From one winery 30 years ago, to almost 50 today, Long Island has had tremendous growth in its productions of wines. There are 44 North Fork wineries and 4 on the South Fork of the Island. There are also a growing number of craft breweries and distilleries. I thoroughly enjoyed my exploration of the wines in the area. Some of the tasting rooms are spectacular and rival those of any that I have seen in California and Oregon.
My top recommendations include:
Corey Creek Tap Room: In addition to wine tastings, they have live music and food Monday and Tuesday evenings from 5 to 9pm. 45470 Rt. 25, Southold. Their Cabernet Franc was excellent! They are owned by Bedell Winery which has its own tasting room in Cutchogue.
Kontokosta Winery: Located at 825 N. Road, Rt 25 in Greenpoint, this is a newly built tasting room that is really stunning with views of the Sound and the vineyards. I really liked their 2010 Cab Franc and their 2013 Rose.
Croteaux Vineyards: Don’t miss this beautiful tasting room and retail store. They feature rose wines only. The Jolie was excellent and was made with local cabernet franc.
Rosehill Vineyards (formerly Shinn Estate Vineyards): Just north of downtown Mattituck is a good winery/tasting room. Their cabernet franc was very good. They also have a lovely Farmhouse with four guest rooms. I had considered staying there, but wanted to be in Greenport where I could easily walk to the downtown area for dinner.
Duck Walk Vineyards: At their Water Mill location, overlooking the Parrish Museum, this is a huge winery and tasting room. I thought the 2010 Cabernet was excellent with notes of black cherry.
The Old Field Winery: This winery also comes highly recommended but was closed whenever I stopped by. It is located at 59600 Main Rd. in Southold.
