When I sold Pellegrini 10+ years ago I thought the basic bottling Chard, Merlot and Cab Franc were decent wines at decent prices. I have not tasted any since.
Latitude dictates most of climate. But not all of it. Bordeaux has a very temperate climate because it’s by the ocean. It has less summer rainfall than Long Island because it’s on the west coast of a continent, rather than an east coast. And it’s warmer than it should be because (believe it or not) of the Rockies - the semipermanent longwave pattern of the jet stream as a result of a big, high. N-S trending mountain range / plateau leads to prevailing SWerlies in Western Europe. (There’s a myth that the Gulf Stream is responsible for Bordeaux’s equitable climate, but the Gulf Stream actually doesn’t do much to warm the climate of Western Europe and really only comes into play in Scandinavia.
Big picture, it is very difficult to make great wine on the east coast of a continent. Doesn’t work in Asia, doesn’t work in North America, doesn’t even really work in South America (though I guess Uruguay is an exception) or Australia. That’s (atmospheric) physics. Long Island is screwed by geography.
Currently I’ve got about 8 LI bottles in the cellar. My wife and I have been spending a weekend down there in Oct the last three years, at least as much as for the beautiful get-away as for the wine. But I’ve got a few Paumanok’s (although all the Chenin is LONG gone before we get down in Oct!) and Charles is a great host if you’re ever visiting. A few cab francs from McCall and Bedell. Anthony Nappa is doing some interesting things. And a few of the rieslings from Grapes of Roth (made by Wolffer Estate winemaker).
Speaking on LI wines, does anyone know anything about a project called King’s Mile Vineyard? I’ve seen a few tasting notes (here and on CT) about the wines. In CT, they’re actually under “KVM Project” when I might have expected KMV Project. So I’m a little confused but more than a little intrigued especially based on the few notes that are there. TIA.
Scott
Not true I have about 7 bottles left of a 1997 Palmer Vineyards Estate Merlot that is absolutely outstanding with age. A local wine store had it in their back store room because no one would touch a NY Merlot period. The winemaker for this wine was either Dan Kleck and/or Tom Drozd. Dan resides in California now … Winemaker's Roundtable With Dan Kleck - 27 East .
Back to what’s in my collection. Paumanok has the largest position of Long Island wines with Chenin Blanc and Assemblage as the mainstays. Roanoke CS blends hold a smaller position as does Lenz Merlot and Sparkling Pointe fizzies. The winemakers for these wines, Kareem Massoud, Roman Roth, Eric Fry, and Gilles Martin are talented and dedicated to making quality wines.
It’s hard to pass judgement whether the wineries are improving their wines on LI over the years but as in other locations there are many who view the tourism angle(events, weddings, etc) as the important revenue generator and it makes little difference to improve the farming or winemaking. Wine pricing on LI has been moving up as has a lot of other locations.
Yes, they grow grapes on Long Island.
I have about two cases and all but one bottle are from Paumanok. The outlier is Jamesport Petit Verdot, a gift from a friend. The Jamesport sports a $100 price tag so how do I drink it without being disappointed on some level . . .
The whites from Long Island have improved over the years. They are cleaner, have more depth of flavor and generally are more interesting. I tasted at Kontokosta in Greenport recently and felt that all of the whites were of high quality and the prices were fair. Interesting property that would be at home in Napa. I did not try the reds. The whites at One Woman Winery are also worth buying. The reds, unfortunately, are a very different story
As to Paumanok, two recent bottles confirm the high quality, and aging ability, of their reds: 2005 Petit Verdot which would have made Bordeaux lovers swoon; and the 2010 Assemblage which could have passed for a good quality Napa Cabernet. Honest!
And, not too long ago, a barrel sample of the 2013 Paumanok Petit Verdot Apollo Drive Vineyard caused my heart to skip a beat. I did purchase some, but want to let it rest for fear of bottle shock. Also, as another poster mentioned, the 2013 minimalist chardonnay is world class.
Those who live nearby should not fear a drive to Long Island wine country. It is indeed beautiful, and yes, there are talented winemakers making quality wines.
The 2005 Paumanok SVD Petit Verdot is out of this world, Thank you very much. Count Lermontov and I managed to convince Charles to bottle one barrel by itself and not use it for the Assemblage blend when we tasted the barrel samples and thought it was great. I have 6 bottles left. Here is my last TN on it. Time to open another bottle.
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2005 Paumanok Petit Verdot - USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork (8/12/2012)
First - the story. we were at Paumanok in August of 2006 and Charles Massoud took hours out of his work day to give me, my wife and my cousin the grand tour. We started in the vineyard with Charles bending over to pick up a hand ful of soil to show us the similarities with some of the soil in Graves and we ended with the machine that affixed the labels, missing nothing in between. We then tasted the 2005 vintage from barrels and thought the Petit Verdot barrel was fantastic. My wife asked about bottling it by itself and Charles said that would not happen because it was needed for his Assemblage Bordeaux blend. We insisted and he refused. Oh well. A week later, Count Mikhail Lermontov (his alias) went to Paumanok, tasted the same barrel, and also begged for a separate bottling. Charles probably thought it was a conspiracy but, if truth be told. we did not find out what The Count had done until a few weeks later. Charles relented, and we bought a case of it. My recollection of that tasting was a very fruit forward wine with a lot of spice. It is not as fruity, but the spice is all there, giving this wine a great palate that grabs you and makes you want more. Dark pepper that you could easily confuse with the spice of a mature syrah. Perhaps a little more on the smoked black pepper side than the smooth white pepper. The fruit, which is now a secondary flavor component, is dark red and black fruit like plum with a bit of cherry. There is “chewyness” to the palate that gives the wine body and reflects a bit of maybe chocolate or some flavor way in the background from the oak barrels we saw. Somewhere I have a photo of the barrel this comes from. I recall it is a very fine grain Tarransaud barrel with the letters MTTH on it, for medium toast, toasted head. This was an excellent accompaniment to grilled baby back ribs. (91 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Thanks, Jay, for your role in moving the Petit Verdot from barrel to bottle. My tasting experience aligns with yours.
Had this last night by the glass at EMP - and it was beyond serviceable, it was actually pretty damn nice. https://www.wineweb.com/scripts/secure/order.cfm/sparklingpointe
In 20 years living in NY, I’ve only been out to the Long Island vineyards once. The one wine I really liked from that trip was the Paumanok chenin blanc.
Other LI wines I’ve been served at other times have underwhelmed.
By contrast, the Finger Lakes has come far in producing wines – reds as well as whites – that have real character. And the prices are typically are quite attractive. I’m more interested in exploring them.
It’s been five years since I visited the Finger Lakes area and my tastes have shifted somewhat since then. I found the whites to be pretty good but a lot of the reds were light and green to my tastes. I am curious to see what my thoughts are when we go back. It is a fun area to visit as there are also cheese trails, micro-breweries, distilleries and plenty of out door activities. Pretty too.
The reds are definitely not full-throttled. They aren’t for everyone.
Wow quite the responses. hope I did not offend anyone. As suspected Paumanok appears to be the most repreesented. Thank you to Charles for chiming in as well.
I drank both a chenin blanc and a late harvest reisling this past weekend 
David,
Thank you for chiming in with positive responses.
After so many posts there seems to be a group who has made the effort to know Long Island wines. Not surprisingly, LI is similar to other regions in that we have many good wines and others not so good. We also have posters with strong opinions that does not seem to be backed up by a good knowledge of the region. Tasting one random wine and not liking it and then trashing the whole region adds no credibility to such posts. On LI we also have variability from year to year as the weather is never the same year to year. We had a great year like 2010 which was perhaps the warmest and sunniest on record followed by 2011 which was cool and wet. And the wines from these two years reflect that reality.
Many posters here and elsewhere take tasting seriously and do some research when they want to explore a region. Such facts as the weather should be part of that research. LI is not a large wine region yet it produces around half a million cases a year. NYC restaurants have become a significant outlet and generally all the wine produced is sold. There are many knowledgeable wine drinkers who like LI wines quite a bit and vote with their $$. That there are others who do not is not surprising as the style of LI wines is closer to the old world. If one prefers big wines with higher alcohol levels then LI wines may not satisfy. But there is a good number of people who do like them and we thank them for their support. Of course we invite all those who wish to learn more to visit as many wineries as they can and not limit themselves to tasting the less expensive wines.
Frequently when we get to this point in the conversation someone will point out that while the wines may be good, they are expensive. Here I would point again to the report that Jamie Kutch wrote about a double blind tasting when many LI red wines from 1993 and 1995 came ahead of reputable Bordeaux that sold for several times more. Some of our wines may not be bargains but they are usually good value, especially in this context.
Charles Massoud
Paumanok Vineyards
Interesting timing for this thread. Just last Friday night I ordered my first Long Island red off an eclectic wine list at Steel & Rye. The wine was the 2012 Bedell Cellars Merlot and was $44. Without much experience in NY wines, I thought that it would be a cooler climate red that pairs well with food…and that’s exactly what it was. Definitely leaned toward AFWE and was quite enjoyable.
I thought that $44 was a decent value on wine list, and assumed that translated to ~$20-25 a bottle which would be in the appropriate retail range. However it’s $35 at the winery making it less of a value.
Oh, and to answer the question, I don’t have any Long Island wines in my collection. I don’t see that changing any time soon.
These threads are so much better served when people who actually have experience in tasting the wines chime in quieting those who just read from books or tasted 4 of the subject wines and want to speak empirically.
As a good friend of Ray’s (I am having dinner with him tonight) I can tell you this: A more honest and fair man when it comes to a wines assessment would be hard to find. Ray has been inviting me out to the Island for years and I just might have to make the trek soon. I am sure it would be an awesome day.
I think Charles’ response was well said. I agree that if you are into the larger, CA wines you may not enjoy the wines as much. If you are open minded, lean towards the old world spectrum, and do some research about the area and its better producers, you will enjoy your trip to LI wine country. My wife, who ironically still enjoys some larger CA wines, can’t wait to go back.
To answer the question, yes, I have Long Island wine in my cellar.
I have been spending time on the North Fork for 25 years and have had a house out there since 2003.
The Long Island wine region is interesting on a number of levels. To me, it would be accurate to say any of the following statements.
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Many East End of Long Island wineries are more about promoting day visits and having a good time than they are about crafting good wine.
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Long Island is an area that has struggled with its identity and has really been at a loss on how to market itself or intelligently create a viable market niche. Oh, and some of the wines are overpriced.
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Long Island is a region that has a number of passionate, dedicated producers that craft delicious, balanced and interesting wines with beautiful flavors that are representative of what the region can do best.
That is the problem with Long Island; it is a bit all over the place. People travel out there, visit a winery, have a bad experience and then extrapolate that every Long Island winery must be like that. Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are over 40 producers out there now, and about 6 to 8 make wines worth taking the time and effort to find out about. So that is about 15 - 20% of the producers. So I ask you, for those that buy California wine do you think you would consider buying wine from more than 20% of the state’s producers?
Paumanok is definitely a place to check out (disclaimer: I am a friend of Charles and the Massoud family) and rightfully they have been discussed in glowing terms many times on this boar; Lenz Winery would be another, that’s a place that makes delicious, idiosyncratic wines in the vision of wine maker, Eric Fry. Another would be McCall’s, a maker of terrific merlots; and there are others.
The point is that Long Island takes some work. There is a big variable in the quality and mindset of the producers, but when you find the right ones you will be more than happy with the wines.
And, as Charles has pointed out, they can really surprise people with how they show in blind tastings.
I have only been to the Long Island wine country twice… the last time about 5 years ago. I think Jeff’s response is extremely accurate. While there, i had a wonderful visit (and later dinner) with Charles and some other area winos. There are some very nice wines being made on Long Island but as mentioned earlier, many are better marketers then winemakers. Some of the better wineries have already been mentioned but I would add Bedell to the mix as well. In addition, one of the things that surprised me, was the quality of some late harvest wines. Certainly not what I would have expected. Overall, Long island wines are certainly a mixed bag but I would not write them off as of yet. It is a still evolving industry. Besides, while visiting, if you are not enamored of the wines, you can still get awesome fruit pies, ducks, and even goat cheese to improve your “cellar.”
Cheers!
Marshall ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Paumanok and any wine Rob Hansult is making 
having tasted a bunch as well - outside of those 2 - Lenz Merlot can be good. But the 2 above - are top notch.