Updated: 11/18/2010 - 4:48 PM

Behind the Wine
What's new at the wineries

Sherwood House Vineyards hosted a 10th-anniversary celebration for winemaker Gilles Martin at its beautiful new Jamesport tasting room on Aug. 28. Gilles, who was a bit late because harvest had already begun, described the winery's current releases while wine club members and friends tasted them. In honor of his decade of making their award-winning wines, Dr. Charles and Barbara Smithen presented Gilles with a cake decorated to resemble a bottle of Sherwood House wine, and guests were treated to delicious hors d'oeuvres by Mattituck's Love Lane Kitchen.

Comtesse Thérèse bottled a unique wine this summer: 2007 Canadian Oak Cabernet Sauvignon. Owner Theresa “Tree” Dilworth believes it to be the only commerically produced Cab Sauv aged in Canadian oak barrels. She says she's excited about this wine “because it will truly be a 100% local, Northeastern U.S. wine, with both grapes and oak grown in the same region, reflecting the same ‘terroir'.” The oak comes from southern Ontario and is coopered (made into barrels) in Appalachia in the U.S. When Tree and her colleagues tasted the same vintage in French and Canadian oak, they all preferred the Canadian.

The two-day NOFO Rock & Folk Fest at Peconic Bay Winery this summer was a great success, entertaining an appreciative crowd and raising $5,000 for the East End Arts Council's planned youth music program at Brecknock Hall, Greenport. Headliners included Richie Havens and Mountain.

Bridge Vineyards is selling its boutique wines at a farmers' market in Sayville. Co-owner Greg Sandor reports that
Bridge hopes to open a small tasting room on Long Island in 2011.

Jen Ramsay has joined Castello di Borghese as coordinator for the vineyard's new wine club and social media promotion. A certified specialist of wine candidate, Jen comes to Borghese with extensive background in wine education and events, social media marketing, organizational development and education.

Raphael has introduced “Green Line” wine on tap in its Peconic tasting room and a number of restaurants that carry its wines. Serving wine by the glass using this unique wine-tap system, says Raphael's Melissa Martin (seen here with the new system), keeps wine quality high and is efficient and environmentally sound. The system reduces costs to consumers in restaurants by as much as 46%, reduces storage space and employs reusable containers.

Castello di Borghese's new wine club, offering three different levels, will provide members access to Borghese wines, entertaining and educational vineyard events, a connection to a welcoming community of wine lovers, and access to the Borghese Futures Program, all at discounted prices.

Nickolas Abramo has joined Castello di Borghese as sales manager. Nickolas has been involved with the Long Island wine industry from its early days and has extensive experience in restaurants as well.

In September Borghese participated in the first ever worldwide Cabernet Day, a social media-based celebration of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet blends. In July, more than 500 L.I. business women came together at Miller's L.I. Ale House in Deer Park to honor Ann Marie Borghese and a select group of other honorees who are highlighted each week in Beverly Fortune's column, “Fortune 52.” Ann Marie hosted a pre-event wine tasting presented by Tanger Outlet at the Arches.

Castello di Borghese made a “green” addition to its outdoor space this summer with the purchase of American-made Polywood Performance recycled furniture from The Green Technology Store in Mattituck. The bright blue chairs and yellow umbrellas match the tasting room's color scheme.

Paumanok Vineyards will host its annual harvest party for wine club members and customers October 16-17.

Peconic Bay Winery's new large-scale, ground-mounted solar array generates 40 kilowatts of power, supplying 75-80% of the winery's power needs, according to general manager Jim Silver. Jim and retail sales manager Pascal Zugmeyer held the ribbon as LIPA representative Kevin Law cut it to celebrate completion of the installation in August.

Bedell Cellars won a Folio award for “Best Use of Facebook” from the Fair Media Council, Long Island's media watchdog group. Bedell's Facebook community has grown to 1250 fans in less than a year and the winery has also started to focus on Twitter to keep its fan base involved with the vineyard.

North Fork Wine Club has added new VIP venues offering freebies and discounts to members, including One Woman Winery and Heron Harbor Suites. See the full list and join the club at NorthForkWineClub.com.

Bedell Cellars is the only New York producer taking part in Wine Spectactor magazine's “New World Wine Experience” in Las Vegas at the end of October. The event features educational seminars, food and wine pairing with top chefs and a Grand Tasting, with each winery pouring one wine that received a score of 90 or better. Bedell will pour its 2005 Musée red blend. (See “Winemaker Moves” for more important news from Bedell Cellars.)

Croteaux Rosé Vineyards' has sold out of its still rosé. The tasting room has closed for the season but will reopen for tasting and sales of its Rosé Cuvée Sparkling on Oct. 24 (when Paula Croteau will also sign copies of her “Farmhouse Kitchen Favorites Cookbook,”), and for a few days before Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine's Day. Wines can also be ordered on their website. Chet's Red Merlot 2007 will be available at the tasting room.

Jamesport Vineyards has started a recycle rewards program. Bring your empty wine bottles, from any Long Island winery, to the Jamesport's tasting room in exchange for free tastings and discounts on purchases. Visit the website for details.

Raphael has announced that Joseph Vergari has been named general manager, focusing on the organization and expansion of business at the vineyard and among wholesale markets. For almost 20 years Joseph has been the executive chef and owner of J. Vergari Inc, catering and special events, along with his wife Julia Petrocelli-Vergari. (See “Winemaker Moves” in this issue for more news from Raphael.)

Scarola Vineyards has opened a B&B, Cedar House, on Sound Avenue in Mattituck.

Sherwood House Vineyards has started a book club involving wine and food themes and announced “Fireside Saturdays” at its new Main Road, Jamesport tasting room.

Sparkling Pointe, experiencing its first harvest this year, acquired an additional 19 acres and will plant 10 new acres of Pinot Noir. In addition, a brand new methode champenoise specialized tank room has been created and new winery equipment installed. The vineyard had a successful grand opening Carnaval with Rio-style dancers. (See photos elsewhere in this issue.)

Sparkling Pointe was featured in the fall/winter issue of Well Wed Magazine. In staffing news, bar coordinator Leo Manno is leaving to study in Florence, Italy, and the vineyard congratulates bartender Diane Mulvaney on another successful year of planning Monday Nights in the Park in Greenport.

Dale Suter is the new general manager at Vineyard 48 Winery. The vineyard has updated its website to include a shopping cart and new calendar for ease of navigating events.

Need to translate “malolactic” into Spanish? Look it up in a new book: “English/Spanish Dictionary for the Wine Industry” by Josefina Adriance, a native-speaking Spanish teacher based in California. More than 6,000 terms are translated. To purchase the $18 book, visit SpanishforWine.com, call 707-257-1809 or e-mail Spanish4Business@aol.com.