As I said in my last post, Angela and I visited a number of vineyards/wineries on the North Fork of Long Island on Tuesday (my dad came along as well, but he doesn't really drink wine, so he drove). There are somewhere in the vicinity of 40 vineyards/wineries on the North Fork, so it is obviously impossible to visit all 40. Instead, we drove out to the North Fork and stopped at 4 that happened to be opened, however, I only have notes on 3 of these because by #4 (The Lenz Winery) I wasn't so capable of keeping notes anymore. Due to the nature of having tasted around 15 wines I'm going to only touch upon each one, unless I really liked it.
So the three of us (Angela, my dad and I) jumped in the Accord and headed out on the island. After stopping for lunch just past Riverhead we received directions from a nice old man and his wife who probably had never left eastern Long Island in their lives (and also have probably never seen a dentist in their lives). We headed east on Route 25 towards Orient Point, then turned around and headed west and stopped at a number of wineries.
The first one we stopped at was Corey Creek Vineyards (which is owned and operated in conjunction with Bedell Vineyards, which is one of the more famous Long Island vineyards). Corey Creek was ridiculously overpriced. Their wines were all $30+ and frankly were not worth the price. The 2007 Gerwurztraminer was decent. It was a dry Gerwurtz but frankly lacked a strong flavor. The flavor it had was decent, but there just wasn't much of it. I liked the 2007 Taste White, however, it smelled terrible. Once I got past the smell I liked the wine, but not at the high price. The 2007 Reserve Chardonnay was a pretty good Chard. It had a light oak flavor and was quite smooth, but again, the price was exorbitant for the wine. The 2007 Taste Red was the best wine Corey Creek/Bedell had to offer. It was a medium bodied red with a light oak flavor. It had a nice tart tasting finish, but not worth the close to $40 price tag. The final wine we had at Corey Creek was the 2007 Reserve Merlot. I normally don't like merlot but this one was pretty good. It was not a very oakey merlot but had a bit of a smokey taste. Apparently, this wine can be aged up to 10 years, or so the winemaker says. Although this wine was tasty, it was severly overpriced. All in all, Corey Creek had some decent wines, but they certainly did not warrant the hefty price tag. I also might add the tasting room was quite nice, but almost sterile. It had a very corporate feel.
We went on our way without any wines from Corey Creek and stopped at Duck Walk Vineyards North. Duck Walk was originally on the South Fork but has since opened a vineyard and tasting room on the North Fork. We walked into an enormous tasting room that felt a little uninviting. However, we walked up to the tasting bar our pourer (Daria) was talking to another guest about bachelorette parties that come in and how they trash the women's restroom. This was just a sample of the friendly feel we got at Duck Walk.
At Duck Walk we tasted 8 different wines, beginning with the 2007 Chardonnay. This wine was a decent chard, but nothing special. The 2008 Chardonnay Reserve was delicious and we actually bought a bottle of this for both Angela and I, and my parents. It was a smooth and fruity chard that I would have no problem serving to friends and family. I don't know if had been oaked at all, but there was little to no oakey flavor. This was a fantastic chardonnay. In fact, I might say it's the best chardonnay I've had in about a year.
The 2008 Duck Walk Chardonnay Reserve gets 4 grapes out of 5.
Other wines at Duck Walk were 2007 Pinot Grigio, which was a decent white with a clean finish, however, it lack a bold flavor. Further, I thought it smelled kind of funny. The 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from Duck Walk was not as good as the pinot grigio. It smelled better, however, it had a sour finish.
I tried 3 reds at Duck Walk, the first of which was a 2007 Pinot Meunier. I had never head of this varietal before, and I will probably not seek it out ever again. It smelled like dog food to me, which should have been my first indication that it might not be good. It tasted terrible. It had an extremely oakey flavor. It had an almost bitter finish. I would not recommend this for anyone ever. The 2007 Duck Walk Cabernet Sauvignon was fantastic. It had a strong and tangy flavor that would have gone well with any red meat. If I were having a big juicy steak, this is a wine I would like to drink. The Duck Walk Windmill Red was a red blend that was quite tasty. It was dry and had no oak flavor. I finished at this vineyard with the 2007 Blueberry Port. This was incredibly alcoholic and sweet. I usually like ports and dessert wines, but this one was not a favorite. It would describe it as mediocre. It was almost too alcoholic and the blueberry flavor was overwhelming.
From Duck Walk we went to Raphael, which might be the most gorgeous tasting room I've ever seen. It is built in the style of an Italian villa and was gorgeous. The tasting fees at this vineyard were ridiculous. It was at least $2 a taste, however, the price was worth it. We started with the 2008 Raphael Rose of Merlot, which was the best wine we tasted all day. We drank it chilled, and on a warm day on Long Island, it was fantastic. It was crisp, refreshing and light but not sweet like many roses. This was the best rose I've ever had, even better than the Canard. I think it is perfect if you are looking for a light and refreshing summer wine.
The 2008 Raphael Rose of Merlot receives 4.1 grapes out of 5.
We also tasted the 2008 First Label Sauvignon Blanc from Raphael. This was supposedly the best Sauv Blanc Raphael has, however, it was the one I liked the least of not only Sauv Blanc but also my least favorite wine of Raphael's. It was light and tangy; it even had some fruity flavors. was just a bit too sweet for me. In terms of Sauv Blanc, I prefered the 2009 Grand Cru, which the woman working at Raphael said was the lesser of the two (but she was snooty). The Grand Cru I thought simply had more flavor than First Label. The flavors were similar, but the Grand Cru just had more flavor. The Grand Cru was citrusy and delicious. I don't know what food it would taste good with, but it would be a nice sitting on the front porch drink.
We finished with Raphael's 2007 La Tavola. This was a red blend. I wanted to taste this because it had a good portion of malbec in it, and I love malbecs. This was a fantastic wine with a strong oakey flavor (i.e. full bodied). It smelled and almost tasted smokey. I think it would be awesome with some BBQ. It was a smooth wine that went down easily, however, there was a bit of a bite at the end. This being said, it was a great wine and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good red wine.
The 2007 Raphael La Tavola receives 4 grapes out of 5.
As an aside, I might add that my father was wondering why Raphael, which is owned and run by the Petrocelli family and housed in a recreation of an Italian villa does not make more Italian style wines. I guess he wanted a chianti or something.
Well, that being said, Angela and I leave for Denton tomorrow, we should arrive in a few days, but there probably won't be any posts for a while. Next stop, Staunton, VA.
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