Wine, Cheese, Candlelight, Valentine's & Jazz

Wine, Cheese, Candlelight, Valentine's & Jazz in #Longislandwinecountry!

Wine & Cheese Pairing Course

Saturday February 2, 2013, 2pm 

Macari Vineyards, Mattituck, NY

Riesling and Gouda? Cabernet Franc and Monterey Jack? How do specific flavor profiles of cheese and wine work to complement one another? Join resident Cheesemonger, Gibson Campbell, and Certified Sommelier, Gabriella Macari, in the VIP room at Macari Vineyards in Mattituck to learn about pairing wine and cheese. Gibson will present cheese tasting notes and details about featured cheesemakers and their farms while Gabriella will offer wine technical notes and a brief history of Macari Vineyards.

Macari’s unreleased Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Chardonnay Estate 2010, Cabernet Franc 2008, Dos Aguas 2008 and Block E 2009 will be coupled with five cheeses. 

Info & Tickets: 

http://buymacariwines.com/products/wine-and-cheese-class

Winter Concert Tribute Series: Something

Saturday, February 9th

Marta Clara Vineyards, Riverhead, NY 

Winter Concert Tribute Series: Something

An Acoustic Tribute to The Beatles

Doors Open @ 7pm for all shows.

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 

Order online: www.marthaclaravineyards.com

All tickets include a glass of wine.

Tickets are subject to availability. Seating is First-come First served. Table seating is not guaranteed.

5-9pm Hoedown Fundraiser to benefit New Beginnings Featuring Ricky Lee

$50 per person, includes dinner & a glass of wine.

For tickets call: 631.617.5151 or visit

www.nbli.com

Candlelight Fridays

Wölffer Estate Winery

139 Sagg Road

Sagaponack, Long Island, NY

Every Friday until April 2013

Come in from chill and enjoy some hot jazz! Candlelight Friday is from 5PM to 8PM throughout the fall and winter season. No cover charge to listen to some of New York's finest musicians. Wines by the glass, mulled wine and cheese/charcuterie plates for purchase.

INFO: 

www.wolffer.com/candlelight-fridays-begin-october-21nd-mulled-cider-wines-by-the-glass-and-great-fresh-jazz-talent

Romance the Palate: Valentine's Food & Wine Pairing

Friday, February 15, 2013 7:00pm - 9:30pm

Duck Walk Winery South

231 Montauk Highway, Watermill, NY

Join us at beautiful Duck Walk South for a gourmet tasting of food and wine.

Join us at Duck Walk South where Executive Chef Chris Richards will serve up a  gourmet 5 course selection of small plates expertly paired with Duck Walk Wines. Cost: $44.95 per person, call for reservations 631 726-7555

Details: www.duckwalk.com/events_detail/5011

JAZZ ON THE VINE

6 WEEKS- February 9 to March 17, 2013- Various Wineries

JAZZ on the Vine returns as the theme for the 2013 Long Island Winterfest for the sixth consecutive year. From February 9 to March 17 visit the East End of Long Island to enjoy 6 great weekends of truly exceptional jazz performances in winery tasting rooms. Admission includes a glass of wine* and a chance to win a FREE hotel night on the East End with a gift basket of Long Island wines. Make plans to come to Long Island Wine Country this winter, where outstanding jazz musicians join with local vineyards, hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, cultural venues and attractions to create an array of special events and offers designed to lift the mid-winter doldrums.

View website for schedule: 

www.liwinterfest.com/liwinterfest/?src=liwinterfest.com

Long Island Wine Country Turns 40!

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1973-2013

Long Island Wine Country just turned 40!

In 1973, Alex and Louisa Hargrave founded Hargrave Vineyards in Cutchogue.

America’s most Bordeaux-like wine region has evolved into a world-class growing area for premium wines.

The region has grown to more 3,000 acres of planted grape vines, with more than 60 wine producers.  Three  AVA’s (American Viticulture Regions) protect wines that are produced from grapes that are grown on The North Fork Of Long Island, The Hamptons and Long Island.

Long Island Wines have scored highly in blind tastings and International wine competitions. Most recently, a Long Island Wine, BedellCellars 2007 Merlot ($30) has been selected for President Barack Obama’s Inaugural lunch on January 21, 2013. That wine will be paired with smoked Bison!

Cheers to the first forty years! 

CJD

Winter 2013- Long Island Wine Country Events

There's lot's to do in Long Island Wine Country this winter! 
Here's a sampling of events that caught our eye! 


January 2013

Shinn Estate Vineyards and Farmhouse
2000 Oregon Road
Mattituck NY - 11952
Tel.(631) 804-0367

Shinn Estate Barrel Tasting & Wine Futures Events- Editor's Choice Recommendation!
Friday January 19, 2013 or Friday January 26, 2013, 6:30pm
Cost: $95
Note: Discounts offered for purchase with a portion of the fee credited towards purchase.

What are Wine Futures?
Consider them a chance to taste wines early and get a nice discount in
advance of their release. Shinn Estate is offering an exclusive opportunity
for tasting barrel samples of their upcoming vintages with hors d'oeuvres,
cheese plates & homemade stew. The owners are former owners of Home
Restaurant, so expect a delicious spread!

Attendees will get to taste a wine variety of Shinn Estates newly vinted
2012 whites and yet to be bottled 2011 reds.

Tasting includes:

REDS
2011 Estate Merlot, 2011 Red Blend, 2011 Wild Bordeaux, 2011 Cabernet Franc,
2011 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2011 9 Barrels

WHITES
2012 First Fruit (Sauvignon Blanc), 2012 Chardonnay, 2012 Coal Escense and
2012 Rose

Take this opportunity to reserve these vintages at a 20% discount: purchase
these wines in advance and pick them up when they are bottled and labeled.
Advance reservations required, this event has limited capacity, so please
call 631-804-0367 soon!

You can also order wines on line at: http://shinnestatevineyards.com/




Martha Clara Vineyards
6025 Sound Avenue  Riverhead, NY 11901
Tel. (631) 298-0075

Sunday, January 20th
2013 Wine Education Series:
WINE & ARTISANAL OLIVE OIL PAIRING
Two 1 hour sessions of guided wine & olive oil pairings featuring Martha
Clara Vineyards Wines and artisanal olive oils from The Crushed Olive.

Sessions are offered at 1 and 2:30 pm.
$30 per person. $20 for Wine Club Members. Price per session.
Reservations are required. Tickets are available at marthaclaravineyards.com


February 2012

Long Island Winter Wine Fest- Jazz on The Vine!
February 9 to March 17, 2013
Various wineries, see website for schedule.

Wine and Jazz is a smooth pairing! And for six weekends, visitors can visit
participating wineries and sit back with a glass of wine and listen to some
very cool music! This is also a great time to discover new wine releases and
stock up on your favorite Long Island Wines!

http://www.liwinterfest.com

The Evolution Of Long Island Wines

Long Island Wine Country Then and Now! 

The Evolution!

Guests at Laurel Lake Vineyards new outdoor tasting bar

I can't believe how fast time flies by. Back in 1999 when we started the Long Island wine industry was 26 years young. A lot of milestones had been reached and vintners had a good grasp on which varietals grew best on the East End. 

Back then the region was looking to increase visitation to it's wineries so that new wine customers could be developed. Fast forward to 2013 and it is hard to imagine that more than one million visitors come out to the East End each year to tour and taste. 

This has had a very positive impact on the industry. Most wineries are selling all of their wine in their tasting rooms at retail prices (versus wholesaling through a distributor). By not sharing their profit margin with a distributor, wineries have been able to re-invest in their businesses, making improvements to their winery buildings, purchasing new tanks, barrels and wine making equipment. 

The 2012 Harvest may come down as the best Long Island vintage of the decade. Long Island vineyards brought in most of their fruit before hurricane Sandy hit!

Roman Roth, executive vice president of Merliance, and winemaker and technical director for Wölffer Estate Vineyard, says, “2012 is one of the great vintages for Wölffer Estate and Long Island in general. After a growing season with abundant sunshine and heat, the fruit ripening was on average 2.5 weeks ahead of normal. This translated into wonderful concentrated, dark, rich red wines—especially Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which are showing fantastic results.”

“This was definitely a ‘Vintner’s Select’ year for us—that’s our estate-level distinction, made in the best vintages,” says John Leo, winemaker at Clovis Point. “We had time to let the fruit hang to optimum ripeness and concentration. The strength of our terroir will no doubt shine through in all the wines of the region in the 2012 vintage.”

“We are eager to see the wines of 2012 come to fruition,” says Les Howard, winemaker at Raphael. “This is the kind of year that makes winemaking most fun and creative.”

Russell Hearn of T’Jara Vineyards says, “T’Jara wines are always blends of at least five red grapes—always based on merlot. This vintage will give us lots of great reds to play with, all of impeccable quality and with great balance of fruit and acid.” Russell adds: “We’re committed to screw-cap closures for all T’Jara wines, and believe that the combination of the cap and a permeable liner in the capsule will age the wine in the bottle without the risk of cork variability. We’re already seeing great results in our 2007s and 2010s—two other exceptional vintages—and we’re eager to see the potential of what promises to be a superior 2012 vintage, aged in screw-cap closures.”

*All harvest data presented is a range from the lowest to highest figures in each category, as submitted by Merliance members. Individual winery data is proprietary.

Note: These quotes were provided by Merliance

Reading these quotes makes me thirsty for tasting 2012 wines!  Whites will start to be released by summer 2013. Reds will be released in 2014-2016 depending on winemakers philosophy. 

CD

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Christopher Davies is the National Wine Country Columnist for Examiner.com, and the publisher and editor of Wine Country International Magazine & VinoTasting. To follow his articles, subscribe at the link above.

Check out Wine Country International's wine reviews newsletter VinoTasting! www.vinotasting.com 

Join Christopher on Wine Country Network's national tour of Pairsine Chefs Food & Wine Pairing Competitions www.pairsine.com

Christopher Davies Photography: www.daviesphotos.com

Click Here to email Christopher

Top Tips Touring Long Island's Wine Country

Touring Long Island's Wine Country
Simple tips for increasing your enjoyment!

Long Island's Wine Region is celebrating it's 38th season.
A lot has changed over the years.

Since the economy turned sour in 2008, it's a known fact that folks are abandoning expensive two week vacations for less expensive staycations. This has brought a record amount of visitors to the North and South Forks.

Weekends are so busy that some winery tasting rooms have hired security guards to regulate the amount of tour groups that can enter their tasting rooms at a single time.

Traffic is also becoming increasingly more congested on the weekends. And to exit a winery parking lot, it is almost impossible to make a left turn!

PRACTICAL TIPS:

•Plan your itinerary in advance.

• If you are planning to visit by car, pick a weekday instead of weekend. The best times to visit are Wednesday or Thursday. If you can do that, you will be greeted by a happy winery staffer who is less stressed than on the busy weekends. Benefit is they will spend more attention to you and may even break out some special limited wine releases.

•Negotiate your tasting fees up front. All wineries will charge a fee to taste. On Long Island it varies from $4 to $15 per person. Some will refund your tasting fee if you purchase wine. Find that out in advance.

•Take a professional tour for special access. Not all tour companies are equal. You will get what you pay for. But just like the Vatican Museum makes the public stand in long lines waiting to gain entry, a professional tour company can get you in for your your tasting quickly.

Full Disclosure: The author is co-founder of LongIslandWineCountry.Com a premium level tour provider.

•Purchase a bottle. If your group is larger than 4 guests, you might consider purchasing a bottle of everybody's favorite varietal. This usual comes out better than pay a per head fee to taste, plus a bottle contains 4.2 glasses of wine!

The North Fork Wine Country Rocks This Summer!

Johnny Winter- 1969

The North Fork Wine Country Rocks This Summer!
By Christopher J. Davies


The North Fork is rockin this summer! Peconic Bay Winery in Cutchogue is showing the world that in edition to making world-class wines, they have an ear for presenting legendary music performers!

Special Father's Day Performance by Legendary Guitarist Johnny Winter
Live at Peconic Bay Winery, Cutchogue

Sunday, June 19, 2011, 4pm-7pm
Limited tickets available at $40pp

Johnny Winter is one of my top ten favorite blues guitar legends. He has  played at Woodstock, he was a friend and colleague of Jimi Hendrix. Johnny is most famous for releasing the first version of Rock and Roll Hotchie Koo. His most successful record "Captured Live" is still available on Amazon.com and represents some of the most epic guitar licks recorded in the last century.

In recent year's, Johnny has played at two of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival's. Winter is on a comeback and will tour extensively this summer in the US and Europe. To be able to see and hear him play in such an intimate setting as a winery, with wines by the glass is a rare opportunity.

For tickets visit: www.peconicbaywinery.com/




NOFO Rock & Folk Fest

The 2nd Annual edition has a stellar line-up of classic bands and performers. I have to say that this baby boomer almost lost it when I read that a senior weekend pass is available!

July 39 (SAT) & July 31 (Sun)
Saturday's line up is folkish featuring artists;
Elvin Bishop, John Sebastian, Commander Cody

While Sunday's line up is more rockin with Foghat & Corky Laing & The Memory Thieves (Mountain).


Ticket Pricing:
1 Day Pass - $48
Weekend Pass - $85
Student/Senior - $44
Student/Senior Weekend Pass - $80


For tickets visit: www.noforockandfolkfest.com


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Christopher Davies is the co-founder of Long Island Wine Country. COM, a premium level wine tour and event company established in 1999: www.longislandwinecountry.com



Christopher is a photo journalist and publisher of magazines and nationally syndicated columns about wine, food & travel. His latest project is the VinoTasting newsletter, which uncorks the best values in wine. Visit: www.vinotasting.com



Other links:
Christopher Davies Photography: www.daviesphotos.com
Denver International Wine Competition: www.denverwinecomp.com
Denver International Wine Festival: www.denverwinefest.com

Confessions of a Wine Tour Guide

Tour group learns about fermentation

Top Questions My Customers Ask Me!
1) If Merlot has tones of chocolate, do they actually add it to the barrel?
A) NOPE

2) My wife does not drink wine, should I bring her?
A) NOPE

3) What's YOUR favorite wine?
A) All of Them! But it depends on what you are eating with your wine.


We strive to produce the best quality wine tours on the East Coast. After 9, years it was bittersweet to be acknowledged in Travel & Leisure Magazine as One Of The World's Top Ten Wine Tours. We set the bar, and now we have to find a way to raise quality even higher!

Our focus from day one has been quality, not quantity. We appreciate fine wine and delicious food. As a wine & travel journalist, I have been very fortunate to attend wine festivals and visit wineries around the world. So my experience gives me a perspective on what makes for an exceptional experience.
With that said, we do not visit every winery on Long Island.
Some are too small, some too busy that they can't provide special treatment for our groups. Other mainly produce sweet wines, that appeal to a Coca Cola crowd.

While we do what we do very well, we are not for everyone. Some people are willing to sacrifice a premium experience, while saving a few dollars.

What we do best:
-Teach our clients about how to increase their pleasure with wine
-Provide clients with an interesting and historical background about Long Island's world-class wine region
-Create Private Experiences at Premium Level Producers
-Create Corporate Tours and Wine Events for 30 to 200 guests
-Provide the best friendly service on the planet

What we don't do:
-Bachelorette Tours
-Wine Tours or Events without food
-Limo Tours or *Small Groups

*For groups under 30 persons, we offer monthly VIP Public Tours, that have no minimum order requirement.

Check out our list of 2011 VIP Public Tours:
www.longislandwinecountry.com/havbustickets.html

For Groups of 30 guests or more, check out our group tours page:
http://www.longislandwinecountry.com/bus.html


Thinking about taking a limo tour to Long Island Wine Country? Caveat Emptor!

Read This Article First!:

July 9, 2007
The New York Times
New York Wineries Face Tastings Gone Wild
By COREY KILGANNON

www.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/nyregion/09winery.html?_r=1&ref=coreykilgannon


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Check out my weekly National Wine Country Column on Examiner.COM
www.examiner.com/wine-country-travel-in-national/christopher-j-davies