Posts Tagged“roanoke vineyards”

Roanoke Vineyards: The North Fork’s Boutique Winery

Of late, it seems as if "boutique" has overtaken "award-winning" as the most overused way to describe a winery. There are other annoying, overused wine words too, but let’s focus on "boutique" today. Dictionary.com defines "boutique" as an adjective meaning "of, designating, or characteristic of a small, exclusive producer or business." Of course, even in the wine world, this definition means little without proper context. There are some California wineries that consider themselves boutique that dwarf even Long Island’s biggest producers. While exclusivity is a crux of the official definition, it doesn’t really mean much either. If a winery only…

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WTN: Roanoke Vineyards 2004 Blend One (North Fork of Long Island)

Since its debut a few years ago, Roanoke Vineyards has firmly entrenched itself as one of the North Fork’s true (and top) boutique wineries. Owners Richie and Soraya Pisacano, along with director of operations Chris Watkins, have created a must-stop destination for any lover of fine wines. A portfolio that started with a single merlot bottling has expanded to include two blended reds, a cabernet sauvignon, a chardonnay and a rose. Each shows Richie’s experience and acumen in the vineyard as well as winemaker Roman Roth’s many talents in the winery. Roanoke Vineyards 2004 Blend One ($30), named as such…

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The 12 LI Wines of Christmas: #12 Roanoke Vineyards 2004 Blend Two

his post is a part of my 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas series that will run from now until Christmas 2007. See the entire series here. It’s Christmas day, we’ve opened all of our gifts, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and I’m finally getting around to posting the final wine in my series of 12 Long Island Wines for Christmas. We’re rounding out this mixed case of Long Island wines with a blend that I’ve enjoyed on many occasions since its release, but has never tasted better than it did last night on Christmas Eve. Made from 71% cabernet…

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Wines Worth Dodging the Pumpkin Pickers For

I heard a joke last weekend that goes something like this: "Don’t wear orange on the North Fork this time of year. You might be taken home by someone." It’s probably not the funniest joke you’ve heard lately, but it aptly describes the sometimes-chaotic behavior of the pumpkin-picking masses. All those families, dead set on finding the perfect pumpkin, the best hay ride and the curviest corn maze, have been clogging the major North Fork arteries for weeks and will continue to do so through the fall. Whether you call it the harvest parade, a parking lot or bumper-to-bumper, the…

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LENNDEVOURS Q&A: Roman Roth, Winemaker, Wolffer Estate

Today’s Q & A is with one of my favorite people in Long Island wine, Roman Roth. He’s the winemaker at Wolffer Estate in the Hamptons as well as at Roanoke Vineyards on the North Fork. He has also served (and still serves) as a consultant for several other producers, including Shinn Estate and Scarola Vineyards. But, the reason I enjoy him so much is that, despite being a bit of a superstar winemaker locally, he’s extremely down to earth, genuine and quite funny. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? At my parents home…

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Christopher Watkins Live @ Roanoke Vineyards This Saturday at 7 p.m.

Christopher Watkins is a man of many talents. You might know him as our resident poet laureate here on LENNDEVOURS. Or, you might know him as the operations manager and tasting room czar at Roanoke Vineyards. Still other people know him as a poet who has done several residencies to focus and hone his craft. But, do you know Preacher Boy? That’s Christopher’s alter ego and he’s an accomplished roots/blues/americana singer and songwriter. He’ll be taking Chris’ place at Ronaoke this weekend, combining with Will Scott, another accomplished musician to entertain tasting room visitors. Normally, the LENNDEVOURS crew would be…

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LENNDEVOURS Q&A: Christopher Watkins, Director of Operations, Roanoke Vineyards

You probably recognize the name Christopher Watkins. Not only is he the new director of ops at Roanoke Vineyards, but LENNDEVOURS readers will also now this writer/musician/artist as our poet laureate. He also happens to be one of my favorite people in our local wine country…and he’s someone with the energy and ideas to really help the industry grow and move to the next level. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking?  When I was 9-10 years old, my parents and I lived in Italy for a year (Florence, Venice and Rome), and we quickly…

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Vineyard Visuals: A Bird’s Eye View of Roanoke Vineyards

Picture courtesy of a paraglider via Roanoke Vineyards "So this is what Roanoke Vineyards might like to a flock of starlings as they make their approach in hopes of snacking on some cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. Actually it is the view one of the many paragliders took in last week when flying next door at DeLea Sod Farms. He stopped by for some wine and to bring us some great views from the sky. Thanks JT." — Rich and Soraya Pisacano, Roanoke Vineyards I think this gives you some idea of just how boutique they are…and how much…

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WTN: Roanoke Vineyards 2006 Chardonnay (North Fork of Long Island)

Roanoke Vineyards is still relatively new on the North Fork scene, but its red wines are already among the best made on the East Coast. In time, I believe they will also prove to be among the most long lived wines as well (I’m talking 20 years here). The wine that first "hooked" me on Roanoke was their 2000 merlot. I have one bottle of that wine left and when I opened a previous bottle a year or so ago, it wasn’t even close to peaking. We’ll see how patient I’ll be. But, no matter how good any winery’s red…

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Interview with Rich Pisacano at Appellation America

This week on Appellation America, I interview Richie Pisacano, vineyard manager for Wollfer Estate Vineyards in the Hamptons and co-owner (with his wife Soraya) of one of my favorite North Fork producers, Roanoke Vineyards. Richie has been growing grapes on Long Island for quite a while now and has seen a lot in his time doing so. He’s also always a good interview because of his unwavering honesty. During the interview, we talked about the differences between growing grapes on the South and North Forks, how local wine growers have honed their craft and also Richie’s assertion that terroir may…

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