Visiting Some of Long Island's More Limo-Friendly Wineries -- Plus One

The always-beautiful spot next to the pond at Pugliese Vineyards

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

If you're like me, when you first move to a new wine region, you intrepidly explore it -- visiting different tasting rooms every weekend and sampling different things on their tasting menus each time you go. Everything is so new and so exciting. Will that small place down the road have something killer you've never tasted before? Nena and I used to ask that question often.

But over time that non-stop exploration slows. You've tasted most of the wines at most of the wineries and then even further into your wine country journey, you've identified your favored producers -- ones you know you can count on for wines that will consistently hit and please your palate in all the right places.

Unchecked, this comfort zone can become complacency. It can become a tasting room rut. Or in my case, a tasting room canyon.

To climb out of that canyon, our cheese editor Aaron Estes and I did a little tasting tour Saturday, focusing on places I hadn't been to in years and places I knew no one would know me. We didn't set out to visit tasting rooms that appear to be on some sort of unofficial Long Island limousine and bus circuit, but it worked out that way in several cases.

 We started our day at Duck Walk Vineyards North in Southold. Pulling into the parking lot, there were a total of 10 cars -- including ours -- and seven of them were limos or party buses. Undeterred by the expected crowds, we stepped in -- and shouldn't have worried at all.

The tasting room was busy of course, but not overly so, and with groups both inside and out, the limo-delivered groups were dispersed to the point that you'd never guess how much mass transit was out in the parking lot.

Clearly the folks at Duck Walk are well set up to accommodate throngs of people without it seeming that way.

Of the limo-friendly wineries we visited, Duck Walk was also the best tasting experience we had. The young man pouring for us was friendly and knowledgeable about the wines, sharing just enough information without inundating his customers. We were the only ones spitting and dumping wine, but he didn't draw attention to it.

The whites and rose were the winners for me, all showing fresh acidity and good balance. The stainless steel fermented Duck Walk Vineyards 2009 Chardonnay ($11) stood out in particular it's lively nature and it's price point. The reds did not impress nearly as much, tasting dilute, a bit oaky and underripe.

Heading back west, we stopped at Pugliese Vineyards mostly because I wanted to taste their current sparkling wines -- even though they incorrectly label them as Champagne. Again, we were greeted with several limos, including the first stretch Hummer of the day.

The outdoor area along the pond was packed, so we figured the tasting room might not be. Wrong. When Aaron opened the door, we saw a mob, looking mostly like bachelorette parties, four-deep at the bar. The only place we could have stood inside was literally just inside the door. We didn't even try to weave our way through the crowd. Without a single sip of bubbly, we left and were on our way.

McCall Wines was next -- and it was like an entirely different world. No limos. No buses. Barely any people at all, in fact.

The un-air conditioned tasting room is in a barn looking out over part of the vineyard (as at left) and within it, we tasted some of the best wines of the day.

Skipping the 2007s, which I've tasted before, we tasted a beautifully tropical and ripe-yet-balanced 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($24) made from fruit grown by Claudia Purita of One Woman Wines, a refreshing and versatile 2010 pinot noir rose ($19) and a fresh, slightly spicy 2009 Pinot Noir ($24).

I went home with a bottle of the sauvignon. Aaron bought a bottle as well, along with one of the 2009 pinot.

Next on our jaunt was Laurel Lake Vineyards, a tasting room I hadn't been to in years.We were again greeted by multiple buses and limousines, but the tasting bar was mostly empty. The groups were out on the deck.

I remember linking several of the wines there, particularly the reds, but on Saturday the wines were underwhelming. The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($20) was a bit boozy and not balanced, a 2009 Riesling ($19) tasted of stale flowers and not much else and two 2007 reds were disjointed at a bit hot as well.

To top it off, the person pouring for us was more bartender than anything else, not telling us anything about the wines. When we asked him for a spit bucket, he looked puzzled and then rummaged around under the bar for a minute to find one.

Shouldn't every tasting room have one on top of the bar?

After grabbing lunch and visiting Greenport Harbor Brewing to taste some local beer -- the Spring Turning Rye Saison was the standout -- Aaron and I headed to Vineyard 48 on the way back towards my house.

As we approached the winery from the east, however, we noticed three full-size charter buses and at least one tour van parked on the road out front with limos in the parking lot. Mass transit on full display, I was reminded that they have a DJ and a weekly dance party on Saturdays -- and we just kept on driving. That is not the environment in which I want to taste their wines.

Re-Thinking Buses and Limos

Looking back on the day's events, I've decided that I need to re-think my sometimes-snobby attitude about wineries that cater to limousines and tour buses.

Over the years I've scoffed at wineries with more than one in the parking lot at a time, but clearly some wineries, like Duck Walk, can handle the groups with aplomb and space them out enough as to not alienate people genuinely interested in tasting and evaluating the wines. Even if some of the wines disappointed, we had a great experience at Duck Walk.

Others, like Pugliese -- at least on Saturday -- aren't nearly as good at accommodating both large groups and those of us just looking to enjoy a relaxing day tasting wine. It's also clear that Vineyard 48 doesn't want my business at all on a Saturday afternoon -- and that's okay. Clearly what they do works for them.

Based on what I saw on Saturday, the bus and limo style of tasting room isn't easy to do. I didn't see a single person visiting in one of those big groups buy a single bottle of wine. I'm sure it happened and I didn't see it, but you need to move a lot of people through the tasting room -- paying tasting fees or group fees -- to make the finances work.

Is it how I'd personally operate a winery if I owned one? No. But I've clearly been too hard on those that do. It gets people excited about and visiting wine country. Perhaps the wines they enjoy will be gateway wines and open them up to the greatness of the region's best wines.

Comments

[Steve]

Lenn-

Maybe it is the only way people will come out to the vineyards and maybe they are even being responsible for not driving, But I agree that these tours seem to cater to people who are there to get drunk, and it doesn't seem like good branding. I like the effort and significant investment that Macari made by setting up a second tasting room without limos and buses on Rt. 25. I almost think they had to because their vineyard on Rt. 48, even though spacious, is so jam packed on weekends that it is impossible to deal with. My one issue with Macari is they never let wine club guys like me pick up our wine shipments at the mellower Rt. 25 location that I love. I had to always deal with the limo crowds to get my club shipment, so finally, even though I like their wines quite a bit, I did not renew my club membership. Ocasionally, I stop in Rt.25 to taste the wines I really have interest in.

[Mike]

Lenn:

When my brother and I are out on the North Fork visiting wineries, picking up shipments, etc. we will almost always steer clear of those that have not only a jammed lot, but with a bus or two to boot! Seems like many are embracing a party central mantra (i.e. Pindar) which is fine, but count me out.

[foleyd7]

Ahh.... I read this and recalled my awful tasting room experience at Osprey back in 2008. Here were my notes from that visit:

The winery experience was horrible and it carried over to my recollection of the wines themselves. This is the perfect example to demonstrate how a good winery experience can go a long way in projecting a positive light on the wines themselves (and vice versa). I generally like Ospery’s wines, but I was so turned off by the winery experience I barely recollect much good about anything. It started with a parking lot full of limo’s and stretch hummers, followed by a one-man-guitar-band singing off-pitched, outdated rock-n-roll renditions outside, and was then followed by a completely indifferent pourer inside. At one point while we were standing at the counter waiting for service, one employee actually came up to us and said we’d have to “move to the other side of the bar so you are in sight of one of the servers if you want anything because they won’t turn around to serve you.” Are you kidding me? That should have been our sign to just up and leave. (Well… that and the 45+ year old woman (pretending to be 18) running around with a tiara on her head and a pin on her chest saying “Kiss me, it’s my birthday”). This is the key reason I prefer places that don’t welcome buses and limos. Not only do buses and limos often bring in drinkers (rather than wine patrons), the wineries themselves seem to staff accordingly - - with bartenders rather than wine servers.

[Macari Vineyards]

Steve-

We are sorry you are no longer a Macari Wine-Club member. We have opened Cutchogue as a more relaxed and quiet tasting room and we're glad you enjoy it. Since then we have also expanded our Mattituck tasting room and increased its capacity for tasters. We now utilize 3 different sections of the tasting room and have a front of house hostess that can direct people accordingly. We invite you back anytime(busy or slow) to see how we handle the crowds that, like you, want to come and have a great tasting experience! We have no problem refusing service to the over-served patrons and encourage responsible drinking always.