McCall’s vineyard on the south side of Main Road, Cutchogue. (Photo by Shelley Wax)
It’s time once again for Long Island’s biggest wine celebration, the Harvest East End tasting fest.
This year’s event, which takes place Aug. 24, marks 40 years of winemaking on Long Island. And, it’s the first time that the event, established four years ago, is taking place on the North Fork, where most of the East End wineries are located. Previous fests were held in The Hamptons. This year’s site is McCall’s Vineyard & Ranch in Cutchogue, recently honored as New York State’s Winery of the Year.
The event, presented by the Long Island Wine Council, Merliance and Wine Enthusiast magazine, will prove attendees with the opportunity to taste wines from such great vintages of 2010 for the reds and 2012 for the whites. “It doesn’t get any better than that,” said wine council vice president Roman Roth,
Roman Roth at 2011 Harvest East End
who is winemaker and partner at Wolffer Estate Vineyard. He says there will also be barrel samples of the 2012 reds, offering a “first glimpse of the fantastic ’12 vintage.”
Josh Wesson
The main event, which runs from 7 to 9:30 p.m. will be emceed by sommelier Joshua Wesson, who is theformer CEO of Best Cellars . The will honor Louisa Hargrave, the Long Island winemaking pioneer and author, and chef John Ross, author and father of the North Fork’s farm to table cuisine.
More than 40 Long Island vineyards and a restaurants and purveyors of gourmet eats will be showcasing their wares.
All proceeds from the event are to donated to East End Hospice, Group for the East End, The Peconic Land Trust and The Long Island Farm Bureau Foundation. Last year’s event raised $46,000.
Tickets to the event at $150 per person and available online until Aug. 23, 10 p.m. (eastern time). A VIP ticket, which includes early entry, is $250. Tickets will, however, be available at the door.
The wineries include: Anthony Nappa Wines (Peconic), Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard, Bedell Cellars (Cutchogue), Bouké (Mattituck), Brooklyn Oenology, Castello di Borghese (Cutchogue), Channing Daughters Winery (Bridgehampton), Clovis Point (Jamesport), Coffee Pot Cellars (Cutchogue), Comtesse Thérèse (Aquebogue), Croteaux Vineyards (Southold), Diliberto Winery (Jamesport), Duck Walk Vineyards (Water Mill), Gramercy Vineyards (Mattituck), Harbes Family Farm & Vineyard (Mattituck), Jamesport Vineyards, Jason’s Vineyard (Jamesport), Kontokosta Winery (Greenport), Lieb Cellars (Mattituck), Macari Vineyards (Mattituck), Martha Clara Vineyards (Riverhead), Mattebella Vineyards (Southold), McCall Wines (Cutchogue), Merliance, Old Field Vineyards (Peconic), One Woman Wines & Vineyards (Southold), Osprey’s Dominion (Peconic), Palmer Vineyards (Riverhead), Peconic Bay Winery (Cutchogue), Pellegrini Vineyards (Cutcogue), Pindar Vineyards (Peconic), Raphael (Peconic), Reilly Cellars (Cutchogue), Roanoke Vineyards (Riverhead), Sannino Bella Vita Vineyard (Peconic), Scarola Vineyards (Mattituck), Sherwood House Vineyards (Mattituck and Jamesport), Shinn Estate Vineyards (Mattituck), Sparkling Pointe (Southold), Suhru Wines (Mattituck), T’Jara Vineyards (Mattituck), Waters Crest Winery (Cutchogue) and Wölffer Estate Vineyard (Sagaponack).
Regettably, if you’re looking for two of Long Island’s top wine producers, Paumanok Vineyards (Aquebogue) and Lenz Winery (Peconic), you won’t find them here, because they are not members of the Long Island Wine Council. Still, there will be plenty of good wine available.
Participating eateries and food purveyors, from Long Island and New York City, include: A Lure (Southold), A Mano (Mattituck), A Taste of the North Fork (Southold), Bistro 72 (Riverhead), BLT Prime (New York City), Blue Canoe Oyster Bar & Grill, Blue Duck Bakery, Bonnie Jean’s (Rocky Point), Claudio’s (Greenport), Comtesse Thérèse Bistro (Aquebogue), CoolFish Grille & Wine Bar (Syosset), Cuvée at The Greenporter Hotel (Greenport), First and South (Greenport), Fresh (Bridgehampton), Gourmet Sorbet by the Sorbabes (Bridgehampton), Grana Trattoria Antica (Jamesport), Jedediah Hawkins Inn, Jewel (Melville), Kitchen A Bistro (St. James), Le Maison Blanche (Shelter Island), Love Lane Kitchen (Cutchogue), Madison and Main (Sag Harbor), Main Restaurant & Oyster Bar (Greenport), Maple Tree BBQ (Riverhead), Mirabelle (Stony Brook), Noah’s (Greenport), North Fork Chocolate Co. (Calverton), North Fork Table and Inn (Southold), Scrimshaw Restaurant (Greenport), Stonewalls Restaurant (Riverhead), The Frisky Oyster (Greenport), The Riverhead Project, Touch of Venice (Mattituck), Vine Street Cafe.