Long Island wine country turns 40 this year and some of the writers who write about the region most often — people like Howard Goldberg and Eileen Duffy — have already written pieces to mark the occasion. Mostly, they examine the region’s evolution and current state. That makes a lot of sense of course — we often look back on birthdays.
But I’ve struggled for the past week or two to figure out how I’d mark the occasion here on the site.
You see, I’ve felt a special connection to Long Island wine almost from the day I moved here more than a decade ago. I liked wine before I arrived — but after meeting and getting to know the people and places behind the wines here, I fell in love with it. My now-wife and I spent almost every free weekend (this was well before we had our kids) in wine country, often on the North Fork, tasting and exploring. During these day trips, we fell in love not only with the region, but with one another.
And when I started writing about wine almost nine years, ago, Long Island wine was my starting point.
But as I sat down to write a post 40 years after Alex and Louisa Hargrave founded the region’s first commercial vineyard, I felt like I was simple re-writing the same things that I — and others — have written before. Then it hit me — why write just one post anyway? I have a luxury that many do not. I can publish as much as I want and as often as I want.
So, over the course of 2013, I’m going to write 40 posts to celebrate Long Island wine’s 40 years. 40 posts for 40 years.
Some posts will look back on historical moments or figures. Others will feature today’s most important vineyards or personalities. And others will look to the future — the next 40 years — with some thoughts on where Long Island wine may be headed. I may even do some posts that ask you a single question about something related to Long Island wine.
We’ll start next week. Stay tuned.