Updated: 10/15/2010 - 12:38 PM

Greetings from the Long Island Wine Council

Ron Goerler Jr., president Long Island Wine Council

For many people, the arrival of fall brings thoughts of cooler days, colorful foliage and home-cooked comfort food. For those of us in the wine industry, the arrival of fall means crunch time. Harvest — the culmination of a year's worth of hard work — comes fast and furious. The vineyards are bustling with activity. Pickers are hand-clipping grapes, surrounded by the aroma of sweet fruit on the vine. Tractors are humming, carrying the crop to winemakers, who frantically work late into the evenings to prepare the grapes and begin the process of winemaking. The 2010 vintage promises to be one for the record books!
By the time you read this, we will have hosted the first industry-wide event celebrating all of our hard work. Appropriately named The Harvest, the two-day event consisted of dinners with winemakers and regional chefs, a grand tasting, a live auction of the East End's finest wines and a spectacular gala dinner. Benefitting Peconic Land Trust and East End Hospice, this event is sure to become a tradition. You'll want to make sure that you attend every year!
Another exciting “first” for us is the launch of our wine region's smart-phone “app.” We're among the very first wine regions in the country to take advantage of this new technology. The Long Island Wine Country App will serve as a mobile touring guide to our wineries as well as to all the great dining, accommodations and shopping on the North and South forks. We are all excited about this new promotional tool that will serve our customers' every need.
This has been banner year for the wineries and business community of the North and South forks. The stellar weather not only produced an extraordinary vintage but also helped bring record numbers of people to the East End to discover what we already know: that this is truly a special place. More and more people are enjoying and supporting Long Island wines. As a result, the wine industry has had a large and positive impact on this region, helping to create or preserve hundreds of jobs in the wineries and the hospitality and retail sectors. Thanks to our loyal customers, over $300 million has been infused into the East End, a number that continues to rise. And we're working with local officials to ensure that our industry's contribution to the local economy will always benefit everyone who lives on the East End.
So join with us to celebrate the terrific 2010 harvest and toast a very promising future!
Ron Goerler Jr., president
Long Island Wine Council