Tag Archives: Pellegrini Vineyards

Pellegrini: ‘Tis the Season

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

December 12, 2024

If you’d never been to Pellegrini, you might think those flying cherubs were part of the Christmas decorations, like the stockings hung from the rafters and the poinsettias on the tables, but they are always there.  We know this because we belong to the Pellegrini wine club, and so find ourselves visiting the tasting room with some regularity—like the couple we saw at a nearby table, who had come, like us, to pick up their winter shipment, and were quietly enjoying a glass of wine.

We had a dual mission on this visit—to pick up our wines (we belong to the “red only” group), and order cases of wine to send as gifts.  In order to select which wines to send, we picked out a tasting of six wines, and sat ourselves down to share the tasting (we could have gotten two, but sharing one is fine by us) and make some decisions.  As usual, the tasting came with a little bag of oyster crackers, useful for clearing the palate between sips.

To order a tasting, simply circle your choices on this sheet. The wines will then come on a tray atop the chosen types.
  • 2022 Sauvignon Blanc                 $26.99

I figured we’d like this, since we have in the past—though that’s not always true—and we did.  The aroma is floral, and the wine has pleasant notes of mineral and fruit—maybe apricot?  It would go well with oysters or other seafood, but nothing too hearty.  Yes, into the cases.

Our tasting. It’s a fairly generous pour.
  • 2023 ReJoyce                   $26.99

Named for one of the owners, this is a blend of 52% chardonnay and 48% sauvignon blanc.  The aroma clearly echoes the floral note of the 100% sauvignon blanc, plus some fruit.  We decide the word for this one is “yummy,” as the minerality if the sb is tempered by the fruit of the chardonnay.  One could sip it as an aperitif, or with charcuterie. 

The deer head is always there, but not with the Santa cap!
  • 2023 Rosé          $24.99

Though rosé is often seen as a summer wine, I see no reason not to drink it all year long.  This one is made from 100% cabernet sauvignon grapes, and has typical aromas and flavor of strawberries.  It is dry, but not austere, with also some pink grapefruit taste.  I could see drinking this with Chinese take-out. “Nice,” opines my tasting buddy.

  • 2017 Merlot       $32.99

Although this is a bit of a blend, it is mostly merlot—85%, plus 10% cabernet sauvignon and 5% petit verdot.  Merlot is a very popular grape on the North Fork, and this is a fairly straightforward example of the genre, with tastes and aromas of cherries.  It is rather light, with no depth.  We decide we prefer the North Fork Project merlot, a wine also made by Pellegrini, which comes in a large bottle, one liter as opposed to the usual 750 ml.  We’ll put that in the cases instead.

  • Steakhouse Red             $22.99

Another blend, this is 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot.  We smell dark fruits, including cherry, and a bit of tobacco aroma from the oak it was aged in.  It is good and dry, and would be nice with pasta or pizza.

  • 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon          $24.99

Like the merlot, this is also a blend, though this time almost all cabernet sauvignon:  94%, plus 4% merlot 181 (the number indicates the clone) and 2% cabernet franc.  This is a wine I might put aside for a couple of years to age, as I think it would improve over time.  It has that brambly blackberry taste of cabernet sauvignon.  It is dry, and definitely needs to go with food.  We finish off the crackers…

Though the vines are bare, I think they have their own wintery beauty.

Reasons to visit:  low-key tasting room, with no limo or bus crowds; consistently good wines, with some of the better reds on the North Fork; you can bring your own snacks, which is becoming a rarity.  By the way, the letter that came with our winter pick-up commented that the warm, dry fall meant that this has the potential to be a stellar year for North Fork wines. “Grape vines originated in the desert, and can handle drought conditions quite well…we had an unbelievable combination of ripening, high sugars, and balancing acidity…the 2024 reds and whites have the potential to be reserve quality.”

Our quarterly shipment.

Pellegrini Vineyards: Perks of Being in a Club

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

March 17, 2023

Perhaps because everyone else was elsewhere drinking green beer, we had the tasting room to ourselves.

No St. Patrick Day parades for us and our friends; instead, we were off to do a wine tasting at Pellegrini, where we are members of the wine club.  Many wineries offer clubs, with varying perks and policies.  We have only opted for two:  Pellegrini and Channing Daughters.  Both of them offer special prices for their wines, quarterly releases of wines for club members, special events, and free tastings.  Our friends are members of some wine clubs, but not Pellegrini, so they were curious about what would be on offer.

Unlike more and more local wineries, Pellegrini does not offer much in the way of snacks (You can buy NOFO potato chips.), though a little bag of oyster crackers comes with each tasting.  However, the advantage is you can bring your own snacks, and I offered to supply some.  Well, I got a bit carried away, but we all enjoyed the cheese, crackers, prosciutto, and Marcona almonds from Village Cheese Shop and the charcuterie from 8 Hands Farm.  Since I brought a nice slab of 8 Hands pâté, I felt obliged to also pack Dijon mustard and cornichons.  To continue the theme of local goodies, I also opened a bag of North Fork potato chips.  Lunch accomplished!

Most of the goodies I brought, including a little jar of truffled honey. The cheeses are an aged gouda, Village Cheese Shop’s homemade truffled brie (So good!), and Humboldt Fog.

We had so much fun eating and talking that my wine notes are a bit sketchy, but I will say we all liked every taste, though to different degrees.  We got four tastings, of four wines each, with some overlap.  The tasting room felt like our own private space, since the only party that entered quickly decided to sit up in the little balcony. I also recommended that our friends try the North Fork Project Merlot, a bargain at three one liter bottles for $30, which we both bought before we left, sated and happy.

In no particular order (though our lovely server Kasey carefully informed us of the recommended order of tastes for each flight), here are the wines I took at least a note or two on, some based on the flights my husband and I got, and others on the flights our friends chose.

This flight includes the ice wine, the almost orange wine on the right.
  • 2020 Stainless Steel Chardonnay                $22.99

This was my first taste, and I quite enjoyed it.  In the car on the way to the winery we had discussed the merits of steel vs. oaked chardonnays, with one friend very much preferring oaked, and me…not.  As they say, in wine there are no wrong answers.  This is a light, fruity, minerally wine, with tastes of pear and apple.

  •  2019 Vintner’s Pride Chardonnay              $34.99

Our friend ordered this, and characterized it as smooth and buttery, but not overly oaky—the latter a term he actually refuses to use, since he denies tasting oak in any oaked chard.  This one is aged 100% in French oak puncheons for 18 months, and for contrast his wife ordered the next chard on this list.

  • 2019 Pellegrini Vineyards Chardonnay      $24.99

Not that different from the VP chard, opined our friend, though this one is aged 90% in oak barrels and 10% in stainless steel, 9 months in French oak puncheons.  Is stainless steel chardonnay a plot by wine makers to make less expensive wine they can sell for a higher price, or is it a way to accommodate differing tastes?  The world may never know… 

  • 2021 Pellegrini Vineyards Rosé                   $24.99

If you like a very light, almost tasteless rosé, this is the rosé for you.  I continue to prefer Croteaux rosés.

  • 2017 PV Cabernet Franc                $32.99

Although this is simply called cab franc, it is actually a blend: 85% cab franc, 4% cab sauvignon, 8% merlot, and 2% petit verdot.  In any event, it is a rather light red—Kasey had recommended we drink this before the other reds—with some cherry and spice flavors.  Our friend thinks one might even serve this lightly chilled, like in the summer.  It goes well with the charcuterie.

  • PV Steakhouse Red          $21.99

One feature of Pellegrini we like is that they have some reds that are not too pricy yet drink very well, and this is one of them.  A blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot, this has a nice minerality with soft tannins and some dark fruit tastes, and would, indeed, go well with a steak.   

  • 2017 Merlot       $32.99

Another blend, this is 85% merlot, plus 10% cabernet sauvignon and 5% petit verdot, though it basically tastes like a merlot.  It’s fine, but I actually prefer the—much cheaper—North Fork Project Merlot.  This, however, could be characterized as more sophisticated.

  • 2020 PV Gewürztraminer              $24.99

My recollection from past tastings is that the gewürztraminer is not overly sweet, and our amiga confirms that this is so.  Easy to drink.

  • 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon             $24.99

Our friend likes this blend of 94% cabernet sauvignon, 4% merlot, and 2% cabernet franc better than the merlot.

  • 2015 Regalo                       $49.99

Pricey, but really good, is my verdict on this wine, which is the last in my tasting.  Regalo means gift, and this is a gift reserved for wine club members. A blend of 50% petit verdot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, and 5% cabernet franc, this is a complex, delicious wine, with lots of blackberry, plum, and other dark fruit flavors and aromas. 

  • 2021 East End Select BBQ Red                    $26.99

Although this doesn’t have a varietal designation, this iteration of their steel-fermented red is 100% petit verdot.  I have a sip, as it is in my husband’s tasting, and note that it has more sweetness than, say, the Steakhouse Red.  I guess it would go well with ribs or pulled pork, though my wine of choice with barbeque (like from Meats Meat) is beer.

  • Finale Ice Wine                 $39.99 (375 ml)

Time for dessert!  A blend of gewürztraminer and sauvignon blanc, ice wine is made by freezing and then pressing the grapes, resulting in a sweet taste.  The vineyard web site notes it pairs well with nuts, so I am glad I provided Marcona almonds for our friend.  She likes it, and compares it to savoring one’s platonic ideal of a fruity sucking candy, with some notes of honey.

I love the comfy chairs!

Reasons to visit:  pleasant tasting room where buses and limos are verboten; you can bring your own snacks; dogs are allowed; the comfy chairs are conducive to lingering; with fourteen wines to choose from (twelve of which I’ve mentioned), there are wines for every taste; my favorites are the steel chardonnay, the Steakhouse Red, and Regalo; one friend likes the gewürztraminer and the ice wine, the other the VP chardonnay and the cabernet sauvignon, plus the North Fork Project Merlot. 

Pellegrini: A Brief Visit

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http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com

Uh-oh. What happened to Rudolph?!

December 21, 2021

It was time, we were reminded in a phone call, to pick up our wine club selections for December, so we popped over to Pellegrini on a gray, chilly afternoon.  Inside, Teri gave us a warm welcome, remembering that we are in the “red only” category.  We decided to do a tasting, mainly sampling the wines in our box to see how we would use them, or whether we wanted more.

We also decided to try this iteration of the gewürztraminer for two reasons:  it is a grape I sometimes like and sometimes do not, depending on how sweet its wine is, and they were offering a special, that if you bought two bottles at $24.99, you got a third one free.  We did, and also bought a three-pack of the North Fork Project Merlot, the best wine bargain on the North Fork:  three big bottles of a very nice merlot for $30.

There were two other small groups in the tasting room, quietly enjoying their tastings, so social distancing was not a problem, and we all wore masks when away from the tables.

Since Teri had some free time, I asked her about a name for one of the wines, a white blend called REJOYCE.  I asked the right person!  It used to be called White Medley, until a winery in California got in touch and informed them that they already had a patent on that name.  Uh-oh.  What to call it?  So Pellegrini had a little contest to come up with a new name.  Teri thought of REJOYCE as a play on words, since Mrs. Pellegrini’s first name is Joyce.  She won three bottles of wine, and a bit of local fame.

  •  2019 Gewürztraminer $24.99

Delicious!  Sweet floral aroma, and tropical fruit tastes, with pineapple and mango predominant.  It would be great with spicy food, and it is not too sweet at all.

  • Steakhouse Red               $19.99

A non-vintage (so they can blend it for consistency) blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot red, this is a tasty though somewhat light wine, with mouth-watering tannins.  We discuss whether or not this merits the name “Steakhouse,” since it is not the kind of big intense red one often thinks of to go with steak, but I think the tannins might do well to cut the fattiness of meat.  Maybe it would complement lamb chops.

  • 2015 Richmond Creek Cabernet Franc    $29.99

“Serviceable” is the term my tasting buddy applies to this pleasant, but not big red.  “Itsy-bitsy” is his next comment.  Nice tastes of fruit and spice.  We’ll be happy to drink it, probably with pasta. (After we got home, I remembered that Osprey also labels wines Richmond Creek, so I’ll have to ask about that next time.)

  • 2015 Regalo       $49.99

“Regalo” means gift, a good term for this blend of 50% petit verdot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% cabernet franc, because it is lovely.  We like this the most, and plan to put it in the cellar for special guests.  It is relatively complex, with good tannins and tastes of fruit and tobacco.

Reasons to visit:  what I’ve said in past reviews, plus this time all the wines we sampled, but especially the gewürztraminer and the Regalo.

Pellegrini: Club Time Again

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

September 8, 2021

Many wineries offer visitors the opportunity to join their wine club.  We have limited ourselves to two—Channing Daughters and Pellegrini—but I’ve often read the brochures of other places.  I can certainly see the advantages of wine clubs, both for the members and the wineries.  As a member, you get a regular—usually quarterly—supply of wines from a winery you have liked, plus various perks, including free tastings and/or glasses of wine, reduced prices on bottles, and invitations to or reduced prices on various events at your chosen winery, such as musical performances or catered meals.  And the winery, obviously, has a guaranteed income stream, plus a loyal following.  Win/win.

 

Living on the North Fork offers the added convenience of needing only a short drive to pick up one’s wine club selections—though I think all of them also will mail your selections to you, subject to the laws in your state. 

Another perk of living on the North Fork is the fascination of watching the vines go from winter dormancy to spring bud break to fall ripening.  Right now, the vines are beautiful.  The little newsletter which came with our club choices describes what is happening to the grapes now:

“Veraison refers to the time when the grapes begin turning color and the vines start to transport their energy from their roots into the grapes.  During this period of ripening, the acid levels in the grapes fall (particularly malic acid which leaves tartaric acid as the primary acid) and hexose sugars (glucose, fructose) begin to accumulate in the grape.  The chlorophyll in the berries is replaced by carotenoids in white varieties and xanthophylls in the reds.  The end result is that the fruit begins to get more flavorful, colorful, concentrated, and sweeter, which is crucial to making delicious wine!”

We took our four tastes to what we now think of as “our” table, out on the front lawn, on this warm, breezy day, and had a pleasant time, despite the traffic going by on Main Road.  Two other small groups sat nearby, drinking glasses of wine.  The courtyard was tented yet again, and the server noted they’d had two weddings the past weekend, and another was scheduled for the weekend to come.  We took care to try wines we’d not had the last time—easy given the menu of fourteen wines.

*2019 Gewürztraminer $24.99

This is probably the hardest wine to spell, and also one that is not always easy to like.  I liked this one, but my tasting buddy did not, proclaiming it “too sweet.”  I insisted that what he was calling sweet was actually fruitiness, and said I tasted gooseberries.  He disclaimed any knowledge of what gooseberries taste like.  We both agreed that the aroma was agreeably fruity, and there was a definite citrus flavor, like a sweetish lemon.  I noted some minerality on the finish, and that it would be good with spicy food.

*2020 REJOYCE $24.99

A blend of 65% chardonnay and 35% sauvignon blanc, this wine has a pleasant smell of freshly cut grass plus metal.  It’s definitely not sweet, with flavors of lemon (a lot) and cucumber.  It would be good with oysters or clams.

*2015 Cabernet Sauvignon         $69.99

According to the description on the placemat, this wine spends 19 months in French oak—which might have been a bit too much.  It is quite oaky, with some berry taste, but I compared it to chewing on tree bark.  My husband said it was “tangy.”  The aroma is of sweet berries and tobacco.  Maybe it needs to age longer.

*2020 East End Select Barbeque Red      $24.99

Made from 100% petit verdot grapes, but aged in steel rather than oak, this is, as the name suggests, intended as a more casual wine.  I taste berries and plums, and assert it is dry.  My tasting buddy and I diverge again, as he insists it is too sweet.  I argue that he’s seeing fruit, once again, as sweetness.  “Not in my mouth!” he replies.  Well, that’s wine tasting for you.  Disagreement is perfectly acceptable.  He also notes that he could see drinking this with cheese during cocktail hour, but not with a meal.

Reasons to visit:  good all-around winery; snacks allowed; they also sell the North Fork merlot, chardonnay, and rosé, all well-priced reliable everyday wines ($30 for three big bottles); the gewürztraminer, REJOYCE, and BBQ Red.

Pellegrini: In the Club

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June 17, 2021

Quite a few years ago, on a gray wine-soaked winter afternoon, we joined the Pellegrini wine club, for reds only, because they tended to make better reds than some of the other East End wineries.  In general, that still holds true, though we were a bit disappointed in the current selections.  Due to the pandemic, we had not done a tasting at Pellegrini for two years, but we’ve been picking up our wine club bottles regularly, and most of what we’ve gotten has been fine, so I guess it was just this time’s two choices. 

As we parked in the lot, after having encountered a surprising amount of traffic, I started quoting James Russell Lowell’s famous lines, “And what is so rare as a day in June?/Then, if ever, come perfect days,” and commenting that it was about time they came true.  What a month, with the weather alternating between rainy and chilly and too hot to step outside, but this day was finally fine, which is why we decided it was time to sit outside and taste some wine.  Pellegrini has a small tasting room, but a large central patio—often tented for private celebrations—and tables out on their front and back lawns.  They do allow you to bring your own snacks, and no longer serve the little bags of oyster crackers that used to come with every tasting.

Another change is that they have a set menu for a tasting, of four wines for $16:  the 2019 Rosé, 2019 Steel Chardonnay, 2018 Cabernet Franc, and 2020 Barbeque Red.  Since we are in the club, I wanted to taste the wines that were in our current shipment, and so substituted the Steakhouse Red and 2015 Petit Verdot for the reds.  (Our tasting, of course, was free.)  You used to be able to choose from a large number of wines and try six or seven of them.  Change, as they say, is the one constant.

As we approached the door, an employee greeted us and directed us to a table on the front lawn, where I seated myself with my back to the traffic.  We gave her our order, and she brought us our four tastes on a tray, atop a labeled tray liner.

  1. 2019 Rosé          $24.99

This is a 77% merlot, 23% cabernet sauvignon blend, with a slight strawberry aroma with a trace of something metallic or chemical.  It’s a dry rosé, with some tastes of pineapple, which I like.  My tasting buddy says he detects a bit of a vegetable taste.  Maybe.  Nice, but I prefer the North Fork Rosé, also made by Pellegrini, which they sell for $30 for three one-liter bottles.  And while we’re on the subject, the North Fork brand also includes a very nice chardonnay and a merlot, both very good buys and quite drinkable.

  • 2019 Steel Chardonnay $19.99

No aroma at all!  I think I prefer steel-fermented chardonnays to oak-fermented, in general, but this one is a bit too austere.  Maybe what I actually like is slightly oaked chards.  This has a lot of lemon-lime flavor, which would make it a good accompaniment to coquilles St. Jaques.  As it sits and warms up a bit, I like it better.

  • Steakhouse Red               $19.99

A blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot, this is a simple, dry red that would go well with burgers or meatloaf, but is not much fun to drink on its own.  It smells better than it tastes.

  • 2015 Petit Verdot           $29.99

Sometimes I like wines made from petit verdot, and sometimes I do not.  This is an “I do not.”  The aroma is nice, brambly, with maybe a touch of salt, but the wine is very dry and tannic, with almost no fruit flavor.  My husband sums it up as, “Just a glass of wine.”  Oh well.

Reasons to go:  pleasant outdoor area and intimate tasting room; well-priced wines; you can bring a snack; drinkable wines, though we were not excited about today’s selection.

The view to the courtyard, with my mask in the foreground. On the 17th, they were still asking visitors to wear a mask inside, until they were seated, but obviously I took it off in order to taste the wine.

Pellegrini Vineyards: In the Club June 4, 2019

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https://www.pellegrinivineyards.com/

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The day was pretty, but too chilly to sit outside.

We had thought we might sit outside, but though it was sunny it was so chilly that we asked the server if we could close the door to the tasting room. Since at that moment we were the only people there, he said sure. Later, a few other people arrived, including a couple who brought their lunches, sat in the courtyard with glasses of wine, and were clearly, based on some remarks to the server, planning to have their wedding there. We’ve seen how they set up for events, tenting the courtyard, which makes it into a large room.

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This is just one side of the courtyard.

The tasting room itself is rather small, with just a few tables and a bar along one side, augmented in warm weather by outdoor tables. Since you take your entire tasting with you on a tray, Pellegrini is a nice place to bring snacks and sit with friends. A take-to-the-table tasting includes three two-ounce pours of your choice, plus one ounce of the rosé, for $16. You can also stand at the bar and get three one-ounce tastes for $9, a good option if you’re going to more than one winery that day.

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As soon as we entered, we noticed the new furniture, with more comfortable chairs.

As wine club members, we could have done any tasting we wanted, but we opted to follow the standard format and do two trayfuls, one of whites and one of reds. Since our membership is “reds only,” we wanted to be sure to try the wines in our shipment. Our tasting confirmed our original judgment, that Pellegrini does a better job with reds than whites.

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Each tasting comes with a little bag of oyster crackers.

1. 2017 Rosé      $19.99
We were particularly interested to try the rosé, since it was on sale, and we like to have plenty of rosé on hand for the summer. This is a dry, steel-fermented blend of 57% merlot, 27% cabernet franc, and 16% cabernet sauvignon. With such a variety of grapes, you might expect a fruitier wine, but this is a rather lean rosé, more like a white, with tastes of unripe strawberry and minerals. My tasting buddy labeled it a “confused wine,” not sure if it wanted to be a white or a rosé. However, we liked it enough to buy the three-bottle package for $33. That night, we enjoyed a glass with a plate of pan-fried locally-caught blowfish tails (not the poisonous kind!) and a spinach salad made with local spinach and 8 Hands Farm bacon. As they say, what grows together goes together!

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A locally-caught delicacy–fried blowfish tails. Yum.

2. 2014 Gewürztraminer    $24.99
Mmmm. This smelled lovely, flowery, fruity, perfumey. The taste…not so much. Gewürztraminers can be too sweet, and this one was. I got tastes of honey and over-ripe pear, with just a touch of minerality. I prefer One Woman’s interpretation of this grape. This wine is a good illustration of why vintage matters. Over the years, there have been some Pellegrini gewürztraminers we liked, and others we found too sweet.
3. 2017 Steel Chardonnay      $19.99
I opted for the steel chardonnay over their couple of versions of oaked, since I often prefer steel to oak. This is a fairly standard North Fork chard, with lots of lemon aroma and taste. Just okay.

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4. 2017 REJOYCE    $24.99
I still haven’t gotten around to asking what this name of this blend of 63% chardonnay and 37% sauvignon blanc means. However, we did not rejoice at the taste, which is somewhat pineappley, but very light, with just a touch of sweetness. Almost not there at all. Meh.

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5. 2014 Cabernet Franc      $29.99
Now we moved on to the reds in our club shipment. Fortunately, we liked this one, a somewhat light, dry red with aromas of plums and berries and a taste of stewed prunes and cherries. Though it is simply called cabernet franc, it also has 15% cabernet sauvignon and 5% merlot. It would go well with lamb, since the dryness would cut through the fattiness of a chop.

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Our wine-club selections after we brought them home and before we put them in the wine cellar.

6. Steakhouse Red      $19.99
Though they label this “Steakhouse,” I think it should be called “pasta,” since it is not quite big enough a red to stand up to a steak. This iteration is a blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot, but as a non-vintage wine the blend could vary from year to year. For the price, it is a good choice. I asserted that the aroma had a touch of funk, but my husband asserted I was “hallucinating the funk.” Nice generic red.
7. 2013 Vintner’s Pride Encore       $49.95
This is their Bordeaux blend—40% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon, 17% petit verdot, and 3% cabernet franc—and a very good blend it is. This is a wine that would stand up to steak, or maybe boeuf bourguignon. Delicious, is what I wrote. Dry, with plenty of dark fruit tastes, and some tannins. I observed that it had nice legs, and my pal made a silly joke about its pants. Well, this was our seventh taste, though we had left all three whites unfinished.

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See the legs?

Reasons to visit: good all-around winery, especially for reds; you can take your tray of tastes to a table and enjoy a visit with friends plus your own lunch or snacks; alternatively, you can stand at the bar and have smaller samples, a good option if you’re going to more than one winery; the rosé, the Cabernet Franc, the Vintner’s Pride Encore.

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I love this time of year, watching the vineyards green up and the farm stands start to open.

Pellegrini Vineyards: A Favorite March 1, 2018

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

http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com/

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The news was threatening an apocalyptic storm, so after a trip to the supermarket for a few essentials (milk, bread, toilet paper, and guacamole ingredients) we headed to Pellegrini to pick up our wine club shipment.  When I looked in my notebook, I realized that, although we had been to Pellegrini many times and sampled wines, we hadn’t done a recorded tasting since 2016.  As wine club members, we can do free tastings at any time, and since pick-ups happen four times a year, we often combine picking up our three bottles of red with either a glass of something or a full tasting.

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The tasting room is not huge, but certainly adequate in the winter.

We chose the reds because Pellegrini does a better-than-North-Fork-average with them, though we like some of their whites as well.  We also like Pellegrini because it is a pleasant setting in which to taste wine.  Though the tasting room itself is small, there’s plenty of room in and around the courtyard, where we have often sat in the summer.  It is a good place to bring guests because you can get your whole tasting on a tray and bring it to a table, where you can share snacks you’ve brought with you.  The only food they sell is North Fork chocolate, though they do include a little bag of oyster crackers with each tasting.

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They have a few tasting options, but the main ones are either three one-ounce pours at the bar for $8 or three two-ounce pours which you take to a table on a tray for $14.  The latter option also includes a one-ounce pour of a wine they select, which this time was their rosé.  When you get there, they hand you a menu on which you circle your three choices out of a possible fourteen wines.  My husband and I decided to do three whites and three reds for our two tastings, sharing them, as usual.  The room was empty on this winter mid-week day, so we opted to take our trays to a table by the window where we could take our time and chat as we sipped.

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Pellegrini was having a good sale on their rosés, so though we prefer Croteaux, we decided to get the three bottles for $33.

  1. 2016 Rosé         $19.99

This is a very pale pink rosé, with the typical strawberry aroma, plus a touch of petrol or some chemical.  It is made from a blend of 66% cabernet franc, 24% cabernet sauvignon, and 20% merlot.  Compared to Croteaux rosés, it is very light, almost more like a sauvignon blanc than a rosé.  It is very dry, and drinkable but not one you would want to sip by itself.  It could go with charcuterie.

  1. 2015 Gewürztraminer $24.99

I find gewürztraminers a little tricky, since sometimes I like them and other times I find them too sweet.  I would hesitate to buy a gewürztraminer or a riesling I didn’t know.  This one smells, I assert, “gewurzty”—floral, perfumey, ferny.  I like the taste, which reminds me of ripe pineapple with a touch of lemon.  Despite all the fruitiness, it has only a touch of sweetness, with a nice long finish.  My tasting buddy suggest pairing it with mac and cheese, and I counter with weisswurst, since it is after all a German grape.

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Our tray of whites. As you can see, the rosé, in the upper right corner, is almost as pale as the whites.

  1. 2016 Chardonnay $19.99

Though they have a couple of oaked chardonnays, I opt for the steel-fermented one, since I generally tend to prefer steel over oak.  This one smells like honeysuckle and fruit salad, but the taste is very minerally, with not much citrus, and some green apple.  It is so dry that some might find it harsh.  Though it is not a sipper, I could see drinking it with something like a barbequed salmon burger.

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Pellegrini often has special sales. Today they had one on the chardonnay and one on the rosé. We opted to get the rosé.

  1. 2016 Rejoyce $24.99

Because we’re not standing at the bar, I can’t ask about the origin of this name, but since it is a blend—of 58%chardonnay and 42% sauvignon blanc—I assume they had to give it a non-grape name.  In any event, we like it.  The aroma is lovely, with notes of pine needles and forest and what I insist is sweat (which doesn’t sound so good, but I liked it).  It does not taste at all like the smell, notes my husband, saying it is more like lime than lemon.  It is a good food wine, and if he catches any bluefish next summer (or we buy some at Braun’s) I may get a bottle to go with it.

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The vines are bare now, but spring is coming. My chives are starting to grow.

  1. 2014 Merlot $29.99

Now we switch to the reds, which, because they have been sitting on our tray for half an hour, are at perfect room temperature.  This merlot is in our shipment, so we are interested to try it.  It is actually a bit of a blend, 90% merlot plus 7% cabernet sauvignon and 3% cabernet franc.  It is a nice, not atypical Long Island merlot, with dark cherry aroma and flavor, more soft than tannic, with not a lot of fruit and some mineral and salt flavors.  We like it, but more as a picnic red than as one to stand up to red meats.  We decide that when we get home we will label it for drinking this year, rather than holding on to it for any length of time.

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  1. 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon $29.99

“Not a killer cab,” opines my drinking pal, though he also says it is a pleasant wine.  It is aged 19 months in oak, and has an aroma of dark fruit and tastes of ripe purple plums.  It may not be hefty enough at this point to go with a steak, but one could certainly pair it with pork or lamb chops.  It has enough tannins that we decide to label it for a year from now when we stow away our wine club selections.

  1. 2012 Petit Verdot $39.99

I have high hopes for this wine, since 2012 was a good year for reds on the North Fork and I often like petit verdot, and I am not disappointed.  Yum.  The aroma is like macerated raspberries, and it tastes like black raspberries.  It is dry, with lots of tannins, and could definitely stand up to a steak.  Their website describes the taste as “dark and brooding.”  I don’t know about that, since I never saw a wine brood, but we like it.

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In the summer I often try to angle my photos so I don’t include too many people. Not a problem today!

Reasons to visit:  pleasant tasting room with ample outside space for summer tastings; outside food is allowed, so you can bring your own snacks; you can bring the tastings to a table so it is a nice place to sit with friends; the gewürztraminer, the Rejoyce, the cabernet sauvignon, the petit verdot.  One note on the tray of tastes—in general, you want to go from whites to reds, and from top to bottom and from left to right.

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We’ve often been here when they were setting up for weddings in the courtyard, when it is covered with a white tent.

Pellegrini Vineyards: Refuge from the Rain August 10, 2016

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

http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com/

Our view was of the rain lashing the courtyard.

Our view was of the rain lashing the courtyard.

The thunder was ominous, and we barely made it into the tasting room before a deluge poured from the sky.  However, the menacing weather meant that on this Wednesday afternoon we had the tasting room to ourselves (though a couple of other groups arrived later).  With no urgent business, we stayed for almost two hours, snacking on hummus and pretzel chips we had brought with us and chatting with our friends who confessed they were neophytes to wine tasting—though not to wine drinking.  “I’m a virgin,” my friend joked, explaining that though she’d been to wineries for events she’d never actually sat down for a tasting.

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In that case, I was glad I’d chosen to take our friends to Pellegrini, where you can have your tray of tastes delivered to your table and spend as long as you like discussing the wines.  Our discussions ranged from the personal to the political, but we did devote some attention to the wines, which our friends generally enjoyed.  They had some favorites, and others they didn’t finish, about which more later.

On this rainy Wednesday, we had the room mostly to ourselves.

On this rainy Wednesday, we had the room mostly to ourselves.

A tasting includes any three wines you choose from the menu printed on a placemat, which then becomes your guide to the order in which to drink the wines, plus a sample of their rosé, for $12. Since we are wine club members, our tastings were free.  We all chose a variety of different wines, so I’m going to comment on my choices first, with some briefer notes on other options.

One tray full. The oyster crackers are useful for cleansing your palate between tastes.

One tray full. The oyster crackers are useful for cleansing your palate between tastes.

  1. 2015 Rosé           $19.99

We decided we would all start with this, since it was one wine we had in common, so we could discuss both this particular drink and also how to think about the aroma and taste of wine.  A steel-fermented blend of 35% merlot, 32% cabernet sauvignon, and 33% cabernet franc, this is a light dry rosé with a distinctively citric taste we decided was more like tangerine than lemon.  It had only a faint bit of the strawberry aroma many rosés have, and lots of minerality.  My friend particularly liked the pale pink color.

A tray of whites.

A tray of whites.

  1. 2014 Sauvignon Blanc $24.99

As in the past, I like this wine.  It’s a crisp steel-fermented sauvignon blanc with a bit of a gooseberry aroma and nice balance of mineral and lemony citrus.  I would have it with local oysters.  My friend said she would too—if she liked oysters.  Well, then, with scallops?  Oh, yes.

  1. 2014 East End Select BBQ Red $18.99

What kind of wine do you want to serve at a barbeque?  Probably something uncomplicated and easy to drink that goes well with burgers and doesn’t cost too much.  Hence BBQ Red.  Made from steel-fermented petit verdot, this is simple and direct and light and dry.  You could even have it with hot dogs.

Mostly reds

Mostly reds

  1. 2011 Petit Verdot $29.99

If you want to understand the difference between a wine that has been steel-fermented and one that has been aged 20 months in French oak, you might want to follow the BBQ Red with this petit verdot.  This remains one of my favorite North Fork reds, with rich flavors of blueberry and other berries and dark plums, pleasantly tannic and dry.  It can stand up to a steak.  Our friend agrees, and this is the only glass he, who is not much of a drinker, empties.

Now here are a few notes on other wines, in no particular order, though we did spend some time explaining why the order in which you sample a tasting matters.  Basically, you want to go from the lightest to the most flavorful, so you can appreciate each one as it comes.

We commandeered the big table, since we were the only ones there.

We commandeered the big table, since we were the only ones there.

  1. 2014 Medley White $21.99

I wasn’t sure my friend would like this one, since she is not fond of sweet wines and this blend includes 5% gewürztraminer as well as 55% sauvignon blanc and 40% chardonnay, and I was right.  She was not a fan, describing both the taste and smell as “pungent.”  It did have a bit of that cat pee smell you sometimes get.  She did not finish her glass, but much preferred her next taste.

  1. 2015 Stainless Steel Chardonnay $19.99

A fan of pinot grigio, our friend liked this dry, citrusy chard, which she described as “mild.”  I like it too, better than their oaked chard.

  1. 2014 Chardonnay $19.99

Although this is a blend of 80% oaked chard (8 months aged) and 20% steel chard, we felt this was still too oaky for our taste.

  1. 2010 Merlot $29.99

My friends were not fond of this merlot, which they felt could have been fruitier.

  1. 2012 Cabernet Franc $29.99

Actually a Bordeaux blend of 84% cabernet franc, 7% merlot, 5% cabernet sauvignon, and 4% petit verdot, this red also was not a favorite with our friends, who perhaps found it too tannic for their taste.  I think a few more years of aging would be useful.

We took advantage of a lull in the storm to head out to the parking lot, but the storm was not over!

We took advantage of a lull in the storm to head out to the parking lot, but the storm was not over!

As we headed to Greenport our phones lit up with storm and tornado warnings, so we pulled over.

As we headed to Greenport our phones lit up with storm and tornado warnings, so we pulled over.

Reasons to visit:  as I’ve said before, a good all-around winery, with plenty of good choices in both white and red and reasonable prices;  nice place to go with friends, as you can sit at a table with your tastes and bring your own snacks; the steel chardonnay, the sauvignon blanc, the petit verdot, the BBQ Red.

We couldn't resist this photo of Deep Water Grille and deep water on Front Street in Greenport.

We couldn’t resist this photo of Deep Water Grille and deep water on Front Street in Greenport.

Pellegrini: All-Around Good Place September 26, 2015

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

http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com/

The entrance to the tasting room and courtyard

The entrance to the tasting room and courtyard

It was a beautiful fall weekend, which meant the agritainment business was in full swing, which meant we were stuck in traffic on Sound Avenue for a frustrating hour, which meant we decided to turn our pick-up of our Pellegrini wine club shipment into our tasting for the weekend.   Anyway, it’s been a year since I wrote about Pellegrini, one of our favorite wineries.

Wedding guests starting to gather outside

Wedding guests starting to gather outside

When we went to pull into the parking lot, we were somewhat dismayed to see a huge party bus pull in just ahead of us, but when the first passenger to get out was in a long white lace dress we realized it was a wedding party.  The large central courtyard was still in the process of being set up for the reception, while guests milled around in the tasting room and out on the lawn.  As a result, we decided to quickly share one tasting of the whites, since we get—and know we like—the reds in our subscription.  If you’re not in the wine club, a tasting consists of three two-ounce pours of your choice and one “complimentary” one-ounce pour of the oaked chardonnay for $12.  The glasses are arrayed on a labeled place mat on a tray, which helps you choose the order in which to drink them (roughly top to bottom, left to right).   Oh, and either our server was flustered by the influx of wedding guests or she forgot or they are no longer on offer, but we did not get the usual little bag of oyster crackers that comes with a tasting.

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  1. 2014 Gewürztraminer                   $24.99

I used to think I didn’t like gewürztraminers because they were too sweet, but several of the North Fork gewürztraminers are not.  However, this one is a touch too sweet for my taste.  It has a very strong honeysuckle aroma with tastes of sweet plums—perhaps greengage?—and mineral.  My husband and I turned to each other simultaneously and said, “It would be a good choice with spicy Thai food.”  Steel fermented.

Our tray of tastes

Our tray of tastes

  1. 2014 Medley White    $21.99

The Medley White is also steel fermented, and includes 5% gewürztraminer, plus 55% sauvignon blanc and 40% chardonnay.  We like this one much better.  It has some nice complexity of both aroma and taste, and we agree that we smell something like cigar or pipe tobacco plus rock or mineral.  Though it is not very dry, it is also not too sweet, with a good balance.  We taste pear and an almost salty minerality which my causes my tasting buddy to wax poetic.  “Like salt spray on a windy day at the beach,” he opines.  Okay.

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  1. 2014 Chardonnay $19.99

This is our complimentary taste, an oaked chardonnay that spends eight months in French oak, and is 80% oaked and 20% steel fermented.  You can smell the usual woods/vanilla aroma of an oaked chard, and the taste is similarly undistinguished.

One of the outdoor tables

One of the outdoor tables

  1. 2014 Sauvignon Blanc $24.99

“It smells like a florist,” I say.  “You mean a florist shop, not the florist herself!” corrects my husband.  Well, yes.  This, like the Medley, is a well-balanced wine, with a good mix of tart and sweet, nice and crisp and lemony.  I’d have it with oysters any time.

We amused ourselves watching the caterers setting up.

We amused ourselves watching the caterers setting up.

Reasons to Visit:  a good all-around winery, with room to sit inside or outside, space for children to run around outside, good whites and reds; you can bring your own snacks; the Medley White, the Sauvignon Blanc; we didn’t try it today, but the Petit Verdot is generally excellent.

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One view of the tasting room

One view of the tasting room

Pellegrini Vineyards: One of Our Favorites September 6, 2013

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

http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com/

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Going with a group?  Have kids in tow?  Want to sit quietly at a table and ponder your tasting?  Like whites?  Like reds?  Pellegrini is good for all these conditions! On this visit we saw a large bachelorette party enjoying their tasting in the tented courtyard, a couple—he wearing a t-shirt that said Brooklyn—at a table under the pergola, and a family with kids who ran around on the lawn, among others.

A view to the courtyard and pergola

A view to the courtyard and pergola

Their tasting menu offers several different options, including a flight they bring to your table of three two-ounce pours of wines of your choice from a menu of 12, plus a complimentary one-ounce taste of their merlot, for $12, or a tasting of their Vintner’s Pride wines for $14.  Tastings include a packet of oyster crackers to clear the palate.  When you get your tray of tastes, sample them from left to right and top to bottom, as they are arranged on a labeled placemat.  If you’re not sure in which order to taste (order matters, as a delicate wine will be lost if you taste it after a more forceful one), ask your server.  They also offer a cheese plate or a chocolate and wine pairing, but they don’t seem to mind if you bring your own snacks.  All wines are made from grapes grown on their estate. We belong to their wine club, so our tastings are free.  We got two tastings, one of their whites and the other of the reds, and shared.

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  1. East End Select Rosé                     $14.99

This is a steel-fermented blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and cabernet franc with a pleasantly herbal—rosemary?—aroma.  We decided we would like it as an accompaniment to fish, as it is nice and dry with lemony tastes, but it is not a sipper.  If you want some, go now, as it is on an end-of-season sale of three bottles for $33 (we bought three).  Not as good as Croteaux 314, however.

The tray of whites and rose, plus the merlot.

The tray of whites and rose, plus the merlot.

  1. 2013 Gewürztraminer                 $19.99

We’ve been on a bit of a gewürzt kick lately, for no real reason, so we can compare this to others of its ilk. We find it a bit too sweet for us, though the finish is rather tart.  Still, it’s a pleasant wine, with aromas of honeysuckle and tangerine, and would make a nice aperitif.

  1. 2013 Medley White $21.99

A blend (hence the name Medley) of 60% chardonnay and 40% sauvignon blanc, steel-fermented, this wine has mineral and lemon aromas and a refreshing taste—not too tart, not too sweet, with tastes of gooseberry and citrus and mineral.  “Hmmm,” I say, “I think this would pair well with tuna-noodle casserole.  I’m not kidding!”

  1. 2007 Merlot $19.99

Merlot is their signature wine, and they make a lot of it.  The 07 is actually a bit of a blend; though it is 90% merlot it also includes 6% cabernet sauvignon, 3% cabernet franc, and 2% petit verdot, giving it some complexity.  This is an easy wine to drink, soft, with tasty blackberry notes.

The tray of reds.

The tray of reds.

  1. Steakhouse Red                                 $16.99

I think I’d rather have this with lamb chops than with steak, but that’s just me.  A 50/50 blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon, this has a bit of that forest smell that merlots sometimes have, and is quite dry, with some tannins.  This and the other reds are all aged in oak.

  1. 2010 Petit Verdot $49.99

Yum.  “Good from start to finish,” says my husband, and I agree.  The color is very dark, and we sense lots of ripe fruit aromas and tastes.  This one I would have with a good steak, for sure.

It was very humid outside, so we opted to stay inside in the air conditioning.

It was very humid outside, so we opted to stay inside in the air conditioning.

  1. 2010 Vintner’s Pride Encore $49.99

A Bordeaux blend—60% merlot, 25% cabernet sauvignon, 15% petit verdot—one would expect this wine to be better than the previous one, but it is not.  We smell spice and dark tea leaves, but are underwhelmed by the taste.  For the price, it is disappointing.  “It never opens up,” says my husband.  Maybe if it sat in the glass longer?  But it is the last of our tastes, so it has been there for a while.  Oh, well.

One part of the tasting room.

One part of the tasting room.

Reasons to visit:  you’re with a group; you’re not with a group; you have kids in tow who need room to run; you like reds; you like whites; the 2013 Medley White; the 2013 Gewürztraminer; the 2010 Petit Verdot; the Steakhouse Red.

 

Beautiful grapes.

Beautiful grapes.