosé $27

We get a new glass for the sparkling rosé, a tall slim one. This is a fun wine, Mrs. T. tells us, not at all serious, and the syrah grape juice accidentally spent too long on the skins, hence its dark pink color. Lots of over-ripe strawberry smells and tastes, almost soda-pop-y, this is much too easy to drink. I decide to dub it the bachelorette party wine, and indeed I observe the young woman at the next table order a full glass of it, while her companion opts for a glass of sangria.

Red Flight

Famiglia Red $23

In 2012 we bought the Famiglia Red for $15, and last year it was $21, but prices do tend to rise, even on the non-vintage wines, though this is still a bargain compared to their other reds. This is a good everyday wine, and goes with pizza and pasta, as our server tells us. It spends a year in French oak, and then is put into steel to stop the aging. (By the way, Mattebella is one of the vineyards that uses the facilities at Premium Wine Group to produce their wines.) We smell leather and fruit, taste some cherry.

2008 Old World Blend $44

With this wine a small plate arrives with pairs of treats—fig jam and gorgonzola on baguette, bacon jam and grana cheese on baguette, and little bits of brownie—which we are advised to pair with our next wines. These are all Bordeaux blends, with varying percentages of the grapes. The ‘08 is 86% merlot, 7% cabernet franc, and 7% cabernet sauvignon (The petit verdot didn’t ripen in time, we hear.) We smell dark fruits, though the wine is on the light side. The taste improves after a bite of the yummy fig jam and gorgonzola, a combo I will definitely try at home.

More yummy snacks!

2009 Old World Blend $41

Since I asked about the percentages on the last wine, our intelligent server makes sure to tell me these: 93% merlot, 3% cabernet franc, 3% petit verdot, 1% cabernet sauvignon. Remember, this was a cold, rainy year. The wine is fairly tannic, with aromas of earth and minty candy, not very complex. Having it with a bite of bacon jam and grana cheese does help. Then again, what wouldn’t be helped by bacon jam!?

2010 Old World Blend $48

If you come here for a tasting, you will definitely understand the difference a year makes. We tend to forget that winemaking is farming, dependent on earth and weather, but this progression of vintages makes that clear. If their “biodynamic” farming methods are as effective in the fields as they are on the huge hydrangeas we are admiring, they must work amazingly well. The blend here is 88% merlot, 8% cabernet franc, 3% cabernet sauvignon, and 1% petit verdot, and we are also advised that this could be cellared for 4-5 years. We smell dark fruits, taste lots of cherry, a touch of chocolate, good tannins, though not a lot of complexity. It is good with the brownie!

2007 Old World Blend $63

84% merlot, 12% cabernet franc, 2% cabernet sauvignon, 2% petit verdot. Of course, they saved the best for last—and also the costliest. The aroma is delicious and so is the taste, with a “nice mouth feel,” says my pal. It is very good, but we have had the privilege of tasting world-class Bordeaux, which this is not—on the other hand, it doesn’t cost as much as they do, either!

The herb garden near the tasting patio.

Reasons to visit: a beautiful outdoor setting with friendly table service; the fun of experimenting with tasting wine with and without food (and where else is food included in your tasting?); the fun of comparing vintages and methods of winemaking; a chance to learn about the influence of weather on grape crops and hence on the wines; the 2010 chardonnay; the 2012 Reserve Chardonnay; the 2014 Sparkling Rosé for a fun party drink; the Famiglia Red; the 2010 Old World Blend.

If you look carefully at this picture of the grape vines, you’ll notice that they don’t use herbicides.

Roanoke Vineyards: Satellite Spot July 26, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with "Round Trip, Bond, Brio, Brooklyn Oenology, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Malvese, Marco Tulio, merlot, muscat canelli, North Fork, Pearl River oysters, petit verdot, Roanoke Vineyards, rose, sauvignon blanc, South Fork, The Wild, Vines and Branches, viognier, wine bar, wine tasting, Wolffer Estate July 30, 2015

http://www.roanokevineyards.net/

Roanoke’s main tasting room and vineyard are located on the western edge of the North Fork, but their satellite spot, which they call their “wine bar,” is in the heart of wine country, on Love Lane in Mattituck. As I found out, their main room will close this winter to all except wine club members, so you might as well plan to go to their Love Lane place—especially since Love Lane itself is worth a visit for the Village Cheese Shop, Lombardi’s Italian market, and Love Lane Kitchen restaurant, among others.

One view of the tasting room

The wine bar is a small room, but it is well laid out, with a bar along one side and comfy chairs around tables, as well as a small piazza out the back, overlooking the Love Lane parking lot. We happened by on a Sunday afternoon, when local Pearl River oysters were on offer, so we decided to partake of some after our tasting ($20 for a dozen). In addition to their own wines, they also carry bottles by Wölffer Estate (on the South Fork) and Brooklyn Oenology. In fact, the last time we were there they were doing a side-by-side tasting with Brooklyn Oenology, which we quite enjoyed. They also carry their own verjus, a non-alcoholic drink people sometimes use in salad dressing or cooking.

We didn’t get to try this Wolffer Estate wine, but we really liked the bottle.

Their menu offers three options, the “Round Trip,” featuring a white, a rosé, and two reds for $12; Whites, four whites for $12; or Reds, four reds for $14. We opted for one each of the white and the red, so we could try all their wines. The pour is fairly generous. Our server was enthusiastic and friendly, fairly well-informed. In addition, she did a very nice job gift-wrapping a pretty bottle of a Wölffer wine for another customer.

The server helping another couple choose some wines to bring as gifts.

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $19

This is a bit tarter than the usual North Fork sauvignon blanc, with a bit of a woodsy aroma and some tastes of kumquat and lemon. My husband immediately plans to have this when he gets his oysters, but I’m not sure I like this. I think I like the Jamesport sauvignon better.

2014 Rosé $19

The server informs another couple at the bar that this is their top seller, at least this summer, and I can see why. It is a very light rosé, a blend of 75% merlot and 25% “wild” chardonnay (about which more in a moment), with an initial “rush of sweetness,” according to my tasting buddy. I taste not fully ripe cantaloupe, which is in my mind because that’s what we got at a farm stand this week. Good, but we still prefer Croteaux.

2014 The Wild! $20

What is wild here is the yeast, meaning that the wine is fermented using only naturally occurring yeasts, a process I find fascinating, since the winemaker gives up a bit of control over the process by doing this. I quite like this one, though the aroma is a touch musty, with maybe a hint of pencil shavings. The taste is a little sweet, with some honey and citrus, but not too sweet. I decide I’ll have this with my oysters, even though the sauvignon is actually a better fit.

I really liked their label designs.

2014 Brio $24

Since brio means vivacity or verve, I’m interested to see whether this wine has these qualities. It is a blend of 66% chardonnay, 14%viognier, 8% malvese, and 20% muscat canelli, according to the menu. That doesn’t quite compute, according to my math-challenged mind, but the result is interesting. The aroma is complex, with a touch of toffee, a bit of funk, plus more. “Lots going on,” says my husband, who doesn’t particularly like the wine. I disagree. I taste apricot and gooseberry, and like it. I also like that the whites are not served too cold.

Nice size pour

2012 Merlot $24

Now we switch to reds, and get a fresh glass. According to the menu, this merlot is “blousy,” and after some hilarity with clothing puns, we decide we have no idea what that means in terms of this wine. The wine spends 20 months in French oak. Aroma has a touch of barnyard, but also cherry, and the taste is the typical cherry taste of North Fork merlots, with a bit of tannin at the end.

Another view of the room, featuring bags of Vines and Branches’ very popular truffle popcorn.

2012 Marco Tulio $24

I figure there must be a story behind this name, and indeed there is. The wine is named for the owner’s father, who recently passed away at the age of 99. “He drank wine every day!” our server informs us. Sounds like quite an endorsement for wine drinking. This is a wine one could easily drink every day, with an aroma of cherry and dark fruit and a light delicate taste. It is a blend of 59% merlot, 39% cabernet franc, and 9% petit verdot, and spends 14 months in French oak.

2012 Cabernet Franc $34

Although this is labeled cab franc, the menu informs us that this too is a blend, of 79% cab franc, 20% merlot, and 1% petit verdot. There’s some cherry in the aroma, thanks to the merlot, but also plums and spices, perhaps allspice. This is very good, and I could see drinking it with boeuf bourguignon—soft, with lots of fruit and a bit of woodiness.

Another cool label design

2013 Bond $20

One more blend—63% cabernet franc, 22% cabernet sauvignon, 9% petit verdot, and 6% merlot—and the fact that it is a blend and the choice of the name are both appropriate. They called it “Bond” to commemorate their opening on Love Lane, as a thank you to the other local merchants and how welcoming and friendly they were. We actually saw that friendliness in action when we ordered the oysters. The owner of Pearl River asked my husband if he wanted lemon, and then offered a squeeze of “Realemon,” which my husband declined. Before we had a chance to eat any, he reappeared with some lemons which Lombardi’s had given him and which he quickly sliced for us. How nice. And so were the oysters—oh, and so is Bond! I really liked it, though our server opined that it would be even better in a year or two. The aroma is quite fruity and the taste has a good balance of fruit and tartness.

Pearl River oysters for sale on Love Lane

Reasons to visit: a convenient location on Love Lane—you can buy a bottle and then stop in to the cheese shop and put together a picnic (I recommend Bond to go with your cheese.); The Wild!, Brio, Marco Tulio, Cabernet Franc, and Bond; oysters on Sunday afternoons; you can buy bottles of Wölffer Estate and Brooklyn Oenology wines as well.

Our oysters, waiting for the lemon to arrive. I had The Wild!, but I have to admit that my husband’s choice of the Sauvignon Blanc was a better match.

Stroll Love Lane in Mattituck and you can visit some cute shops for gifts, food, cheese, and wine.

Coffee Pot Cellars: How to Grade Wine July 12, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Adam Suprenant, Beasley's Blend, Blossom Meadow, chardonnay, Coffee Pot Cellars, gewurztraminer, Laura Klahre, Meritage, merlot, North Fork wine tasting, Pipes Cove oysters, sauvignon blanc July 15, 2015

http://www.coffeepotcellars.com/

The cozy building that houses Coffee Pot Cellars–where they do not sell coffee.

“So, the way to grade a wine is this: you bring the bottle to a party. At the end of the night you look to see—if the bottle is empty, it was good. But if it is still half or three quarters full…” All of us gathered at the bar of the Coffee Pot Cellars tasting room chuckled at Adam Suprenant’s joke, one of a number of humorous comments with which he entertained the small group. No joke, however—if you bring one of his bottles of wine to a party, don’t expect to take home any leftover wine!

Adam Suprenant in action

Since he first opened three years ago, Adam has expanded his list from four wines to six, all made from grapes which he sources locally (since he doesn’t have his own vineyard). The winemaker for Osprey’s Dominion, he notes that they pay him to make their wines, and then he pays them to use their facilities to make his wines. Making his own wines gives him a chance to express his own taste and creativity, and he does very well. We liked all six.

The small, cheerful yellow tasting room is in a small building on the Main Road, and consists of a bar and some stools, plus shelves featuring wine-related items but also many honey products from the bee-keeping business Blossom Meadow run by his wife, Laura Klahre, who is also a very likeable presence behind the bar. On one wall you can see a beehive behind glass, and Laura will happily explain to you what exactly is going on in it. She is also in the process of creating a “Wineosaur,” a wire sculpture on the front lawn which she is creating using corks. Some day she hopes to attach it to some skateboards and join a local parade.

Laura Klahre explains the “Wineosaur.”

Adam also points out the music series, named “The Buzz,” which they are running this year featuring local singer/songwriters performing their own music, rather than the covers they have to sing at other wineries. The series runs Saturday nights from 7-10, and you can check out their web site for details. (http://www.coffeepotcellars.com/ )

Tasting options include one for $2.50, four for $8, or all six for $10. A glass is $8. We decide we will each get our own tasting.

2012 Sauvignon Blanc $17.99

This is a fairly typical sauvignon blanc, steel-fermented, with lots of citrus flavor. I also feel as though I smell some honey or honeysuckle. It would go great with some Pipes Cove oysters. Apropos of grades, we are informed this scored an 89 in Wine Advocate. We like it.

2012 Chardonnay $15.99

This is the chardonnay he didn’t plan to make, which ended up being a prizewinner. The 2012 is almost sold out, and the 2013 will be released this week. Adam apologizes that they are not yet serving it, because he thinks it is a terrific wine. The 2012 is not so bad! Because he uses ten-year-old oak barrels, it is not heavily oaked at all, with only a slight butterscotch aroma and taste. We taste LOTS of ripe pineapple, and though there is some sweetness it is not at all cloying. Good.

2013 Gewürztraminer $21.99

Gewürztraminer can be too sweet or not sweet enough, but this one is just right. It is fairly refined, with aromas of honeysuckle and lychee and tangerine, reminding me of dessert in a Chinese restaurant. Yet it is also dry. Also good.

Beasley standing guard

Beasley’s Blend $14.99

Now we move to the reds, and Adam rinses our glasses with a quick swirl of the red wine. Who is Beasley? Their black pug, a photo of whom recently graced the pages of Wine Press, a local wine magazine. And why is the wine named for him? Laura and Adam joked that Beasley often joins them for dinner, and this is the type of wine he likes. The label features a drawing of him standing on a deck of the Coffee Pot Lighthouse, and Adam says that he stands watch there, so if you go by on the ferry to New London, listen for his bark. Anyway…Beasley has good taste. This blend of 63% merlot, 19% cabernet franc, 12% cabernet sauvignon, and 6 % petit verdot is better than your usual everyday red blend, especially given the price. We scent lots of berry and spice aromas, with a touch of woods. It is soft and easy to drink, with plenty of berry taste as well. A good wine to bring to that party…

2009 Merlot $17.99

Adam notes that he sources all the merlot grapes for this wine from McCullough’s vineyard, so that it can express the terroir. We smell smoke and cherry, and taste cherry. This is nice and dry, and would complement pasta really well.

2010 Meritage $25.99

A blend of 59% merlot, 23% petit verdot, 14% cabernet franc, and 4% cabernet sauvignon, this wine also got a high grade—a 90—from Wine Advocate. And, Adam adds, he feels it is yet 3-5 years from its peak, so this may be a good wine to store in the cellar for a while. We like this one, too, as it is dry with good dark fruit tastes, but my notes are a bit sketchy because at this point we were the only people left in the room and Adam revealed that he likes my blog. Outed! Nice to know I have a reader aside from my nearest and dearest.

We decide to buy a bottle of the Beasley’s Blend because we are always looking for everyday reds—we eat a lot of pasta—and a bottle of the 2013 Chardonnay so we can try it. We have it with some spicy stir-fried chicken and eggplant I make, and it is delicious. Quite different from the 2012, though it also has a slight butterscotch aroma and flavor, this is much more balanced, with less of a pineapple taste and a touch more citrus—maybe Meyer lemon? I think I’d really like it with some grilled salmon.

Don’t worry, the bees are behind glass.

Bees!

Reasons to visit: Adam and Laura, still wine-country’s cutest couple; all of the wines, but especially the Sauvignon Blanc, the 2013 Chardonnay, the Beasley’s Blend and the Meritage; honey and honey-related items, including beeswax candles in all shapes and sizes; a nice small room where you can really talk to the owner/wine-maker and learn about wine (and bees–which got me wondering, should they try their hand at making mead?).

The “Wineosaur”!

Sannino Bella Vita: Small Place, Big List June 27, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with 2nd Bottle Red, Bianca Dolce, Bianca White Merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Chilly Day Chardonnay, Crescent Farms duck, Croteaux, Greenport, Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, Long Island, merlot, North Fork, Prima Rossa, riesling, Sannino Bella Vita, sauvignon blanc, Spotlight Petit Verdot, Vines and Branches, wine tasting June 30, 2015

This used to be the Ackerly Pond Vineyard, and, though none of the wines are labeled Ackerly, the sign is still there.

http://www.sanninovineyard.com/

The sign outside Sannino Bella Vita says no groups of over six without a reservation, and that’s a good idea, because this small venue really can’t handle a big influx, as we saw when a group with a Groupon and another group there for Anthony Sannino’s wine tour arrived at the same time. However, the cheerful and hard-working tasting room staff did their best to compensate, and we were in no hurry anyway. Our youthful server was new to the winery, and actually learned a few facts from us, but she was so charming we didn’t mind at all.

Anthony Sannino off to give a tour.

This is a great spot if you hope to interact with an owner, as Anthony Sannino is usually on site. In addition, for a small winery they have an interesting range of choices, with a menu of eleven different wines to choose from for a tasting. Since their standard tasting is six wines for $18, we decided to share two tastings, thus getting to sample all the wines (except one that is off the menu). They generally set up all of your tastes on a tray, but with the influx of the groups they asked if we would mind getting our tastes one at a time, since they were worried they would run out of glasses! No problem. We also could have ordered a cheese and meat tray for $18.

One side of the room

We opted to sit on stools at the bar, but most other people sat outside on the side patio. The room has, according to one of the servers, “a certain rustic charm,” and we agree. There’s also a small selection of amusing wine-related gifts, and the Sanninos run a B and B next door to the winery. They are just down the street from Greenport Harbor Brewery’s Peconic location, where mass quantities of people were flocking for a barbeque cook off. We decided to give it a miss.

Some gift items

2014 Chilly Day Chardonnay $18

There’s an interesting vegetable aroma which we note in several other of their wines. Maybe asparagus? Also a touch of baked pear, even though this is a steel-fermented chard. The taste is a touch sweet for a steel chard, but ends with a tart lemony flavor. Nice, and quite buyable. We also note that the whites are served at a good temperature—not too cold.

2013 Off-Dry Riesling $17

“Bronze Medal in the FLI,” says the menu, which we later learn stands for Finger Lakes International. We’re somewhat iffy on rieslings, but this one is quite nice, with green plum aromas and tastes, plus a touch of citrus. It’s not too sweet, and would be a nice chilled summer sipper or an accompaniment to Thai food.

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $22

“I’d definitely have this with oysters,” I say. Lots of not-overly-ripe pineapple taste, tart, lemon at end, with a touch of cabbage in the aroma. Also worth buying, I think.

2014 Chardonnay $20

The menu says this is “fermented in steel and accented in oak,” and though at the moment there was no one to tell us exactly what this meant, we can figure it out, as this is an only lightly oaked chard. We smell honey and almond butter, but the taste is dry and crisp. If you find steel chards a bit too crisp and oaked chards too buttery, you’d probably like this one.

Pretty color

Bianca White Merlot $16

This is a rosé, of course, so, as always, we compare it to Croteaux. The color is a pretty dark pink, with sweet strawberry aromas with again a touch of that vegetable scent. It’s good, though sweeter than Croteaux’s 314, and with less going on.

2014 Bianca Dolce $15

Our server confidently informs us that this is their sweetest wine, and notes that “people come in just for it.” I get that. This has a lighter color than the Bianca, and is quite sweet, almost enough to be a dessert wine. However, it is light and not cloying. Might be nice over ice.

2^nd Bottle Red $20

Why 2^nd Bottle? Because this is a wine you serve second, because “nobody cares by the second bottle.” A non-vintage blend of varietals, this is a fine barbeque wine, with no depth and not a lot of fruit, but quite drinkable. Something in the aroma reminds me of a black olive tapenade, like the one we sampled earlier in the day at Vines and Branches in Greenport.

2012 Merlot $25

Another FLI Bronze Medal winner, this 100% merlot spends 22 months in French and Hungarian oak. We smell plums and a hint of smoke and taste cherry. Neither sweet nor dry, this is a passable merlot, though my husband says he “would not go out of my way for it.”

2012 Prima Rossa $34

50% cabernet sauvignon, 33% cabernet franc, 17% merlot, we inform our eager-to-learn server, means this is a Left Bank Bordeaux-type blend. It’s also quite good, with aromas of coffee, cigars, and grape juice and lots of dark fruit tastes. This one is also aged for 22 months in French and Hungarian oak.

2012 Cabernet Franc $34

Ooh, this wine won a Silver Medal in the FLI. The menu describes it as “elegant.” Well, there is something restrained about it. Quite dry, with a bit of a woody aroma, it would be okay with lamb, but we liked the Prima Rossa much better.

Our favorite of the reds

2012 Spotlight Petit Verdot $42

We opt to get two tastes of this one, to complete our twelve, and decide that was a good choice, as we like this the best of the reds. A blend of 85% petit verdot and 15% cabernet sauvignon, aged 22 months in French and Hungarian oak, this wine has lots of dark fruit aromas with just a touch of smoke, and tastes very good. Lots of fruit, maybe some jam—I could see this with the Crescent Farm duck breasts I served with a strawberry-rhubarb sauce last week. It certainly merited its Silver Medal in the FLI.

This serious-looking canine statue stands guard over the parking lot.

Reasons to visit: you like an intimate setting, with the chance to chat with an owner (if he’s not giving a tour—or you could sign up for the tour!); the Chilly Day Chardonnay, the Sauvignon Blanc, the Prima Rossa, the Spotlight Petit Verdot; a cute selection of gifts.

The vines are in full leaf now.

Croteaux: Still the Best Rosé May 9, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with 181, 3, 314, Briermere, cabernet franc, case club, Chloe, Croteaux, Eight Hands Farm, Jolie, merlot, North Fork, Paul Croteaux, Paula, rose, Sauvage, sauvignon blanc, wine tasting May 12, 2015

http://www.croteaux.com/

If you only do one thing, it is best if you do that one thing well, and Croteaux does. All they make is rosé, and they make the best rosés on the North Fork. Paul and Paula Croteaux are likely to greet you as you walk through the small entry area and out into the lovely outdoor yard, where you are seated by a cheery hostess in one of the flowing tops they also sell in the charming boutique. Paul, slim and gray-haired, is often behind the bar, setting up tastings, while Paula, blonde and round-faced, operates the cash register and circulates throughout the yard to be sure all is going well. It is.

We have settled into comfortable Adirondack chairs, perused the menu, and decided we will each get a tasting of their six rosés (for $15). We could also have opted for three sparkling rosés for the same price. Their small menu of snacks is well chosen and homemade, but we’re planning an early dinner so we decide not to this time. The atmosphere is relaxed yet lively, with small groups clustered around the tables or in pairs of chairs (no limos or drop-offs allowed). A dog enters with his humans and is carefully vetted by Sergeant, the resident little pooch. At one point the hostess brings the visiting canine a doggie dish of water—and she’ll provide humans with bottles of water as well.

The three numbered rosé clones are each $19 per bottle, and the three named ones are $25, while the sparking rosés are $28 each. All vintages are the current year, as last year’s wines sold out!

Your entire tasting is delivered to your table.

Merlot 181

A sniff reveals aromas of flowers—honeysuckle—and fruit, possibly melon. The taste is quite tart, with even a bit of a tingle, and reminds me of pink grapefruit with a touch of minerality. At the end I get lemon. This, I say, would go well with goat cheese, like the one we picked up at Catapano this morning.

Merlot 314

In the past this has been our favorite, so we have our fingers crossed that it is as good this year. Yum! Happy taste buds. We smell strawberries and tangerines, taste apricot. Though the wine has lots of fruit, it is not sweet. “This would go with most everything,” opines my husband. We plan to buy a case.

Case Club benefits

Merlot 3

A blend of three clones—181, 314, and 3—this is also a good wine, though we still prefer the 314. It is a touch sweeter than the others, though still dry, with good fruit and also a fair amount of mineral taste and some saltiness. My tasting buddy says it is “not as bright” as the 314.

Sauvage

Now we’ve moved on to the slightly more expensive wines. Sauvage is also made from the 181 clone, but with wild yeast, which means the winemaker has given up a bit of control. The aroma reminds us of asparagus—which we also picked up this morning and plan to grill later—and the taste is quite different from the 181, though still quite good. It has more minerality and is quite light. We like it better than the 2014 Sauvage.

You can see that Chloe is so light that it looks like a white wine.

Chloe

This is “the white wine lover’s rosé,” suggest the tasting notes. Made from sauvignon blanc grapes that spend a short amount of time on the skins, this is so pale that it looks white. We smell lemon/lime and wet ferns. The taste is quite tart and lemony, which would make it a perfect foil for oysters (No, we’re not having any of those tonight!). It is a touch less crisp than the usual sauvignon blanc.

Jolie, on the other hand, is much darker than the other roses.

Jolie

So if Chloe is the white wine lover’s rosé, this is “the red wine lover’s rosé,” made from the cabernet franc grape in the Bordeaux style. Strawberry rhubarb pie aroma—just like the pie we got at Briermere this morning—and some strawberry taste, as well as a touch of espresso at the end and maybe red blackberries. Yet it is still tart, though fruitier than the others. Maybe it would go with the lamb steaks we bought at Eight Hands Farm today (new place—they sell pastured lamb, pork, and chicken, plus more).

They also have the prettiest bottles.

Reasons to visit: rosés that will make you fall in love with them, even if you thought you didn’t like rosés; a comfortable, pleasant outdoor tasting area; good snacks; the case club!—buy a case and you’re in the club, your first tasting is free, and you can get a free glass of wine every time you stop into the winery, plus discounts and other benefits.

Sergeant on guard!

Pretty setting for pretty wines.

McCall’s Winery: Vintage Matters 5/2/2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with 2012 Pinot Noir, Ben's Blend 2010, cabernet franc, Cabernet Franc Reserve, cabernet sauvignon, Cellar Master, chardonnay, Chardonnay Reserve, Cuvee Nicola Sauvignon Blanc, Estate Flight, Marjorie's Rose, McCall's winery, merlot, North Fork, Pinot Noir Hillside, Premium Flight, White Flight, wine tasting May 4, 2015

http://www.mccallwines.com/

The tasting barn

It was a beautiful spring day, so we opted to sit at a picnic table in the sunny yard outside McCall’s tasting barn (and it is a barn, with the horse stalls converted to seating areas) for our tasting. In the past, we had really liked their wines, especially the reds, so we opted to share two tastings, one of their whites and another of their Estate reds. We hadn’t been to McCall’s since the summer of 2013, and this visit confirmed what we’ve often thought—that you need to taste each vintage to know whether or not you like a particular wine. In this case, we were less impressed than we have been in the past.

One of the converted horse stalls used as a seating area

The tasting menu offers four options of combinations which let you taste their twelve wines. Each flight offers four two-ounce tastes: White Flight for $12, Cellar Master for $12, Premium for $14, and Estate for $16. As we sipped, we watched children run around picking dandelions and other groups snack on picnics they had brought with them. Our server was friendly and efficient, and if there were any questions she couldn’t answer she quickly found out the answers for us.

I was wondering why no one on the North Fork makes dandelion wine.

I’ll start with the White Flight.

2014 Marjorie’s Rosé $18

Okay, so a rosé is not exactly a white, but it’s not a bad way to start a white flight. This wine is named for the owner’s mother, and is a very light-colored wine. Instead of the expected aroma of strawberries, we smelled rising dough, more like a champagne. The taste was tart and lightly citrusy—“a summer wine,” noted our server. The end taste was more mineral than citrus, and fairly tart. “Like a sour candy,” noted my tasting buddy. Though it was not unpleasant, it was just okay.

2013 Chardonnay $18

“This is our steel-fermented chardonnay,” said our server, adding, “and another good summer wine.” Indeed, it is fairly light and citrusy, with again a doughy aroma. Had it undergone malo-lactic fermentation? She wasn’t sure. We guessed yes. She returned to tell us that indeed it had. We decided the taste reminded us of the key lime pie my husband had enjoyed the night before at A Lure. I’m not a fan of key lime pie.

2013 Sauvignon Blanc, Cuvée Nicola $24

McCall’s doesn’t grow sauvignon blanc grapes, so this wine is made from grapes from One Woman’s vineyard, and this was the first time McCall’s offered this wine. Good decision, as this is their best white. The aroma and taste both remind me of apricots—sort of like apricot fruit leather, with some spice and citrus notes at the end. It would be good with blue cheese or pasta in a white sauce. Sippable.

2013 Chardonnay Reserve $39

No surprises here—this is a typical North Fork oaked chardonnay (nine months in the barrel, we are told), with aromas of vanilla and oak and some fruit tastes as well as some vanilla. Of course, I say it would go with roast chicken.

Now we move on to the Estate Flight of reds. We are not brought fresh glasses, but we do appreciate that our server has opted to give us two glasses, dividing the taste between us rather than having us share one glass, as we generally do. I should also note that many of their bottles use twist off caps rather than corks.

2012 Pinot Noir $28

What a pretty color this wine has—a light red. We smell blueberries and wet forest ferns, with maybe a touch of barnyard. Alas, the color is the best aspect of the pinot, since the taste is rather sour and unappealing. What a disappointment, since my comments on the 2010 pinot noir include “mmmmm.”

The setting feels quite bucolic.

2012 Pinot Noir Hillside $39

Well, perhaps we’ll like this one better. It spends about 3-4 weeks longer on the vine and three months longer in the barrel. Okay, definitely better. Again a blueberry pie aroma (Which reminds us that tonight we’ll be having a blueberry crunch pie from Briermere.) with a touch of cocoa. The taste has more fruit and more subtlety, but no depth and a fair amount of tartness. Again, we’re not loving it. Also, the reds are all too cold, though that may not be anyone’s fault, as the tasting room is quite chilly.

Cabernet Franc Reserve 2012 $39

Nice aroma—plums, some oak—but with a touch of something metallic. This wine comes from 30-year-old vines, our server tells us proudly, from a vineyard originally planted by the Gristina family says our server (Does she mean Galluccio?), and though the property is now owned by Macari, McCall’s is using the grapes. Again, this wine is tarter than one would expect, without enough fruit to balance the dryness. And though our server enthuses that she really likes this one, we are not pleased with it, especially with the aftertaste.

2010 Ben’s Blend $54

Finally, a wine we can like. This is their Bordeaux blend (named for their previous winemaker, who died much too young), though the combination is quite different from the last time we sampled it. This one is 46% cabernet franc, 25% cabernet sauvignon, and 29% merlot, whereas the 07 Ben’s Blend was 60% merlot and also included some petit verdot. In any event, we scent aromas of dark fruit, such as purple plums, and taste pleasant fruit, though it is not tannic enough to stand up to a steak. It would be good with brie and pears.

Reasons to visit: the Cuvée Nicola Sauvignon Blanc, the 2010 Ben’s Blend; a pleasant relaxed setting where kids can run around and you can bring a picnic; the surprisingly elegant rest room (!). We’ll be back when it is time for a new vintage, hoping the wines are better then, since we really liked them in the past.

The tasting barn viewed through a taste.

Lenz Winery: Solid Place, Slushy Day January 24, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Cuvee, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, gewurztraminer, Gold Label Chardonnay, Lenz Winery, merlot, North Fork, Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon, Old Vines Merlot, Tete-a-Tete, White Label Chardonnay, wine tasting January 26, 2015

http://www.lenzwine.com/Home.htm

Despite the slushy roads, people still come to the wineries.

Lenz has some of the oldest vines on Long Island, having planted its first ones in 1978, and they are quite proud of the fact that all of their wines are made from their own grapes. The attractively rustic tasting room (open every day all year long) is not very big, though it is augmented by an outdoor seating area in the summer, and their selection of wine-related gifts tends to be somewhat less hokey than others. In addition, a winery dog made a brief appearance—always a plus in my book. Both of the servers we talked with were smart, attentive, and knowledgeable, with an evident passion for the wines.

Low beams are marked with this warning. Can one watch one’s head without a mirror, wondered my husband.

Despite the slushy streets and cold rain, we shared the room with a small group of women who had arrived in a limo and a few other couples and small groups.

The tasting menu offers two main options, the Estate menu of 5 wines for $12 and the Premium list of 5 wines for $15. You can also put together an all white or an all red tasting, plus there are a few additional wines—dessert, sparkling, and Late Harvest wines—not included in the tastings. We opted to do one of each menu, sharing tastes as we went, and our server quickly caught on to what we were doing and carefully arranged the samples, pointing out which of the two or three tastes to begin with. I mark the Premium selections with an *.

*2010 Old Vines Gewürztraminer $30

This, our server tells us, in an Alsatian style Gewürz, so it is dry and refreshing. Indeed, it is quite dry, with lots of pineapple and mineral tastes. Hmmm, maybe a bit too dry, and a bit harsh on the finish.

When we commented on the cute label for the Tete-a-Tete we learned that it was designed by a former winery worker, who also still comes in and does the blackboards.

2011 Tete-à-Tete $25

Since they only make the Gewürztraminer in years when they are particularly happy with the grapes, they decided to use the Gewürztraminer grapes in a blend in 2011, so this wine is 50% Gewürztraminer and 50% Pinot Gris. Good decision! We really like this one. The aroma is rather mineral, but when we taste it we definitely get the pineapple of the Gewürztraminer and then some earthiness, maybe mushroom? I could see enjoying this with a creamy clam chowder.

Sparkling.

*2010 Cuvee $40

100% pinot noir grapes were fermented using the Champagne method, we are told. Sniff. “Apple pie!” exclaims my husband, perhaps, I think, suffering from Briermere pie withdrawal (they are closed for the season). But he’s right. Not only does it smell all warm and toasty and apple-y, it also has a definite apple taste. This is a relatively simple sparkling wine, but quite pleasant.

2011 White Label Chardonnay $15

We are now about to have one of my favorite tasting experiences—tasting two very different wines made from the same grape. The White Label Chard is steel fermented, yielding a light, crisp, flinty, very drinkable wine, perfect for summer sipping. The aroma is of baked pear. Very buyable, which we do.

Chardonnays going head to head

*2012 Gold Label Chardonnay $20

After ten months in oak, the wine definitely has the typical vanilla and freshly baked bread aroma of an oaked chard, but it is not too oaky. The finish is both tart and sweet, and my husband tries to convince me that it reminds him of Reese’s Pieces. I was with him on the apple pie, but not on this!

2011 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon $25

The reds all seem to note that they are unfiltered and unfined. We’re doing another head to head comparison, this time of cab sauvs. This one has a delicious woodsy and berry aroma, and a taste of ripe plums. It is good, but simple, with no tannins. “It lacks gravitas,” opines my tasting companion. I could see it with barbequed sausages.

*2007 Old Vines Cabernet Sauvnignon $40

You can age this wine for ten years, enthuses our server. We’re not so sure, as it also doesn’t seem to have much in the way of tannins. However, it is a lovely wine, with a delicious aroma and good fruit tastes—raspberries, plums. Though it is primarily cab sauv, it also is blended with merlot, malbec, and cabernet franc.

Not one, not two, but three merlots!

2011 Merlot $20

This is a perfectly fine table wine, we agree. We smell spice and cherry, with none of the earthy smell some North Fork merlots can have. The taste is also of cherry. The tasting notes suggest having it with roast turkey, and I think duck would also work well.

2010 Merlot $28

We have in front of us a line-up of three merlots. What fun! This one is a bit of a blend, and though it is 80-90% merlot it also has some cabernet franc, malbec, and petit verdot. We do smell a touch of earthiness, but also lots of cherry. The wine itself is very dense, tannic, and dry. Despite the blend, the taste is rather simple with a flat finish, but overall we like it.

*2007 Old Vines Merlot $60

Now this one you can age for 20 years, we are told. We should live so long, as my grandmother used to say. You can definitely smell the wood from the oak it was aged in, and also another smell my husband compares to rubber bands. Perhaps. The taste is terrific, with dark fruit flavors and lots of interesting layers, though again not much in the way of tannins. For the price I would probably try to find a Bordeaux—from France.

A view of the tasting bar

Reasons to visit: pleasant tasting room with good selection of gift items; very knowledgeable and attentive staff; the Tete-à-Tete, the White Label Chardonnay, the 2007 Old Vines Merlot.

Not a good day for sitting outside…

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

Tag Archives: merlot