Shinn Estate Vineyards: Country Road December 20, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Coalescence, David Page, East End Mushroom Company, Estate Merlot, Julius Drover Alembic Brandy, Malbec, North Fork, petit verdot, Pinot Blanc, riesling, sauvignon blanc, Shinn Estate Vineyard, Sparkling Brut, Veil Sherry, Wild Boar Doe, wine tasting December 25, 2015

http://shinnestatevineyards.com/

The Farmhouse B & B

As we drove slowly along Oregon Road I began humming “Country roads, take me home…” We had just paid our first of what I hope will be many visits to the East End Mushroom Company, and two baskets of mushrooms sat in the back seat, awaiting culinary inspiration. Meanwhile, we were enjoying the bucolic scenery along Oregon Road, on our way back to Shinn’s tasting room after more than a year away.

I like the cozy rustic look of the tasting room, and today we had it to ourselves for a while, and then later a few other small groups arrived. No buses are allowed here, and limos or groups of more than six by appointment only, which makes sense, given the small room. Check out their web site for info on their B and B in the adjoining farmhouse.

But we are here to taste some wine. The menu offers four wines for $14 out of a menu of 16, plus a few other choices which cost $7 per taste, including their brandy, about which more later. We decided to do one tasting of whites and another of reds, not sharing tastes because I have a bit of a cold. I’ll tell you about the whites first, then the reds. We sit at a small table for two and are served each wine as we choose it.

Sparkling Brut 2012 $40

Given the festive season, I decided to start with their sparkling wine, made in the Méthode Champenoise and fermented in the bottle. The first pour is from a bottle that has been open and is clearly somewhat flat, so our server quickly opens a fresh bottle. Ah, nice frothy bubbles! Typical yeasty aroma, then a nice dry light taste, with good acidity. I recently learned that acidity is what makes your mouth water, and this one does. I like it better than Sparkling Pointe’s sparklers.

I liked the glasses.

Coalescence 2014 $16

I liked Coalescence, a blend of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and a touch of riesling, the first time I had it, then didn’t care for it the second time, and now I have to say third time is not the charm. Although it has a pleasant aroma of gooseberry and honey, the taste has a funky forest floor edge that does not appeal to me. Not that it’s bad, and I think it would be nice with a plate of salumi, but it’s just not for me.

Pinot Blanc 2014 $35

I’m happy that the server gives me a new glass, since I don’t want the taste of Coalescence to influence the next one, which turns out to be a happy choice, since I like it very much. This wine spends eleven months in new oak, we are informed, and it has a bit of that oaky vanilla scent. However, the taste is quite nice, with some interesting layers of flavor, a bit tingly on the tongue. It has just a touch of sweetness, especially at the end, and is sippable on its own, but would be even better with some Catapano goat cheese.

An explanation of the sherry and their label.

Veil “Sherry” 2009 $48 (for a small bottle)

Why is sherry in quotation marks, I wonder? Because it is not fortified, they can’t actually call it a sherry, we are told. However, it does taste very like a medium dry sherry and smells like sherry, too. Made from late harvest savoy, sauvignon blanc, and semillon grapes, it is fermented for so long that a “veil” forms on the top of the wine, hence the other part of the name. 19% alcohol, this would make a great aperitif. I would drink it! It has tastes of baked pear and a bit of oak, and would be perfect with some toasted almonds or manchego cheese.

Estate Merlot 2012 $26

My husband admires the beautiful dark color of the wine, which seems to be typical of all their reds. Not much aroma, he says, and a spicy tart taste, ending with black cherry. Somewhat mono dimensional, he adds, with not much tannin and over the top on acid. (Acid does not mean bad, remember!)

Estate Merlot 2009 $32

Always fun to compare different vintages of the same grape, we say, and our server agrees. This merlot has more aroma than the 2012, with some notes of forest and wood, plus sweet cherry, with more tannin and less acid. It would be good with a meat that was not too flavorful, like a filet mignon.

Wild Boar Doe 2012 $32

Say the second two words quickly and you’ll get the joke. Yes, this is a Bordeaux blend, of 40% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Malbec, 15% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, aged in oak for 20 months. When my tasting buddy sniffs, he says he smells toast, which must come from the oak aging, plus some fruit. Again, it has a beautiful dark color, but, he adds, it lacks gravitas. If you compare it with a French Bordeaux, he says, you’ll say the French is better, but there’s nothing wrong with this. It would pair well with a veal chop, since it does not have too much acid or body.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $40

This has just been released, we are told, and again, this is a pleasant if not complex wine. There’s “more at the end,” my husband notes, than the other reds. Overall, I think the whites fare better than the reds.

The brandy

Julius Drover Alembic Brandy $75

We have some discussion about this additional taste ($7), since there are several “hard” liquor options to try, and settle on this brandy. It is named for owner David Page’s maternal grandfather, who was a farmer/bootlegger in Wisconsin during Prohibition. Since it is 86 proof, we are perfectly happy with the very small taste, which I give my companion first. Mmm, mellow. Smells like brandy, with some vegetable and wood aromas. Dried fruit taste. Warms the cockles (whatever those are) I say. Doesn’t bite you back, says my pal.

Another view of the room

Reasons to visit: a chance to drive down a country road; the Sparkling Brut, Pinot Blanc, Wild Boar Doe, Veil “Sherry,” and Julius Drover Alembic Brandy; a winery that is quiet and relaxing; their use of wind and solar power and biodynamic farming (check out their web site for details); the chance to taste some types of drinks not made in other places, like the brandy, eau de vie, and “sherry.” And do stop and get some mushrooms from East End Mushroom Company on Cox Lane: http://www.theeastendmushroomcompany.com/ .

Stop in to East End Mushroom and they’ll tell you all about how they grow their shrooms.

Signs like these line the walls of the tasting room.

Waters Crest: A Learning Experience October 18, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Campania Rosso, channing daughters, Charles Demuth, Dry Riesling, Jim Waters, L'Enfant Sauvage, Long Island, Merlot Grand Vin, North Fork, petit verdot, Pinot Blanc, Red Blend, reserve chardonnay, Roanoke, sauvignon blanc, The Wild, Waters Crest Winery, William Carlos Williams, wine tasting October 23, 2015

http://www.waterscrestwinery.com/

One view of the cozy tasting room

“This was a great year for whites, but probably not for reds,” opined our enthusiastic and knowledgeable server, Adam, at Waters Crest winery, one of the semi-hidden gems of the North Fork. I love to listen to people talk about something they are passionate about, and Adam certainly fit that description. Though he is working for Waters Crest at the moment, he hopes someday to have his own winery, and meanwhile the good part about working for a small place like this is “you get to do everything.” The good part for those of us who are curious about various aspects of wine making is that the servers here have always been able to do a great job of answering our questions.

Though you can see the wine-making facility through a window in the tasting room, you may wonder where the vines are. Jim Waters buys his grapes from local North Fork vineyards, then makes the wines himself. When we first arrived we had the room to ourselves, but then a couple of small groups came in, all clearly regular customers who knew exactly what they wanted, including which cheese from the small refrigerator to get and which pizza they wanted heated up.

The tasting room is hidden in a strip of stores off Sound Avenue, with the entrance on Cox Lane, just to make finding it even harder, but they hope to soon have a spot on the Main Road, which will be great. We have been a fan of this tiny place ever since our first visit, as the wines tend to be both tasty and interesting. The room is small, but newly furnished with comfortable leather stools and chairs. The tasting menu offers all seven of their wines for $15, and so we opted to share a tasting.

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $25.99

“We treat this more like a Sancerre,” noted Adam, using cold fermentation and no oak. The aroma is quite floral, with notes of pineapple and lemon, which also describes the taste. As is often the case with this grape, it would be perfect with local oysters.

Two of the whites

2013 Pinot Blanc $24.99

What is “indigenous yeast” and how does it work? If you want to know, ask Adam! Most winemakers will treat their grapes with SO2 when they come in from the field in order to kill off the naturally occurring yeasts so that they can then introduce the yeasts they have bought, thus controlling the effect of the yeast. With this pinot blanc (and also, as we discussed, Channing Daughters’ L’Enfant Sauvage and Roanoke’s The Wild!) the natural yeasts were allowed to stay on, which also meant that fermentation took longer. The wine was fermented mostly in steel, with just a touch of oak. The result? Lovely. Aromas of green apple and minerals, with a touch of funkiness preceded a taste of tart green apple and pear salad, with some nice minerality.

2013 Dry Riesling $24.99

Dry? Bone dry! This wine is made with grapes from upstate, from Gold Seal Vineyards, but it is not at all sweet. .025 residual sugar, says Adam. Interesting flavor, with notes of citrus and stone and a touch of funkiness. Unlike most rieslings, which I would choose to have with spicy food, this would go better with duck, sausage, or, suggests Adam, knockwurst. Good call.

2013 Reserve Chardonnay $23.99

After a time of steel fermentation, this gets six months in new French oak, so it is not too buttery. You do get some typical butterscotch flavors, along with lemon and other citrus. Good, a not untypical chard.

2012 Red Blend $19.99

The mixture of 50% merlot and 50% cabernet franc is blended in the bottle after being independently fermented. This has my favorite label, inspired by the famous painting by Charles Demuth which was inspired by his friend William Carlos Williams’s poem “The great number 5.” The aroma is typically cherry, like a merlot, and so is the taste. It is fairly dry, and the tasting notes suggest some rhubarb in the flavor. In any event, it is a good barbeque wine, and would be great with burgers.

The lineup so far, with the Charles Demuth-inspired label on the far right.

2008 Cabernet Franc $39.99

“Now you can see how our wines age,” notes Adam. “The tannins have fallen off.” This has a very distinct taste, combining black pepper, tobacco, and smoke with the fruit flavors, and is balanced and mellow. I start to say roast chicken, and then we agree it would be great with lamb. The 08 is almost all gone, as they found a few cases forgotten in the warehouse!

2010 Merlot Grand Vin $59.99

After three days on the skins (which is fairly long) the wine spends two years in new French oak. It was worth waiting for! 2010 was a great year for reds on the North Fork, and this one, which garnered 90 points in Wine Spectator, is excellent, with lots of tannins, black cherry , and a delicious aroma. It could stand up to a good steak.

Nice color

2010 and 2007 Campania Rosso $56 for the ‘07

If you’re counting, you know we should be done, but as a reward for our intense interest in the wines, Adam gives us small tastes of two Bordeaux blends from two different years just to show what else they can do. These are Right Bank blends of mostly merlot, plus cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and petit verdot. Though the only difference in the wines is how long they have aged and the year of harvest, they are quite different. The 2010 is dark red, while the ’07 is more of a garnet color. The ’10 is really good, with tannins which finally make sense to me of the term “chewy tannins” and lots of layers of flavors. The ’07 is almost over the hill, with asparagus in the aroma and a lack of depth. Though it is not bad, I would definitely choose the ’10, and drink it soon!

Our bonus tastes. It pays to be serious about your tasting!

Reasons to visit: a chance to talk to knowledgeable servers (one time it was Jim Waters himself) and learn all about the wines; the Pinot Blanc, the Red Blend, the Cabernet Franc, the Merlot Grand Vin, the 2010 Campania Rosso; no crowds on a busy weekend (though this may change once they move to a more public spot).

Bedell Cellars: High Art October 17, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Bedell Cellars, Blanc de Blanc, Bordeaux, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Chuck Close, Craisins, gallery, Long Island, merlot, musee, North Fork, petit verdot, syrah, viognier, wine tasting October 22, 2015

http://www.bedellcellars.com/

The bottles feature works of art by contemporary artists.

“Our owner is on the board of the Museum of Modern Art,” explained our well-informed server when we commented on the art on the wine bottle labels. “He commissioned Chuck Close to do that one,” she added, as we admired the bunch of grapes on one label. Wow. And the prices of the wines also elicited a wow, including the Musée 2010, which is $125 a bottle. You can learn more about the artists and the labels on Bedell’s web page, so I’m just going to discuss what’s in the bottles.

And what’s in the bottles is quite good—though I’m not sure it’s $125 good. The tasting menu offers two options: five Estate wines for $15, or five Premium wines for $20, both featuring three whites and two reds. We decide to share a Premium tasting, which turns out to be a good idea, as the pour is generous. We also decide to return later in the winter to try the other menu.

One view of the large porch tasting room.

We are standing at the bar, our favorite place for tastings, as this gives us the chance to chat with the servers and observe the scene. This part of the tasting room is not very large, but an enclosed porch off to one side is much bigger, and is where most of the people doing tastings have congregated on this brisk sunny fall day. It looks to us as though they could use more help behind the bar as it gets quite busy, but the servers do a good job of keeping us in mind, and we’re impressed that they never stop smiling.

This is my favorite label

Blanc de Blanc 2010 $60

We start off with a 100% chardonnay sparkling wine, fermented in the bottle using the Méthode Champenoise. Whoa, this is REALLY dry, also crisp and quite good, with a nice minerality and lots of flavor. The aromas include yeast, mushrooms, and celery. As it sits in the glass we get some hints of sweetness. Definitely lighter than a California sparkling chardonnay, it would pair well with goat cheese or a mushroom terrine. Mushrooms are on our mind lately, since we hope soon to check out the local mushroom growers whose storefront always seems to be closed.

2014 Viognier $40

Mmm, this smells nice, maybe some sticky peach, and my husband says French toast. Maybe. Light, dry, with what the tasting notes call “flinty minerality,” and also some peach tastes, this is a delicate wine that would go well with local flounder lightly sautéed in butter.

2013 Gallery $75

This is a blend of 70% chardonnay, 24% viognier, and 6% sauvignon blanc, and is described by our server as a “white wine for red wine lovers.” I want to ask her why, but she’s called away at that moment. Perhaps it is because of the complexity of the flavors or the richness of the taste. The wine is first fermented in steel, then spends ten months in new French oak, so it does have some buttery vanilla notes, but not too much. We taste unripe peach, minerals, “hay” (according to my husband), and a touch of something chemical. This starts off seeming quite tart, then gets sweeter, with a slight tingle on the tongue, and I could see drinking it as an aperitif. It would also be fun to give this to people at a tasting and see what they make of it.

Merlot art

2013 Merlot $35

We get a new glass for each red. The merlot spends ten months in French oak, so not very oaky. We smell some chocolate, maybe Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, then taste. Briermere blueberry crunch pie, my tasting pal insists. Hmmm. It is very soft, not at all tannic, though dry, and does not have lots of the cherry flavor you usually get in a Long Island merlot. It’s okay, but I see no reason to buy it over many other merlots.

I guess you could soak off the label and say you own a Chuck Close print.

Musée 2010 $125

A Right Bank Bordeaux blend, this is 65% merlot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 3% petit verdot, and 2% syrah, and features the Chuck Close label. Though the price somewhat takes our breath away, this is a pleasure to drink. It is aged 14 months in French oak, and has lots of layers of fruit flavors, with very soft tannins. Nice mouth feel, and the aroma reminds us of raisins or Craisins. We have had the opportunity to taste very high end French Bordeaux, and this does not quite equal those (at least in memory—don’t know what we’d think in a head to head tasting), but it is quite good.

Reasons to visit: the chance to admire some very artistic labels; the Blanc de Blanc, the Gallery, the Musée.

Patient pooch on the porch

Another view of the porch

Southold Farm + Cellar: Poetry in and on a Bottle 10/3/2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Artful Dodger, cabernet franc, chardonnay, Counting Stars, Flying and Falling, Horton's Point Lighthouse, North Fork, One Woman Winery, petit verdot, red sparkling wine, Regan Meader, sauvignon blanc, Southold Farm + Cellar, Sparkling Pointe, Tilting at Windmills, wine tasting October 6, 2015

https://www.southoldfarmandcellar.com/

The entrance to the tasting shed

The Artful Dodger, Tilting at Windmills, Counting Stars, Flying and Falling—how could I, an English major, resist wines with such allusive names? I could not, especially since I was also quite happy with what was in the bottles. Regan Meader, the owner and winemaker of Southold Farm + Cellar, loves to experiment, and doesn’t like to compromise. He likes to make what he wants to make, and since the results are so good, let’s hope his experiments lead to his success.

That success seemed to be in doubt this past summer when, due to some issues with permits with the town of Southold, he wasn’t able to open his tasting room. Fortunately all is settled now, and he used the time this summer to re-decorate the tasting room, located off a back road next to his house, on his farm. His own grapes still were not quite ready to be used, so he sourced grapes from Osprey (where he used to work), Gristina, and other places.

Comfy couches are a nice addition to the tasting room.

We arrived on a cold, damp day to a warm welcome from Mr. Meader, with whom we discussed not only the wines, but also the traffic we encountered last weekend (mainly due to activities at Harbes), development on the North Fork, and literature. After a while some additional people came in with kids in tow, so the room became quite lively as they settled on the comfy couches. One couple had arrived on bicycles despite the weather, and we and Mr. Meader discussed various options for their next stops, including Horton’s Point Lighthouse and One Woman Winery.

A tasting of his four wines is $15.

2014 Artful Dodger (Sauvignon Blanc) $26

Well, of course I had to ask why name a wine after a Dickens character. Mr. M. and I discussed the Dodger’s character, how cheeky he is, and that moment when he is being hauled off to jail and berates the policemen for not knowing what a special gent he is. This version of sauvignon blanc is also pretty special and a bit cheeky. Unlike most local sauvignons, this is not steel fermented. Instead, he uses neutral oak barrels which add just a touch of vanilla to the citrusy tangerine taste and a more textured mouth feel. Good! Of course this would be good with raw oysters, but could also complement something like oysters Rockefeller or you could just sip it, perhaps with a slice of brie. We buy it, thinking about the local scallops sautéed with onions, red peppers, and local corn I’m planning to make for dinner.

Tilting at Windmills!

2014 Tilting at Windmills (Old Vines Chardonnay) $26

Chardonnay can be such a pedestrian wine, so clichéd, so perhaps it is Quixotic to take it on and try to do something different with it. The Man of La Mancha may have failed in his attempt to vanquish the windmill (a passage which had me laughing out loud when I read it), but Mr. M. is certainly not defeated. “I was thinking of Chablis,” he says. We smell mineral, asparagus and taste baked pear, minerals, with something a bit herby at the end. There is a touch of sweetness but not too much. He ferments it on the skins, again in neutral (i.e. old) oak barrels, achieving some nice texture. Good! I could see having it with duck, though usually with duck I want red or rosé.

2014 Counting Stars (Red Sparkling) $28

Having recently had an unfortunate encounter with a red sparkling wine at Sparkling Pointe (I dumped it!), I was a bit leery of this option, but no fear, this was lovely. Made from 100% petit verdot, it has an aroma of dark fruits, then is tingly on the tongue. Not sweet, it is light but not inconsequential, with a mineral aftertaste. It would be perfect with charcuterie, or perhaps with a Thanksgiving turkey. In the tasting notes, Mr. M. says he let petit verdot’s “freak flag fly.” His tasting notes are fun to read. Oh, and the name? The bubbles rising in the dark wine remind him of stars in the night sky.

The glass is a touch foggy from my attempts to warm the wine.

2014 Flying and Falling (The Farm Cabernet Franc) $32

What’s the difference between flying and falling? Hmmm. This is 100% cabernet franc and spends seven months in oak. Lots of aroma—we smell olives and chocolate and maraschino cherry. The wine is a bit too cold—time to set up the heater, we agree—but as it warms we like it better. At first it seemed as though it didn’t follow through with as much interest as the aroma would suggest, then it got better. It might also benefit from more time, or from sitting longer in the glass. At first we were afraid he had fallen, but he’s still flying.

Nothing like a short commute! This is where he lives.

Reasons to visit: All four of his wines are worth tasting and thinking about; nice to get away from the usual places and be somewhere where the winemaker likes to experiment; Mr. Meader, who is fun to talk to, enthusiastic about his wine, and a really nice guy; pretty rustic little tasting room.

Regan Meader explaining his wines.

These grapes have been picked.

Pretty, isn’t it? I took this photo from one of his menu cards!

Pellegrini: All-Around Good Place September 26, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with chardonnay, gewurztraminer, Medley White, North Fork, Pellegrini Vineyards, petit verdot, sauvignon blanc, wine tasting September 28, 2015

http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com/

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

One view of the tasting room

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

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

https://www.paumanok.com/

Watch for the oyster sign!

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

Most people elected to sit outside on this beautiful day.

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

The menu of tastings

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $24

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

Our first two tastes

2014 Chenin Blanc $28

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

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

2013 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay $24

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

The riesling about which we disagreed.

2014 Dry Riesling $22

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

2014 Semi-Dry Riesling $20

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

2012 Festival Red $20

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

2012 Merlot $24

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

2013 Cabernet Franc $30

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

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $30

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

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

I love that they quote Walt Whitman on the label!

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

One view of the outside deck.

Mattebella Vineyards: Science Experiment! August 9, 2015

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

The small tasting cottage

http://www.mattebellavineyards.com/

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

What amazing hydrangeas!

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

Mr. Tobin entertaining a group.

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

Light Flight

2009 Chardonnay $21

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

Double cream brie on baguette. Yum.

2013 Steel Chardonnay $21

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

2010 Chardonnay $21

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

2011 Chardonnay $21

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

Famiglia 2012 $21

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

Reserve 2012 $28

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

2014 Rosé $20

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

The “fun, party” sparkling rose.

2014 Sparkling Rosé $27

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

Red Flight

Famiglia Red $23

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

2008 Old World Blend $44

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

More yummy snacks!

2009 Old World Blend $41

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

2010 Old World Blend $48

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

2007 Old World Blend $63

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

The herb garden near the tasting patio.

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

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

Roanoke Vineyards: Satellite Spot July 26, 2015

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

http://www.roanokevineyards.net/

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

One view of the tasting room

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

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

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

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

2014 Sauvignon Blanc $19

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

2014 Rosé $19

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

2014 The Wild! $20

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

I really liked their label designs.

2014 Brio $24

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

Nice size pour

2012 Merlot $24

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

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

2012 Marco Tulio $24

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

2012 Cabernet Franc $34

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

Another cool label design

2013 Bond $20

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

Pearl River oysters for sale on Love Lane

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

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

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

Martha Clara, Lieb, and Pugliese: Group Think June 6, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Bridge Lane, Bridge Lane Chardonnay, Bridge Lane Red Blend, Bridge Lane Rose, Bridge Lane White Blend, Bridge Lane White Merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, chardonnay, Estate Reserve Riesling, Estate Reserve Viognier, Gold Star Limo, Lieb, Malbec, Martha Clara, North Fork, Northern Solstice Blend, petit verdot, pinot grigio, Pugliese, Raffaello White Port, Sangiovese, sauvignon blanc, Semillon, Sunset Meritage, syrah, wine tasting June 12, 2015

Our limo at the first stop: Martha Clara.

When a group of Nofo Wineaux’s friends and colleagues decided that the best way to have a celebratory get-together was to rent a limo and do a wine tour, she could not refuse to go along—especially since they asked her for some winery recommendations.

So that is how I found myself seated in a Hummer stretch limo with 14 wonderful women, traveling the North Fork wine country. And I did enjoy myself! Along the way, I noticed that each winery had its own method of handling a crowd, I taught some of my friends how to smell wine (stick your nose into the glass and open your mouth as you inhale), and I heard some new ways to describe wine tastes and smells.

Our limo was rented from Gold Star Limo Company, and John, the driver, was courteous and efficient, dropping us off and picking us up on schedule. The company took care of the logistics of reserving each winery and getting us sandwich and salad lunches catered by Farm Country Kitchen. There were a few reasons why I think our tasting tour went well. For one, as a group we were there to relax and enjoy each other’s company, with the wine tour as a means to that end, plus a number of us were quite interested in tasting and discussing the wines. Another reason was our judicious (if I do say so myself) selection of venues, and the fact that we limited ourselves to three places, spaced out from noon to five p.m. And finally, the weather cooperated—warm enough to sit outside, yet not so hot that we were uncomfortable.

First stop: Martha Clara

The menu at Martha Clara

Our group organizer picked Martha Clara as a place she had been to and liked in the past, and it made a pleasant first stop (we got there about 12:15). A young woman with a clipboard greeted us, checked our reservation and, after a brief consultation with the driver, set us up around two sides of one of the long bars in the tasting room. She explained that they ran a tight schedule of groups, and requested that we take our places immediately. At each place were a glass and the tasting menu, featuring a flight of five wines. The servers assigned to us attentively filled our glasses as soon as they were emptied, and gave a brief spiel about each one. When I requested additional information, they were able to provide some. After we finished, we wandered outside to some picnic tables and shared a few snacks we had brought with us while some members of the group explored the pens of animals one can pet and feed. I think a few might have visited the extensive gift shop.

We gathered around the bar at Martha Clara.

2013 Northern Solstice Blend $17

This is a blend, as the title suggests, of four whites: semillon, viognier, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc. I described the aroma as mineral. One of my friends, newly introduced to the art of smelling wine, compared it to the smell you get when you open a bottle of vitamins, which I thought was quite right. This is a dry, crisp, lean, steel-fermented white which we all found quite pleasant.

2012 Estate Reserve Riesling $26

My friend with the newly enlightened nose senses a touch of rotting fruit. I agree, but also add orange blossoms. We all sip, and I note some apricot tastes, and also a bit more sweetness than I prefer. Nice finish.

2012 Estate Reserve Viognier $29

We had been discussing why some people think they dislike chardonnay because all they have ever tried were oak-fermented California chards when this barrel-fermented (nine months) wine was served, giving me the chance to note how different it is compared to the steel fermented blend we started with. You can definitely smell vanilla and also spice—perhaps cardamom. You can also get that “woody” taste you get with some oaked whites.

2010 Syrah $24

I often like syrahs for their rich fruit flavors, but I find this one a bit dry and thin. I also smell some of that barnyard scent North Fork reds sometimes get (though more rarely lately). It is aged 16 months in French oak.

2012 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon $29

This red is also aged in oak, for 12 months, and I also am not enamored of it. It’s not bad, but could use more fruit, though it is nicely dry.

Second Stop: Lieb Bridge Lane

The entrance to Lieb, though we didn’t go inside.

Lieb actually has two tasting rooms, and we are at the one on Sound Avenue and Cox Neck Lane. I’m a bit surprised that we have come to this one, since the other is more spacious, but fortunately it is a beautiful day and we settle ourselves at several picnic tables adjoining some grape vines. The driver brings us the shopping bags filled with our lunches from Farm Country Kitchen and also offers us bottles of water from the limo. As we settle in with our choices—I got a grilled veggie sandwich with a small green salad on the side, and it was good—a lovely young lady from the tasting room comes around with glasses. Ah, we are to have the tasting as we eat our lunches. Nice—though I do note that food changes the taste of wine.

Our view as we sipped our wine and ate lunch.

What is also pleasant is that we have the place mostly to ourselves, and it is a relaxing venue to sit and chat and enjoy our lunches. Martha Clara had been quite noisy, making conversation difficult except with the person next to one.

All the wines are from the Bridge Lane label, so I will abbreviate it BL. Also, because I did not see a tasting menu, I can’t tell you what the cost of these wines is per bottle.

2013 BL White Merlot

As our server explains, this is a white wine made from a red wine grape, and it is totally clear, having spent no time on the skins. It has a nice mineral aroma and a pleasant fruitiness. It would compare favorably with Anthony Nappa’s Anomaly.

2013 BL White Blend

This blend included chardonnay, pinot blanc, riesling and viognier, and, like the blend we just had at Martha Clara, is steel fermented. Everyone agrees that we like this one very much, with its nice balance of sweet and dry and its mineral aroma and taste. It goes well with lunch!

2013 BL Chardonnay

For those who think they dislike chards, this is a good rebuttal: dry and tart, with lemon and grapefruit tastes and aromas. Steel fermented, of course.

2013 BL Rosé

After some discussion of how much rosés have improved in recent years, we try this blend of merlot and cabernet franc. Though I still maintain that Croteaux has the best rosés on the North Fork, this one is fine—slight strawberry aroma, very dry, but with no finish. I think it tastes a bit like unripe strawberries.

Wine and a picnic.

BL 2013 Red Blend

I explain to my friends that this is a Bordeaux blend: 70% merlot, 15% each malbec and cabernet sauvignon, 7% petit verdot. It is aged in neutral oak barrels, our server notes. I think it might improve with more age, since it has some nice tannins. Though it is not exciting, it is a very drinkable red.

Third and last stop: Pugliese

The pond at Pugliese

Everyone exclaims at the lovely scenery as we pull into Pugliese—the pond, the trees, the fountain. Charming. We troop into the tasting room, where we admire some artistic items, including pretty prints appropriate to our surroundings, such as sunflowers.

From the gift shop

Our fearless leader soon finds us and hands each of us a sheet of four tickets, which we can exchange for tastes, and tells us to adjourn to the outside bar located under a tent next to the pond, where a musician is setting up. As a result, we scatter, and form into small groups at the bar. The menu is quite daunting, offering 22 choices from sparkling wines to dessert wines, with reds, whites and rosés in between. At first the servers offer no guidance other than, “You can choose any four.” (We expand our options by sharing a couple of tastes, which is why you see six wines mentioned here.) However, we then luck into a rather youthful server who seems to know more, and enjoys giving us information about each wine. My good friend is a white wine drinker who would like to learn to like reds, so we decide, after one white, to focus on the reds. For each taste we get a fresh glass—I mean small plastic cup.

The rather lengthy menu at Pugliese.

2013 Pinot Grigio $17.99

This steel fermented pinot has not much aroma and a tart lemony taste, with no finish, which my friend insists on calling after taste. Which, after all, is what finish is! It would be better with food, I think.

Pugliese serves the wine is small plastic cups.

2010 Sangiovese $16.99

Our server boasts that they are the only winery on the North Fork to use this grape, which is the gape used in Chianti. As we sniff, we note aromas of tobacco and some fruit. Then we taste, and promptly dump. Well, this wine is not going to make a red wine drinker out of my friend! Bad.

2010 Sunset Meritage $29.99

Whew. This one is better! A blend of merlot, cabernet franc, and cabernet sauvignon, this has nice ripe fruit flavors and is just tannic enough to add interest.

One view of the tent and the pergola.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve $16.99

This would make a good, everyday table wine. It has lots of fruit and my friend likes it.

2012 Cabernet Franc $16.99

For a cab franc this is quite light, though it would be okay with lamb chops, as it has some tannins. It could use more fruit.

My last ticket.

2007 Raffaello White Port $17.99 for 375 ml.

As my final wine of the day, I decide to go for dessert, and try their white port. Yes, it is sweet, but I think appropriately so, with lots of sweet orange, tangelo, plum, and apple flavors. At 20% alcohol, you wouldn’t want to drink much of this, but it would be nice with a cheese and nut course.

And so I finish my foray into the world of the limos standing on the shore of Pugliese’s pond, admiring the koi, listening to music, talking to my friends, and sipping sweet wine. There are worse ways to spend a Saturday.

No fishing!

Suggestions for limo users: plan to go to just three wineries (maybe four at most, especially if you tend to dump part of each taste) and space them out over five hours so you can appreciate each one; try to go to at least one that doesn’t seem to specialize in big groups (like Lieb, which we thoroughly enjoyed); be sure to eat in between—or during—your tastes so you don’t get too drunk; take your time in each place to savor and discuss the wines; have fun.

Macari Vineyards: Award Deserved? October 25, 2014

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Bergen Road, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay estate, Collina Chardonnay, Collina Merlot, Dos Aguas, Finger Lakes, Macari Vineyards, Malbec, Merlot Reserve, North Fork, petit verdot, riesling, rose, sauvignon blanc, Sette, wine tasting October 27, 2014

http://www.macariwines.com/

Macari had been named the “Winery of the Year” at the 2014 New York Wine & Food Classic, so we were curious to see why. According to the Classic website, the “award is presented to the winery with the best overall showing based on the level and number of awards in relation to entries.”

Macari has two tasting rooms, and on a previous try the one on Sound Avenue was too full to find a place at the tasting bar, so this time we tried the one on the Main Road. Since it was a beautiful October day and every winery we passed seemed to have a full parking lot, we thought we’d have to put off our visit until the winter, but we were pleasantly surprised—though as we left it seemed the crowds were arriving! Both tasting rooms are spacious and pleasant, with a nice selection of wine-related gifts and snack items. Our servers were kept busy, but were very efficient and observant, and we never had to wait more than a moment or two for our next taste. Also, as you will see, they noticed our seriousness about the wines and added a few extras, which turned out to be a great idea.

A view out the windows, with some of the gift items visible

The tasting menu features three options: a white flight of four wines for $8, a red flight of 4 wines for $15, and a Vintage flight of 5 wines for $20, with a combination of whites and reds. Since we noticed that three of the Vintage wines were included in the other two tastings, we decided to opt for one white and then one red, sharing as we went along.

The tasting bar was crowded, but the servers did a good job of taking care of everyone.

1. Sauvignon Blanc 2012 $23

As usual, the tasting started off with their lightest white, a lemony and tart sauvignon. The night before we had had an excellent Italian sauvignon, so we were making comparisons. The Macari had, we felt, too little fruit taste to balance the acidity. “Undistinguished,” said my husband, and I agreed. It might be better with food.

2. Chardonnay Estate 2011 $19

This is their 100% stainless steel chard, so no oakiness. We smell and taste ripe pear, though it doesn’t have tons of fruit taste. It’s a good chard, reasonably dry, and would go well with a Long Island clam chowder.

3. Collina Chardonnay $9.50

Noticing the price, we wonder whether this would be one to buy for everyday drinking. Nope. Though the aroma had pleasant notes of mineral and honeysuckle, the taste is actually bitter. It is fermented 25% in oak, and the rest in steel, but we taste none of the buttery or vanilla notes one would expect. We dump most of the taste!

4. Riesling 2011 $25 per carafe

The 2011 Riesling has not yet been bottled, so they’re serving from carafes. Made from Finger Lakes grapes, it has some of that upstate taste I find hard to describe. It smells like white grape juice! Taste is not overly sweet, with some mineral and gooseberry notes, though it is fairly monochromatic. My husband had recently been to a wine tasting of German and Long Island Rieslings, and felt this one did not measure up to the others he had had.

Our first “bonus” wine

5. Rosé 2013 $17

In the first indication that our seriousness has been observed, one server asks us if we like rosés, and then offers us a taste of theirs. A blend of cabernet franc, pinot noir, and merlot, it has the usual strawberry aroma and taste, with again a fair amount of minerality. There’s something flowery about it as well. Though not as good as Croteaux, it is a fine rosé.

6. Collina Merlot $9.50

New glass for the reds. Our server calls this a “pizza pasta burger” wine, which the price would surely indicate. “It’s not terrible,” says my tasting companion. Talk about damning with faint praise! But it is a very light red, with no depth or interest or finish. It’s just there. We were, however, intrigued by the aroma, which I characterized as a cherry-flavored cigar.

Sette. The size of the pour varied a bit.

7. Sette $19

This is their red blend, of 50/50 merlot and cabernet franc—not seven wines, as I thought based on the name. Sette actually refers to the town Settefrati, a small town south of Rome, which is the home town of the Macari family. Our server calls it their best seller, and I can see why. The aroma is of dark brambly fruits, and the wine itself is light but very drinkable, perhaps with “Sunday gravy.” By the way, it was served too cold, so we warmed the glass in our palms, which helped bring out the taste.

8. Cabernet Franc 2008 $35

I’ve heard people refer to a brininess as an expression of the Long Island terroir, but I never experienced it quite as forcefully as with the aroma of this wine. Sea air! Fortunately it does not taste salty, but rather of dark plums, and is our favorite so far. Some tannins, a touch of oak.

9. Dos Aguas 2008 $27

Here the name refers to the two waters of the North Fork—Peconic Bay and Long Island Sound. This is Macari’s Bordeaux blend, a mixture of 70% merlot, 17% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc, 8% malbec, and the rest petit verdot. Yes, I’d like this with steak frites, please. It is our server’s favorite. Not particularly complex, but good and quite drinkable, with plenty of fruit and spice aromas and flavors.

A line-up of reds.

10. 2007 Merlot Reserve $36

So if you’re counting you realize that our tasting should be over, but after asking us what we thought of the Dos Aguas, our server decides we should try two more wines. This is certainly better than most merlots, and 2007 was a good year. We taste lots of dark fruits, and the aroma is delicious.

11. 2010 Bergen Road $46

This one beats the bunch, as my grandmother used to say with the birth of each grandchild. Another Bordeaux blend, or a Meritage, of 56% merlot, 26% cabernet sauvignon, 13% cabernet franc, 3% malbec, and 2% petit verdot, this one has aromas of Belgian dark chocolate and dark fruits. OMG I say when I taste it. Complex, with lots of tannins and yummy fruit. We buy a bottle to put in the cellar!

Reasons to visit: you want an all-purpose winery with space for a large group or the intimacy of a conversation at the bar; you need to pick up a wine-related gift or buy a snack; the 2010 Bergen Road; the 07 Merlot Reserve, the 08 Dos Aguas, the 08 Cabernet Franc; did I mention the 2010 Bergen Road…

The Main Road building

What a beautiful day. In Greenport, every restaurant’s outside tables were filled, and plenty of people opted for an outdoor tasting.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

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