Other North Fork Highlights

The tasting bar at Sparkling Pointe

While Sparkling Pointe wasn't #1 it was definitely a good stop. The bubbly was delightful, and the tasting room was clean and crisp with bright Brazilian inspired paintings. The tasting was $17 for four sparkling wines and bottles were $37-$42, however if you were to purchase 2 bottles the tasting was complimentary.  Good, but still a bit pricey when we had lots to see on the island. They also host Carnival each spring and sell perfume made with two of their wines the Topaz and Seduction, the first is a light fresh scent and the later is a warmer fragrance.  Surprisingly the clientele while we visited were all much older then the tasters we saw else where, and I'm not talking baby boomers, I'm thinking more like their parents that came on a bus. Not that they shouldn't enjoy their wine too, but it made for a very mellow stop. Perhaps visiting on one of their "Bossa Nova Fridays" would be a more ideal time for younger generations to visit.

Pindar Vineyards has some enjoyable sweet wines that are good for sipping on their porch, this stop was just so overwhelming. There are two long tasting bars with servers quickly running back and forth between customers, our service was fine, we just really didn't have an opportunity to engage our server in conversation about the vineyard. They clearly do industrial sized production and sell about every wine accessory available. My favorite part about this vineyard was finding the wine crackers that I so love!

Croteaux, where the theme is "Rose on Purpose," had great French themed ambiance and an enjoyable out door space, unfortunately the wines we tried just didn't thrill us. I believe we tried 3 wines for $10 and the second flight included all 6 wines for $15.

Tasting garden at Croteaux

Lastly, we tried a 2011 Cianco di Pinot Noir at Castillo di Borghese that was bright yet dry and seriously worth a taste, however the bottle will run you about $45.

Long Island Wine Snapshot

What could be a more  perfect time to visit Long Island and the North Fork wine trail than in the summer? Considering they have the white, rose and dessert wines figured out it was a great time to visit! With a few days on Long Island we, my now New York City based college girls Marlene, Zoe & I, were able to visit 11 unique vineyards. Like Virginia winemakers, the staff members that we met all expressed great support for their neighboring vineyards that trickle all the way up the island coast line. Here is a quick synopsis of where we went and what we found, I'll break out the highlights with more deets.

1. Shinn Estate Vineyard - the full spectrum from white-red-dessert
2. DuckWalk Vineyards North - focused on the dessert wines
3. Sparkling Pointe - as the name indicates, only bubbly is served here
4. Lieb Family Cellars - white and blush flights were in full effect here
5. Castillo di Borghese Vineyard - Pinot Noir and other reds
6. Pellegrini Vineyards - a variety of wines from red to white
7. Corey Creek/Bedell Cellars - Corey Creek serves Bedell wines, mostly white and blush but a few reds
8. Croteaux Vineyards - French themed and all Rose all the time 
9. Pindar Vineyards - a bit of everything, but we tried the dessert wines
10. Lenz Vineyard - a variety from reds to whites
11. Roanoke Vineyards - all rich reds

How did we pick where to go with limited time and nearly 50 vineyards to choose from most 1/2 mile from one to the next? Considering Zoe is a big fan of Rose, Marlene can not do without dessert wines and I enjoy a crisp white or rich red, we mixed it up and took some recommendations from friends on the street, made sure to stop at some of Zoe's tried and true favs and we got some input from Lenn Thompson of the New York Cork Report.

We also ate some quality food with some very nice views. We had killer lobsta' rolls at the Old Mill Inn right on the water! A delish and adorable spot for dinner is Love Lane Kitchen, fresh local goods were served there. 

Waterfront dining at the Old Mill Inn