Stick a Fork In It

I don't know about the rest of the world, but the Winedaddy has been hearing a refrain lately. It goes something like this: "The North Fork of Long Island (NY), is making really outstanding wines and is one of the biggest up and coming wine regions in the US." Now, of course that's a paraphrase to the audio recording in my head but it seems like everyone in these parts are talking about the North Fork these days. The good news is that all this chatter actually has some merritt to it. There really are some outstanding wineries out there and seeing is I have Wine-In-Laws who own a house just south of where all the action is, I've actually been able to taste some of this hype. Here are two standouts that I've had recently (and surprisingly, both are varietals that I almost always steer clear of).

Osprey's Dominion Regina Maris Chardonnay (NV) $10

That's right, I said it. The "C" word. Normally, my palette never veers in the direction of Chardonnay. It's not that I look down upon it, nor do I consider myself a wine-snob who won't drink Chardonnay or Merlot (i.e. the stuff that the masses like to consume), it's just that my tastes usually gravitate towards the more acidic or more crisp end of the spectrum for whites and the heavier, more spicy end of the spectrum for reds. The Regina Maris Chardonnay was an enigma.

A few weeks back, I stopped into Osprey's Dominion to pick up a bottle of their Cabernet Franc which I've had before and liked very much. It was March and the tasting room was dead. Just me and the Wine Father-in-Law. We felt badly for the nice lady behind the counter who said it was her first day on the job. She said "You really should try the Regina Maris Chardonnay. It's my favorite." Now usually when someone tells me to try their "favorite Chardonnay" I politely decline but since it was a Saturday (and Saturday's are meant for drinking), I obliged. What I tasted was amazing.

This wine does NOT taste like a Chardonnay. In fact, the Winelady brought it to my attention that this wine is more like an Italian Vin Santo (dessert wine) than it is like a Chardonnay. It's very thick and has a distinct caramel and raisin aroma to it that really comes through when you taste it. The only unfortunate thing about it is that we opened it to drink with some Wild Cod that we were cooking up and it just didn't pair well with that. It is much better on it's own, with some nice salty cheese as an aperitif. For $10, it's well worth picking up a few bottles.

Peconic Bay Winery Merlot 2001 $26

When the nice man at the winery said "You should try our 2001 Merlot, it was voted Best Merlot in NY State," my first thought was that they must have a tone of this stuff leftover and are looking to unload it on unsuspecting customers. The last time I checked, NY State was better known for it's bagels and smoked fishes than it is for it's Merlot. But onward we went and paid our $2 for a taste at NY's Merlot of Merlots. Surprisingly, it was really good.

High in tannins but also high flavor, this is definitely a powerful Merlot. There are some really nice cedar notes in this wine, as well as good spice and a little bit of fruit. Since the tannins are quite high, I'm going to hold off on opening my bottle for a few years but if this site is still around and/or the Internet is still allowing guys like me to ramble on about wine, then I promise to write a post about it. Until then, enjoy your weekends.