Last, but definitely not least, Long Island... |
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Welcome to Long Island Wine Country, this is the North Fork of Long Island where there are over 40+ wineries to enjoy. We enjoyed 13 of them over 4 afternoons. They are very close to each other, most of them down the one main road of the North Fork. It made it very easy to find the wineries (they were also very well marked) and so very close to each other. I was really looking forward to tasting wine here, I had read lots of good things about it and it lived up to it's reputation. Jim enjoyed it too, more than any of the other areas in NY because they did a great Merlot. Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the main grape varietals that are grown here (what they are known for), but they really have lots of other choices. We ran across the following grape varietals, for the reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sangiovese, and a few other Italian varietals; whites: Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Viognier. Styles ranged from Sparkling (like champagne), luscious still wines, to late harvest and other dessert style wines. You name it, you could find it here. We should have gone to Channing Daughters Winery and Wolffer Estate, but we would have had to do those on Saturday and decided we didn't want to fight the hordes on Saturday.
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| There were vineyards everywhere, these belong to Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard. | The tasting room at Baiting Hollow |
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| Jim chatting with the gal that was pouring for us. We had a great conversation, I just wish I could remember her name. Really nice place to visit. | Chardonnay grapes with some merlot grapes in the background... |
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| A little fancier, Macari Vineyards and winery | Definitely fancier on the inside, very large tasting room. |
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| Coming into Lieb Family Cellars, but also on the property is the Premium Wine Group. They actually make the wine for several of the other wineries that do not have their own wine makers. | The tasting room at Lieb Family Cellars |
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| Jon was our host at Lieb, he was a character and we had a great time chatting with him (very knowledgeable). As you can see by the glasses on the counter, we had a great time tasting too! | I loved the sentiment on this label/sign. "North Fork, not Napa Valley". We have now tasted in both wine regions and they both have a lot going for themselves. |
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| Next stop was Shinn Estate Vineyards, you can see the netting over the vines to help keep the critters away. | They had a small tasting room in a barn. Not bad wines, but the owners were a little gruff and non-responsive. |
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| We really liked Paumanok Vineyards... | Jim patiently waiting for me to take the picture, he waits and waits. Another tasting room that resembles a barn but is very nice. |
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| Great view of the vineyards and a nice deck for enjoying a picnic lunch, picture is taken from the tasting room. | Our tasting room "hosts with the most", Carolyn and Eric. We had a great time chatting with them and finding out about their knowledge of wine and the LI wine region. They definitely passed the test :) |
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| Next stop was Jamesport Vineyards. | A view of the tasting room from the driveway, we were the only ones actually tasting, I think the other cars are employees. |
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| Jake (not seen), the retail manager for Jamesport was pouring for us. Again, another great conversation and very knowledgeable. We were so lucky, we were almost always the only ones in the tasting room so we got a LOT of attention and did we enjoy that! | MANY of the wineries had this sign or one similar to it posted at their entrances. We did see a couple of buses on Friday... Friday was the busiest tasting day for us. We decided to not even try to go out on Saturday... |
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| Laurel Lake vineyards, you can see more netting over the vines. | The gal pouring for us in the tasting room was from Chile and her English wasn't so good. The owners are originally from Chile I think and the gal was working here for the summer. Good thing we were the only ones in the tasting room at the time. Right behind us was a bus! Yikes! |
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| Pellegrini Vineyards. | Lots more Chardonnay grapes... almost ready to pick. |
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| Front of the tasting room... | A very nice tasting room, lots of room. We weren't that impressed with the wines. |
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| Peconic Bay Winery, more vines... | Their patio for enjoying their wines and you could even purchase a cheese plate from the tasting room. |
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| Beautiful, beautiful, Cabernet Franc grapes.. | They were working on the front of the tasting room. We chatted with one of the gals inside for quite some time, she was a chef by trade, but learning about the wine trade to round out her education. |
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| Pugliese Vineyards... | We tasted a few from here, but not many. There was a bus that came up right behind us (again). Not too worry, not the best wine either. |
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| Bedell Winery, one of the top 25 tasting rooms in America based on Wine Enthusiast. | Very nice buildings... |
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| The Bedell Red Truck and their vineyards. | We had to power taste, they were closing early, in 15 minutes, due to a wedding on the property. Would love to come back and do a proper tasting. |
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| Lenz Winery & Vineyards... | Gewurztraminer grapes... |
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| We are not the only ones here... | The tasting room... |
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| Lastly, the Old Field Winery | It was way out on the North Fork and is an old farm. |
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| Farm building that are now part of the winery. | We got to enjoy the sunshine while tasting... |
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This bird found it's way around all the netting on the grapes, it was enjoying a day of wine tasting too! We just didn't want it to share it with us. :) |
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