By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

Theresa Dilworth, owner of Comtesse Therese winery and bistro will close The Tasting Room, Long Island's lone co-op tasting room for wineries, at the end of business today.

Dilworth purchased and re-opened The Tasting Room in 2006 after the previous owners sold their interests in the local wine industry and shut it down.

She hopes to re-open again sometime in 2011 at a different location.

"I am planning to spend a lot of time at my bistro this spring, summer and fall season," she said in a recent email "My vineyard is also in Aquebogue. I am also working on a new bed and breakfast project in Riverhead. My interests are in the western part of the North Fork, and my time is limited on the weekends."

The closing goes beyond a simple lack of time, however. Dilworth thinks it needs a better, more-trafficked location too. "I have basically lost interest in the Peconic Lane location and have been wanting to move it to a Main Road location since last summer," she told me.

Dilworth is exploring two new Main Road locations — both much closer to her bistro and vineyard — but neither will be available for at least several months, which could lead to a challenging season for the wineries that have poured there, which include Bouke, Brooklyn Oenology, Medolla Vineyards, Onabay Vineyards and Schneider Vineyards.

The Tasting Room has served an important role for these small producers without storefronts of their own. And the multi-winery concept is clearly a good one, and I think one that can work.

Lisa Donneson, proprietor of Bouke agrees, telling me "It