Martha Clara: Playground or Winery? September 3, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with Aromatic, Bordeaux style, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Cote Rotie style, Entenmann's, Estate Reserve Merlot, Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, Estate Reserve Riesling, gewurztraminer, Legends, Martha Clara, merlot, Noah's Restaurant, North Fork wine tasting, Northern Solstice Blend, Northville, Northville Red, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, Sustainable, syrah, vintage September 6, 2016

https://www.marthaclaravineyards.com/

The capacious “backyard” of Martha Clara.

Plenty of room for dogs and children.

The parking attendant waved us on to the “additional parking” area, so we had a good view of the activities going on in back of the Martha Clara tasting room and barns. Children and dogs were running around, a couple played Frisbee, many people tossed beanbags into a whole line of targets, and a wagon hitched to horses waited to give rides. The delicious smell came from an old-fashioned Airstream camper that had been turned into a food truck. And that was a good thing, since Martha Clara no longer allows you to bring in outside food, preferring that you buy your own from their menu, catered by Noah’s Restaurant in Greenport.

Food truck!

Noah’s menu

We were there with a friend who is a member of the Marth Clara wine club, so we first headed to the Tasting Barn with its sign outside limiting it to wine club members. However, it was full, so we headed on into the main building and, not feeling like standing at the bar in the crowded main tasting room, sat at a table in the table service area. At first the server said we’d have to pay full price, but after assuring her that we had been turned away from the members-only barn she said okay—which resulted in a significant saving for our four tastings.

No room in the Members Only barn

The bars were pretty crowded, too.

We were happy to find a table in the corner, near the windows.

The sleekly bound menu offers four options for tastings, plus a variety of wines by the glass or bottle, and a bunch of snacks. The four flight menus are labeled Aromatic, Sustainable, Northville, and Vintners, and range from $14-$17 for five generous tastes (or $5-$7 for wine club members). The tables were all set with napkins, wineglasses, and water glasses, which we used both for water from the large bottle the server delivered to our table and as a dump bucket. But more on that later.

I opted for the Northville flight, mostly because it included their Syrah, a wine I often like. The two men in the party chose the Vintage flight, and our friend the wine club member decided on the Aromatic because it is all whites, and that’s what she was in the mood for. The Sustainable has a combination of reds and whites, as do the other options. I will tell about my tasting first, and then about the other wines, not all of which I tried myself.

2014 Gewürztraminer Estate Reserve $27

Gewürztraminers are tricky, because they can be very sweet or dry, with a lot or not much fruit, depending on how they are handled. This one is steel fermented, so I had hopes, but then the server explained that it was on the sweet side, and she liked it as an after dinner drink or with “spicy Thai food.” The aroma combines flowers, mineral, and creosote—you know, that smell you get from the railroad tracks on a hot summer day. Fortunately it doesn’t taste like what I imagine creosote would taste like, but rather like lychees in sugar syrup with some minerality at the end. This wine also began the Vintage tasting, and we all found it too sweet. In fact, we all dumped at least part of our serving. But if you like a sweet wine, you’d probably like this one.

2012 Cabernet Franc $27

A light ruby color, this wine is also light in body, with a red candy and wet rock aroma, and a plum taste. It would be a good burger or roast chicken wine. Aged 14 months in oak.

2013 Merlot $24

Merlot does well on Long Island, and this is no exception, a nice, light, dry red with some fruit. I like it. It smells rather oak-y, even though it only spends 12 months in oak.

2012 Syrah (Cote Rotie Style) $24

I would be very happy drinking a full glass of this one. It has aromas of red fruit and pepper, with lots of red fruit tastes, some tannins, and a dry finish. It could pair well with lamb or duck. It’s my favorite of the day, too.

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $30

Again, you can definitely smell the oak. This is somewhat dry, with lots of cherry taste and a nice long finish.

And that was the end of my tasting. However, here are some notes on the other flights.

2013 Estate Reserve Chardonnay $27

Lots of aromas on this one, including vanilla and nutmeg, which is the first on the Vintage list. It is aged “sur lie” for ten months. If you like a smooth buttery chard, this is one for you.

2014 Northern Solstice Blend $18

I liked the bottle for this, featuring an image of a sun, which my friend saw as appropriate for this first on the Aromatic list, since it is, she said, “a perfect summer sipper.” It is a blend of about four or five grapes which the server rattled off too quickly for me to catch. We all sniffed it and agreed that it smelled like ripe pineapple, and my friend said it was “crisp and refreshing” with just a touch of sweetness.

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $22

This is a pretty typical North Fork sauvignon blanc, with honeysuckle aroma and lemon tastes, though it is a touch sweeter than some sauvignon blancs.

2014 Pinot Grigio $22

And this is another great summer wine, said my friend, with some peach tastes and a touch of bubbles on the tongue. It was her favorite of her tasting.

2013 Estate Reserve Riesling $26

We were all intrigued by the smell of this one, identifying vanilla sugar cookie (even though it is steel fermented) and wet rock. Unlike the gewürztraminer, this escapes over-sweetness, and is a light and almost bubbly with some mineral taste. The Aromatic tasting should have ended with the Gewürztraminer, but my friend decided to forego it since she had already tasted it and felt she had had enough wine. As I said, the pour is generous, and we actually dumped some tastes we liked.

2014 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir $37

The Vintner tasting includes some of their higher priced wines, and we got into a discussion of value vs. cost, which I may revisit some time this winter when I don’t have a winery to review. My husband informed us that this was a Burgundy-type wine, but a bit sharp for a Burgundy. It had aromas of plum and prune, and a somewhat grapey (I know, shocking) taste. Good, but not complex.

2013 Northville Red (Bordeaux style) $27

Again, the server listed the grapes in this too quickly for note taking, but it is a Bordeaux-style blend we all liked very much. In fact, my notes include “yum,” “delicious,” “very drinkable,” “layers of flavor,” and “really nice.” We were happy when our friend bought us a bottle!

2013 Estate Reserve Merlot $35

The menu informs us that this was rated a 90 by Wine Advocate. Maybe. It has a touch of that barnyard smell we always used to get from local merlots and hardly ever sense any more, but it tastes nice, with good fruit, some cherry flavor, and is dry.

Here’s something not every winery has–a Tiki Bar!

Also, horse and wagon rides.

Reasons to visit: Lots of space to play and a relaxed, welcoming vibe; some agritainment; the Northern Solstice Blend, the Pinot Grigio, the Syrah, the Northville Red; lots of choices ; catering by Noah’s (We didn’t have any, but I like the food in the restaurant!).

The gift shop has a bunch of local products.

Palmer Vineyards: Fun Hanging Out August 20, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Albarino, Aromatic, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, charcuterie platter, Crescent Farms duck breast, merlot, North Fork, Palmer Vineyards, Pinot Blanc, sauvignon blanc, Steel vs. Oak, Sweet, syrah, viognier, wine tasting August 25, 2016

http://www.palmervineyards.com/

The entrance to Palmer’s tasting room is in the second building on their property.

Our plans for a garden-setting wine tasting having been scuttled by a completely un-forecast deluge, we decided to head to Palmer Vineyards, which has a cozy tasting room with pub-like booths and an expansive covered veranda. We settled on the veranda where, our guests were happy to learn, their very well-behaved dog was welcome to join us. When a singer/guitarist with a folksy sixties-ish repertoire began to play, we settled in for a relaxing afternoon.

We enjoyed his performance.

The tasting menu offers four different flights, ranging from $15-$18 for four tastes each. We (three couples) decided each couple would share first a flight of whites and then a flight of reds. We gave the flights labeled “Sweet” and “Steel vs. Oak” a pass. Maybe next time. They also have a couple of local beers on tap, plus coffee. My cousin bought a $16 “charcuterie platter” for the table, which was fine but rather meager for the six of us, consisting of a few slices of two different sausages and I believe two different cheeses, plus Carr’s Water Crackers and a few other odds and ends. Since they don’t allow outside food, I think they could do a better job with their edible offerings. We didn’t try the “brick oven pizza.” However, we had an enjoyable afternoon tasting the wines, listening to the music, and chatting about everything.

The “charcuterie platter” and some whites.

2015 Albariῆo $27.99

The server informs my brother that they are the only vineyard on the North Fork to use this grape, and he may be right. Albariῆo is one of my go-to wines when I order just a glass of wine, as it is generally fairly dry with good fruit tastes, and this is no exception. Although there is some disagreement around the table, I find it delicious, with a touch of lemon at the end and tastes of apricot and apple. It smells like honeysuckle, peach, and minerals. Having it with a bite of cheese helps smooth out the sourness of the citrus at the end.

2015 Sauvignon Blanc $24.99

“Great nose,” opines my brother. “It smells like lantana flower,” says my sister-in-law. I don’t know what that smells like, unfortunately, but there is definitely a flowery aroma. The taste is rather orange-y, perhaps like a minneola. “Just lovely,” says my Canadian cousin-in-law. “It’s got some strength to it,” says my cousin. We all agree that this has the best balance of any of the whites, and would be good to sip by itself or with the scallop ceviche my brother and sister-in-law intend to make for dinner.

The bar on the veranda

2014 Viognier $24.99

Our server (we send a representative to the bar to pick up each round) thinks they are also the only ones to use this grape on the North Fork, but I happen to know at least four or five other vineyards use it. In any event, this is not a crowd pleaser. “Not a lot of character on the nose,” asserts my brother. I smell minerality and not much else. This is a light dry wine, with some earthiness. We discuss whether it would be good with the oysters we also plan to pick up, but decide maybe not.

2015 Pinot Blanc $21.99

We all smell and taste pineapple this time. Someone smells vanilla, and someone else says the smell is “earthy.” “Not integrated,” says my brother. I think it would be better with food, and take a bite of sausage. Yes, that does improve it. However, the overall opinion of the whites is “fine, but no home runs.”

2014 Syrah $24.99

Syrah is my other wine-by-the-glass standby, and this one is an acceptable version, though not my favorite. I like syrahs to be bigger and bolder, and this one is a touch thin. It may need more time to age. The aroma is sweet, almost like a sherry. The server told my brother that this spends two years in oak, and they add a bit of viognier to “lighten it up.” It is lighter than most syrahs, with almost no finish. You wouldn’t want it with steak, but it might be nice with some Crescent Farms duck breast.

The indoor space is particularly nice in the winter.

2014 Merlot $24.99

As I explain to my guests, merlot is the Ford of North Fork reds, a generally reliable red. My brother characterizes this one as “an art opening wine,” and I see what he means. Not distinguished, but also not offensive, it has some cherry tastes with a medium body and medium tannins.

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon $28.99

Mmm. The aroma is brambly and peppery and the taste is sweeter and fruitier than expected. Soft tannins. We also note some herb and fig tastes. Yum. Just then the singer starts “Here Comes the Sun,” and indeed it does appear. A bachelorette party forms a line on the wet grass with the veiled guest of honor in the middle for a photo shoot.

The bachelorette party organizing for a photo.

2012 Cabernet Franc $28.99

Dark figs and earth and peppers with just a “soupçon of paint thinner.” Not so sure about that last bit! I like it, and it’s very nice with one of the last bits of cheese, which lends it some creaminess. It is also a wine one could sip on its own. My husband thinks it might have needed to breathe longer. We all agree it is good, and has “the most character.”

Rainy day!

Our tasting is done, the sun is out, so we leave to take a walk on the beach.

I wonder what the pooch would have said about the nose.

Reasons to visit: pleasant tasting room with cozy booths for the winter time and a breezy veranda for the summer; the sauvignon blanc, the cabernet sauvignon, and the cabernet franc; dogs are allowed on the veranda.

I like this pattern on the side of the bar.

Laurel Lake: The Personal Touch May 14, 2016

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, chardonnay, chardonnay estate reserve, CJ's America Grill, gewurztraminer, Juan, Laurel Lake, merlot, NoFo, North Fork, Pinot Gris, pinot noir reserve, syrah, Wind Song Red, wine tasting May 16, 2016

http://www.llwines.com/

Juan sat down next to us at the bar and explained his ideas about winemaking. Although there were several large groups at Laurel Lake, and Juan was actively helping to serve them, he and the servers behind the bar also took the time to answer our questions and solicit our opinions about the wines—which were largely favorable except for one, which I will discuss later. Introduced to us as “our winemaker from Chile,” Juan told us that he enjoys talking to customers and finding out what they do and do not like about his wines. “The wines reflect the personality of the winemaker,” he told us, including whether the winemaker is a man or a woman. If so, then Laurel Lake’s wines should be outgoing and friendly and easy to like.

The main tasting room manages to be both spacious and cozy.

The menu offers flights of four tastes for $15, of a fairly generous pour, out of seven whites and nine reds. We opted to share a flight of whites and a flight of reds, skipping, for example, the rosé and the moscato. We also skipped the riesling, which we noticed comes in a pretty blue bottle. That price has actually gone down from our last visit, in 2014, when it was three tastes for $15. In general, the prices for the wines are quite reasonable. We noticed people eating snacks brought from home, although once their food truck arrives Laurel Lake no longer permits outside snacks.

The music group on the porch, with a view of a group enjoying the warm weather outside.

As we sipped, a music group set up in the large porch to one side of the attractive tasting room. The large groups also headed outside, so the main room remained relatively calm. We also noted a small but amusing collection of wine-related gifts.

Some of the gift items

We don’t need a mouse pad, but if we did…

2015 Pinot Gris $21.99

Pinot Gris is the French equivalent of Pinot Grigio, one of my frequent choices when opting for a glass of house white, as it tends to be reliably dry. I would be perfectly happy if I had gotten this as a glass of house wine, as it is dry and mineral-y, with a touch of sweet fruit. It smells a bit like asparagus, we decide, wondering if our current diet of local asparagus has influenced that thought. Lobster bisque, we decide, would be a perfect pairing.

2014 Chardonnay $18.99

This is their steel fermented chard, with an aroma of not-quite-ripe pineapple and some mineral. The taste is again a combination of dry and a touch of sweetness, and fades quickly. Evanescent, we say. As the wine warms a bit in the glass we also taste a hint of pineapple or tropical fruit. We note that people coming to the bar are quite insistent about wanting their wines really cold. We prefer wines not quite as cold, so you can really taste them. I decide that chicken cordon bleu would be a good accompaniment.

The pour is fairly generous.

2013 Chardonnay Estate Reserve $23.99

The tasting notes inform us that this spends 12 months in oak, and we have a discussion with one of our servers about preferences for oaked vs. non-oaked chards. “Which do you like?” she asks, and we realize that it depends. In general, we don’t like the really heavy buttery taste and texture of a heavily oaked chard, but a bit of oakiness is often quite pleasant. As is this wine. If you like Long Island chardonnays you should like this one, with its slightly vanilla smell and touch of citrus and tropical fruit taste. Nice long finish, too.

2014 Gewürztraminer $22.99

It could be an aperitif wine, or a dessert wine, or a wine to have with blue cheese and charcuterie, we decide, but it is a bit too sweet to enjoy just by itself. The tasting notes say to have this with spicy food, a frequent recommendation for sweeter wines, but we feel you’d lose some of the subtlety of this wine if you did. The aroma is complex, as is the taste.

Wind Song Red $17.99

The tasting notes say this is “like a nice Chianti.” I don’t think so! We feel quite misled by the note, which is an issue we take up with Juan, who sheepishly admits they were written for a previous iteration of this blend. They needed an inexpensive red crowd pleaser for the menu, hence this wine, the only one that has us looking around for a dump bucket. A blend of merlot, syrah and a “mystery ingredient,” which, after a guessing game, Juan admits is chardonnay (!), this is quite a sweet red. We compare it to red candy or fruit salad. Fresh glasses with most tastes, by the way.

2012 Pinot Noir Reserve $29.99

We’ve been on a raspberry pie kick at Briermere recently, with raspberry peach last week and raspberry plum this, and the wine smells to us like those pies. With 18 months in oak, this has some tannins at the end, and is a fairly light red. I could see it with veal chops.

2011 Syrah $19.99

My husband refrains from singing “Que sera, sera” when we choose this wine, for which I am grateful. This is our favorite of the day, with delicious aromas of dark fruit and rich tastes of dried plum (a.k.a. prune) and other fruits. It would go well with pastas and meats, and we decide to buy a bottle.

One cabernet

And the other cab

2011 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve $25.99

Our server, having engaged us in various discussions of our choices, asks if we would like to divide our final taste between the steel fermented cab sauv and the oaked one. Sure, we’re always up for that sort of interesting comparison. The steel cab has a funky aroma and is very dry and tannic, really rather austere. The Reserve is interesting and complex, also dry and tannic, with tastes of black raspberry and maybe a few other flavors. We buy a bottle of that, too.

Reasons to visit: an intimate space that also has ample room on the porch and outside for groups; the chance to chat with Juan or the very friendly and knowledgeable servers; the Pinot Gris, the Syrah, and the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve; reasonably priced wines for Long Island. While we were there, the owner of CJ’s American Grill came in and we noted that we like their wine policy, which is to feature local wines at a moderate price. Oh, and yes, the wines are outgoing and friendly and easy to like.

Nice decor

We liked the syrah.

We indeed felt welcome.

Sign of spring!

Some Suggested Wine-Tasting Itineraries November 3, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Summary Recommendations and tagged with 314 Clone, A Lure, A Mano, Adam Suprenant, agritainment, Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, Beasley's Blend, Caci, chardonnay, Cinq Blanc, Coffee Pot Cellars, Commodore Perry, Coronet, Cracklin Rose, Crazy Fork, Croteaux Vinyards, Diliberto Winery, Erik's, Estate Reserve Chardonnay, Familglia, First and South, First Fruit, Flying and Falling, Founder's Tavern, gewurztraminer, gruner veltliner, Harbes, Hellenic Snack Bar, Jamesport Vinyards, Jubilant Reserve, Laura Klahre, Lieb Cellars, Lombardi's Italian Grocery, Love Lane, Love Lane Kitchen, Magic Fountain, Martha Clara, Mattebella, Mattituck, Mattituck Cabernet Franc, Melange de Trois, Meritage, merlot, Michelangelo, MTK Syrah, North Fork, North Fork Table and Inn, Northville Red, old field vineyard, Old World Blend, One Woman Wines and Vineyards, Pepi's, Pinot Blanc, Red Blend, Reserve Cabernet Franc, Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Salamander's General Store, sauvignon blanc, Shinn Estate Vineyards, Southold Farm + Cellar, Sparkling Rose, syrah, Tilting at Windmills, Tre, Village Cheese Shop, White Blend, Wild Boar Doe, wine tasting November 5, 2015

The farm stands are starting to close now, though the ones that are open are still overflowing with pumpkins, kale, eggplant, the last of the tomatoes, and more. I have to restrain myself from buying everything. Now that the October crowds have left—and Columbus Day Weekend is the worst time to come to the North Fork, unfortunately, what with the corn maze goers, the pumpkin and apple pickers, and the harvest wine tasters—I thought this would be a good time to discuss a few possible itineraries.

From time to time friends ask me where to go for wine tastings, so here are some summary recommendations for various situations and tastes. I’m going assume you’re heading from west to east for all of these. Each itinerary includes three wineries. I don’t recommend more than that, especially for the driver, who may want to just take a sip of most and dump the rest. All the wineries are fine about people sharing a tasting, another good way to go. However, if you space them out and go slowly, eating snacks here and there, you should be fine. You can get more details on any of these wineries by using the search function on my blog.

A Warm Summer Day

You want to sit outside and relax with a couple of tastings, and then maybe go somewhere for dinner. Also, you don’t want to cope with the crowds you are likely to find on a warm summer weekend.

Another view of Jamesport’s expansive yard.

A nice place to start is Jamesport Vineyards, especially if it is your first stop and it is around lunch time. Out in the back yard there is a pizza oven and an oyster bar, both well worth trying if you have not brought your own picnic. Though they may attract lots of people, their outdoor area is quite large, so you won’t feel crowded. Sometimes they have music, too. The wines I recommend are: the Cinq Blanc, the Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, the Mattituck Cabernet Franc, the Mélange de Trois, the MTK Syrah, and the Jubilant Reserve. If you’re getting oysters, get the Sauvignon Blanc.
The patio at Croteaux
Quite a bit further out on the Main Road is Croteaux Vineyards, one of our favorite places for outdoor wining. The shady garden has comfortable Adirondack chairs as well as pretty tables for groups and many nooks. they don’t allow limos or large groups. I would get a full tasting of all six wines, since they provide an interesting education into the various tastes of rosé—which is all they make here. Rosé is a perfect summer wine, and Croteaux’s are our favorites. They also have a limited menu of snacks, and the goat cheese is excellent. Our favorite of their wines is the 314 Clone, though we like them all.
A view of the tasting shed at One Woman
One Woman Wines & Vineyard is just off Sound Avenue, a bit north and east of Croteaux. The tasting room is tiny, so it is best to go there when you can sit outside at one of the picnic tables on the little deck or stand at the outside bar. Her whites (yes, there really is a one woman) are best, especially the Grüner Veltliner and the Gewürztraminer.

After you leave Jamesport, you may want to stop on Love Lane in Mattituck, where you can check out the little shops and maybe stop into the Village Cheese Shop or Lombardi’s Italian Grocery to buy picnic foods or have a snack. Or you can return there for dinner. Love Lane Kitchen is a very popular lunch, brunch, and dinner spot, and the food is quite good. I also recommend A Mano, across the Main Road from Love Lane, for a more upscale lunch or dinner. Within the strip mall, Michelangelo is a reliable red sauce Italian place, with a casual pizza parlor out front and a slightly more formal dining room in the back. Oh, and don’t ignore Magic Fountain, the ice cream store with an ever-changing roster of home-made flavors.

A Cool Fall Day

The roads are mobbed, and so are all the wineries you drive past. It’s not quite warm enough to sit outside, however, so the above choices don’t appeal to you. Time to go off the beaten path.

Squint and you can pretend you’re sitting in a piazza in Italy instead of Diliberto’s.

On Manor Lane you’ll find Diliberto Winery, just down the street from Woodside Farms apple orchard (which is probably a madhouse if the sun is shining). Diliberto’s tasting room is quite cozy, painted with scenes of an Italian village in trompe l’oeil fashion, and you are likely to encounter Sal Diliberto himself. If you’re lucky, he’ll make one of his thin crust pizzas for you. (He used to serve them for free, but now he does charge for them.) The wines we like the best are the 03 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2013 Tre. Get the Tre if you’re having pizza.
Water for cleansing your palate–or your glass–at Shinn.
Now you’re going to head north on Mill Lane to Oregon Road, where you’ll find Shinn Estates Vineyards. Surrounded by farm fields, Shinn definitely has a laid-back vibe. You may even get to pet the resident pooch. The tasting room is rustic and intimate, so let’s hope it’s not crowded. Our favorite wines are the First Fruit, the Pinot Blanc, and the Wild Boar Doe, and they also make sherry and eau de vie. They sell their own snacks.
Also on Oregon Road is Lieb Cellars. They have another tasting room on Sound Avenue where they feature their lower-priced wines. This room is rather elegant, and the last time we were there we had it to ourselves, but others may have found it by now. However, they do not allow limos or groups, so it will probably be fine. They have cheese boards available. We did our last Lieb tasting at their Sound Avenue location, so I’m not sure what’s on the menu now, but we like many of their wines, especially the Reserve Cabernet Franc or, for an inexpensive everyday red, the Red Blend or white, the White Blend.

When you are done you will be close to Southold, where you have a number of meal options. If you felt the need for brunch or lunch in between the above choices, you could have stopped at Erik’s, on Sound Avenue, where you order at the counter and they bring you your food. Very popular, so it may be crowded. One of our favorite casual spots is Founder’s Tavern, where we love the home-made potato chips, the Buffalo wings, and the house burger. If you’re looking for a fancy dinner, you can choose between North Fork Table and Inn or a newcomer we liked very much, Caci. A bit further down the Main Road is the Port of Egypt marina, which houses two restaurants: A Lure, which features excellent seafood, and Pepi’s, which is fairly classic Italian. Both give you a view of the water.

Kids in Tow

Now let’s imagine that you have kids with you, which we see quite frequently. Some places actually ban children, like Diliberto’s, while others accommodate them. Of course, you’ll probably have to split up, depending on the ages of the children, to supervise them, but at least at these places there will be something for them to do, or at least room for them to run around.

This is the room where you find live entertainment and food for sale at Martha Clara.

Martha Clara has something for everyone. Some good wines for those who are serious, a big room with tables and chairs and an extensive food menu for those who are hungry, and animals in pens outside to entertain the children. You can buy pellets with which to feed the animals, and children never seem to get tired of doing so. They also often have live music in the big room. The wines I like the best are the 2010 Northville Red, the 2010 Syrah, and the 2012 Estate Reserve Chardonnay. They can get very crowded on busy weekends, so be forewarned.
Harbes tasting barn
Agritainment, thy name is Harbes. From what started as a simple farm stand, Harbes has grown into an industry, causing traffic jams on Sound Avenue in October as crowds head for their corn mazes and pumpkin picking. They also now have a tasting barn where you can sample their wines, and I was pleasantly surprised that I liked them. There is plenty of room for kids to run around, but I do not recommend you spring for the entry fee to the “Barnyard Adventure,” which is neither very much of a barnyard nor much of an adventure. However, there are a couple of farm machines kids can climb on without going into the “Adventure.” Across the street, at Pam’s, you can all go berry picking in season. We were last there two years ago, so the wines may have changed, but we liked the merlots and the oaked chardonnay. And while you’re there, I also recommend you buy some of their sweet corn to take home and cook. It’s the best on the North Fork.
Old Field really does feel like an old farm.
Almost all the way to Greenport you come to Old Field Vineyards, a rustic farm setting for the winery. Though they don’t cater to children the way Martha Clara does, they have ample outdoor space with ducks and chicks roaming around, or you can hike along the vines. Though they do have a small indoor space, this is another spot where the outdoor area is the most comfortable. We liked the 2012 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, the Cacklin’ Rosé, and the ’07 Commodore Perry.
The carousel

By now you’re surely ready for an early dinner, and, conveniently, you’re near Greenport. It is fun to wander around the town, poking into the various antique and boutique shops, but with kids along you should head for the waterfront, where they can walk along the wharf and look at the ships, watch the ferry heading to Shelter Island, and—best of all—ride the carousel. Even bigger kids like it when they sit on the outer ring of horses and try to grab the brass ring for a free ride. There are plenty of restaurants in Greenport, but not all are good with kids. First and South, on a back street, is great, especially in warm weather when you can sit outdoors. Salamander’s General Store is informal, and has crispy fried chicken. If you’re in town for lunch, the Coronet is perfect, an old-fashioned diner with huge portions. Or you can drive a little further down the road and go to the Hellenic Snack Bar, a large Greek restaurant with lots of outdoor seating. The dips alone are worth the trip. Mmm…hummus…

Talk to the Owner

One of my favorite things to do when we go wine tasting is chat with the owner of a winery. You can learn so much about wine and about how the specific wines you’re tasting were made that it makes the whole experience of wine tasting that much richer. Diliberto’s is one of those places, so do keep that in mind as well, but here are three others where you’re probably guaranteed to chat with the owner, his or her spouse, or a very dedicated member of the wine-making team.

Adam Suprenant in action

We’ve had lots of fun chatting with Adam Suprenant, the owner of Coffee Pot Cellars, who actually figured out who I was and that I write this blog. He and his wife Laura Klahre, who is a beekeeper and has plenty of interest to tell you about bees and honey, have always been behind the bar, sharing their enthusiasm for their products. We like all of his wines, but especially the Sauvignon Blanc, the 2013 Chardonnay, the Beasley’s Blend and the Meritage.
Mr. Tobin entertaining a group.
Just a little further down the road, and look carefully or you may miss the turn-off, is Mattebella Vineyards where you have a good chance of talking with the owners—or even their children, for whom the winery is named. They have a lovely outdoor seating area, and serve a few little tastes of food to go with particular wines. Mr. and Mrs. Tobin, the owners, are generally there, and love to engage customers in conversation about their wines, though they now have a few helpers, so you may not get to talk to them if it is busy. We really liked the 2010 chardonnay, the 2012 Reserve Chardonnay, the 2014 Sparkling Rosé for a fun party drink, the Famiglia Red, and the 2010 Old World Blend.
Regan Meader explaining his wines.
You’ll need your GPS to find Southold Farm + Cellar off on a back street, and, due to some permitting issues with the town of Southold you should check to be sure they are open, but once you get there you’ll find it is well worth the trouble. Regan Meader is the owner and winemaker, and he is also a charming and engaging purveyor of his own wines. We enjoyed chatting with him, particularly about how he came up with the poetic and original names for his wines. The tasting room is rustic but comfortable. I suggest you try all his wines, from Tilting at Windmills to Flying and Falling.

Well, here you are, near Greenport again, but this time sans children. To continue our artisan-ish theme, you might want to go to 1943 Pizza, where you can watch up close and personal as they shove your thin-crust pizza into the oven. I don’t know if you’ll find him hanging around, but Noah’s has good small plates from which to make a delicious meal. If you just want coffee and a snack, you should stop in to Aldo’s, where Aldo roasts his own coffee and may be your barista. He outlasted a Starbuck’s that opened across the street. Ha. Two other excellent, though pricier, options in town are Scrimshaw, on the dock (ask to sit outside if the weather is right), and The Frisky Oyster. We haven’t tried American Beech yet, but it looks good.

That’s it for now, but I have other scenarios in mind!

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

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.

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.

Martha Clara: Something for Everyone January 3, 2015

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with Barrique Flight, cabernet sauvignon, Estate Reserve Chardonnay, Estate Reserve Merlot, Long Island, Martha Clara, merlot, North Fork, Northville Red, pinot noir, Reserve Flight, riesling, syrah, wine tasting January 5, 2015

http://www.marthaclaravineyards.com/

Winery entrance

The tasting menu offers four different flights, as well as sangria and wines by the taste or glass; the adjoining huge performance space features an array of lunch and snack items as well as live music; the gift shop carries all sorts of wine-related gifts, the outside area includes farm animals one can feed: Yes, there seems to be something for everyone here. There are even a few quite nice wines. It’s no wonder the front parking lot at Martha Clara is so often full, with overflow crowds for special events sent to lots further back. What will happen to the winery if the Entenmann family is able to sell it, no one seems to know, but according to our server it is a profitable business. So it you have a spare 25 million hanging around…

Lots of holiday lights

We walked into the tasting room on a chilly drizzly day to be greeted by a multitude of holiday lights and decorations. We came with friends who are wine club members, so our tastings were free, but if you’re not they are still reasonable. The Barrique flight, all reds, gives you five tastes for $13, and so does the Aromatic Flight. The Off Dry (Sweet) is just $12 for your five tastes, and the Reserve, of their more expensive wines, is $15 for five. We opted for the Barrique and the Reserve. The pour is fairly generous. Our server gave us a minimum of information about each wine, but when asked did have more to offer. I will give you the Reserve Flight information first, then the Barrique.

Reserve Flight

2010 Estate Reserve Riesling $45

The server described it as semi-dry, but we found it rather sweet. The aroma is nice—floral and apricot—but then the taste is rather simple, without any complexity or layers, and mostly just sweet. It might be okay as an aperitif at a party. I wondered why they start their flight with such a sweet wine.

Two of the wines we tasted

2012 Estate Reserve Chardonnay $26.99

My friend compared the taste of the chard to crème bruleé, as it features vanilla flavors—it is oak fermented—and a pleasant mouth feel. There’s even a bit of citrus at the end—perhaps lime. Quite nice.

Cabernet Sauvignon $25.99

The Cab Sauv is a blend of the 2010 and 2011 vintages, and is included in both tastings, so I’ll just write about it once. It is, our server noted, the wine of the month. It’s not bad, with tastes of red plum or dried prune and some minerality, but overall, not exciting. My husband theorized that perhaps the winemaker is too tame, not making each wine distinct and different. There’s some sweetness and almost no tannins.

The unanimous favorite of the day

2010 Northville Red $23.99

Winner of the day! The Northville Red is their Bordeaux blend—78% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Malbec—and is also included in both flights. We all agree this is our favorite, and quite buyable. It smells a bit like forest floor, just a touch funky, but the taste is quite delicious, with lots of dark fruit. It would be yummy with lamb chops, for example.

2012 Estate Reserve Merlot $32.99

Unlike all the other wines today, this one has a cork. Our server explains, giving several good reasons, why Martha Clara is changing to all screw tops—ecologically better, wine keeps better, less spoilage, etc. We smell some of that barnyard terroir Long Island merlots can have, and maybe wet forest floor. The taste includes black cherries and some tannin, but my husband theorizes that perhaps the wine is not quite ready to be poured. “It’s not fair to the poor wine,” he says. Maybe given more time…?

Barrique Flight

2011 Pinot Noir $29.99

We admire the pretty garnet color of the pinot, scents of cherry and oak—maybe a touch too much oak. This is a pleasant wine, a bit light and thin, but would be okay with roast chicken or for sipping.

2011 Merlot $22.99

This is a new release, our server tells us. We are not excited. We smell oak and mineral, not much fruit, and the wine itself seems to have no body or depth. It is dry, and could definitely use more fruit.

Cabernet Sauvignon (see above)
2010 Syrah $23.99

I often like syrahs, and this one is no exception. I smell pepper and black cherry, and taste lots of dark fruits. This wine is easy to drink, either just to sip or with food, and the price makes it quite buyable as well.

2010 Northville Red (see above)

This is the room where you find live entertainment and food for sale.

Reasons to visit: you’re with a group and everyone wants something different; you need entertainment for yourself or some children; you need to pick up a wine-related gift; you want a spot of lunch with your wine; the 2010 Northville Red, the 2010 Syrah, the 2012 Estate Reserve Chardonnay.

Dogs are allowed, as long as they are leashed.

Plenty of gift items are available.

100 bottles of wine on the wall, 100 bottles of wine…

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.

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: syrah