Diliberto Winery: Intimate and Friendly, Plus Pizza 12/13/14

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet sauvignon, Cantina, chardonnay, Diliberto Winery, Long Island, Maryann Diliberto, merlot, North Fork, Sal Diliberto, sauvignon blanc, Tre, wine tasting December 15, 2014

http://www.dilibertowinery.com/

The entrance to the tasting room

The strains of Italian opera waft out into the cold December air as we open the door to Diliberto Winery. A trompe l’oeil street scene of an Italian village greets our eyes as we are warmly welcomed to the small tasting room (expanded in summer by a wrap-around patio). We had been here fairly frequently in the past, but even though it’s now been over a year, Sal Diliberto remembers us and stops by our table to chat. He’s been sitting at another table with a couple of friends who have been eating one of his thin-crust pizzas for lunch. A man who loves cooking and good food as much as he loves making wine, Sal Diliberto is fun to talk to. We share stories of eating in Italy.

Christmas decorations, and bags of home made Italian food to prepare at home

At our table, we contemplate the menu of tastings. There are two choices: The Regular Tasting, of four wines for $12 or the Premium Tasting, of three wines for $15. There is also a menu of pizzas ($17 each), cheese trays, or olives. (No outside food is allowed—and no children, either. When Sal and Maryann’s grandchildren run in for a moment, they are affectionately but quickly shooed out.) We opt to do one tasting of each, alternating as we go. I’ll indicate the Premium wines with a *.

2009 Chardonnay $26

We like the aroma—of sugar cookies and cinnamon—better than the taste, which has quite a lot of acidity and lemon flavor. Although we don’t find it appealing, it might be better with food.

*2003 Sauvignon Blanc $29

On the other hand, we like this, the only other white on the menus, very much. The wine appears a bit hazy in the glass, so I’m not sure whether or not it has been filtered. We get layers of flavor—the oak it was aged in, but also traces of sweetness. Gooseberry pie flavored with vanilla, I say, at which my husband challenges me to say when I ever had a gooseberry. No really, I did, once. It would be lovely with salmon, or with somewhat spicy chicken. We buy two bottles and get a bit of a discount, since we had done the tastings.

Art on the label–at first, I thought they were looking at cell phones!

*2013 Cantina $27

This is a new release, a 50/50 blend of merlot and cabernet franc. We scent spice and berries, with some earthiness, though not that barnyard flavor. It is a good pasta or pizza wine.

2012 Merlot $27

Aroma of cherry and a taste of not really ripe cherry make this just an average Long Island merlot.

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon $29

Up to now we’ve been served our wines in pairs—with a fresh glass each time, always a nice touch—but this time we opt to just take one, since our next two tastes will be the two vintages of Tre. We like the cab sauv, though it lacks depth. It has lots of fruit smells, and tastes of plums that are not quite ripe. I could see this with lamb chops, hot from the grill.

The pour is fairly generous.

2012 Tre $34

Here is their Bordeaux blend, a Right Bank style, because it is primarily merlot. It is 65% merlot, 20% cabernet sauvignon, and 15% cabernet franc. A sniff reveals aromas of wood and fruit, perhaps pine and berries. Though there aren’t many layers of taste it is very nice, with some tannins.

*2013 Tre $37

This blends the same wines in the same proportions as the 2012, but what a difference! It is clearly our favorite of the day, with yummy fruit and a beautiful balance of flavors. It is not at all tannic, so I’m not sure how long it would last, but at the moment it is delicious.

The piano is used for live music–which sometimes includes Sal, a true Renaissance man, singing opera.

Reasons to Visit: the best-looking tasting room, especially if, like us, you love Italy; the 03 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2013 Tre; the warmth and friendliness of Sal and Maryann; Sal’s pizza (we didn’t have it this time, but we’ve sampled it in the past). Oh, and they have a little apartment they rent for $250 per night.

Squint and you can pretend you’re sitting in a piazza in Italy.

Laurel Lake Vineyards: Cold Day, Cold Wine 11/22/14

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, chardonnay estate reserve, Laurel Lake Vineyards, North Fork wine, Pinot Gris, pinot noir reserve, sauvignon blanc, syrah, Tanger Outlets, tasting November 24, 2014

http://www.llwines.com/

Some customers browsed the selection of wine-related gifts.

After braving the cold winds to do some pre-holiday shopping at Tanger Outlets, we were ready to sit down and taste some wines. Happily, Laurel Lake is well set up to accommodate those who prefer to sit rather than stand at their very attractive bar. You pay for your tasting in advance–$15 for three tastes—and get tickets which you then turn in before each glass. The menu offers choices among eight whites and eight reds, so we decided to do two tastings, three of each, sharing as we went. Since the pour is fairly generous, our plan worked well. We received two glasses, and kept the second glass for our reds.

As we sat, we noticed a few groups who had brought extensive snacks with them. One couple braved the heated outdoor porch, and others opted to stand at the bar. We also noticed a small selection of wine-related gift items, most with humorous messages. Overall it was a quiet day there, in contrast to a few weeks ago when we pulled into the parking lot and found no empty spaces because a convention of Corvettes had taken them all.

The bar where we could have stood.

2013 Pinot Gris $21.99

This, our first choice, like all the rest, was served much too cold, so we spent some time warming the glass before sampling. They need to raise the temp in their fridge! Once it warmed up, we smelled a vegetable aroma, almost like freshly cut grass and flowers. The taste was dry and tart, with a touch of sweetness at first, reminiscent of a slightly under-ripe pineapple. Though not a sipper, it would be fine with food. I’m thinking local scallops with pasta and herbs.

2013 Sauvignon Blanc $20.99

For this one, the tasting notes recommend having it with sushi, and I can see that, though I usually get sake with sushi. It has a woodsy and citrusy aroma and tastes of white grapefruit. Again, this is a dry white with plenty of acidity, and we liked it.

2012 Chardonnay Estate Reserve $22.99

We skip their un-oaked chard and are very happy with our choice to sample this one. It spends 10 months in French oak, the notes tell us (The problem with sitting is that we don’t get to chat with the servers.), giving it the characteristic vanilla scent of oaked chards. However, it is not too heavily oaked, with a lovely mellow almost creamy taste and a nice long vanilla finish. Very buyable, we decide—and we do.

We bought this one.

2010 Pinot Noir Reserve $29.99

Interestingly, this is stainless steel fermented and then aged in used French oak barrels for 12 months. My husband says the smell reminds him of a warm blanket on a cold day. I think he may just be tired after all that shopping and this is just wishful thinking, since I would describe the aroma as mainly blackberry. In any event, this is a light pleasant red, with cherry and plum flavors. The notes call it “rich and fleshy,” but we say “not so much.”

2010 Cabernet Franc $19.99

Nice aromas of pepper and cedar and maybe grape jam precede tastes that we decide are nice but not exciting, with some good fruit but not much finish.

The pour is fairly generous.

2011 Syrah $19.99

This is my favorite of the reds we try. It has lots of dark berry aromas and tastes of purple plums, with a bit of a vegetable taste on the finish—or maybe kumquat. The tannins cause a slight tingle on the tongue. If we needed reds, I would buy it.

You can see the large heated porch through the windows.

Reasons to visit: pleasant tasting room where you can bring a picnic; the 2012 Chardonnay Estate Reserve and the 2011 Syrah; most of the wines are reasonably priced (for the North Fork); lots of choices; a generous pour.

The building is quite attractive.

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.

California: The Winery Collective September 15, 2014

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with cabernet sauvignon, California, chardonnay, Fisherman's Wharf, People's Blend, sauvignon blanc, tasting, The Winery SF, Treasure Island, Winery Collective September 20, 2014

View of San Francisco Bay from near the tasting room

http://www.winerycollective.com/

http://winery-sf.com/

I know, you would think if Nofowineaux went to California she would visit Napa/Sonoma, but this was a very short visit to San Francisco to see an old and dear friend, so time was limited. However, we did get to a tasting room (of course!) in San Francisco for a winery located, surprisingly, IN San Francisco. The Winery Cooperative is located in the Fisherman’s Wharf area, just a little way to the left (as you have your back to the bay) of Ghirardelli Square and near the surprisingly well done little National Park Service museum about the bay and its history. They represent several boutique wineries, but we ended up tasting only the wines from The Winery SF.

The Winery actually has a vineyard located in San Francisco, on an island in the bay called Treasure Island, which was formed primarily from land fill. They also use grapes from Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino counties. The tasting menu had a number of options, and we chose to share a tasting of four wines for $15. Some other options were $20. The room itself is fairly small, and is mostly taken up by a long wooden bar with stools. Our server was pleasant and enthusiastic, but couldn’t answer all of our questions about the wines.

Map of Treasure Island, sans X marks the spot.

2013 Sauvignon Blanc $15.99

Sunday afternoon we had had fresh briny Hog Island oysters with beers at The Ferry Marketplace, and we decided they would have also gone well with this wine. An aroma of tangerine precedes tastes of citrus and mineral in this rather bright and tart wine with a nice long finish. Their tasting notes characterize it as “Napa and New Zealand Style.”

2012 Chardonnay $24.99

Our server tells us that this spends “some, but not too much” time in oak, so is not as buttery as some California chards. We agree that it is not too buttery (good), but that it is overall just okay, with a taste my husband compares to unripe grapes. Hmmm, a wine that tastes like grapes…We scent some mineral, and some of that vanilla-ish wood smell.

2010 People’s Blend $15.99

“This wine has everything but the kitchen sink,” our server chuckles. Yes, it does: syrah, zinfandel, mourvedre, cabernet sauvignon, petite syrah, and malbec. The leftovers? Maybe! Given the complexity of the grapes, this is a surprisingly mono-dimensional wine, dry, but with some fruit. The aroma has some chemical notes—cleaning fluid, opines my husband—as well as dark berries. It would be a fine pizza wine, and indeed the brief tasting notes mention what a good value it is twice. The notes also explain the name, “as diverse as the People of San Francisco.”

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon $24.99

Mmmm, this smells very nice, like plums and cherries. However, the taste is, again, just okay. It is dry with some spice and fruit, but a bit thin. One could drink it with lamb. We ask how long it was aged, and no one seems to know. ”Two years?” guesses one server.

WSF Glitter Sparkling Wine $20.00

Yes, the tasting was for four wines, but for only $1 we could add a taste of a sparkling wine. Why not? Well, at least the price was right. It starts tingly and nice, then pow! hits you with sugar. Actually pretty bad—if it had been a bigger pour we would have dumped it!

Reasons to visit: you’re in San Francisco and searching for something to occupy a half hour or so in the Fisherman’s Wharf area; you’d like to sit down and rest a bit inside somewhere; the sauvignon blanc.

Coffee Pot Cellars: Wine Country’s Cutest Couple 8/23/14

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Adam Suprenant, bees, Blossom Meadow, Bordeaux, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Coffee Pot Cellars, gewurztraminer, honey, Laura Klahre, Meritage, merlot, North Fork, petit verdot, sauvignon blanc August 26, 2014

http://www.coffeepotcellars.com/

http://blossommeadow.com/

No, they don’t serve coffee here!

“Perhaps a sign that says ‘Live Bees!’ is not the best way to get people into a winery,” I suggest to winemaker Adam Suprenant, owner of Coffee Pot Cellars. He chuckles, and notes that when people ask if he has live music he says no, but they have live…bees. Never fear, however, the bees are behind glass, and you can observe their activity while you sip Mr. Suprenant’s lovely wines and visit with him and his charmingly chatty wife, Laura Klahre, the beekeeping owner of Blossom Meadow.

A year ago when we stopped into the tasting room it had just recently opened, and we were the only ones there. This time there were several other couples, including some who were clearly regulars, and much of the discussion centered around the award Mr. Suprenant was to receive that night from Governor Andrew Cuomo for producing the best oaked chardonnay in New York State, his 2013 vintage (not available for tasting). “And I didn’t even want to make a chardonnay!” he confessed to us, but more about that later.

The tasting room is a small but pleasant space that had previously housed an antique store and after that a real estate agency. Now the simple yellow-painted space has a tasting bar and shelves filled with Blossom Meadow goods—honey, beeswax candles and crayons in various shapes, and bee-related beauty products. Last year we bought cat-shaped candles as a gift for cat lovers we were about to visit.

Some of the gift items available

Both Mr. Suprenant and Ms. Klahre are enthusiastic and passionate about their fields, and it is fun to chat with them both about the intricacies of bee-keeping and wine making. Did you know a bee has to visit two million flowers to make one pound of honey?

More gifts!

The tasting menu offers all six of their wines for $10, four for $8, or individual tastes for $2.50. We opted for two complete tastings.

Sauvignon Blanc 2012 $17.99

We sniff, and detect aromas of citrus and mineral or wet rock. The taste is tart, almost grassy, with lots of lemon. Not a wine to sip by itself, it would go well with a seafood in cream sauce dish.

The labels feature the Coffee Pot light house.

Chardonnay 2012 $15.99

As we enjoy this very lightly oaked chardonnay, Mr. Suprenant tells us why he didn’t plan to make a chard. “Like a cliché?” I ask (ever the English teacher), and he agrees. But a grower from whom he buys his grapes asked him to buy some chardonnay grapes due to an oversupply, and so he gave in. Using older oak barrels, he fermented tow clones of chardonnay for only five months, and then arrested the malolactic fermentation with sulfites. “Butter cookies!” I say of the aroma, and then sip. Pineapple and what Mr. Suprenant confesses he compares to Juicy Fruit gum compose the actually very good taste. Sippable.

Gewürztraminer 2012 $21.99

The grapes for this wine come from Osprey’s Dominion, where Mr. Suprenant is the winemaker (He’s been a winemaker on the North Fork for 17 years.). Nice flowery honeysuckle aroma, not too sweet, with some tangerine flavor, this is also a sippable wine.

Merlot 2009 $17.99

A nice touch—he rinses the glasses with a bit of the merlot before we taste it. The gewürtz would overpower anything else in the glass, he notes, but I also think that sometimes when wineries rinse with water you get a taste of chlorine! Like all his wines, this is made with grapes purchased from North Fork growers, and 2009 was a notoriously bad year, with an excess of rain. However, this wine has turned out pretty good, with aromas of berry and no earthiness. Though I think I scent wet rags, my husband says pine forest. Wine tasting is not an exact science!

Meritage 2008 $21.99

A Bordeaux blend, this version is 69% merlot, 19% cabernet sauvignon, and 6% each petit verdot and cabernet franc, according to the tasting menu which, Ms. Klahre points out, she is proud they finally have. Complex aromas of berry, flint and a bit of smoky forest precede tastes of blackberry and herbs. Very nice, but the next is better.

Meritage 2010 $25.99

2010 is known to be a good year, and this wine proves it. 59& merlot, 23% petit verdot, 14% cabernet franc, and 4% cabernet sauvignon, this Bordeaux blend really does taste like a Bordeaux. The aroma is brambly, with a hint of earth that is not present in the taste. We taste blueberry and some spice and like it so much we decide to buy two bottles for the cellar, marking them 2016.

Adam Suprenant

Reasons to visit: you like bees and honey and beeswax products; you enjoy talking with people about their passions; the 2012 chardonnay (and maybe the 2013), the gewürztraminer, the 2010 Meritage; Adam and Laura.

P.S. The name refers to the lighthouse at Orient Point, which is said to resemble a coffee pot. They do not, in fact, serve coffee at the winery!

The building was originally a house, and Adam and Laura will make you feel right at home.

The Winemaker Studio: Wine as Art? July 4, 2014

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Anthony Nappa, Black Bird Reserve Merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Frizzante, Greg Gove, North Fork, Provisions, Race Wines, Red Blend, Reminisce, sauvignon blanc, Spezia Gewurztraminer, The Winemaker Studio, wine tasting July 10, 2014

http://www.anthonynappawines.com/tws_home.html

Rainy Fourth of July!

The rain washed out our barbeque, but not our determination to do a wine tasting, so off we set in a tropical downpour to the welcoming environs of The Winemaker Studio. Odd name for a tasting room, you are probably thinking, especially since it occupies the premises previously called The Tasting Room, a more obvious name. However, as Anthony Nappa, the proprietor, discussed with us on a previous visit, the idea is to provide a space where a variety of winemakers can showcase their wares, and to also have the space function as an art gallery, with art for purchase on the walls.

Many of the winemakers carried here are also—or have been—winemakers for larger wineries, such as Raphael or Osprey’s Dominion, but felt they wanted to make wines their own way, under their own label. Like art, these are labors of love. As you can tell by the site’s URL, Anthony Nappa makes his own wines, and his selections dominate the tasting menu of fifteen wines, all available for $2 or $3 a taste. In addition to selling wine by the glass they also feature Greenport Harbor beer on tap and a number of local hard liquors—gin, vodka, whiskey—plus espresso and cappuccino and a menu of sandwiches crafted by Nappa’s wife, Sarah Evans Nappa, a chef who previously worked at the North Fork Table and Inn. They also run a small store attached to the tasting room called Provisions, which stocks a variety of both local and imported foods, including cheeses, pastas, and charcuterie. Like many places with their own food, they ask you not to bring your own snacks, but are happy to sell you cheeses, etc.

Some of the provisions at Provisions.

The room is small, simple, and rustic, with a wooden bar and small tables with folding chairs both inside and outside. Sometimes you find a dog or two around, but today they had been left home because the thunder was freaking them out. Our friends, animal lovers, were disappointed that the dogs were not in residence, but happy about the wines they tasted. Frequent North Fork visitors, they had not heard of The Winemaker Studio, but will now add it to their list. We each made a variety of choices from the menu, with each couple sharing one tasting, a good decision since the pour was quite generous. We were left on our own to decide the order of tastes. I’ve marked the Anthony Nappa wines with an AN at the end.

Tasting menu

1) 2013 Frizzante Sparkling $20

It had been a year since we were here, and there were quite a few new wines, including a sparkling wine made from riesling, pinot noir, and gewürztraminer, and not filtered, so it has an intriguing cloudy look. We smell and taste lots of minerality, plus unripe pineapple and some lemon. We envision drinking it on the deck with charcuterie, and our friend suggests using it in a cocktail with Limoncello and some raspberries. Sounds good! AN

Frizzante–note the cloudiness.

2) 2013 Reminisce $22

This is their sauvignon blanc, and it spends three days on the skins, giving it lots of complex flavors, including ripe grapefruit. Good! AN

3) 2013 Spezia Gewürztraminer $25

Spezia means spicy, a good name for this spicy dry gewürztraminer, with its pleasant honeysuckle aroma. Though it lacks depth (We prefer One Woman’s gewürztraminer.), it is a good wine. Pair it with stinky cheeses, they suggest. AN

It’s a fairly generous pour.

4) 2012 Dodici $35

So a year ago we had the 2010 Dieci, which this replaces (brush up on your Italian numbers to decipher the names). A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc, this Bordeaux type is another good wine. Mouthwatering fruit flavors. AN

5) 2012 Black Bird Reserve Merlot $40

Though we are told that this is a wine made only in good years, spending 18 months in the barrel, we are unimpressed. There’s a touch of that earth smell you sometimes get in North Fork merlots, some dark cherry taste, and not much else.

6) Red Blend by Greg Gove of Race Wines $22

This is another Bordeaux-type blend, of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot. Again, just okay—and fairly oaky, too.

Our friends also tried and really like Nappa’s Anomaly, a white wine made from red grapes, which we have liked in the past, and they enjoyed as well. They bought a bottle of the Frizzante, perhaps to try that cocktail idea in the near future! Then we browsed a bit in Provisions, and, though we didn’t find anything we needed for that night, having shopped already, we did make mental notes of things we would buy.

Part of the Provisions menu

Reasons to visit: a chance to try a variety of wines not readily available elsewhere; the Frizzante, the Dodici, the Reminisce; the opportunity to shop at Provisions; art on the walls; the availability of other drinks and food for those who aren’t wine drinkers. We haven’t tried it, but they have Happy Hour from 5-7 every day, with 30% off on glasses of wine.

Not a great day for sitting outside…maybe next time!

Ten Venues for Outdoor Wining

Posted by nofowineaux in Summary Recommendations and tagged with Bella Domenica, Cacklin Rose, chardonnay, Comtesse Therese, Croteaux, Festival Chardonnay, First Fruit, gruner veltliner, Jamesport, Long Island, Mattebella, Merlot 314, North Fork, Old Field, Old World Blend, One Woman, One Woman Tribute, Paumanok, pellegrini, petit verdot, Pugliese, sauvignon blanc, Shinn, Violet, wine tasting May 25, 2014

Memorial Day Weekend means summer really is beginning, so I thought this would be the right time to tell you about my favorite places for outdoor sipping on the North Fork. There is something very civilized about sitting in the sun (or under an umbrella), sipping a lovely chilled white or rosé, or even a well-rounded red, enjoying the warm breezes, possibly snacking on some bread and cheese. If that experience includes a pretty view over farm fields and vineyards, so much the better.

Almost all of the tasting rooms augment their indoor seating with outdoor areas in the summer, from Jamesport’s capacious lawn to Waters Crest’s two umbrella tables in the parking lot, but some are pleasanter than others. Following this you will find a list of my favorites, starting with a few I particularly enjoy, and then others in no real order. I also mention a wine or two I particularly recommend for sipping, but in a few cases it has been a year or more since I went there, so you may not find the same vintages on offer. Note that some places encourage you to bring your own picnic, while others discourage or forbid it, so I suggest you check the web sites before you go. The ones which don’t allow you to bring your own snacks generally sell their own. If you’re putting together a bread and cheese picnic, you won’t do better than Love Lane Cheese Shop in Mattituck, which carries a wide variety of excellent cheeses and baguettes from Tom Cat bakery. Stop at Harbes for some berries or Wickham for peaches and you’re set.

Shady nook at Croteaux.

1) Croteaux

This is absolutely my favorite outdoor tasting area, plus all the wines are perfect for summer sipping. You go through the tiny tasting room into a tree and flower-filled patio area, with comfortable Adirondack chairs and shady nooks. Two of my favorite rosés are the Merlot 314 and the Violet, but any of them would work. I also recommend their snack of goat cheese and baguette.

Adirondack chairs, with their wide arms, are perfect for tastings in Croteaux’s yard.

2) Old Field

If you like a rustic setting, this is the place! Calico cloths on the tables plus chickens and ducks roaming around the old barns on the property really make you feel you are far from city life. Though I don’t think any Long Island rosés are better than Croteaux’s, the Cacklin Rosé 09 (probably will be a new vintage by now) was lovely.

3) Mattebella

Picnic tables and umbrella-shaded tables dot an expansive patio area looking out over the grape vines. We liked the ‘08 Chardonnay and the ‘08 Old World Blend. The last time we were there, small snacks accompanied some of the wines on the tasting menu.

Part of the lawn at Jamesport.

4) Jamesport

Jamesport is the perfect place to come if your group includes children who would like some space to roam around, or even dogs (as long as they are on the leash). Their large backyard lawn, with a variety of seating or picnic areas, some in shade and others in the sun, is perfect, and they sell thin crust pizzas made in an outdoor stone oven and freshly opened oysters, among other treats. Their Sauvignon Blanc goes particularly well with oysters.

Some red tastings plus a view of the vineyard at Pellegrini.

5) Pellegrini

Here the outdoor seating varies from pleasant spots out on the lawn or the interior courtyard to a few tables overlooking the vineyard. What makes this a good place for an outdoor tasting (rather than just a glass of wine) is that they will give you your entire tasting on a tray, carefully labeled, so you can sit and sample at your leisure. If you’re going for just a glass, we really like their Petit Verdot, which would pair well with brie and baguette.

6) Paumanok

Paumanok is another place that often features oysters, though not as reliably as Jamesport. They have a pleasant porch out back of the tasting room which looks out over the vines and fields. The 2011 Festival Chardonnay was a good match for the oysters, though they may have a new vintage by now.

The deck at One Woman

7) One Woman

This is a small winery with a small porch which wraps around the tiny tasting room. You are surrounded by the vines and a large field of grass as you sit and taste. We found the One Woman Tribute ’11 to be a good sipping wine, and we are in love with the 2012 Grüner Veltliner.

8) Comtesse Thérèse

This is another winery with a bit of a French accent, and outdoor tastings are in the charmingly disheveled intimate garden behind the Comtesse Thérèse Bistro. Though the setting is pleasant, we found the service a bit lackluster our last time in the garden, though that could certainly have changed. The 2011 Chardonnay was a super sipper.

9) Shinn

Although it was too chilly to sit outdoors on the day we went there, we did admire Shinn’s remodeled outdoor seating area, with comfortable-looking chairs and a nice little snack menu. I’d recommend First Fruit for a sipping wine.

Outdoor area at Shinn

10) Pugliese

With a pretty little pond and trellis-shaded picnic tables, Pugliese has created a very attractive outdoor seating area. If it’s not overrun with limo groups, I’d recommend you go there with some cheese and crackers and get the Bella Domenica, a summery red.

Pretty pond at Pugliese

P.S. Just visited Mattebella for the first time in two years and their improved outdoor area means they should be added to this post! (See review for details.)

Jamesport Vineyards: Oyster Heaven 5/10/14

Posted by nofowineaux in Oysters and tagged with Ahmad Ali, Harvest Moon Shellfish Co., Jamesport Vineyards, Long Island, oysters, Peconic Bay, sauvignon blanc, wineries May 11, 2014

https://www.jamesportwines.com/

Welcome sign, in every way

Oysters! If you Google Long Island Wineries and oysters, you get Jamesport, and with good reason. They have a lovely stone oyster bar in their extensive back yard area, and they feature a raw oyster bar just about every weekend.

The sun came out and all of a sudden we went from winter to summer, so we decided it was a good day to sit in a garden and sample some white wine and oysters, so off we went to Jamesport. Along the way we noticed an absolute explosion of dandelions, as well as signs for spinach and asparagus. Yay for the latter!

If you want oysters, walk through the tasting room, out the back door to the pretty patio and order them at the stone counter. We decided to splurge on a dozen each, for $24 per dozen (6 for $15). The cheerful young man opening the oysters turned out to be Joshua Clauss, the proprietor of Harvest Moon Shellfish of Peconic Bay. After we were done, when we went to compliment him on the quality of his oysters—fresh and briny and plump—he told us this was his first crop, after three years in the business, seven years altogether learning how to cultivate oysters. He said he would be sold out by July, and hoped to have his next crop by October. We plan to look for his oysters again!

To go with them, we each took a glass of Sauvignon Blanc ($10), served in attractive round-bottomed glasses. The Sauvignon Blanc has lots of citrus aroma and taste, which makes it a perfect complement to the oysters. What’s nice is the lemon-lime flavors are balanced with a touch of sweetness, which also pairs well with shellfish.

A bulldog cozies up to the bar

As we sat in French-café-style chairs at a little round table, we enjoyed the warm day, the many dogs rolling in the grass (allowed on leashes) and the blues/pop singing and guitar playing of Ahmad Ali. If you see him on the schedule of a winery, you might make a point of going, as his mellow sound meshes well with a sunny afternoon.

Music among the tables

We could also have chosen pizzas, which we watched being made in a brick oven, or beer from Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, or various other snacks and wines. Jamesport does not allow outside picnic baskets, but we saw plenty of people happily eating the Jamesport fare. We also overheard a young couple being given a tour of their wedding facilities.

More dogs, and a bit of the side yard

Reasons to visit: Oysters!!!; the Sauvignon Blanc; a pretty outdoor area with picnic tables and lots of space; music.

All done with the oysters!

Shinn Estate Vineyards: For Earth Lovers April 26, 2014

Posted by nofowineaux in Summary Recommendations, Tasting and tagged with cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Coalescence, Estate Merlot, First Fruit, Long Island, Malbec, North Fork, petit verdot, Pinot Blanc, Red Blend, riesling, sauvignon blanc, Semillon, Shinn Estate Vineyards, Veil Sherry, Wild Boar Doe, wine tasting May 2, 2014

http://shinnestatevineyards.com/

The Farmhouse at Shinn

Hidden away on Oregon Road, Shinn includes both a lovely rustic tasting room and their own inn, called the Farmhouse. Considering that the owners also own the restaurant Home in New York City, I’ll bet the food is good there! However, we had come for a tasting after our disappointing attempt to visit Vineyard 48. As we pulled into the parking lot we noticed a huge windmill, and I remembered that I read that they powered the winery using solar and wind power only. The outside area has been attractively redone, with rustic benches and natural stone walls, but it was too chilly to stay outside, so in we went, where we found a warm welcome, a happy crowd, and Panda, the resident black and white dog. Rocks anchor the menus to the bar, inspirational words painted on weathered wood line the walls, and a blackboard notes that they are now open until 8 on Fridays and Saturdays.

Windmill

Outdoor area

A tasting is $10 for any four wines, chosen from an interesting menu that includes six whites and five reds, plus Wickham’s pear cider, their own “sherry,” eau de vie, and grappa. We decide to share two tastings, three whites, four reds, and the “sherry.” (They also sell their own vinegar and granola, and have a small snack menu outside.) One of the servers gives us detailed information about each wine, while the other does not, but the menu gives some guidance.

Dog in residence

1) 2013 Coalescence $16

We have liked and bought this blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling in the past, so we opted to start with it. Aromas of pear and fresh cut grass and tastes of baked pear and citrus, maybe lemon grass, with some tangerine at the end, was how we described this to each other. Though not for sipping, it would be okay with seafood in a cream sauce. However, we don’t like it as much as we did in the past, which shows the importance of tasting new vintages before you buy.

2) 2013 First Fruit $22

This is a lovely wine, a Sauvignon Blanc, with faint honeysuckle and orange aromas and lots of fruit, a bit petillant on the tongue. The initial sweetness of the taste could be off putting to some, but overall it is not too sweet, especially at the end. I could see sipping this on the porch if summer ever comes!

3) 2012 Pinot Blanc $35

An unfiltered barrel-aged (11 months) wine, you can see the cloudiness in the glass. They serve it at room temperature so you can savor the taste. Wow. Interesting. This has a very full mouth feel, almost as if you could chew it. I don’t know that I’d want it with food, but it would be fun to include it in a tasting and see what people thought of it. We smell pine or forest floor and taste some vanilla.

Clouds!

Water for cleansing your palate–or your glass!

4) Red Blend $16

One of the servers cleaned up the glass that was to be used for our red tasting, so our server rinses our glass with some of the bottle of water they give each group. As the name indicates, this is a blend, of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Though it was made using grapes from 2011 and 2012, it is not a vintage wine, and the menu describes it as “medium bodied.” I would agree: this is an ordinary wine, with lots of tannins, a bit on the thin and bitter side, with tastes of berries and sour apple.

5) 2010 Estate Merlot $26

This is a fairly typical Long Island Merlot, with a sweet berry aroma and taste. My husband says “baked sweet potatoes.” Maybe. Good.

6) 2010 Wild Boar Doe $32

Again, this is a blend of all five of their estate grown reds, with a pleasant aroma of fresh hay and berries and a delicious taste that is reminiscent of a French Bordeaux (no surprise, given the name!). This is a very appealing wine and would be good for a special occasion, with steak or lamb or pasta with a red sauce. 7) 2010 Cabernet Franc $38

A bit of a barnyard odor and tastes of berry but also some burnt toast with honey. It doesn’t bowl me over, but my husband likes it more than I do.

8) 2009 Veil “Sherry” $48 for a 375 ml bottle

Made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon late-harvest grapes, this is a sweet and herbal sherry-like drink with notes of honey and a bit of goldenrod scent. Pleasant, though we prefer Spanish sherries; it would make a nice before-dinner cocktail, maybe on ice or mixed with something else.

Some of the more exotic items on the tasting menu.

Reasons to visit: pleasant tasting room in the midst of scenic farm fields; the First Fruit, the Pinot Blanc, and the Wild Boar Doe; the chance to taste some other types of drinks like their sherry (we’ll have to return to try the eau de vie and the grappa!); the chance to support a vineyard that cares about the Earth as well as the earth. 9)

Pindar Vineyards: Greek Poetry January 25, 2014

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Autumn White, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Long Island, Malbec, merlot, NoFo, North Fork, Peacock Chardonnay, petit verdot, Pindar Vineyards, Pythagoras, sauvignon blanc, Sunflower Chardonnay, syrah, Winter White January 27, 2014

http://www.pindar.net/

Pindar’s Field

Old Man Winter certainly has the North Fork in his grip. (Why old? Why man? I haven’t the foggiest.) All the farm stands, even Bayview and Briermere, are closed, and the fields are quiet under a coating of snow and ice. So we thought about the warmth of the Greek Isles and headed to Pindar, named for the Greek poet. While the room wasn’t overly warm—we kept our jackets on, though unzipped—the greeting certainly was. The tasting room is in a converted potato barn, featuring multiple rows of tasting bars and a beautiful stained glass window. When we entered we were surprised to see the room was empty, since there were plenty of cars in the lot, but our server informed us that there was a large group in another building for a barrel tasting, and the room was soon quite busy for a January afternoon. They have a selection of wine-related gift items and plenty of cheese and crackers for sale, which is fortunate since they don’t allow outside food.

This room is only one of the sites run by Dr. Damianos, the owner, and his family. They also own Duck Walk, which has a site on the South Fork as well, and his son Jason owns Jason’s Vineyard (which I reviewed back in June), plus they have a satellite tasting room in Port Jefferson for those who don’t care to trek to the North Fork. They also like to tout how eco-friendly they are, with a wind turbine for power, composting and recycling, and other green techniques.

Rows of tasting bars

As we sipped, we appreciated the quiet guitar and folk-ish singing of John Kroo in the background. Tastings consist of 5 tastes for $10, chosen from a menu with 15 choices, plus limited production wines available for $3 each. We opted to do five whites and five reds, sharing tastes of each. Our server, who was young and enthusiastic and clearly engaged in learning all he could about wine, carefully rinsed our glass between tastes and was able to answer most of our questions about the wines. We were happily surprised by how many of the wines we liked, since we had not been to Pindar in years because we remembered not liking many of the wines. There was still one we dumped, but more about that later.

1) Autumn Gold $10.99

Our server looked at the choices we circled on the tasting menu and then carefully coordinated our tasting so we went in the best order, starting with the lightest white. The tasting notes compare this to a Pinot Grigio, which I can see, as it is a dry white with lots of pineapple taste and a bit of funkiness. The funkiness is probably from the Seyval Blanc grape, an upstate grape, which is here blended with Chardonnay. Fine for an everyday white.

2) 2012 Sauvignon Blanc $18.99

The aroma is a combination of mineral and lemon, and the taste is also citrus-y. Also a light wine, this would be good with oysters, as in general we feel Sauvignon Blancs are. There’s plenty of acid here, and the tasting notes say lemon grass, which seems about right.

3) 2012 Sunflower Chardonnay $!8.99

Why sunflower, we ask? In the summer, the field next to the winery is filled with sunflowers, the sale of which goes to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation, we are told. I like the label. The wine? Okay. My husband says it reminds him or Werther’s Butterscotch Candy, so if you like a really oaky Chard, go for it. There is, however, a bit of acid which helps make this a sippable white, and I think lots of people would like it well chilled on a summer afternoon.

4) 2012 Peacock Chardonnay $12.99

Why peacock? Uh-oh, our usually well-informed server doesn’t know, but I bet he will as soon as he gets a chance to find out. Smells and tastes like a Granny Smith apple, with maybe a hint of banana. That makes it sound like fruit salad, but actually it is a pleasant white.

5) Winter White $10.99

This may be their most popular white, but our savvy server has already figured out that we won’t care for it. He says he recommends it to people who say, “I don’t really care for wine, so what should I try?” Sweet! Another Seyval Blanc/Chardonnay blend. We dump it after one sip each, and it was this taste that reminded us why we hadn’t been back in years.

6) Pythagoras $$14.99

Remember the Pythagorean theory? I do—sort of. At least, I remember being taught it. The label, which features an illustration of the theory, also calls this a “geometrical blend.” More conventionally, this is a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. It has the classic black currant aroma but is softer than I expect, with some notes of oak and mineral. It would be an okay everyday wine, and is fairly dry, though surprisingly simple for a blend like this.

Note illustration on label!

7) 2010 Syrah $14.99

So 2010 is one of those great years for Long Island wines—and 2013 is forecast to be even better—so we are interested to taste these reds. Not that many places on the North Fork make a Syrah, and we quite like this one. The aroma is complicated, with some cedar notes and a mouth-puckering flavor of unripe plums that would be great with a fatty meat like lamb. Actually, we like it, and buy a couple of bottles.

8) 2010 Merlot $16.99

This is a good, typical Long Island Merlot, with tastes of tobacco and dark chocolate and plum, without the barnyard odor or flavor you sometimes get.

The ship on the label seems to be a reference to the Argonaut, Jason's ship, and a theme of Jason's tasting room.

The ship on the label seems to be a reference to the Argo, Jason’s ship, and a theme of Jason’s tasting room.

9) 2009 Pegasus Cabernet Sauvignon $$16.99

On the other hand, this wine does have some barnyard odor, plus allspice and prunes. The taste is better than the smell, and I will borrow my description of the taste from my granddaughter who guesses wine will taste wine-y (without ever having tasted it!). Why the flying horse? No idea, but the label is pretty.

10) 2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon $34.99

Extra! Noting our serious demeanor and knowledge of wine, our server adds a small taste of the Reserve Cab Sauv to our tasting, which turns out to be a smart move as we later buy a bottle to keep in the cellar. Excellent. Although the aroma reminds me of a red candy, the taste is complex, with lots of black cherry and plum, plus other notes. It would be great with a steak on the grill.

11) 2010 Cabernet Franc $34.99

Pine forest aroma and black berry taste make this a nice wine, though not worth the price. It has lots of fruit but is pleasantly dry.

Someone at Pindar clearly likes to collect corkscrews.

Reasons to visit: Large tasting room with plenty of space for big groups; the 2010 Syrah and the 2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon; the Sunflower Chardonnay if you like an oaky Chard; good prices for Long Island wines;attractive labels; they care about the environment.

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

Tag Archives: sauvignon blanc