Long Island Winery Visit -
January 2005
In January 2005, Peter May from England came over to spend some time in Massachusetts for work. He is a wine writer and taster, and runs PeterMay.com as well as other sites. I promptly offered to take him out to Long Island for the weekend to visit the wineries, and of course my boyfriend Bob came along as well. Peter met us bright and early Saturday morning, and we were off!
First, we took the ferry from New London, CT over to Orient Point, Long Island. This is a great way to start any trip to Long Island - a leisurely 1 hr 20 minute ride, sitting back in relaxing seats, sipping coffee and watching the lighthouses slip past the windows. All too quickly we were on the island, driving down the quiet road and preparing for our wineries.
The first winery we were stopping at was the Old Field Winery, which we met my friend Stephen from WineStuff.com. Unfortunately, Old Field was closed for January! However, the chickens were out, and I had great fun talking to the winery owner as she fed the chickens. We'll have to head back here in the spring.
So the first winery we actually got into was the Lenz Winery. Winemaker Erik greeted Stephen as an old friend, and we headed back into the tank area to taste and discuss the wines. We went through many of the wines in various states of completion, and it was extremely informative. Finally Stephen had to go, and we went out with Erik for lunch at Legends, a local pub. The food was quite tasty, and I enjoyed my sashimi tower!
We tried to stop by Bedell, but winemaker Kip Bedell was out for the day so we continued onwards to Paumanok Winery with winemaker Charles Massoud. Erik stayed with us while we spent the afternoon trying barrel samples, talking about winemaking and enjoying the finished products. Finally it was 5pm and we dropped Erik back off at Lenz before heading over to Legends for dinner.
The only nearby open hotel we'd found on the web was the Budget Host Inn, which looked nice enough on the web but in reality is rather run down and situated immediately next to a large correctional facility. I highly recommend looking for other options if you stay overnight on the island!
Sunday notes to be added soon!
Long Island Winery Website URLs
Winery Reviews Main Listing > New York Winery Listing > Long Island Winery Listing
All content on the WineIntro website is personally written by author and wine enthusiast Lisa Shea. WineIntro explores the delicious variety and beautiful history which makes up our world of wine! Lisa loves supporting local wineries and encouraging people to drink whatever they like. We all have different taste buds, and that makes our world wonderful. Always drink responsibly.