North Fork Wineries heart Pups

Over the weekend my parents' puppy escorted us to the North Fork of Long Island for some wine tasting. All the wineries we visited were very dog friendly, and Shea just loved running round the vineyards.

At Bedell Cellars my dad and I liked everything we tasted, including their newly-released First Crush White and First Crush Red. The white is 82% Chard and 18% Viognier, fermented in stainless steel (no oak). The red is 72% Merlot and 28% Cab Franc, mostly fermented in stainless steel as well. Both were young and fresh - very pleasant on the hot day. My dad bought a bottle of the 2007 Chardonnay, which had a really nice balance of crisp apple/pear with a rounded character thanks to 6 months in French oak and battonage, which is the practice of stirring the wine with the leftover yeast deposits from fermentation, called lees, to impart a baked influence. IMO, this wine is an excellent example of well-integrated oak in Chardonnay. Possibly the best part of this tasting was seeing my dad recognize body in white wine and the distinctive smell of Merlot.

At Shinn Estate Vineyards I continued my Rose obsession, thoroughly enjoying their new 2008 dry Rose. Shinn uses sustainable farming practices, which means they use methods that have minimal impact on the farm. They point this out in a little card attached to their wine bags. Shinn also has a really nice Bed & Breakfast attached to it, one of the only such establishments attached to a winery on the North Fork. It reminded me of a place I stayed in the Willamette Valley - The Black Walnut Inn & Vineyard in Dundee, OR. This could very well be my dream situation - a sustainable vineyard with a winery and B&B on the North Fork of LI. Wonder how much $$$ it would go for...

Pellegrini is one of my favorite North Fork wineries. They have a beautiful outdoor area and I always enjoy their Cabernet Franc. I love using it as an example of how well Long Island does Cab Franc. I actually featured their 2005 in my old company's 10th Anniversary 'I heart NY Wines and Cheeses' party last year. But the big coup here was that my mom found another wine to like - Pellegrini's 2008 Gewurztraminer. She is generally solely loyal to Beringer White Zinfandel and Manischevitz Cream White Concord, with the occasional liking to a semi dry Riesling or a dessert wine, and I have been trying very hard for years to expand her palate to include dry white wines. From the Pellegrini Gewurz we got gardenia on the nose and grapefruit on the palate - one of her favorite flowers and one of her favorite fruits. How cool is that?! I was psyched that she bought a bottle, especially given the price tag ($29.99; her regulars usually cost under $10 for double bottles, so this is kind of a big deal).

Overall - it was a fun day for all. Mom and Dad found wines they liked, Shea had a few good runs through the grape vines, and I found the property I want to buy. Ok, let's not get too crazy - I found a great $15 Rose to cap off the end of summer.