Hi all,
I’ll be tasting on the North Fork next week for the first time in a few years.
We’re planning on visiting Paumonok and One Woman Wines, which we’ve enjoyed in the past. Any others LI board members recommend?
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Channing Sisters and Shin…but it’s been a while.
Its been a couple of years, but along with Paumonok, when we visit the area, we usually go to Sparkling Pointe for sparkling wines - they are good, and we finish off with Long Island Spirits for some whiskeys. (They also produce gins, vodkas, and liqueurs.) Don’t know how the tasting rooms are handling these COVID times.
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For an all-rose experience and great outdoor tasting area, check out Croteaux Vineyards. We’ve enjoyed (relatively speaking) some McCall wines. You can also check out Coffee Pot Cellars and Waters Crest both of which are not beautiful settings but good wines. Shinn Estate is now Rose Hill Vineyards but haven’t been there is years. Enjoy!
Channing Sisters is on the South Fork. Shinn has new owners as of a few years ago, I haven’t tried them since the change.
Paumanok is always a worthwhile visit. Quality across the board, but I especially like their Chenin Blanc and Riesling.
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Channing Daughters is worth a visit if you are on the south fork. But tough to get there from the north fork, especially if you’re based farther out.
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forget shinn since ownership change
it has become yery scene oriented with ferraris out front and lots of poseurs
no quaint focus on wine anymore
paumanok is my go to
I haven’t been there, but it’s worth mentioning that former Shinn winemaker Anthony Nappa has a tasting room in Peconic where he features his private label wines.
Good suggestions already. I would also suggest visiting Roanoke Vineyard’s tasting shop on Love Lane … Roanoke Vineyards - Roanoke Vineyards Wines for their red wines. Ditto for Lenz wines … https://lenzwine.com/ . In general I like the red wines on Long Island more than the whites. The exception are Paumanok’s chenin blanc offerings. I buy them every visit we make to see them.
Paumonok, Paumonok, Paumonok and did I say Paumonok!! They also have acquired Palmer…To me, Paumonok is probably the best winery in NY state…On previous visits, have enjoyed wines from Bedell, Jamesport , Osprey Dominion and Macari…Depending on where you are staying and how much time you will be spending in the area, you can try Wolffer and Channing Daughters(be forewarned, they might be serving their wines kinda cold…at least for my taste…but, they do a nice job on Italian varietals)
Thx, all! Great suggestions.
I am living in Southold for a month this summer. Weekends are still crazy on the North Fork but we have been sampling a number of fun wines.
Anything Anthony Napa makes has been great- the Pinot Rose at $20 is perhaps the best Rose we have tasted. His wines at Raphael are also really high quality. We had the Cab Franc last night with Pizza and the green aspect of Cab franc displayed beautifully.
McCall’s Sauv blanc cuvée Nicola is a steal as is their Marjorie’s Rose and their Pinot Rose.
Bedell’s Viognier was a surprise.
We spent a few hours with guests at Croteau. Meh! But the location is lovely. The only wine I liked was the Jolie Cab Franc Rose but all of their wines are expensive.
Overall, price points are high across the board but the North Fork is a destination. If you want to get a good over view and much lower prices than at the winery, Vintage wine store in Mattituck is great -https://vintagemattituck.com/ .
If you are coming on a weekend, reservations at restaurants is a must. And with the Delta variant, outdoor dining is hard to get. We have been here 2 weeks already and only eaten out 1 night at the Halyard which was wonderful.
If you are into Oysters, in 2019 the law changed here and Oyster producers can sell directly to the consumer. There are a number of road side stands with large ice filled coolers with burlap bags of Oysters. Little Ram Oyster Co Farmstand — LITTLE RAM OYSTER COMPANY Have been our fav so far. Women run. Their stand like other is on the honor system with Venmo QR codes. The only problem with Little Ram is that there is no cell service at their stand so you have to drive to the top of the hill to pay.
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For actually wine, I’m a fan of McCall. Paumanok and Lieb are also very good. If you’re looking for a more social setting where you can reserve a table, Bedell, McCall, and Sparkling Pointe (sparkling wine producer) are good options. The lawn at Osprey Dominion is also a good option, especially if you want to bring a picnic lunch somewhere.
Back in the day, Bedell was the be-all and end-all.
But it sounds like they’ve graduated from potato barn to art gallery.
Don’t know if the wines are still any good.
All,
Thanks again for the reccos here. Our time was cut a bit short, but I wanted to share some observations.
We had two fun tasting experiences at Paumanok and One Woman Winery.
At Paumanok, the whites really impressed, particularly the Chenin Blanc (duh) and the Dry Riesling, which was loaded with green apple and -like most of the Paumanok whites-- had mouthwatering acidity. The Sauv Blanc was also solid but a didn’t quite pop like the others. Among the reds, the winners for us were the Merlot and Petit Verdot. The Merlot is a fairly classic LI version (and I mean that in a good way), versatile and food friendly. The PV was a little more muscular but balanced. I found the Cab Franc (A favorite in past vintages) and the Cab Sauv a little thin this time aorund.
One Woman has a fun tasting setup, with a lot of outdoor seating around their little shed. The wines on the whole were a notch below Paumanok, tho there were a few winners. The 2016 Cab Franc was outstanding, uniquely rich by LI standards for the varietal and impressive, and the Merlot was tasty as well. Thought the Sauv Blanc was pretty good, and really wanted to like the Gruner but it just seemed the slightest bit off.
We had a fantastic meal at Love Lane Kitchen, one of the few top restaurants open on a Monday. And got to try some more interesting local wines there as well, the best being the Coffee Pot Cellars Meritage. We also tried a Jamesport red blend and an unoaked Chard from Saltbird that were both at least interesting. Highly recommend this place if you like upscale, impeccably prepared comfort food.
Finally, whoever recommended Vintage Mattituck was spot on. We swung through there and saw some bottles we’d purchased at wineries for a few bucks cheaper and also bought a few things we wanted to visit but couldn’t get too (McCall and the aforementioned Coffee Pot Meritage, mostly).
On the whole, it’s a fun out there and the wines definitely seem to keep improving versus previous visits. QPR continues to be a regional challenge. I really liked the One Woman Cab Franc, but at $42 it’s hard to get past knowing you can get a Bedrock Heritage for that $$$. But c’est la vie.
Thanks to all for the tips.
I am the person who recommended Vintage in Mattituck. I have also discovered Showcase on Rt 48 in Southold that has some older vintages like the Raphael 2014 La Fontana for @ $15 that is spectacular now. There is also a great rotisserie chicken place across RT 48 that has very tasty chicken and real Mexican huaraches.
It’s been over 2 weeks here and my family continually find all of the wines her to be overly acidified. Not the case for me. It feels like the Loire here with high acid, less fruity wines. My wife interprets the tingling of the high acid as petillance. I will keep trying.
Could not agree more re acidity. To me, that is what distinguishes the better NF whites. McCall’s SB is another strong example. (Bought a few at Vintage on board recco and tried one tonight, actually. Glad I did.)