Ornamental cherry trees line the road to the tasting room.
Cherries for the win? Have I been playing slot machines? Nope, just going to a winery during cherry blossom season. As we walked towards the entrance to McCall’s winery with our friends, the winery aficionados, we paused to admire the blooms on some ornamental cherry trees, noting that the Greenport cherry blossom festival was scheduled for Saturday. Then, as a nosh with our tastings, we got the fruit and nut tray, on which the star was definitely the juicy dried cherries. (At $10 I thought it was a bit overpriced.) And, as we were leaving, I commented that those dried cherries were the star of the day. Were the wines bad? No, just underwhelming.
We had already made some inroads in the nut and fruit tray, but it was still a small serving.
We were headed to a tasting for the second time this week to take advantage of Locals Week. About twenty-two wineries were offering two for the price of one tastings, with some also featuring 10-15% off bottles of wine. It seems that no one checks your id, by the way, so even if you are not local you can probably safely enjoy these deals next spring.
Miguel behind the bar, with a photo of Theodore Roosevelt over his shoulder.
McCall has a cool little tasting room that began life as a stable, and still has stalls, repurposed as nooks for tables, with all sorts of farming bric-a-brac decorating the walls. We also noted a display of articles about Theodore Roosevelt, and wondered about the connection. Miguel, the general manager, was manning the bar, and he explained that Russ McCall admired President Roosevelt for his dedication to conservation, a cause Mr. McCall also champions.
This is just a small sample of all the “stuff” on the walls.
The room was also cool in temperature, and we kept our jackets on, even after Miguel turned on a little stove heater next to us.
We ordered two tastings, with each couple sharing one, and Miguel brought us the wine in little carafes, plus glasses. He also brought us a bottle of chilled water and some cups, always a nice touch. We decided to both get the Rouge Flight, of three wines for $25, so we could compare notes as we sipped and chatted.
2016 Estate Pinot Noir $30
“I much prefer pinot noir from Oregon,” our friend, who has been to several wineries in Oregon, noted. This wine has the sweet aroma of Cheracol, a cough medicine much favored by my mother when I was little, but is dry, with slight tannins. It has a bit of a cherry taste, but is not very interesting. “Okay, but not spectacular,” opined my tasting buddy.
This may look like a lot of wine for one tasting. That’s because our server misunderstood when we ordered, and thought we wanted four flights, not two. Very nicely, he only charged us for what we had ordered.
2016 Estate Merlot $24
This was our favorite of the day, a fairly typical North Fork merlot, dry, with some taste of not quite ripe plums. We discussed the prevalence of merlot and chardonnay on the North Fork, figuring they grew well here. Perhaps the pinot noir grapes are not as happy here as in Oregon?
2018 Field Blend $26
I assume “Field Blend” means all the grapes for this blend are grown in the same field. According to their website, this is a blend of 75% merlot, 14% cabernet sauvignon, 6% petit verdot, and 5% cabernet franc. It has lots of red fruit taste and a slightly funky aroma. It’s fine, but, again, not exciting.
One of the cozy nooks created by the old stable configuration.
Reasons to visit: pleasant, quiet tasting room; dogs allowed; burger night, which will recommence on May 16th “and continue every Thursday and Friday 4-8 pm through the summer”; the Estate Merlot. Burger night features delicious burgers made with beef from the Charolais cattle the McCalls raise, and has become quite popular. Make reservations if you want to go! I wrote about it in my blog on August 3, 2023.
It was too nice to stay indoors, though the tasting room is quite attractive.
We were not celebrating tax day, but rather “Locals Week” in the wineries. So we called up our friends the winery aficionados and headed to Sparkling Pointe, where they were offering two tastings for the price of one. Since both couples prefer to split tastings, it worked out perfectly.
A view of the terrace and our first taste, an easy-to-drink rosé.
The weather, in this fickle month of April, was also perfect, warm and sunny, so we opted to sit outside on their lovely terrace overlooking the vineyard. As soon as we settled ourselves, a waitress appeared with four glasses of their NV (non-vintage) Cuvée Carnaval Rosé, a “welcome toast” offered to everyone. More about that later.
After we told our waitress that we would be getting the two-for-one flights, the “Grand Tasting Flight,” ($25 for four tastes) plus a package of Z Crackers ($6), which were slim and light and salty, we began chatting. It had been a while since we were out together, so there was plenty to talk about, plus we always enjoy discussing various winery issues, such as price points. For example, we wonder whether North Fork wines tend to cost more than some similar wines from elsewhere due to the high cost of living on the Fork.
Tom Rosicki, the owner, with his wife Cynthia, of Sparkling Pointe.
As we were chatting, a tall blond man came over to our table, and introduced himself as Tom Rosicki, one of the owners. We asked him about the Brazilian connection evident in the “Carnaval” names of some of his wines and some of the décor of the tasting room and shop. He said that he and his wife Cynthia, the inspiration for the name of his new favorite of their wines, had gone to Rio and fallen in love with the place and the people. Carnaval is a reference to what they call Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or Fat Tuesday, and is a huge celebration in Rio, with elaborate parades and costumes. “Guess how many times I’ve been there?” he asked. “Twenty?” Nope. “Sixty-three! And we’re going again next week.” He also pointed out a statue far away at the end of a row of vines, and informed us that it is a (small) replica of the famous Christ the Redeemer statue which has become a symbol of Rio, like the Eiffel Tower for Paris.
The colorful painting over the bar is all about Carnaval.
After he left our table, I wondered if his chattiness had anything to do with my notebook, but he then ambled over to the other tables on the terrace and visited with everyone else who was there. So I guess he just enjoys visiting with his guests. By the way, he also offered that the winery is a popular wedding venue.
At the end of the row, you can just make out the statue.
Sparkling Pointe, as hinted in the name, only offers sparkling wines, which they can’t call champagnes, since only wines made in the Champagne region of France can bear that name, but the wines are made using the méthode champenoise, a traditional, hands-on method that produces champagne-like wines. Though we liked some of the wines better than others, and had some differences of opinion, overall we enjoyed the experience.
NV Cuvée Carnaval Rosé ($36)
A blend of 39% pinot noir, 27% chardonnay, and 34% merlot, this is a good choice for a first impression, as it is definitely a crowd pleaser. It has the expected strawberry aroma and taste of a rosé, plus beautiful bubbles. It is dry, but not too dry, with a pleasant fruitiness.
2. 2019 Brut ($31)
I have had the opportunity to taste many variations on champagne, from a rather awful libation called Cold Duck to vintage Dom Perignon. This falls somewhere in the middle, more towards the Dom Perignon side of the range. Another blend, this time of 50% chardonnay, 36% pinot noir, and 14% pinot meunier, this tastes like a classic champagne, dry, with tastes of apple and pear, and it also has the characteristic yeasty aroma of sparkling wines, caused, I’ve been told, by the second fermentation in the bottle. I like it.
3. 2021 Topaz Impérial Brut Rosé ($44)
The waitress pours the last of the bottle into our glasses, and we wonder whether we are underwhelmed by this wine because it has been open too long. It has barely any bubbles, and not much taste. We much prefer the Carnaval Rosé (which is also cheaper). This wine blends 45% chardonnay, 40% pinot noir, and 15% pinot meunier.
This label is another nod to Brazil.
4. 2018 Blanc de Blancs ($48)
True to its name, this is 100% chardonnay. We enjoy its warm yeasty aroma and tastes of apples and toast. The waitress mentions starfruit, but we’re not sure what that tastes like. As I recall, starfruit’s appearance is more dramatic than its taste. Nicely dry. I like this, too.
5. NV Cuvée Carnaval Blancs (30)
If you read my blog, you know I prefer dry wines to sweet ones, though I do make an exception for dessert wines. This is not quite as sweet as a dessert wine, but it is a bit sweet for my taste. It is a blend, again, of 47% pinot noir, 28% chardonnay, 23% merlot, and 2% muscat. Though muscat is such a small percentage of the mix, our friend wonders whether it contributes to the sweetness. I taste thyme honey and citrus.
The little gift shop has some Carnaval costumes and masks, and also some of the snack items for sale.
Reasons to visit: you like sparkling wines (duh!); lovely patio and attractive tasting room; the Cuvée Carnaval Rosé and the 2019 Brut, in particular, though the only one we really did not care for was the Topaz Impérial Brut Rosé; no outside food allowed, but they do have a nice menu of cheeses and charcuterie and other snacks. No pets, and they request that children stay seated.
It is quiet on the North Fork in February. Snow fences stretch across fields, farm stands have “See you in the Spring” signs, and roadside platforms have little stacks of firewood, $5 per pile. However, our visitors found plenty to do, including a trip to Tanger and an odyssey to the end of the island, where we had a cold, windy, but invigorating hike along the trail in Orient Point County Park and participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count (34 seagulls, three little ducks, and two immature cormorants).
The end of the North Fork and some birds.
Then it was time to do a wine tasting. Where to go? I realized we hadn’t been to RGNY since 2021, and it is close to our house, so off we went. The main entrance now seems to be the one to the right, as you face the building, so we opened that door and were greeted by John, whom I recognized from other wineries! He quickly showed our party of six (4 adults, 2 children) to a nice round table in the high-ceilinged, wood-beamed tasting room (which one young guest noted “smells like wood”—sort of like a cabin on a lake), where a QR code on the table sent us to the menus.
Don’t be fooled by that sunshine; it was cold outside!
There is a fairly typical menu of snacks, with more substantial choices available on the weekend, but we had just had a delicious and very filling lunch of sandwiches from Ammirati (on Love Lane in Mattituck), so we went straight to the menu of flights. There are four choices of flights, all featuring four wines: the RG Reserve for $34, the Scielo for $24, the White Wine for $27, or the I (Heart) NY for $27. Since the last one includes non-North Fork wines, we opted for the first three, planning to do some sharing of tastes. Well, even with sharing we left some wine in the glasses, because you get a VERY generous pour there. The youngsters in the group were not forgotten, as Donna, our pleasant waitress, offered them glasses of orange juice—served in tall sparkling-wine glasses—as they had leftover OJ from a brunch on Sunday (no charge!).
Donna gave us a quick overview of the wines in our tastings—there were a couple of overlaps—and then left us to ourselves, checking back at regular intervals. At the end, we had an interesting discussion with John about the wine philosophy of RGNY—low intervention, nature-friendly practices. Overall, there were no wines we disliked, and several we liked very much, though our group had some differences of opinion (As the French say, to each his own.).
Some of the special events that are available at RGNY.
I started out trying to keep the wines from each tasting separate, but that didn’t work out, so here are the wines as I took note of them.
Tiny cacti decorate every table, perhaps a nod to the Mexican origins of the Rivero Gonzalez family.
NV Sparkling Rosé $41
I like starting a tasting with a sparkler, as it feels very festive. This has the typical rosé aroma and flavor of strawberry, and is dry, with definite minerality and tiny bubbles. There’s also a slight flowery aroma. This is a pleasant, cocktail-time bubbly, though I think the price is a bit high.
The Reserve flight
2021 Sauvignon Blanc $29
“Melon on the nose,” says one of our guests, and I agree, though I try to eschew “wine words.” Speaking of “eschew,” he also describes the wine as a bit chewy. It has more body than one would expect from a sauvignon blanc, with what I describe as a silky mouth feel, and a taste of lemon zest. It is aged in neutral oak. I like it, but our other guest says her appreciation of this wine is lessened due to “unmet expectations,” as it lacks the grassiness she likes in New Zealand sauvignon blancs. Not being a cow, I’m perfectly happy to drink this.
2022 Sparkling Riesling $31
However, she very much likes this next wine, a cloudy (because not disgorged) sparkler with lemon/lime and kiwi flavor, very dry. I am not as fond of it, but agree it would be good with some local oysters (like the Peconic Bay ones we had the night before) or even fried calamari or fish and chips.
The Scielo flight
2021 Viognier $41
Donna explained to us that most of the wines here that are aged in wood are aged in second use (also described as neutral) oak barrels, which means that the wood plays less of a role in the taste of the wines than if they had used new barrels. Though this is only slightly oaked, which smooths it out, it also has not much taste. I say it is inoffensive.
2019 Riesling $28
I will almost never order a riesling unless I have tasted it before, since they can be too sweet for me, but this is a riesling I would order. It is dry, with pleasant minerality and some taste of herbs. We discuss the typical “cat pee” smell, which one guest suggests could more appetizingly be described as “musky.” I compare it to the smell of water in which cut flowers have sat perhaps a day too long. Fortunately, it doesn’t taste like that!
The White Flight: note the cloudiness of the Sparkling Riesling on the left.
2019 White Merlot $38
We have quite a divergence of opinion on this wine, a white wine made from red wine grapes (Wine color comes from the grape skins, so if you don’t let red wine grape juice sit on the skins at all, you get white wine; sit briefly, rosé; longer, reds.). My husband doesn’t like it at all, I think it is nice, and one guest notes it has some of that “Long Island foxiness” one used to get more frequently with merlots. It does have lots of flavor, including some earthiness and an aftertaste of mandarin orange.
2021 Rosé $25
Strawberry aroma and flavor, light, dry, minerality, pleasant…I say meh. Still prefer Croteaux!
2022 Pinot Noir $41
Because this is fermented in steel, not oak, it has a pure, clean taste. It has a light red color, with surprisingly nice tannins and an aroma and flavor of cherries. I say this is easy to drink, and it would go well with roast duck, one of our mutual favorite dishes. Our guest agrees, and notes that “pinot noir and duck are best friends.”
2022 Tinto $31
Donna rattled off all the grapes in this blend, but I don’t remember them all, or the proportions: cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, etc. This is a lovely red, very refined, with flavors of blackberry and currant, and lots of tannins. This could definitely stand up to a hearty beef stew, or even a burger. I could see ordering it if it appeared on a wine list.
The little gift shop features some objets from Mexico.
Reasons to visit: spacious tasting rooms, plus ample outdoor areas; child-friendly atmosphere (we were not the only ones there with youngsters); some very good wines, all very drinkable; I especially liked the White Merlot, the Pinot Noir, and the Tinto, while our guests bought to take home the Sparkling Riesling and the Pinot Noir; very generous pour; good menu of snacks and other dishes. If you do the math, you may be wondering how we had three tastings of four wines each, and I only ended up describing nine of them. Some wines appeared in more than one tasting!
Here’s a great gift idea–a “blending kit,” so one can produce one’s own blended red. Like a chemistry kit for grown-ups, noted John, who nodded when I compared it to the blend-your-own gin experience at Matchbook Distilling Company.
Our friends the winery aficionados invited us to join them for the Lenz pick-up party for members, so of course we said yes. Though we’d been to Lenz not that long ago—in August, with a friend who brought his dogs along—we were happy to see what their pick-up party was like. We also got to try some wines we had not tried before.
Pellegrini used to do a pick-up party with generous spreads of charcuterie and cheeses, but since they now charge $35, we stopped bothering to go. No way will we eat $35/person-worth of cheese!
The event was well attended.
When we arrived at Lenz at 5 p.m., our group was ushered into the tasting room, where tables were set with glasses—four per person—and bamboo utensils. Soon, we were served food provided by Lombardi Love Lane Market: a couple of ravioli, a small bowl of lentil soup, and bruschetta topped with caponata and chopped tomato and garlic. The food was fine, especially given that it was free!
After we tried the four wines on offer, the director of sales, Jerol Bailey, made a short speech about the harvest and the wines, and then went around from table to table offering a few additional tastes. Lenz is one of the oldest wineries on the North Fork, and they take their wines very seriously. We liked all the wines we tasted, though some more than others.
Jerol Bailey addressing the group.
Since this was mainly a social occasion, my notes are brief.
2017 Estate Selection Chardonnay $22
I was a bit leery of this one, since it is a 100% oaked chardonnay, but even though the tasting notes described it as “buttery,” it was not overly so. The butterscotch flavor was balanced by some nice citrus and green apple notes.
2015 Old Vines Gewürztraminer $30
I remember years ago, before I started this blog, heading to Lenz to buy their gewürztraminer for Thanksgiving. Good move. Though it did not go well with the bruschetta, it would pair beautifully with roasted turkey and other savory dishes. It has a lovely floral aroma and spicy tastes. I think it would also go well with ham, since I taste a bit of cloves.
2018 Estate Selection Malbec $45
Malbec is often blended with other grapes—more about that in a moment—but here it stands on its own. They say “medium” body, though I find it rather light for a red. Still, it is dry, with some tannins that make me think it might improve with age. I smell olives and tobacco.
2017 Estate Selection Merlot $37
So here’s the thing about Long Island merlots—just about every winery has one, or more, at varying price points. I don’t think any of them can compete with North Fork Project merlots, at about $11 for a liter. However, this is an easy to drink red, with good cherry taste and aroma, and goes well with the lentil soup.
Cabernet Sauvignon
That’s the end of the flight, but Jerol comes to our table with a couple of other reds, and so we get to try the cabernet sauvignon, which is quite delicious, with lots of red fruit and some complex tastes. I don’t know which of the three cabernet sauvignons this is, so I don’t know the price, which could be $27, $35, or $60. As we are discussing the wines, I ask him, speaking about the malbec, why they don’t do a Bordeaux blend, given that they have all the grapes. Next thing I know, I get another extra taste.
Firefly Red Blend $22
This is their red blend, with an aroma of flowers and fruit and a light, fruity, juicy taste. Yum, and very buy-able.
Reasons to visit: VERY dog friendly; a pleasant tasting room and outside area; a well-run pick-up party for club members; all the wines are good, to varying degrees, but I particularly liked the gewürztraminer and the Firefly Red.
I love the barn-like aesthetic of so many of the vineyards on the North Fork.
We enjoyed our lunch at Jamesport Vineyards so much, we decided to head a little further down the road and do it again at Paumanok. We hadn’t been there since before the pandemic, so it was definitely time to go back. We were planning to sit outside on their pleasant wooden deck, but just as we got there the sun hid behind some clouds and a breeze made us shiver. Of course, shortly after we were settled inside the sun came back out—it was that kind of a if-you-don’t-like-the-weather-wait-five-minutes day—but we were happy with our table by the large windows.
That’s our waiter Rob out on the deck. The tables were pre-set with glassware and seasonal flora.
We were shown to our seat by a pleasant young woman, who also provided us with a bottle of chilled water. The tables were all already set, with sets of four glasses for tastings and larger glasses for the water, plus very attractive seasonal arrangements of gourds, etc. We perused the menus, one for wine and another for food, and decided to share a Winemaker Flight, of two whites and two reds for $22, and get the Cheese and Charcuterie Board for $35.
Our flight arrived about ten or fifteen minutes before our lunch, so we had plenty of time to sample all the wines before starting on the bountiful tray of food. That meant that we knew which wines we liked the best, and then had the chance to decide which went best with the snacks.
We found the pour generous enough that it was easy to share.
The board was ample, enough for at least four people, and we ended up taking home many crackers (including some very tasty gluten-free ones), half the little loaf of bread—which arrived warm, a nice touch—most of the olives and cornichons, some cheese, and a couple of slices of prosciutto and salami. We enjoyed the brie the most, as the other cheeses were…undistinguished, but overall we were happy with the food. Another time, I might think about ordering a la carte, though that might end by costing more. It is nice that they use compostable bamboo utensils and plates, though those knives and forks, unfortunately, don’t work very well. By the way, they don’t allow outside food, and dogs are only permitted during the week. I guess they figure it gets too busy on weekends to allow for dogs.
Lots of yummy stuff!
Our waiter, Rob, checked back with us at proper intervals, and shared his knowledge of and enthusiasm for the wines, which enhanced our experience.
2022 Chenin Blanc $32
“Multi-dimensional,” opined my tasting buddy, as we enjoyed our first sips. The aroma reminds me of white grape juice, and the flavor mixes sweet and tart, with notes of ripe pineapple. Very good, we decide, and move on to our next wine, leaving about half the glass to consume with our cheese and charcuterie.
The bar featured a nice award they won.
2021 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay $32
I was a bit concerned about this, as I often dislike oaked chardonnays, but Rob assures us that this is aged in neutral, or used, oak barrels for only six months, so it is not too oaky. He’s right, and we find this pleasantly smooth, “fruit forward,” according to my pal, who has been reading Wine Spectator. I think it has a taste that is a nice balance between steel and barrel fermented chards. It also goes the best with our lunch. I used to think that charcuterie, being meat, should be paired with reds, but now I prefer whites.
2020 Merlot $36
There are so many versions of merlot on the North Fork that there is surely one for every taste. This one has aromas of cherry and oak shavings, but does not have much fruit taste. I say it is rather light, and my husband says, “It’s kind of quiet,” which I think is apt.
The Massoud family photo, behind which you can see into the winemaking area.
2021 Cabernet Franc $36
We prefer the cab franc, which, though it is also light, with soft tannins, has more interesting fruit flavors and a longer finish. I think it also goes better with the cheese than the merlot. By the way, we felt the pour was more than adequate for sharing the flight.
Reasons to visit: pleasant deck and tasting room; good service; the chenin blanc, though all the wines were drinkable; a pricey but bountiful cheese and charcuterie board; dogs allowed during the week.
The grapes have been harvested. It was a day of alternating sun and clouds.
Why do I title this “A Family Affair”? Two reasons: I went there with a number of family members, and the winery is very emphatically family owned. Perry, who greeted us cheerfully at the sign-in desk, and her mother are the winemakers and owners. In addition, this is a good place to come with a family, as there is room for children to roam about the lawn and they can buy a little container of mealworms to feed the chickens. In fact, Perry started our visit by warning us that someone had left the door to the chicken coop open, and they were wandering the lawn, just in case any member of our party had chicken-phobia (Well, she didn’t quite put it that way.) Sounds more like a feature than a cause for a warning, I replied.
This visit to Old Field, while still having that laid-back vibe, felt somewhat different. First of all, there were many more people there than I have seen in the past, though that could be due to it being Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Then, instead of moseying over to the deck and sitting at a calico-tableclothed table, we ordered at the sign-in desk and were directed to find a table on the lawn, and told our flights would be brought to us. We picked up two bags of popcorn for the little ones and a small container of meal worms ($1 each) for the chickens. By the way, they still allow visitors to bring their own picnics, just requesting that one clean up after oneself.
After a very short wait, during which the youngsters in our group, accompanied by their mother, walked over to the icehouse and the little pond, our flights were set down on the table. The tasting menu offered four options: four whites, four reds ($20), the everyday mixed flight of five wines ($24), or the special occasion mixed flight of five wines ($30). We decided that each couple would share one of the mixed flights, so that in all we tasted ten wines. The flights were served on a tray, in compostable plastic cups, with glasses for each of us, which made sharing easy and hygienic. As we sipped and chatted, a curious chicken stopped by our table to check if we had any snacks, but we were not planning to share our popcorn, and the children had already fed the mealworms to some other fowl.
At the end of your tasting, you walk back past the sign-in desk, where you can pay and also get any bottles to take home.
One view of the capacious lawn. We are headed to the blue table, with its comfortable chairs.
The following notes are in more or less the order in which I tasted the wines, so you might want to refer to the menu to see which wine was in which flight.
Our two flights, with the glasses for each individual.
Sparkling Brut $50
Good, but not $50 good was the group assessment of this very nice, dry, yeasty sparkling wine, which started off the special occasion mixed flight.
2021 Cracklin’ Rosé $23
Made from 100% merlot, this is an unusual rosé, with not much fruit and a slightly funky undertone, with some cherry taste. This was the first wine in the everyday mixed flight.
Though these cups look like plastic, they are actually corn-based and can be composted.
2018 Steel and Oak Chardonnay $26
This is made from a combination of steel-aged and oak fermented chardonnay. The leftovers? joked my husband. For a combined wine, this is surprisingly simple, noted one guest. It is pleasant, but a bit oakier than I like. It has some citrus taste but also a bit of that I chewed on my pencil flavor.
This is the one we brought home.
2022 Winsome White $18
A blend of 50% chardonnay, 35% sauvignon blanc, and 15% grüner veltliner, this very winsome white has a touch of effervescence and some lovely peach flavor. We like it so much that we buy two bottles at checkout.
2022 White Pinot Noir $25
Another winner. Our guests like this the best of their tasting, and find it delicious, with tastes of pears and honey and some depth. We discuss how one makes white wine with red wine grapes with the children, who understand that if you take off the skins right away, you get white wine.
2020 Steel Chardonnay $22
Not my favorite of the day, as it has a somewhat metallic taste and some earthiness. It is light and dry.
2019 Commodore Perry Merlot $40
What’s Commodore Perry’s name doing on a North Fork wine? The famous seafarer, who opened up Japan to Western trade, is an ancestor of the owners of the winery, and this 100% merlot is named in his honor. Aged in French oak, it is quite tannic, with tastes of black cherry and tobacco. I could see aging it.
2021 Dashing Duck $22
A light red, we all agree, which would go well with roast chicken. Then we get into a discussion of the “red-feathered” chickens raised by 8 Hands Farm, as opposed to the “rouge” chickens our guests get in a Queens green market. “In Jackson Heights, we say ‘rouge,’” jokes a guest, in a mock-haughty accent. In any event, this wine has a lovely aroma and tastes of cherry and cranberry, with “some brio,” notes a guest.
2020 Maritime $35
“Oh, that is chewy,” says the same guest, reading the notes while sipping this Bordeaux blend of 33% merlot, 33% cabernet franc, 20% malbec, and 14% petit verdot. Very tasty, with blackberry and other dark fruit flavors.
Is this chicken annoyed because we won’t share our snack or because we’re drinking Rooster Tail?
2020 Rooster Tail $25
We have in the past bought this wine by the case, and we actually have a bottle in our wine cellar at the moment, brought to us by a dinner guest. A blend of 67% merlot and 33% cabernet franc, this is a good everyday pizza and pasta red, with some cherry and spice tastes.
Reasons to visit: the bucolic, laid-back vibe; chickens!; you can bring a picnic and children (but not dogs, I think the chickens would object); we liked almost all the wines, but particularly the Winsome White, the White Pinot Noir, the Commodore Perry merlot, the Maritime, and the Rooster Tail; it is close to Greenport’s restaurants and shops.
What a winning combination–prize winning wine and prize-winning jam.
I’ve learned so much over the years of going to wineries, from the differences between steel-fermented chardonnay and barrel-fermented chardonnay to how varied wines made from the same grape on the same terroir can taste. I’ve also learned a lot from my visits to Coffee Pot Cellars—about wine, yes, but also about all sorts of other topics, from bees to butterflies. Why? Because Laura Klahr, who owns Coffee Pot with her husband, Adam Suprenant, is always happy to share her latest enthusiasms with visitors. Her cheery, chatty personality is part of what makes a visit to this tiny winery fun.
Laura and Anna, with half of the monarch image painted on the wall behind them. Visitors are welcome to pose as butterflies.
On this visit, we learned about Sphinx moths, the part moths play in pollination, and about how certain caterpillars fluoresce under black light. This fall, said Laura, I want to put black lights in the broom closet and have a rave with caterpillars. We also admired the “snail art” hanging on the wall, art produced by snails crawling over paper. Though she no longer raises bees and makes honey, she does make jam, which has won prizes, as have the wines. The 2015 merlot won best merlot in New York State. We tried the 2016, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it won awards, too.
The name Coffee Pot comes from the North Fork lighthouse, which is shaped like a coffee pot.
Now that Adam has retired from being the winemaker at Osprey’s Dominion, he has more time to devote to Coffee Pot, and they now have seven wines, all of which one can taste for $21. As we sipped, we also chatted about her new dog, Anna, a black pug who has, not replaced, but fills the role, of Beasley, also a black pug, who gave his name to a red blend. Anna is featured on their Facebook page, in a very cute little video, wearing a tutu.
On a technical note, they source their grapes from Mccullough’s vineyard, and use the facilities at Lenz for fermentation.
2020 Sauvignon Blanc $23.99
Fermented in steel for six months, this is exactly what you want a sauvignon blanc to be—light, lemony, with some nice fruit tastes and a lovely floral aroma.
Chardonnay $17.99
You might notice the lack of a vintage year. That is because this white is a blend of the 2016 barrel-fermented chard and the 2022 steel fermented. I’m not a fan of barrel-fermented chards, especially if they are very oaky and buttery. This is not, though it still has some of that woody taste I don’t care for. However, the wine is quite drinkable, and is a good compromise between the two styles of chard, with some nice lemon and pear notes.
2022 Rosé $17.99
While we were at Coffee Pot, a couple came in and bought two bottles of this rosé, plus several jars of jam. I can see why, as this is a lovely example of rosé, with strawberry and cherry tastes and aromas. It’s made from a combination of merlot and cabernet sauvignon grapes. We buy a bottle to take home.
2016 Merlot $17.99
Buy a bottle of merlot, help save a monarch butterfly. How? For every bottle of merlot bought, Blossom Meadow farm plants a milkweed plant, essential nutrition for monarch caterpillars. In addition, this is a very good merlot, with the typical North Fork cherry taste and aroma. It has some tannins, and could probably even age a bit, but we buy two bottles for current consumption.
There’s Beasley, standing on the lighthouse.
2017 Beasley’s Blend $23.99
Gone, but not forgotten, Beasley will continue to give his name to this Bordeaux-style blend, of 52% cabernet franc, 40% merlot, and 8% petit verdot. Anna can’t give her name to a wine yet, Laura explained, because she is not old enough to drink! This iteration is a new release, with enough tannins that I think it could age quite a few years yet. There’s a touch of funky forest floor in the aroma, which also has lots of dark fruit notes. It also has some delicious brambly dark fruit tastes.
2019 Cabernet Franc $29.99
Here’s where I learned something about wine. Adam, says Laura, asserts that every wine tells a story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. He felt this cab franc had a rather “flabby” middle, so he added 12% merlot to give it more structure. I’d say he built a fine structure, as this is a red strong enough to stand up to a steak. Yummy tastes of blackberries, and more.
Half of the room, with snail art on the wall. The stools are not very comfortable.
2017 Meritage $28.99
Another delicious red! This one is 70% merlot, 20% petit verdot, and 10% cabernet sauvignon, with a distinct cherry aroma from the merlot, but more complex tastes from the other two grapes. Mouth-watering, my husband and I agree.
Reasons to visit: intimate tasting room where you can talk with Laura and/or Adam (Laura told us that Monday is usually Adam’s day) and meet little Anna; all seven of their wines, but especially the rosé, the merlot, and the cabernet franc; the possibility of learning something new from Laura. One note: the bar stools are still not comfortable, though they do have tables on the front porch and out back with better seating.
One can sit in the yard, but then one wouldn’t get to chat with Laura.
Many (many!) years ago, while traveling in Europe, we rendezvoused for several days in Paris with dear friends. Recently, they came north from Florida to escape the summer heat, and we were delighted they included a trip to the North Fork in their itinerary. To honor those memories of France, we made salade niçoise for lunch, and then took them to the most French of the North Fork wineries, Croteaux. Croteaux only makes rosés, and makes them in the dry Provençal style.
This view makes the garden look empty, but behind me it was full.
Happily, the weather cooperated, and it was pleasantly warm and sunny, because you want to sit in the lovely garden when you go there. We followed a path from the parking area to an entrance in a barn, where we were promptly greeted and escorted to a table where we were given a nice cold bottle of water and some cups. As we looked around, we noted that the garden was fairly crowded though they have added additional tables in an extended area. Soft music set a relaxing mood.
You can scan the QR code or we can give you a printed-out menu, we were informed. We opted for the printout. Puzzlingly, the printed menu lists the prices of the wines as $39 and $37, while they in fact are $29 and $27. They should probably fix that.
Croteaux only has table service—no standing at a bar. They also offer a nice menu of real food, and we saw several very good-looking lobster slider rolls sail past our table enroute to lunchers. I can definitely see coming here for a chilled glass of rosé and a lobster roll.
This tub filled with water bottles is typical of the slightly funky aesthetic of the garden.
After some discussion, we decided that each couple would share one tasting—which proved to be more than enough, since, as much as we all liked the wines, we left over quite a bit. One tasting of their six still wines is $28. One could also opt for a tasting of their three sparklers for $26. In past years we have belonged to their case club, which is their version of a wine club. Buy a case (which one should do early in the season), and you’re in.
If you are familiar with rosé, you can skip this paragraph… Rosé is usually made from red wine grapes, and how long they sit with the skins on determines how dark the rosé is. Rarely, it is made with white grapes, which then also sit with the skins on. Some people think rosé is some sort of blend of red and white—which it actually could be, but not in the sense of here’s some red wine, let’s mix it with white until it is a pale pink.
Our tasting in progress…you are told the order in which to try them, but then we kept going back and forth.
2022 Chloe Sauvignon Blanc $29
As you can tell by the name, this is made from white wine grapes. This is a rosé for white wine drinkers, with a sweet aroma of honeysuckle and peach. The taste is also of peaches and other stone fruit, but it is a dry wine. Delicious, we all agree.
2022 Merlot 181 $29
Of the six wines we tasted, this is our least favorite. It is more austere, less fruity, than the others, and really needs to be paired with food, like seafood in a rich cream sauce.
2022 Merlot 3 $29
I smell orange blossoms and minerals, and we joke about licking rocks from the beach. Lots of strawberry and orange tastes, with a long finish, make this rosé a real contrast to the 181.
2022 Merlot Sauvage $29
I explain to our friends that “sauvage” refers to the use of wild yeast, and one friend, a music aficionado, says the word “sauvage” reminds him of a line from the Benjamin Britton ballet, “Les Illuminations,” “J’ai seul la clef de cette parade sauvage.” The line is from a poem by Rimbaud. Thus illuminated, we sip the wine, and are quite pleased. Comments include “mouth-watering,” “a lot of taste,” and “peaches again.” It also has a very pleasing minerality. We each buy a bottle.
There are helpful tasting notes undeneath each glass.
2022 Merlot 314 $27
I swear, this smells like orange juice. Yummy. It is fruity, and would pair well with charcuterie.
2022 Jolie Cabernet Franc $27
They saved the best for last, we decide, as we enjoy this flavorful sipper, with notes of strawberry shortcake and spice. We also each buy a bottle of this one, as well.
The pretty bottles make nice gifts.When it is time to pay, you go through the doorway in the background, where there is a little retail store.Checks are charmingly delivered attached to shells.
Reasons to visit: the lovely, relaxed garden setting; dogs are allowed; you like rosés; all the wines we tasted, but especially the Sauvage and the Jolie; nice menu of snacks.
Some of the items for sale in the retail store.Cans of wine are becoming increasingly popular.
The rain seemed to be holding off, and a breeze made the temperature pleasant, so we decided to do an outdoor tasting. We also wanted to be outside because our guest had brought his dogs, and we wanted to include them in the day’s activities, so we headed to Lenz.
Primrose and Chewbacca quite enjoyed their first winery experience.
Sometimes I wonder whether how much I like a particular wine or winery is based on certain intangible factors, like the weather, or my mood, or little facets of service. How objective is wine tasting anyway? So much depends upon individual likes and dislikes. On this day, we combined the peace of the courtyard (there was only one other party there), the nice breeze, the good company, and two happy dogs with wines we generally liked, with a few extras thrown in, to decide this was a great tasting experience.
The courtyard offers a selection of shaded and unshaded tables.
Why were the dogs happy? In addition to not being left at home, they were quickly provided with their own water dish and then—with permission from their owner—treats from the excellent server. In addition to pampering the pooches, she timed the delivery of our tastes perfectly, falling in with our leisurely schedule and giving us just the right amount of information about each.
The North Fork wine country is celebrating its 50th anniversary, based on its beginnings with the Hargraves’ winery, and Lenz is not far behind, this year observing their 45th year in operation. They say the older the vines, the better the wines, and that does seem to ring true here.
After perusing the menu, we decided my husband and I would share a Summer Flight, $30 for five fairly generous samples, and our guest would have the same flight, so we could compare notes. We could also have opted for the Grand Flight, which features five of their pricier wines for $35. There is also a chocolate pairing flight…maybe another time. We also got a little $2 bag of North Fork potato chips, deciding to eschew the heftier options since I had cheeses and charcuterie waiting at home (including a nice chunk of 8 Hands pâté).
2016 Sauvignon Blanc $27 (for the ’22)
What an auspicious start to the afternoon! We all found this sauvignon blanc delicious, with an aroma of honeysuckle and lots of fruit tastes, with a touch of lemon on the finish. In fact, we liked it so much that we each bought a bottle to take home.
The pour was generous enough to share.
2021 Firefly Rosé $20
Why Firefly, we asked. Because it is named after the owner’s boat. Ah. A blend of malbec, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon, this is a yummy rosé, with tastes of tropical fruit—not quite pineapple, but sort of reminiscent of pineapple.
I didn’t stop to ask about it, but Lenz often has displays of art for sale, which I assume this was. (It was about to rain, so we left quickly.)
2022 Blanc do Noir Rosé $24
If you look on the menu, you will see that this is not included in the tasting, but our lovely server brought it out for us, saying she wanted us to taste this before the other rosé, which we did. Power of the book or the charm of the doggies? Who knows. In any event, this was a very light rosé, with a slight aroma of strawberry and tastes of strawberry and cherry, ending with some citrus and acidity. Though we like it, we find it a bit too light, and actually prefer the Firefly.
2017 Estate Selection Chardonnay $22
We had a good chat with our server about oak vs. steel-fermented chardonnays. As I’ve mentioned before, I tend to favor steel—I don’t like that buttery, oaky taste of oaked chards—but I have had some I liked. This one is aged 50/50 in oak and steel, so sort of the best of both worlds. I introduce our friend to the actual wine descriptor of “cat pee aroma,” which he finds amusing, but I do detect a trace of it in this wine. However, the wine itself is quite drinkable—our friend says smooth—with a touch of citrus and not too much oak.
2015 Gewürztraminer $30
Another gift! Before you move on to the reds, says our server, is there any other white you’d like to try? Hmmm…yes, I say, how about the gewürtz? I like One Woman’s version of this wine very much, so let’s see how Lenz does. I sniff and sense orange blossoms, a very flowery aroma. A sip. This wine is not shy, I opine, by which I mean it has a lot of taste! Ripe fruit, spice…what would you eat with it, asks our friend. Charcuterie! Yes, it needs food that can stand up to it. Good.
2016 Cabernet Sauvignon $27
Pleasant, is the word we settle on for this light, easy-drinking red. It has “not much depth,” notes my husband, but not every red has to be powerful. For example, this one would go well with roast chicken. It has some nice berry tastes and aromas.
2017 Estate Selection Merlot $22
Last wine! We hasten our leisurely pace, as storm clouds are starting to gather. This is a good, fairly typical North Fork merlot, with an aroma I compare to Cheracol (a cough medicine you have to be of a certain age to know), and tastes of cherry and dark berries. Nice, and a good price, too.
The tasting room inside is cozy.
Reasons to visit: pleasant courtyard; dogs not just allowed, but pampered; the sauvignon blanc, the Firefly Rosé, the gewürztraminer, the merlot; a menu of real food, in addition to the usual cheese, etc.; an old-school winery where they take their wine-making very seriously. By the way, though they have a small restroom inside, they also have the most deluxe port-a-potties I’ve ever seen, with air conditioning and a real sink.
I generally avoid port-a-potties, but these were deluxe.
A patriotic flower pot.The vines make a perfect photo backdrop.
We were a little wary of venturing out to a winery on the weekend before July Fourth, but Peconic Bay proved to be an excellent choice—just enough people to feel celebratory, not so many that it felt crowded. It was also a good choice since it fit with our plans for the day, which included a visit to the Horton Point Lighthouse (If you haven’t ever been there, go. Note that it is only open on weekends, but the volunteers who staff it are lovely, and very well-informed, and the little museum is well set up. Our guests braved the climb up the tower, but I had been, and once was enough. We paid $5 to park in the lot and $10 for the family to enter.) Then, we needed to be at Braun’s at 4:30 to pick up our steamed lobsters for dinner, and Peconic Bay is right next door. The timing worked out perfectly.
The outdoor space is more comfortable than the indoor room.
I had made a reservation, and they sat our party of six around a firepit (obviously not lit on this warm afternoon) shaded by an umbrella. The outside patio is a lovely place on a nice day, but the indoor tasting room is small and rather spartan, so I think this is one of those places I’ll go to in the summer. As we perused the menu, we enjoyed the cool jazz of a group whose name I couldn’t quite catch. The menu offers two flights, the Crossroads of three wines for $18, and Reserve, of three wines for $20. One could also opt for pairings of three wines with chocolate, cheese, or oysters. We were planning to pick up some oysters with out lobsters, and we wanted to try the full panoply of wines, so we decided that each couple would share both flights. That worked out well, and there was plenty of wine, but the sequence ended up being a bit of an issue, since both tastings include some whites and some reds. As a result, we kept going back and forth between the two flights. My notes, therefore, are in the order in which I tasted the wines, not separated by flight.
We also ordered a little dish of Marcona almonds ($4), and another of olives ($8), both quite good, and two non-alcoholic drinks for the minors in the party. They both gave positive reviews to the Beach Ball cold brew strawberry hibiscus caffeine free tea ($5) and the Subtle Tea lemonade ($4). They also enjoyed seeing a few dogs on the patio, and noting the cute Moke, a jeep-like vehicle in which one can tour the vines.
We asked our server if they made the wines on the premises, and he enthusiastically explained that the separate building on the other side of the parking lot contains their wine-making facility and their cellar, filled with stainless steel tanks and oak barrels.
2021 Sauvignon Blanc $28
We all agree that the aroma is lovely, which I describe as flowery. The taste is tart, with lots of acidity and a long finish. It would go well with oysters, but I am planning to make martinis for my guests, one of my favorite beverages to go with oysters—another is a dry sparkling wine.
2021 Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc $35
This is from the Reserve flight, and we decided it would be fun to taste the two side by side. One member of the party explained to the minors that two wines made from the same grape, grown in the same place, could taste very different depending on how they were made. I like this better than the steel sauvignon blanc, which surprised me a little, but it is not oaky, and our comments are: “nice, round, smooth, yum.” It has a bit of a vanilla aroma, and would go well with lobster.
The flights come with handy little tasting notes.
2016 Blanc de Blancs $40
The collective decision is to try the Blanc de Blancs next, as it is starting to lose its bubbles already. One guest compares the aroma to privet, a flower we’ve been smelling all day. Maybe. It is quite tart, and not a sparkler for sipping on its own. I eat a few almonds and then try it, and find it improves when paired with food.
2021 Steel Chardonnay $28
“The more I drink it, the more I like it,” opines our guest. It has a bit of a funky aroma and taste, but otherwise is similar to most North Fork chardonnays, with citrus tastes and some green apple.
2020 Merlot $35
“Not exciting,” is the group judgment on this “serviceable” merlot. I taste and smell cherry, as is typical, with a touch of tobacco from the oak. Someone observes that it is “too tangy.”
2020 Malbec $35
Though it has no body, this wine is spicy and herbal, with tastes and smells of dark fruit, lavender, and rosemary. “Meh,” says one guest. I say it’s a nice wine.
Reasons to visit: pleasant outdoor patio overlooking the vines; convenient location next door to Braun’s; the barrel fermented sauvignon blanc; all the wines were drinkable, if not exciting; live music; oysters and other pairings; the Moke!
The winemaking facility is on the other side of the parking lot.
NoFo Wineaux 