On My First Winery Tour: Tasting Tips for the Tyro
Story by Mary Foster
Photos by Christopher J. Davies, Publisher

Want to get in on a good thing? Start tasting, enjoying (and buying!) Long Island wines. It seems like everyone is talking about the astonishing wines from Long Island. Even the grand old Wine Spectator itself has pronounced that "Long Island, especially the North Fork, has clearly emerged as the regional leader in the eastern United States."

Oh, how fondly I remember my first "winery tour." It was about eight years ago, before I took up year-round residence on the sunny, vineyard-rich North Fork. Friends were visiting my humble and forever in restoration - (But I loved it!) weekend abode in the yet undiscovered little harbor village of Greenport. What to do? How to entertain? It was May. Sunny, but cool a typical spring day here. Still too early to go to the beach, or fishing.

My friends loved the art galleries, ship chandleries, and cafes of Greenport. That took one morning. Hey, why not a winery tour? New parents, they had arrived, laden with baby and baby-things, fresh from a shopping spree en route in their rented white Jeep Cherokee. How appropriate, they agreed. They were in the middle of renovating a brownstone on the Upper East Side. He was building a wine cellar, and she wanted to stock it. A wine tour was perfect!

Where to go? Armed with a recent New York Times article highlighting several North Fork wineries, off we went, baby in car seat, and lots of trunk room for all those cases of wine my friends planned to purchase. I didn't know Chardonnay from Chenin Blanc, couldn't pronounce Gewürztraminer, and had no idea of the differences between Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. I was eager to learn about wine, and in fact, had slapped a map of France's wine regions on my fridge, hoping, somehow, to decipher the difference between Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Happily, as I was about to find out, the only way to learn about wine is to taste, taste, taste, buy, bring favorites home, and savor your sips. In fact, savor them over dinner. Wine is the one beverage that is DESIGNED to go with food. In fact, it ENHANCES food. Think of fresh baked bread. Delicious. Think, now, of fresh baked bread with butter yum! It's so much more delectable; it's almost a different thing altogether.

The same goes for other classic "tried and true" food matches: pear with (mild, dolce) Gorgonzola cheese (wow!), ripe melon with prosciutto (unbelievably good together), and vine-ripened tomato with fresh mozzarella and basil (a combination made in heaven) -- to name a few. The same holds true for wine. It's great alone. But a match made in heaven with the right accompaniment!

So, stuffed in the white baby mobile, a-wine-tasting we went. New daddy and new mom were not doing much more than sipping and I, in turn, enjoyed the chance to visit a few wineries, guilt-free, as my friends were buying by the case-load!

I wish I'd known then what I know now. Here are 10 tips I have found especially useful. Some I stumbled onto; others I learned over time:

• Shop with the idea of buying. As you're tasting all those delicious wares, you'll feel much better knowing that you plan to buy something. (My wine-cellar-stocking friends helped me out here!)

• Look around. Enjoy the entire experience. Look at the vineyards; ask questions about what interests you.

• Let the winery personnel guide you. They are generally very knowledgeable and happy to be of assistance.

• Taste whites before reds, simple wines before complex, sparkling wines first. Feel free to ask questions as you taste. Open-ended questions are best. For example, most Long Island wineries have two different style Chardonnays: one lean and fresh, made in stainless steel tanks, the other more complex, having been fermented in French or American oak barrels, depending on the winemaker's style. You could, for instance, taste two Chardonnays from one winery and ask, "Can you tell me something about the difference between these two wines?"

• Think of wine and food matches. While you're tasting, think of how you're planning to serve the wine. Casual drinking with cheese and crackers? Something for a barbecue? Are you planning a special dinner? You may want to purchase a "mixed case" of wines to take home and enjoy with different dinners to see what works best. Tell the winery staff what you're thinking of, and let them guide you.

• Unless you like crowds, visit off-hours during weekdays, or between 10 a.m. to noon on weekends, or off-season. (That is, after Thanksgiving through Memorial Day.) You will get great service.

• Take advantage of the discounts. Many wineries offer great discounts on case purchases.

• If you are a really serious taster, nibble on a bite of bread between winery visits to "cleanse your palate" and to taste a new wine afresh. (Some wineries even offer a tidbit of bread or crackers.)

• Look at the labels of the wines you are tasting. Labels that proudly state the appellation of the region, "North Fork of Long Island" or "The Hamptons, Long Island," are a legal indication that the grapes were grown here.

• Visit one, two, or maybe three wineries at a time. Bring a picnic lunch. (You'll be surprised how many wineries have lovely settings with tables and chairs and invite you to enjoy an outdoor repast after buying a glass or two of wine. Call ahead and ask.) Or plan lunch at the Jamesport Country Kitchen, Seafood Barge, Ross' North Fork Restaurant, Bistro Blue, or the new Hollister's. All have excellent menus featuring local produce and catch, wine lists of Long Island's best, and knowledgeable staff who can talk to you about what you've just tasted and make recommendations on pairing a local wine with your lunch or dinner selection.