North Fork Wine Trail — Cindy's Journal

***For a list of wineries opened for tasting during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit here.***

California has Sonoma and Napa, Canada has NOTL, and New York has Finger Lakes and North Fork. Closer than Finger Lakes, North Fork offers great wine selections for a quick visit from NYC.

*Highly Recommended

June 29, 2020: Having a birthday during the pandemic requires some creativity! Given that Long Island entered Phase 3 reopening on June 24, I’ve decided to take advantage of visiting North Fork on a quiet Monday.

We visited two wineries during this trip plus some oyster shucking and a seafood lunch.

12:25 pm: Sannino Bella Vita Vineyard* (new location)

Tasting price: $3.5 for a single tasting or 6 for $20, see tasting menu; try the fortified dessert Wine + Biscotti Tasting: $5
Pros: Beautiful outdoor seating area, low key and rustic, best rosé (“Bianca Dolce”), inexpensive tasting/wine, friendly staff
Cons: Reds are okay
See more pictures here

2:30 pm: Shuck oysters @ Peeko Oyster Farm*

3:18 pm: Lunch @ Braun Seafood Co.*

4:52 pm: Croteaux Vineyards

Tasting price: Still rosé tasting (6 for $24) and sparkling rosé tasting (3 for $18)
Pros: Charming & beautiful garden seating
Cons: Expensive tasting, rosé only, wines were not that special
See more pictures here

July 14, 2018: The drive from Manhattan on a beautifully hot Summer Saturday was 2.5 hours. You can probably get there sooner if you leave before the beach/Hampton traffic kicks in. Since we left around 10:30 am, we stopped by Red Rooster Bistro* for lunch before embarking on the journey.

We stopped by a total of 4 wineries during this trip:

2:12pm: Mattebella Vineyeards

Tasting price: ~$5 each tasting
Pros: Charming & beautiful with outdoor seatings next to the vineyards, good for groups
Cons: Expensive tasting, not a big fan of the wine
See more pictures here

3:42pm: Bedell Cellars*

Tasting price: 5 for $20 tasting flight
Pros: Beautiful indoor space + a large outdoor seating area with live music, truck food, good for groups, really good sparkling rosé
Cons: Very crowded

5:25pm: Sannino Bella Vita Vineyard* (See Above)

6:52pm: Sherwood House Vineyard*

Tasting price: 5 for $20 tasting flights (except for reserves)
Pros: Beautiful farm house for indoor tasting and plenty of outdoor seating area, cozy and charming, connected to an art gallery
Cons: Lack of wine on the sweet end

July 2017: We were invited to join a wine tour in a party bus! Given we were a large group, we only visited vineyards catered for groups.

11:47am: Bridge Lane Tasting Room*

Tasting price: 5 for $15 tasting flight
Pros: Inexpensive tasting/wine, cozy and charming tasting room, wine comes in bottle, box, or keg!
Cons: Limited wine selection

1pm: Lenz Winery

Tasting price: 5 for $15 tasting flight (2 whites, 1 rose, and 2 reds)
Pros: Caters to large groups, you can bring your own lunch
Cons: Commercialized, crowded
See more pictures here

2:51pm: Jamesport Vineyards

Tasting price: 5 for $20, see tasting menu
Pros: Serves wood fired pizza on weekends, plenty of outdoor seating area, delicious ice wine
Cons: Most of the wines are on the dry end
See more pictures here

March 2016: We visited North Fork for some special occasion.

11:20am: Kontokosta Winery

Tasting price: 3 for $18 according to TA (in 2016, it was 5 whites for $15 and 4 reds for $15)
Pros: Very modern indoor tasting room and plenty of outdoor seating area overlooking LI coastline
Cons: Furthest away, expensive tasting
See more pictures here

12:30pm: Sparkling Pointe

Tasting price: Grand Tasting 4 for $20, see Tasting menu
Pros: Known for sparkling wines, beautiful tasting room
Cons: Expensive tasting, commercialized, crowded

1:11pm: Lunch @ Erik's Breakfast & Lunch*

1:45pm: Sannino Bella Vita Vineyard* (see above)

2:40pm: The Old Field Vineyards*

Tasting price: 4 for $12
Pros: Inexpensive tasting/wine, rustic vineyards with livestocks, attentive staffs that will tell you the history of their vineyards, picnic allowed
Cons: Wines tasted just okay
See more pictures here

3:25pm: Lieb Cellars*

Tasting price: White Wines (4 for $12), Red Wines (4 for $15), Reserve Wines (6 for $20)
Pros: Inexpensive tasting, tasty reserve dessert wine, friendly staffs
Cons: Popular spot, gets crowded quickly