Posts Written ByMichael Gorton

Varieties and Varietals: It’s What Makes A Family

Say what you want about my infrequent visits out on the North Fork. Blame whomever you wish for the lack of attention I have given to writing about wine. Sometimes you need an excuse to get out there. And when you get that excuse and take advantage of it, magical things happen. It had been six months since I spent any real time at a vineyard or winery. It’s not important what the cause was or is. The important thing is that I made it happen. And used my wife’s birthday as the excuse to make it happen. Sure, we had family…

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Long Island “Fresh Hop” Ales Forced Me to Reset My Expectations

Several months ago, Long Island was bombarded with an explosion of “wet hop” beers from our various local breweries. Lenn and I came up with this crazy idea to taste all of them and with a few emails and some miles on my car, we got all of them — except Southampton PublikHouse’s which was sold out. What I found out went beyond just a mere tasting of beers. See, in tasting those beers I found that they weren’t living up to my expectations. Now, don’t get me wrong. There was nothing at all wrong with the beers we tasted.…

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Shinn Estate Vineyards Open’s New Tasting Patio and Grill Menu

Shinn Estate Vineyards in Mattituck is putting the final touches on its outdoor patio and new grill area. The tasting patio is an extension right off of the entrance to the wine library, and is a great improvement to what used to host a few at tables and benches between two buildings. Now, they can accommodate many more with intimate seating, or groups who want to relax with a flight of Shinn Estate wines. The patio, which started construction a little over a month ago, transformed the tasting area, but what was not lost in the addition is the cozy…

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Stéphane Toutoundji, Famed French Oenologist Visits Long Island

For the second year in a row the six members of the Long Island Merlot Alliance hired a noted Bordeaux oenologist, this time Stéphane Toutoundji, to visit each member vineyard, winery and lab. He arrived on Monday, June 3. The Alliance is comprised of six local producers — Clovis Point in Jamesport, McCall Wines in Cutchogue, Raphael in Peconic, Sherwood House Vineyards in Jamesport, T’Jara Vineyards in Mattituck and Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack. Toutoundji has been making wine since 1988 and once was a student of the famous oenoligist, Michel Rolland. In 2002 Stéphane purchased half of the wine lab, Filles Pauquet…

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