Posts Written OnNovember 29, 2012

The Long Island 2012 Vintage in Their Own Words: A Grower’s — and Sorter’s — Year

Writing harvest and vintage reports is always — shall we say, interesting? I hope that none of my winemaker or winery owner friends take offense, but I know that — nine times out of ten — what they tell me about the current growing season or most recent harvest cannot be taken precisely at face value. Not that anyone would flat out lie to me, mind you, but there is little benefit to lowering expectations or panning a vintage. No matter the quality of the vintage, wineries need to sell those wines to stay in business. The NYCR has a distinct advantage over most…

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The Winemaker Studio to Pour and Help Redhook Winery

As I wrote back in late October, one of the things I appreciate most about Sarah and Anthony Nappa is their devotion to building and nurturing Long Island’s wine community. So, it’s not surprising that they will host an event on Monday, December 3 at their co-op tasting room The Winemaker Studio to support the local winery hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy, Red Hook Winery. For some background, check out Talia Baiocchi’s recent blog post for Wine Spectator. The long and short of it is this though — Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge nearly washed the winery away. “All of their equipment was destroyed — as…

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Fork Finds: Scotto’s Pork Store Hampton Bays, NY

Sometimes the best Italian meal is the one you don’t have to make yourself. And have the option of enjoying in your own home. In Hampton Bays tucked between a real estate office and an UPS center, Scotto’s Pork Store has all the supplies for a red sauce Italiano feast. If you’re on your way in/out of town or too lazy to recreate your grandmother’s gravy, this well-loved eatery’ll do the heavy lifting for you. Many Italian grocery stores do what they do, but if you’re on the South Fork, it’s worth a stop for Scotto’s fresh sausages (both the…

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