Tag Archives: Old Field Vineyards

Old Field Vineyards: A Family Affair

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

September 2, 2023

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.

Old Field Addendum September 7, 2019

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

https://theoldfield.com/

IMG_7054

Our picnic, with cheese from Love Lane Cheese Shop and pate from 8 Hands.

“Next time, bring a picnic,” urged the very hospitable server the last time we were at Old Field.  So we took her advice, and brought some friends who were thinking of joining their wine club plus some crackers and cheese, melon with prosciutto, plus a slice of paté and some shishito peppers we picked up at 8 Hands enroute to the winery. 

IMG_7051

We had a lovely time and enjoyed trying two wines which had not been available the last time we were there.  Our friends loved the laid-back family atmosphere of the farm, and admired the chickens and ducks.  We strolled the grounds and looked again at the ice house.  They tried a tasting of the reds, with which they were very happy.   And yes, they joined the wine club, which meant our tastings were free.  We’ll be back!

1.        2016 Blush de Noir        $25

Perry—one of the owners—explained to us that the pinot noir grapes hadn’t met their standards for red wine, so they made them into this lovely rosé.  We quite liked it, and it went very well with the charcuterie we had brought with us.  It is a light, dry wine with just a bit of fruit.

IMG_7052

Just four hours on the skins means that this is a very light colored rose.

2.       2014 Cabernet Franc    $36

We liked this wine so much that we bought a bottle for the cellar.  A new release, it has nice tannins, more depth than many North Fork reds, and was just overall delicious.

IMG_7059

On our stroll, we noted the view of the bay just beyond the vines.

P.S.  Perry came out of the vineyard and offered us a taste of merlot grapes.  They were not quite ready to be picked, she told us.  We liked the taste of the little, thin-skinned grapes, despite the seeds.

IMG_7060

Not quite ready to be picked!

IMG_7063

IMG_7064

Old Field Vineyards:  Counting their Chickens      August 11, 2017

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

http://www.theoldfield.com/

o 1

If you want to feel as though you are really out in the country, head almost all the way to Greenport and stop into the Old Field Vineyards, through the gate, past the barn and the Port-a-Pottie, to the rustic tasting room and open porch.  Old Field is one of our favorite wineries to bring guests when the summer weather cooperates, since their porch is a charming place to sit and have a tasting as you look out onto the capacious lawn and watch children and chickens running around.  Yes, chickens—and also roosters and a rather charismatic duck—have free rein of the place during the week (on weekends, when it is more crowded, they tend to be kept in the coop), and they sometimes will wander up onto the porch, where they thought my cousin’s hat straw might have been edible.

o9

Off in the distance you can see the picnic tables and kids running around.

It wasn’t, but the wines were quite potable.  The menu offers several options:  Sample our Rosés (2) for $4.00, Sample our Chardonnays (2) for $6.00, Sample our Reds (4) for $12.00, or Sample our Everyday Mixed Flight (4) for $10.00.  We had just eaten many oysters in Greenport at the Little Creek Oyster Farm, so we didn’t need snacks, but this is one place where you may bring a snack, or even a picnic.  One cousin, S., wanted to try one rosé and one chardonnay, and the friendly and accommodating server told her that was no problem.  The other cousin, R., opted for the red tasting, and we chose the mixed one, so we were able to try all the wines—plus one extra which was not included!

o 20

I hope people heed this sign.

o 4

One rooster.

o 11

Another rooster.

We chatted with our server about the fowl, and he noted that they actually serve a purpose, providing both pest control, as they gobble up bugs, and fertilizer for the vines.  If you go on their web site, you will see that this is not the only part of their dedication to all things natural.  The vineyard also has an interesting family history, so it is worthwhile to ask about it. We were busy chatting amongst ourselves this time, so we didn’t get into those stories.  Also note that the following descriptions of the wines are not exactly in the order in which they appear on the menu, but are rather in the order in which we tasted them.

o 12

  1. 2014 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay      $28

This was one cousin’s first taste, and she liked it.  The aroma is butterscotch-y, but the taste is not too buttery, since it is a blend of oak and steel fermented chards.  It has some light citrus notes as well.

  1. Blush de Noir $18

Our tasting began with this rosé made from pinot noir grapes.  We all agreed it was very light, with lots of grapefruit aroma and not a lot of fruit taste, and surprisingly lemony for a rosé.  My cousin thought it could go with the pesto I had made a couple of nights ago, or seafood in a rich sauce, like scallops Alfredo.

o 10

This chicken was quite sure my cousin’s hat was edible.

  1. 2014 Rooster Tail $20

My other cousin’s tasting started with this red, a blend of mostly merlot with a little cabernet franc.  “Nice, potable, everyday wine,” was his judgment, and we all concurred.  The aroma combines cherry and tobacco with a bit of funkiness and the taste is dry, with cherry and not a lot of fruit.  We got this one in our tasting as well.

  1. 2014 Mostly Steel Chardonnay $23

Comparing this chardonnay with the other one led to lots of conversations about oak vs. steel, and their various virtues and shortcomings.  Overall, we thought this was the preferable chard here, clean and refreshing, with some green apple taste and lots of citrus. R commented on its “up front flavor.”  S laughed that she had said the other chard smelled “woody” and this one smelled “metallic.”

o 8

The Cacklin’ Rose is quite dark, compared to their other rose.

  1. 2014 Cacklin’ Rosé $16

Venturing on her second taste, S commented that this smelled pleasantly like “old library.”  It spends 24 hours on the skins, so is a more flavorful rosé than the other one.  We all liked it, and I noted that it tastes like macerated strawberries.

  1. 2013 Merlot $26

The server mentioned that this was made from two clones of merlot, so we asked him to explain what that meant.  They used to have two different clones of merlot, each grown in a separate field, but they discovered that one grew better than the other, so the weaker one was ripped out.  As a result, this particular mixture ends as of 2015.  Too bad, because it was quite yummy.  In fact, we bought two bottles of it.  It has lots of fruit, and S said she tasted cranberry, and we added yes, and also ripe cherries.

0 17

I love the mis-matched table clothes on the bar.

  1. 2013 Cabernet Franc $38

We all agreed that this, from R’s tasting, was the weakest of the reds, described by R as “watery.”  It evanesces, I added, making use of my favorite word this summer.  It has an aroma of red fruits and forest floor.

o 3

  1. 2010 Commodore Perry $38

Named for the illustrious ancestor of the current owners of the vineyard, this is a wine they only make in good years.  Cherry, tobacco, chocolate, thyme, juniper or bay leaf were some of the taste descriptors we used for this merlot.  Also, “serious legs” and “very good.”  We also learned that it was quite appropriate to name a wine for Commodore Perry, since he was known to carry wine with him on his voyages to give as gifts.

o7

  1. 2015 Sauvignon Blanc

Speaking of gifts, after we paid for our tastings and the two bottles we bought, our cousin gave our server a very nice tip, at which point he offered did we want to taste anything else?  We looked over the menu and realized that we had tasted every wine on it (nine in all, counting Rooster Tail twice).  Ah, he said, but how about this one that is not on the tasting menu, producing a bottle of Charging Goose Sauvignon Blanc.  S, noting that she had grown up on a farm, said it smelled like straw.  We all liked this, too, and decided its lemon flavor would have gone well with those oysters we had eaten earlier.

o 2

Charging Goose? Maybe that’s why they have chickens and ducks, but no more geese.

Reasons to visit:  you want to really feel as though you are out in the country; you want a place where you can bring a picnic and let children run around; you like chickens; the Rooster Tail, the Mostly Steel Chardonnay, the Cacklin’ Rosé, the 2013 Merlot, the Commodore Perry.

o 21

o 22

The netting on the grapes prevents the birds from eating them.