Tag Archives: Tinto

RGNY: On a Winter’s Day

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

February 19, 2024

It is quiet on the North Fork in February. Snow fences stretch across fields, farm stands have “See you in the Spring” signs, and roadside platforms have little stacks of firewood, $5 per pile. However, our visitors found plenty to do, including a trip to Tanger and an odyssey to the end of the island, where we had a cold, windy, but invigorating hike along the trail in Orient Point County Park and participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count (34 seagulls, three little ducks, and two immature cormorants).

The end of the North Fork and some birds.

Then it was time to do a wine tasting.  Where to go?  I realized we hadn’t been to RGNY since 2021, and it is close to our house, so off we went.  The main entrance now seems to be the one to the right, as you face the building, so we opened that door and were greeted by John, whom I recognized from other wineries!  He quickly showed our party of six (4 adults, 2 children) to a nice round table in the high-ceilinged, wood-beamed tasting room (which one young guest noted “smells like wood”—sort of like a cabin on a lake), where a QR code on the table sent us to the menus.    

Don’t be fooled by that sunshine; it was cold outside!

There is a fairly typical menu of snacks, with more substantial choices available on the weekend, but we had just had a delicious and very filling lunch of sandwiches from Ammirati (on Love Lane in Mattituck), so we went straight to the menu of flights.  There are four choices of flights, all featuring four wines: the RG Reserve for $34, the Scielo for $24, the White Wine for $27, or the I (Heart) NY for $27.  Since the last one includes non-North Fork wines, we opted for the first three, planning to do some sharing of tastes.  Well, even with sharing we left some wine in the glasses, because you get a VERY generous pour there.  The youngsters in the group were not forgotten, as Donna, our pleasant waitress, offered them glasses of orange juice—served in tall sparkling-wine glasses—as they had leftover OJ from a brunch on Sunday (no charge!).

Donna gave us a quick overview of the wines in our tastings—there were a couple of overlaps—and then left us to ourselves, checking back at regular intervals.  At the end, we had an interesting discussion with John about the wine philosophy of RGNY—low intervention, nature-friendly practices.  Overall, there were no wines we disliked, and several we liked very much, though our group had some differences of opinion (As the French say, to each his own.).

Some of the special events that are available at RGNY.

I started out trying to keep the wines from each tasting separate, but that didn’t work out, so here are the wines as I took note of them.

Tiny cacti decorate every table, perhaps a nod to the Mexican origins of the Rivero Gonzalez family.
  •  NV Sparkling Rosé        $41

I like starting a tasting with a sparkler, as it feels very festive.  This has the typical rosé aroma and flavor of strawberry, and is dry, with definite minerality and tiny bubbles.  There’s also a slight flowery aroma.  This is a pleasant, cocktail-time bubbly, though I think the price is a bit high.

The Reserve flight
  • 2021 Sauvignon Blanc  $29

“Melon on the nose,” says one of our guests, and I agree, though I try to eschew “wine words.”  Speaking of “eschew,” he also describes the wine as a bit chewy.  It has more body than one would expect from a sauvignon blanc, with what I describe as a silky mouth feel, and a taste of lemon zest.  It is aged in neutral oak. I like it, but our other guest says her appreciation of this wine is lessened due to “unmet expectations,” as it lacks the grassiness she likes in New Zealand sauvignon blancs.  Not being a cow, I’m perfectly happy to drink this. 

  • 2022 Sparkling Riesling               $31

However, she very much likes this next wine, a cloudy (because not disgorged) sparkler with lemon/lime and kiwi flavor, very dry.  I am not as fond of it, but agree it would be good with some local oysters (like the Peconic Bay ones we had the night before) or even fried calamari or fish and chips.

The Scielo flight
  • 2021 Viognier    $41

Donna explained to us that most of the wines here that are aged in wood are aged in second use (also described as neutral) oak barrels, which means that the wood plays less of a role in the taste of the wines than if they had used new barrels.  Though this is only slightly oaked, which smooths it out, it also has not much taste.  I say it is inoffensive.

  • 2019 Riesling    $28

I will almost never order a riesling unless I have tasted it before, since they can be too sweet for me, but this is a riesling I would order.  It is dry, with pleasant minerality and some taste of herbs.  We discuss the typical “cat pee” smell, which one guest suggests could more appetizingly be described as “musky.”  I compare it to the smell of water in which cut flowers have sat perhaps a day too long.  Fortunately, it doesn’t taste like that!

The White Flight: note the cloudiness of the Sparkling Riesling on the left.
  • 2019 White Merlot         $38

We have quite a divergence of opinion on this wine, a white wine made from red wine grapes (Wine color comes from the grape skins, so if you don’t let red wine grape juice sit on the skins at all, you get white wine; sit briefly, rosé; longer, reds.).  My husband doesn’t like it at all, I think it is nice, and one guest notes it has some of that “Long Island foxiness” one used to get more frequently with merlots.  It does have lots of flavor, including some earthiness and an aftertaste of mandarin orange.

  • 2021 Rosé          $25

Strawberry aroma and flavor, light, dry, minerality, pleasant…I say meh.  Still prefer Croteaux!

  • 2022 Pinot Noir               $41

Because this is fermented in steel, not oak, it has a pure, clean taste.  It has a light red color, with surprisingly nice tannins and an aroma and flavor of cherries.  I say this is easy to drink, and it would go well with roast duck, one of our mutual favorite dishes.  Our guest agrees, and notes that “pinot noir and duck are best friends.”

  • 2022 Tinto          $31

Donna rattled off all the grapes in this blend, but I don’t remember them all, or the proportions:  cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, etc.  This is a lovely red, very refined, with flavors of blackberry and currant, and lots of tannins.  This could definitely stand up to a hearty beef stew, or even a burger.  I could see ordering it if it appeared on a wine list.

The little gift shop features some objets from Mexico.

Reasons to visit: spacious tasting rooms, plus ample outdoor areas; child-friendly atmosphere (we were not the only ones there with youngsters); some very good wines, all very drinkable; I especially liked the White Merlot, the Pinot Noir, and the Tinto, while our guests bought to take home the Sparkling Riesling and the Pinot Noir; very generous pour; good menu of snacks and other dishes.  If you do the math, you may be wondering how we had three tastings of four wines each, and I only ended up describing nine of them.  Some wines appeared in more than one tasting!

Here’s a great gift idea–a “blending kit,” so one can produce one’s own blended red. Like a chemistry kit for grown-ups, noted John, who nodded when I compared it to the blend-your-own gin experience at Matchbook Distilling Company.

RG/NY: A Shared Aesthetic January 17, 2020

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

https://rgnywine.com/

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Don’t be fooled by that blue sky–it was cold!

The starkly simple sign outside leads you into an entry area that is almost Zen-like in its simplicity. The tasting room is similarly pared down to essentials, as are the wines. Even the bottles share this aesthetic, looking like examples of modern art. Our friendly and well-informed server, Tina, tells us that an attractive stair-step design on the labels has a symbolic meaning. The wines are named “Scielo,” which a neon sign, the only décor in the tasting room, informs us means Heaven. The steps are a route to the heaven you find in the bottle.

The Rivero González family bought this winery and vineyard from Martha Clara in 2018, but they have been winemakers in Mexico since 1998. We had waited to check them out until we figured they had time to make their own wines, which they have. The only hold-overs from Martha Clara are some of the reds—and Tina herself, who greets arriving wine club members like old friends. She tells us that the new owners want to keep the family-friendly atmosphere of Martha Clara, while putting their own stamp on the wines and décor. For example, dogs will be allowed outside on the grounds (though today there is one in the tasting room! Well, it is certainly too cold to hang around outside.).

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This pooch was so well-behaved we didn’t even realize she was there until someone greeted her.

I ask Tina about snacks, and she shows me a menu which is available on weekends in the winter, and every day in season. (No outside food.) Meanwhile, there is a refrigerated case and various snack items in the shop area, so you can make a DIY snack. We decide we are not that hungry, and anyway, each tasting comes with a little dish of very tasty crackers.

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The snack menu, which is available on weekends in the winter.

You can make a DIY snack.

The tasting menu offers a choice of three different flights: the Scielo selection of four wines for $17, four whites for $20, or RG Selection of higher-level wines, four for $22. The final choice on that menu is a Martha Clara red, but Tina, noting that we have been to Martha Clara, says she could substitute the RG Tinto if we prefer. We decide to go with the Scielo flight.

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  1. 2018 Scielo Chardonnay $25

I am happy to learn that this is a primarily steel-fermented chard, with just 2% oaked. I find in general that I prefer steel chards, but a little bit of oak adds depth and a nice mouth feel. It has an aroma of ripe apples and flowers, and tastes like a Granny Smith apple as well. There’s also a touch of lime. My tasting buddy insists that it is slightly sweet, but after some discussion we realize that his taste is influenced by some residual sweetness from the cracker he munched. He says this would be a good seafood wine, and I agree, though I think a seafood in cream dish would go best.

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  1. 2018 Riesling $24

Before we opted for this flight, I asked if the riesling was sweet or dry, and Tina reassured me that it was dry. She wasn’t kidding. It is bone dry, and very light. The aroma is of honeysuckle and metal, and there’s a touch of metal in the taste as well. Like touching your tongue to a pole? Well, I’m not that dumb. I also taste pears. We get into a discussion about how the new wines are very dry, whereas the Martha Clara wines tended to be more on the sweet side. Some former customers are unhappy with the new taste, while we prefer it.

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The stair step pattern on the label has a symbolic meaning.

  1. 2018 Scielo Rosé $22

Yum. This is a blend of 48% merlot, 32% malbec, and 20% cabernet franc, and the complexity of that blend shows up in the flavor, which is more interesting than a standard rosé. Tasty, says my husband. It has the strawberry aroma one would expect, and in addition to some strawberry flavor a definite note of lychee. We decide to get a bottle to go with the scallops we bought earlier at Braun’s.

  1. 2018 White Merlot $32

Power of the book—she was pouring this for someone else, so she offered us a taste of this white wine made from merlot grapes. Nice. It tastes like a cross between red and white, light and drinkable, with an aroma of wood and leather and white cherry taste.

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  1. 2018 Tinto $30

Our server compares this to a Beaujolais, and it is light like a Beaujolais, though it is made from a Bordeaux blend: 43% merlot, 37% cabernet sauvignon, 10% petit verdot, and 10% cabernet franc. I would guess that they were in a hurry to get out a red of their own, because we think this could benefit from more aging. It has a nice cherry aroma and taste, but no depth and some tannins. It is very young, and I could see drinking it with meatloaf or hamburgers.

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  1. 2018 Cabernet Franc $37

There’s just a little bit left in this bottle, not enough to give anyone a regular taste, so Tina asks if we’d like a sip of this. Of course, we would. I get spice and leather, not much fruit. Again, I think this would benefit from more time, and we resolve to come back in a year or so to see how the wines have developed.

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There’s a very large side room.

Reasons to visit: A chance to try a new place; very roomy surroundings, in case you are with a group; the rosé, the White Merlot. One note—the bar has almost no overhang, so there’s nowhere to put your knees when you sit there, and the stools are rather uncomfortable. Perhaps they will fix that in the future.

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From the outside, you con’t tell that there are significant changes both inside the building and inside the bottles.

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But there are still some Martha Clara wines available for purchase.

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The gift shop has many fewer items than it used to have.