Tag Archives: North Fork

Castello di Borghese March 16, 2013

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

Borghese roomhttp://www.castellodiborghese.com/

“March winds do blow/And we shall have snow…”  Yes, indeed we shall.  As flurries swirled around us, we drove along Route 48, trying to decide on a winery to visit.  First we went past Vineyard 48, but the presence of no less than eight buses in the parking lot dissuaded us (but if you want a party, that might be the place for you) and so we headed on down the road to Castello di Borghese, Long Island’s oldest vineyard.  It was originally started by the Hargraves, who then sold it to Prince Marco and Princess Ann Marie Borghese (hence the name castello=castle) in 1999.

The pleasant tasting room has two main areas, a nicely set up bar and gift shop area and a larger room with tables and chairs, where Marguerite Volonts was singing beautifully and playing guitar.  When she segued from songs like “Autumn in New York” to some French cabaret songs we could imagine we were in Paris.  The tasting menu offers two basic options, as well as separate tastings of their more pricey offerings, such as Meritage.  You can taste four of their Estate wines for $9.00 or five of their Reserve wines for $12.00, so we opt for one of each.  However, as Nancy our server notes our careful swirling and sipping and note-taking, she begins to suspect something, and when Ann Marie Borghese comes out from the back room she asks point blank if I am a blogger.  They’re onto me!  So we get some additional tastes, but I note that two other groups who also evince seriousness about wine are also given some extras.  Borghese also offers an $18 cheese plate.

The following notes are in the order in which we tasted the wines, with the Estate wines marked with a *.  Oh, and they were sold out of the Riesling which we wanted to taste.

Borghese white

  1.  *2011 Estate Chardonnay                            $18

This is a fairly typical steel-fermented chardonnay, with aromas of vegetable, mineral, and pine sap.  Though not for sipping, it is nicely tart, with notes of green apple and lemon, and would be a good summer wine, maybe with a rich seafood dish.

     2.  2011 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay        $26

Typical aromas of vanilla and oak greet our noses, but the wine itself is much less buttery than most oaked chards, is a bit too lemony for our taste, and the finish is weak.

3.  *2011 Sauvignon Blanc                                  $24

They are quite proud of their Sauvignon Blanc, which has won some competitions, and (having already ascertained that I am a blogger) they give us both tastes of this.  I have to admit that it does not knock my socks off (and, as my husband notes, it is hard to knock my socks off), which seems to disappoint them, though it is a pleasant wine.  There’s not much aroma, primarily of some minerality, but it tastes better than it smells, though it is very light.  I could see having this with oysters (which would probably improve how much I like it), which would highlight the flavors of lemon and herb (thyme?).

Borghese red

The Borgheses are justifiable proud of their reds, and they give two reasons for why they are so good.  One is that the vines are older than most others on the North Fork, and the other is that Cutchogue has a very favorable micro-climate, with more sunny days than anywhere else in New York State, giving the grapes more time and warmth in which to ripen.  They are expecting great things of the 2012 vintage, since it was the warmest year yet, with a very warm spring followed by a hot summer and a harvest that came just before Hurricane Sandy.

4.  *2008 Pinot Noir Estate                                                 $30

As we hold the glass up to the light, we comment on the pretty light ruby color of the wine.  The aroma has some earthiness as well as sticky berry scents.  Though there is not much tannin, the taste is very good, with a balance of sweet and dry and not-quite-ripe Bing cherry tastes.  Nice long finish, too.

5.  2008 Pinot Noir Barrel Fermented                            $48

“The oldest Pinot Noir grapes on Long Island,” we are informed.  Aroma?  Cedar?  Terroir? Pencil shavings!  Fortunately, it tastes of berries, not pencil shavings, with nicely balanced tannins and a tart finish.  Very good indeed.

6.  *2007 Merlot Estate                                                       $25

The color of this is slightly darker than the Pinot, but also very attractive.  A strong aroma of berries precedes tastes of sweet berry, cedar, and just a touch of tobacco, with a long fruity finish.  Excellent, and very buyable, which we do.

7.  2007 Merlot Reserve                                                      $30

We love doing side by side tastings of two wines made from the same grape in the same year, but given different treatments.  Interestingly, we like the Estate better than the more expensive Reserve, though this is also a very good wine.  We again scent cedar and taste lots of fruit, and less sweetness than the Estate Merlot, so perhaps more balanced.  The difference in treatment is that the Estate is aged for 13 months and the Reserve for 18, both in oak barrels.

8.  *2010 Cabernet Franc Estate                                      $27

Nice legs!  No, we’re not being sexist, we’re just commenting on the way the wine forms “legs”—drips, essentially, along the sides of the glass when we swirl it.  Aromas of plums and spice herald tastes of dark ripe cherry and spice, and the tannins promise room to grow.  Nancy also points out that this has won awards, and would be a good wine to cellar.  We agree, and buy two bottles of this as well.

9.  2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve                                     $44

Again, it’s interesting to taste two similar wines side by side.  This Cab Franc has more fruit aroma than the other, with some notes of toast and earth but lots of delicious fruit.  We taste blackberry, and they say mulberry (which we might agree with if we remembered what mulberry tasted like), and nicely balanced tannins.  I’d love to have this with venison or some other lean game, maybe bison from North Quarter Buffalo Farm!

10.  *2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate                            $29

Okay, so if you’re counting you realize that our tasting should be done, but we never turn down extras (and we almost never spit, either).  We smell pine tar and fruit, and then taste a dry red with a surprising hint of citrus at the end.  We’re not liking this until Nancy offers us drinks of water to refresh our palates, at which point we find it tastes much better.  This would be great with pizza or Italian pasta dishes.

11.  2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve                           $44

Lovely aromas with lots of fruit, maybe currants, and not much earthy terroir, this is a good wine, but we’re not sure it is worth the price, since we’re not sure how well it would age.  Again, we seem to prefer the Estate version.

12.  Meritage                                                                             $60

I have wandered off to peruse the few gift items, assuming our tasting is over, when I am called back for one last bonus tasting, the Bordeaux-style Meritage.  This is a blend, 50% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and it would certainly give a French Bordeaux a run for its money (especially given its great legs).  Beautiful color and nice legs, an aroma of mineral and spice, and a really delicious taste of berry and spice make this a wine I’d happily drink any time, though the price would limit when!  If you go, definitely taste it, as it is worth the extra fee.

Reasons to go:  pleasant room with well-informed and generous servers and the chance to chat with an owner; the red wines, many of which are better than the average Long Island reds (not so much the whites, though maybe the Riesling would have been an exception); avoidance of busloads; a pleasant room in which to sit and listen to music if they are offering that (check their web site).

Channing Daughters Winery February 2, 1213

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

http://www.channingdaughters.com/

We decided to celebrate Groundhog Day with a visit to the South Fork, especially since such a trip is easy in the winter, when we don’t have to contend with the traffic on Route 27.  We started with a visit to the new Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill.  Designed to be reminiscent of a typical Long Island potato barn, it is a long one-story building, with a soaring roof and multiple skylights, letting in plenty of sunlight on this cold but bright day.  Parrish Art Museum

We particularly enjoyed a gallery devoted to William Merritt Chase and his lovely paintings of Long Island scenes as well as his classic portraits.  Another room full of Fairfield Porter paintings was also interesting.  We then headed to our favorite winery, Channing Daughters.  I did write about a visit there last summer, but then we only concentrated on their roses.  This time we decided to do a standard tasting.

Channing Daughters is located on Scuttlehole Road, a charmingly rural road just outside of Sag Harbor (which we used to call the un-Hampton, though it is getting more and more Hamptonized).  Down a pebbled driveway one comes to the small cozy tasting room, which looks out one side to the vineyard and the other into the cellar, where one can see the huge vats of future wine.  The owner of the winery, Walter Channing, named it for his four daughters.  He also has decorated the tasting room and the grounds with his wood sculptures, many of them made from whole trees, with the roots on top, carved into various shapes.  Here’s one from the parking lot:

Tree sculpture

On this cold winter day, there were only a few small groups in the tasting room.  The very well-informed servers noted that they do not allow bus-loads!  The standard tasting that day included six wines for $10.  As wine club members our tasting was free, and we could have chosen any wines from a list of about 20, but we decided not to.

1)  2010 Sylvanus     $24

Sylvanus is named for the legendary Green Man, the Roman equivalent of Pan, the god of woods and fields, and also for the field where this wine’s grapes are grown.  One of the aspects of Channing Daughters we like is their interest in experimentation, and for this wine they used all grapes grown in one field, for a blend of 60% muscot, 30% pinot grigio, and 10% pinot bianco.  An aroma of oranges and perfume precedes a nicely dry wine with pleasant fruit and a hint of almond flavor.  I would like this wine better with food, rather than as a sipping wine, and it would pair well with local oysters or other briny seafood.

2) 2010 Tocai Friuliano     $24

Fermented almost completely in stainless steel, with only a hint of oak, this lovely wine has an almost honey-like texture with a hint of grapefruit at the end.  I could see sipping this on a nice summer afternoon, perhaps with some tomato crostini.  We also notice that, unlike some places, the wines here are not too cold, and the servers confirm that this is indeed the policy.  We like this because when a wine is too cold you can miss the nuances of its taste.

Channing white

3) 2010 Ramato     $34

As a transition from white to red, we sample what is called an “orange” wine, a white pinot grigio fermented on its skins to give it a subtle orange color and interesting complexity.  I detect a faint aroma of orange candy and, not surprising given its 6 months in oak, a taste of oak.  We decide its somewhat unctuous texture does not make it our favorite, though it would pair interestingly with lemon curd or lemon meringue pie (which, my husband notes, he never eats!).

4)  2010 Due Uve     $22

Due uve means two grapes, and that is what this wine contains–syrah and merlot.  Because of Long Island’s climate, you’re never going to get “big hot wines,” says the server, and agrees that this wine exhibits the typical local earthiness which some people “go crazy for” and others dislike.  We like some earthiness, but not when it overwhelms.  This wine has nice fruit–berries–and some hints of black pepper, and just a hint of earth.  It spends 16 months in oak.  I’m thinking it would be good with pasta with a short ribs sauce.

5)  2008 Sculpture Garden     $27

Given that there actually is a sculpture garden on the grounds (ask the server for directions), and that the oldest vineyard (planted in 1982) is named Sculpture Garden, it was perhaps inevitable that one wine would be named this.  Plus the merlot grapes in it come from that vineyard. I could see wandering the sculpture garden on a nice warm day with a glass of this easy-drinking wine in hand, but it’s too cold today!  A blend of 95% merlot and 5% blaufrankisch, this wine has a pleasant berry aroma and cherry tastes, with some earthiness, some pepper, and not a lot of depth.

6)  2007 Mudd     $40

No, the name is not a misspelling of mud!  This wine’s grapes come from the North Fork vineyard run by Steven Mudd, a well-known vineyard manager who works with a number of wineries.  Terrific wine!  This is a Bordeaux blend of 60% merlot, 21% syrah, 9% dornfelder, 5% cabernet franc and 5% blaufrankisch with an aroma reminiscent of a pine forest, and lots of black fruits and plum flavors.  Definitely yummy, and would be good with roasted lamb shanks, as its dryness would cut the fat of the lamb while it has enough fruit not to be overwhelmed.

Channing red

Extra!  Because he has it out, the server asks if we would like to try the Over and Over.  We would.

7)  Over and Over–Variation 5      $37

It is hard to explain the method used to make this wine, so perhaps the best I can do is refer you to Channning Daughters own web site, where it is explained in detail, but basically this is made using the “solera” method, where some wine from various years is combined with wine from other years and then fermented together.  We had tried one iteration (probably 3 or 4, muses the server) we did not care for, but this one is definitely a success, with blackberry flavors and aromas.  Nice.

http://channingdaughters.com/wine_order/index.php

Reasons to visit:  One of best wineries on Long Island, with lots of interesting experiments.  In addition to the above listed wines, I also love their L’Enfant Sauvage, made with wild yeast, their Scuttlehole Chardonnay, which is basically our “house” white, and their Research Cab, a good red.  

Laurel Lake Vineyards December 2, 2012

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

Laurel Lake doorLaurel Lake mirrorLaurel Lake whiteshttp://www.llwines.com/

In the winter, the North Fork is even more laid back than in the summer.  (In fact, the only intense season is October, when the pumpkin-pickers and maze-wanderers coincide with the harvest-season wine-tasters to actually cause traffic on Main Road and Sound Avenue.)  However, the wineries are still open, though for some only on the weekends; most of the restaurants are still open, though some close for the season; and a few farm stands are still open, featuring Brussels sprouts and winter squash.  On an unseasonably warm December afternoon, with fog shrouding the vineyards, we decided to head to Laurel Lake Vineyards, on Main Road near Laurel Lake Park.

The tasting room is housed in a pretty building that looks like an old-fashioned Colonial farm house, with a wide veranda and stained glass windows. On one side of the veranda there is a large seating area, screened at this time of year by plastic sheeting from the elements.  Inside, the tasting bar is attractively designed to look like a saloon bar, with a large mirror behind it. They have a small selection of wine-related gifts—t-shirts, stoppers, etc.—and some local art for sale.

The tasting menu is divided into whites and reds, and a standard tasting is any three for $7, with a fairly generous pour (plus the usual wines by the glass or bottle).  Since there are eight reds and nine whites to choose from, we will have to return!  Unfortunately, I was suffering from a sore throat (but not yet the stuffy nose that arrived the next morning, thank goodness) so we opted not to share, and I took three reds and my husband took three whites.  The server was candid in his recommendations on which to choose, and I liked his choices for the reds.

Whites

  1.  2012 Sauvignon Blanc                   $19.99

A pleasant grassy aroma forecasts a clean grapefruit-y taste, with some sweet notes, almost as if it had been in oak, though it is a steel-fermented wine.  This would be good with seafood or for sipping.

  1. 2012 Gewurztraminer                    $21.99

He finds this one too sweet, so much so that it is not a good capture of the varietal.  Rather than fruit, it tastes more like honey, so I suppose this could function as a dessert wine.  We also note that the whites are being held in a wine refrigerator set at 44 degrees, which seems a bit too cold to us. We mention this to the server, who laughs and notes that some people actually ask them for ice to put in the wine, which they do not have.  “Room temperature” in the past meant chillier than room temperature now, but we find we prefer our wines warmer than they are often served.

  1. 2010 Riesling                     $19.99

This one is also sweet, but “not unbearably so,” and would be good with spicy food.  Though it starts sweet with some buttery notes it ends with a bit of a tang.

 

Reds

  1. 2009 Pinot Noir Reserve       $29.99

So there is a school of thought that sees the “reserve” moniker as a bit of a scam, but I’m willing to allow it!  Though there’s not much aroma to this wine, it has a nice dry berry taste.  It’s good, though a bit thin on the finish.

  1. 2008 Cabernet Franc               $21.99

I really like this one!  There’s some eucalyptus aroma, and red berry tastes, with what their tasting notes call a “smooth velvety finish.”  They also say it’s good with steak, and I agree.  Buyable!

  1. 2009 Syrah                                  $19,99

This, as my grandma said with each new grandchild and then great-grandchild, “beats the bunch.”  There’s lots of fruit on the nose, with yummy blackberry and some green pepper tastes.  Since it is not as heavy as some Australian syrahs, I could see this as cutting the fattiness of a lamb dinner.  They also suggest having it with pastas and smoked ham. This is a slightly unusual grape for Long Island, but I happen to like syrahs (and shirazes) in general. Very buyable, and we do, buying one of this and one of the cab franc.

We have heard that some of the owners and winemakers are Chilean, and wonder if this explains the sweetness of the whites.  The tasting menu also includes a list of restaurants where you can find their wines, and I can see why a number of places would feature these pleasant, well-priced wines.

Reasons to visit:  pretty tasting room, generous pour, lots of different wines to taste, very reasonable prices,  08 Syrah and 08 Cab Franc, sweet whites if you like them!

Laurel Lake mirror

Clovis Point Vineyard November 17, 2012

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http://www.clovispointwines.com/

Just like my last entry, this one also has a link to Long Island history.  However, instead of going back to the 19th century, this one goes back about 10,000 years, to when the people who lived on Long Island hunted woolly mammoths with stone tools, like the clovis point used by this winery as its name and symbol.

On a brisk but beautiful November day we continued our recovery from hurricane Sandy with a visit to this winery.  When we pulled into the parking lot, we were at first a bit concerned by the presence of two large buses and a limo, but when we entered the attractive converted barn serving as a tasting room we were relieved to note that one large party was out on the lawn and another in the awninged side veranda, and there was room at the tasting bar.  A band called the Earthtones was playing folk rock, a bit too loudly for our taste, but the music was pleasant, and we also enjoyed looking at the paintings of local scenes on the walls (all for sale, some at very reasonable prices).  They also have cheese trays and chocolate pairings available for about $10.

There are three tasting menu options, plus of course wines by the glass and bottle, which we saw several groups doing.  You can have the “Cold” tasting, three whites and one rose for $8; the Reds, four reds for $10; or the Premium, also all reds, for $14.  We opted for one Cold and one Premium, planning to share as usual.

1.  2010 Chardonnay          $18

According to our well-informed server, all their whites tend to the light and bright side.  This steel-fermented chard is light, with a lemon aroma, and a taste that reminds us of lemon candy.  A bit too sweet for us, but if you like your chards on the sweet side you might like this one.  It contains 1.3% Gewurtzraminer, which might account for some of the sweetness.

2.  2011 Chardonnay          $18

However, this chard also has 1% Gewurtz, and yet is quite different.  The aroma is somewhat like chamomile tea, and though it is also steel-fermented it is quite mellow, with some notes of honey, and nice legs.  Buyable!  This would be a pleasant sipping wine, and the server points out that it won a gold medal.  We discuss how interesting it is that essentially the same grapes can have such different tastes.

3.  2008 Barrel Chardonnay     $25

So this is their oaked chard, having spent 10 months in oak barrels.   It has a somewhat off-putting smell of rotten wood, though the taste is fine.  As it sits in my mouth, I taste vanilla, oak, and burnt pear.  Though not unpleasant, I don’t particularly care for it.  As we discuss it, the server gives us a taste of the 2009 Barrel Chardonnay for comparison.  What a difference!  We like this one much better, with tastes of butterscotch and refreshing citrus.  This also spent 10 months in oak.

4.  Clovis Point Rose          $20

Made from cabernet franc grapes which spent three days on the skins, this is a pleasant rose with tastes and aromas of watermelon and strawberry, and would make a nice summer sipping wine.  I could see having it well iced with a few strawberries in it.

Now we move on to the Premium tasting, for which we get a clean glass, always a nice touch.  We also notice that those who buy a few bottles of wine get an attractive cloth bag to carry them in. (And if you buy three bottles, the tasting is free.)

5.  2008 Cabernet Franc          $27.50

Our server characterizes this as “European style,” and notes that it won a silver medal.  The aroma is “forest,” we decide, some fruit, some oak, a bit of smoke.  The taste is good, with dark cherry fruit and also a bit of smoke and oak.  This, we decide, is buyable.

6.  2007 Cabernet Sauvignon          $27.50

Though primarily cab sauv, this wine also has 2% merlot and 2% cab franc, and 07 was only the second year they made it.   This is also a good and buyable wine, with an aroma of cedar and berries and tastes of red plum.  The tannins are soft, and it is easy to drink.  I think I’d like it with duck, but not in any kind of complex sauce.

7.  2007 Vintner Select Merlot          $35

Again a blend, the merlot is 85% merlot, 6.5% cab sauv, 2.5% syrah, and 1% petit verdot.  This one also won a medal, this time double gold, we are told, and that it is called “select” rather than “reserve” because they are saving the term “reserve” for really exceptional wines.  An aroma of smoke and coffee preceeds a somewhat odd but pleasant flavor I think tastes like lychee fruit.

8. 2007 Archaeology       $60

How did this blend of merlot, cab sauv, cab franc, petit verdot and syrah get this name?  They had a contest, with the wine club members voting on the anonymously contributed names.  As it happened, this was the name the owner submitted…The aroma has some of that earthy terroir, and also black fruits.  The wine is fairly dry, with nice fruit and is good, but not worth the $60.  However, if you join the wine club it is only $40, and at that price would be worthwhile!

Reasons to visit:  Pleasant tasting room with cheese trays available; good 2011 Chardonnay and 09 Barrel Chardonnay; also some good reds; art for sale; well-informed servers; nice rustic view from the veranda.

Palmer’s Winery March 24, 2012

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If you like the atmosphere of a British pub, you’ll like the look of Palmer’s tasting room.  We went there on an early spring afternoon, after stopping at Bayview for fresh local spinach and horseradish root, before I started this blog, so this is a catch-up entry.  The cozy room has comfortable booths and signs on the walls advertising British products, stand-up tables, and more outside room for the summer.  The tasting room is towards the back of the property, as the front building houses their cellar and production facility, of which you can take a self-guided tour.

The tasting menu offers six different flights of three wines each, for $8-$10.  They also sell a cheese and cracker tray and bags of North Fork potato chips for $3.  We opt for the Winemaker’s Reserve white and red tastings, planning as usual to share, and the server brings our glasses to a booth.  Generous pour!

1)  Pinot Blanc 2010          $19.99

This is a very nice white, aged on the lees.  It has a spicy aroma, with some hints of cinnamon or allspice.  We sense some peach taste, some minerality, and some acidity, with a back of the mouth sweetness.  Overall, this is a dry crisp wine and would pair well with oysters.

2)  Sauvignon Blanc 2010          $19.99

Calling Dr. Brown!  The aroma reminds us of celery soda or seeds.  Less acid than the Pinot, we taste a fruit salad of apple and grapefruit.  This somewhat interesting wine has a front taste that is a bit acid, and end that is flat and apple-y, and is, we decide, a food wine, not a sipping wine.

3)  Reserve Chardonnay          $18.99

Aged in French oak, this is a fairly typical Long Island Chard, with aromas of vanilla and toast.  We taste ripe peach as it opens up, with a citrus after taste. I’d like this with lobster or a chicken dish.

4)  2008 Cabernet Sauvignon          $24.99

This simple red has a blackberry bramble aroma and berry taste, a bit on the sweet side, though the aftertaste is dry.  Nice.

5)  2008 Cabernet Franc          $28.99

Nice sipping wine, we judge, with aromas of blueberry and other berries and a pleasant but unassertive taste.  A bit sweet for us, with not much in the way of finish.

6)  Select Reserve          $28.99

Bordeaux, here we come.  This is a classic Bordeaux blend of Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, and Merlot, though the taste is not quite as good as a “real” Bordeaux.  The aroma is of berries, with some minerality, and the flavor reminds us of stewed prunes (which I happen to like).  Maybe given time?

None of the wines are bad, though we don’t choose to buy any.  If I did, I’d probably get the Pinot Blanc.

Reasons to visit:  Comfortable tasting room, if you get a booth.  Pleasant pub-like decor.  Generous pour, and we liked all the wines, though we loved none of them.

Sannino Bella Vita September 22, 2012

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This is our first side-by-side pairing, of two chardonnays.

http://sanninovineyard.com/

After a good two-hour bike ride and before a visit to Greenport to see the Maritime Festival and the Peconic Plein-Air art exhibit, we stop at Sannino Bella Vita winery, formerly Ackerly Pond, on Peconic Lane.  This is a small winery on a side street, so, though there are plenty of people here, it is not the madhouse some of the bigger wineries on the main road can be, especially in the fall.  Live music is quietly provided by a flautist and a guitar player, and one of the guests outside on the little patio is swaying to the music.

Mr. Sannino is also a contractor, as well as a wine-maker, and he bought out Ackerly Ponds and combined their wines with his own, so you can taste both styles side by side if you like.

The full tasting, which includes all 9 wines, is $15.  You can also opt for a half tasting for $8 or a premium tasting of three special wines for $8.  We go for one full tasting, which we will share.  (There’s also a pitcher of sangria on offer, for $3 per glass, and a cheese tray for $15.)  The servers use a spout, so the pour is a carefully calibrated one ounce.

1) 06 Ackerley Pond Riesling          $18.99

This is a very tart riesling, with tastes of lime and green apple and a thin mouth feel.  This would probably be better with food, and actually might be fun to cook with, like with a fish in a wine and cream sauce dish.  Tasting it blind, one would probably not guess it was a riesling.

Our lovely server asks if we would like to taste the next two chardonnays side by side, as one is an Ackerly Pond (AP) and the other a Bella Vita (BV).  We say yes, and she fetches a second glass, and we note that the glasses are etched with the name of each vineyard, so we can keep track of which is which.  Nice touch.

2) 09Bella Vita Chardonnay           $20

Steel fermented and light, this chard has lots of citrus flavor, but is just okay.

3)  06 AP Chardonnay           $14.99

In contrast, the AP chard spent several months in oak, and the vanilla flavor of oak is there, but not very strongly, as well as citrus, but not a lot of depth.  There’s also a faintly metallic aroma.

Here comes another pairing!

4)  2011 BV Merlot Bianca          $20

This is a white wine made from the merlot grape, as the name suggests, given no contact with the skins.  Interesting tang.  The aroma is of slightly over-ripe fruit, though not in an unpleasant way, and the taste reminds us of an unripe peach.

5)  2010 BV Snow Merlot           $15

Basically a rose, this is a light, not complex, but pleasantly interesting wine, with side of the tongue sweetness and some strawberry flavor.

And a third pairing…

6) 04 AP Merlot          $19.99

This is our favorite so far, a dry red with a lovely chocolate aroma, and lots of plum and berry taste, with a faint mintiness and none of that earthy terroir of the North Fork.

7) 2010 BV Merlot          $30

Aged for a year in oak, this wine has a faint red candy aroma and nice plum flavors.  Again, no dirt!  This is also good, but a bit pricey for the quality.

8)  06 AP Cabernet Sauvignon           $27.99

We detect an aroma of oak.  Another fairly un-complex wine, with a thin mouth feel.

9)  2010 BV Spiced Wine           $13

Served warm!  We decide this spiced wine, made with cabernet sauvignon and other wines and flavored with cinnamon and similar spices, would be very nice on a cold winter’s night, especially if one were in a hot tub.  It reminds us of the Swedish drink Glogg (Imagine an umlaut over the o.).  The server notes that it would also be good if one added orange slices and cranberries to the glass.  Yes, it would.

Though we don’t buy any bottles, if we did need more red we’d buy the 04 AP Merlot.

Reasons to visit:  Intimate setting, ability to meet the owner (who has been there each of the three times we’ve visited), the ability to make interesting comparisons between two different styles of wine-making.  They also run a wine club in which one can make one’s own wine from their grapes.

Waters Crest 8/11/12

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

http://www.waterscrestwinery.com/

Waters Crest has probably the worst-located winery on the North Fork, in a strip mall around the corner from the Southold town dump, which is too bad, because their wines are generally quite good.  The tasting room is small but pleasant, with a selection of gift items including some cute t-shirts and a cheese tray for $9.99. Jim Waters makes all his own wines, but buys his grapes from local growers, not having his own vineyard.  He started as a home winemaker, and, as we’ve learned from talking to other winemakers, that’s often the first step to becoming a professional wine-maker. (The server, Jenny, also tells another couple how Jim was a volunteer at Ground Zero, and after that decided to follow his dream.)  We bonded with Jim and his wife on our first visit, when we discovered they had looked at and contemplated buying the house we eventually bought in Mattituck!

The tasting menu now includes all seven of their wines, for $15, or you can buy individual tastes of whites for $2 each or reds for $3 each.  We opt to share one tasting.

1)  2011 Rose          $24.99

This is a simple and refreshing rose, with a fresh strawberry aroma and taste, fairly tart.

2)  2011 Chardonnay          $18.99

Although it is steel fermented, it has some interesting notes of vanilla and caramel which makes us wonder if it spent any time in oak, though Jenny says no.  It has a pleasantly lemony finish.

3)  2010 Reserve Chardonnay          $25.99

Delicious.   A somewhat smoky, mineral aroma makes us wonder how this will taste, but the wine has a nice balance of fruit and is not too oaky.  Jenny says it spent 10 months in new French oak barrels.

4)  2008 Merlot          $39.99

We get new glasses for the reds, always a nice touch.  This is a lovely soft Merlot, with a berry aroma and dark plum flavor, without too much of the North Fork dirt flavor.  Not much in the way of tannins.

5)  Due Sorelle          $34.99

Two sisters–named for the Waters’ daughters Michelle and Lauren–combines two wines, Merlot and Cabernet Franc to good effect, with lots of yummy pepper and fruit flavors including cherry.  Mild and mellow, this is dry despite the good fruit flavors.

6)  2008 Campagnia Rosso          $49.99

This is a right bank Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot.  The aroma is somewhat funky and off-putting (earthworm?) though the taste is better than the aroma. However, it is not our favorite of the wines.

7)  2007 Cabernet Franc Grand Vin          $39.99

Though the aroma of this is also somewhat earthy, the flavor is excellent, lots of ripe fruit with some mineral on the finish.  We buy a bottle!

Reasons to visit:  some nice wines, especially the 07 Cab Franc Grand Vin and 10 Reserve Chard; intimate setting, with the frequent chance to chat with the owner.

Bedell Cellars 8/7/12

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

http://www.bedellcellars.com/

If someone ever gives an award to a winery for attention to design, Bedell should get it.  From the pretty flower-surrounded parking lot to the attractive type-face of their signs to the arty labels on their wines, it is clear that someone is paying attention to appearance, and doing it very well.  The tasting room is well-designed, and the outside veranda lovely.  Even the servers wear a “uniform”–checked shirts with the Bedell logo.  Happily, the wines are equally well-designed!  We are here on a warm late summer afternoon with our daughter, son-in-law, and a now 14-month-old distraction, so not all of my notes are as comprehensive as they could be.  However, many of the technical details of their wines are readily available on their web page.

There are two tasting options (as well as the usual ability to buy wines by the glass or the bottle):   The Estate tasting includes 5 wines from their lower priced line for $10, while the Premium tasting gives you 5 tastes of their higher priced wines for $15.  We opt for one flight per couple, with one pair trying the premium and the other the estate so we can taste all ten wines.  The pour is small, but since we are there at the end of the day (4:30), a couple of times we get the benefit of a little extra to empty a bottle!  The servers are very knowledgeable and pleasant, and we also enjoy chatting with another young couple with a baby in tow, and our granddaughter enjoys meeting the calm and very friendly golden lab who is allowed into the room just to say hello.

Estate Tasting:

1)  2010 First Crush White          $18

This is a mostly steel-fermented blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling that is light and tart and refreshing.  The aroma is of mineral and chalk, and the fruit is subtle but there, with a pleasant dryness.

2)  2011 Chardonnay          $25

The server explains that this wine spends some time in neutral oak barrels (in other words, in barrels that have already been used for previous fermentations, and so have lost much of their oaky taste) in order to give the wine a better texture, and indeed, it does have a pleasant mouth feel.  The tasting notes also point out that beach stones are used in the casks, which we learn help to keep the cask full.  How much, if anything, they do for the flavor is debatable.  The flavor is pleasantly citrusy.

3)  2011 Taste Rose          $18

This is a light, fairly nondescript blend of Merlot, Cab Franc and Cab Sauv.   Can’t compete with Croteaux’s roses.

4)  2010 First Crush Red          $18

This is a Beaujolais Nouveau style of light red, and would be nice slightly chilled with a roast chicken.  The aroma has some of that North Fork earthiness, but it tastes better than it smells.

5)  2009 Merlot          $20

Nice berry aroma, and a typical Long Island Merlot, though without the earth flavor that is sometimes too prevalent.

Premium Tasting

1)  2011 Sparkling Rose          $35

This is NOT a champagne-style sparkling wine, but rather one made by injecting CO2 into the tanks.  It is a refreshing blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, and Merlot, but tastes a bit too much like a pink soda to me.

2)  2011 Viognier          $35

Winner!  This is a delicious white with lots of citrus and pleasing amount of complexity, despite a somewhat funky aroma.  Since I have no earlier notes on this wine, my guess is it is a new one for Bedell.

3)  2010 Gallery         $40

The Viognier grape also appears in this blend, which adds Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to the mix.  The aroma reminds me of lemon candy, and the taste has a sweetness of ripe fruit to it, but it is a pleasant wine.

4)  2010 Taste Red          $35

Yum.  The server notes that this was aged for 12 months, and is a Bordeaux-style blend of Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cab Franc, and Malbec.  The aroma is intensely berry berry, and the taste is lovely, with lots of fruit but dry.  Good tannins.

5)  Musee          $75  (!)

This rather pricey wine is also a Bordeaux blend, with an aroma of coffee and plum.  It spends 14 months in a combination of oak and old oak, and is a blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv, and Petit Verdot.  Though it is a good wine, with some complexity and good fruit flavor and a nice finish, we feel it is not worth the price.

Our son-in-law buys the First Crush Red, a good choice, we all agree.

Reasons to visit:  beautiful room and attractive labels; good though expensive wines; First Crush Red.

Mattebella Vineyards

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

http://www.mattebellavineyards.com/

May 19, 2012

I’m catching up on past entries, made before I started this blog.  We visited Mattebella on a beautiful sunny day, our second visit.  This is a fairly new winery, and when we came last year we were almost the only ones there, but now it is more crowded.  Chris, who with her husband owns and operates the winery, remembers us.  She’s lovely–very friendly and outgoing, happy to chat about her wines.  The vineyard is named for their children–Matt and Bella!  Although the tasting room is a tiny shack, they have plenty of chairs and tables on a rustic patio, close to the vines.  They have six wines, at $2-4 per taste, served in lovely round-bottomed glasses.  We opt to share a full flight.  Although Chris is being helped by John, who is very knowledgeable, service is slow.  We actually see one couple get up and leave, having not been served, but it is a lovely warm day and we are in no hurry.

1)  08 Chardonnay          $16

An aroma of honey and, surprisingly, spinach.  We taste apricot and red grapefruit, but it is a bit sweet.  Maybe too sweet to have with a meal…but it would make a good aperitif wine, as it is nice for sipping, with a pleasant finish.

2) 09 Chardonnay          $17

A little plate of creamy brie and sliced baguette comes with this wine, and Chris urges us to taste it both before and after we have the brie. Good move.  The aroma is grassy, and a bit like white grape juice (I know, shocking, a drink made from grapes that smells like grape juice!).  The wine is tart with a light oak taste and some zingy acid at the finish.  After the brie, it is definitely less acid, with nice fruit as the flavors blend in the back of my mouth.  This wine is light, and good cold, and clearly good with brie.

Chris tells us that all their grapes are hand-picked, and they use all organic growing methods.

3) 2010 Rose          $16

This rose is 90% Merlot, with aroma and taste that reminds us of watermelon.  Actually, it reminds me of a watermelon infused with vodka I once had (and I’m not going to say anything more about that).  There’s a slight tingle, and it is a simple, nice wine, but not as good as Croteaux’s roses.

4)  Famiglia           $15

This is a good basic red table wine, which would be fine with pizza.  There’s an aroma of tobacco and dark fruits, and the taste is dry with some minerality.

5)  07 Old World Blend          $30

This is a Bordeaux blend–Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot–and we bought a couple of bottles last time we were here.  The aroma includes tobacco and the earthy terroir typical of the North Fork.  The flavor is interesting, with some cherry, and a good balance of dry and sweet.

6)  08 Old World Blend          $30

Another blend–Merlot, Cab Sauvignon, and Cab Franc.  We are served a little plate of bread, cheese, and fig jam with this wine, and find that there is a fig taste in the wine that is enhanced by the fig jam.  Fascinating.  Other than that, we taste black cherry, and sense again a slight earth aroma.

We buy 2 bottles of Famiglia, one 09 Chardonnay, and one 08 Old World.  Now I just have to get some fig jam.  I wonder if Briermere carries it?

Reasons to visit:  personal service; the chance to see how some of the wines taste with food; support for a mostly-organic vineyard; Famiglia, 08 Old World Blend, 09 Chard.