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Hamptons Wineries & Vineyards on the South Fork
Wine Education
Grand Cru Classes
3985 Sound Avenue
Mattituck, NY 11952
(631) 298-1231
www.GrandCruClasses.com
Drinking wine may be a pastime; tasting wine may be a delight; but distinguishing wine is a soul satisfying experience. Wine is, after all, an art form! To get the full benefit of its complexities and nuances, you need some education. An exciting new opportunity is now being presented by Grand Cru Classes. Offering three series of programs Wine Discovery Series, Great Grape Series, and Beyond the Basics, Grand Cru Classes urges us to "learn more about wine, one glass at a time." Embracing the entire process of wine production, the "classes with glasses" are held at local wineries and provide hands on opportunities. Private group classes can be arranged and I can't imagine anything more fun for a bachelorette party, a pre or post winery wedding event, a corporate outing, or just a way to entertain friends. Long Island Wine Country was begging for this sort of program and Grand Cru Classes has answered the call of neophytes and seasoned wine drinkers with experience, knowledge and whimsy! Visit the website for detailed information.
East End Experience VIP Benefit Click here! 
It was worth the wait for the completion of this winery's renovation as it is now one of the premiere locations for weddings and events on the East End. It is absolutely glorious. The Hamptons feeling is alive and present on the North Fork with all its charm and elegance.The designer for the renovation must be a genius as she has managed to incorporate historical elements with the beauty of nature and balance of structure in such a way as to almost erase the lines. All two hundred guests that can be accommodated in the pavilion will have an unparalleled experience. The pavilion has a mahogany deck, high angled ceilings with incredible lighting, a huge bar, and is designed to allow elegant and easy service. The adjoining tasting room is perfect for late staying guests and there is even a loft that serves as a bridal party area. Wedding ceremonies may be performed in the orchard which has a wisteria laden long arbor entry. Bedell Cellars has an in house event specialist, Claire Day, who guides clients easily and professionally in planning their special event. This winery's commitment to excellence has now extended to events, and how lucky that is for us all!
East End Experience VIP Benefit Click here!
Corey Creek is open for tastings and wine purchases and affords a lovely view across the vineyards from its tasting room. While this vineyard is no longer available for events and weddings, the vineyards and facilities at Corey Creek remain a perfect site for all those special occasions.
East End Experience VIP Benefit Click here!
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Bedell Cellars
www.BedellCellars.com
Main Road (Route 25)
Cutchogue, NY 11935
Phone: (631) 734-7537
Castello di Borghese/Hargrave Vineyard
www.CastellodiBorghese.com
Route 48/Alvah's Lane
Cutchogue, NY 11935
Phone: (631) 734-5111
Corey Creek
www.CoreyCreek.com
36225 Main Road
Southold, NY 11971
Phone: (631) 734-7537 Ext. 32
Duck Walk Vineyards
162 Montuak Highway
Southampton, NY 11968
Phone: (631) 726-7555
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Galluccio Family Wineries
www.gallucciowineries.com
24385 Main Road (Route 25)
Cutchogue, NY 11935
Phone: (631) 734-7089
Palmer Vineyards
www.PalmerVineyards.com
108 Sound Avenue (Route 48)
Riverhead, NY 11901
Phone: (631) 722-WINE
Pellegrini Vineyards
www.PellegriniVineyards.com
23005 Main Road (Route 25)
Cutchogue, NY 11935
Phone: (631) 734-4111
Raphael
www.RaphaelWine.com
39390 Main Road (Route 25)
P.O. Box 17
Peconic, NY 11958
Phone: (631) 765-1100
Sag Pond Vineyards
Sag Road
P.O. Box 1768
Bridgehampton, NY 11932
Phone: (631) 537-5106
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Americans' Thirst for Wine Is Rising
Americans, most of whom once thought of wine as effete and elitist, might be surprised - astonished, even - to learn that the U.S. is the 3rd largest wine consuming nation in the world and will almost certainly become the largest by the end of this decade.
By Frank J. Prial
Only the French and Italians drink more wine that Americans do, and many traditional wine-drinking nations, including Germany and Spain, drink less, according to the Wine Institute, the promotional arm of the U.S. wine industry.
Moreover, while wine consumption in the U.S. has been increasing steadily in recent years, consumption in the traditional wine-drinking nations has been declining.
Last year, wine consumption in France dropped to 370M (million) cases, but rose to 250M here, a 14M case increase over 2001, according to Wine Institute figures.
Jon Fredrikson, a partner in Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, a San Francisco-based consulting firm that has been tracking the wine industry for 55 years, estimates that by 2010, French wine consumption will have dropped further to around 290M cases, while here in the U.S. it will have risen to about 311M cases. A standard case holds 12 750-milliliter bottles, or about 2.4 gallons total.
In 1970, France consumed 610M cases of wine, and the U.S. 113M, the Wine Institute reported. By 1990, consumption had dropped to 497M cases in France and had climbed to 214M cases in the United States.
The wine industry in America has been crying the blues because of the sluggish economy, the wine glut and, thanks to the weak dollar, fierce overseas competition, Mr. Fredrikson said. But, he added, sales this year are 12M to 15M cases over 2002. People are buying and drinking a lot of wine.
Despite this increase, the U.S. still ranks very low on individual consumption. On a per capita basis, little Luxembourg is on top. The Luxembourgers put away 63.3 liters, or just over seven cases, of wine per person each year. France is 2nd with 58.1 liters and Italy 3rd with 53.4. The U.S. comes in near the bottom of the list with 7.69 liters, or about 10 bottles, just below Slovakia and just above Latvia.
But, as Mr. Fredrikson's estimates show, we are coming up fast. There probably was never a better time to buy wine in this country. Tremendous overproduction in the 1990's left the U.S. industry with an immense glut of unsold wine. One consequence was the appearance of a range of lower-priced wines.
That helps to explain the long faces in the wine industry. Sales are up but profits can be elusive.
A dozen producers, though, have declared bankruptcy or simply closed in the last three or four years. The flood of imports has added to the domestic industry's woes.
So far this year, according to Department of Commerce figures, wine imports from Australia are up 52% over last year, from New Zealand 37%, Spain 16%, South Africa 24%, Israel 58% and Austria a remarkable 84%, admittedly on a small base, an estimated 53,000 cases, up from 29,000 in 2002. What's more, many of those wines, like the immensely popular Yellow Tail line from Australia, are simply better values than their American counterparts. Handsome packaging, innovations like the screw top, positive acceptance by wine critics and aggressive marketing have given the imports an edge that producers are scrambling to overcome.
The current wine boom is hardly an overnight phenomenon. Wine Institute figures show that after some particularly rocky years in the 1980's, wine consumption in the U.S. has more than doubled in 12 years, up an estimated 88M cases this year from the 1991 figure.
As Mr. Fredrikson noted, 1992, when the boom began, was the year following the revelation of the so-called French Paradox, a study that claimed that the foie-gras-eating French had fewer problems with obesity and cardiovascular illness than Americans.
The reason, the researchers said, was wine, particularly red wine, which the French drank much more of than Americans did. Sales of red wine in this country took off in 1992 and have increased every year since. According to data gathered by the A. C. Nielsen company, red wines accounted for 17% of the U.S. market in 1991, 25% in 1995 and 39% in 2002. That is confirmation of sorts of the old Burgundian adage that wine has but one responsibility, and that is to be red.
Given the current competitive environment, these are good times for wine drinkers in this country: an all-time dream market, Mr. Fredrikson said. The future looks even better, assuming the economy recovers and disposable income, the kind used for most wine purchases, increases.
But observers inside and outside the industry remain cautious. They recall the 1980's when the future for wine, which had flourished in the 1970's, looked limitless. Then, a combination of events, mostly out of the industry's control, almost brought it to its knees. A nationwide campaign to equate wine with hard liquor (A drink is a drink is a drink), warning labels, a mostly spurious sulfite scare and overdue but tough drunk-driving laws all took their toll. Wine sales plummeted and it was not until the early 1990's that they recovered.
One happy note for the wine people: beer sales are down by 1 to 1.5%. Could the six-packers be switching to zinfandel?
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New York Geography Benefits Wine
New York's geographic placement allows for the production of great wines, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Rieslings.
By Michael Doyle
A quick glance at the map gives the impression of New York as being a bit too far north to be a producer of fine wine. However, New York's wine regions lie between the 43rd and 41st parallels, making then comparable on the map to those of northern California and actually further south than the Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne regions of classic European wineries. Grapes grown in this climatic area tend to make wines of a lighter, fruitier nature which have more aromatic base, produced by the higher acidic content natural growth in a cool climate. This leads to the production of great Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Rieslings.
New York State currently ranks second in the nation in total grape acreage, second in the nation in the production of wine, and is the number one producer of grape juice in the nation. The four major wine growing regions of the state are the Lake Erie & Chautauqua, Finger Lakes, Long Island, and very close to home, the Hudson Valley. Each area has a blend of the climatic essentials of soil and water conditions which makes their grape growing unique to the individual regions.
While the Long Island region is the latest to enter the wine growing industry it has blossomed from one small vineyard in 1973 to 26 wineries and over 50 vineyards today. Long Island's East End contains over 3,000 acres of grapes and produces three million bottles of wine each year.
There are vineyards with tasting rooms all the way out east towards Orient Point on Route 25 and the area is well worth a visit for the wine connoisseur or the vacationer with a free afternoon. On weekends, there's entertainment and special events at many of the larger vineyards.
With almost a thousand family-owned vineyards and producing 100,000,000 bottles of wine annually it is no wonder New York wines are being served and praised worldwide.
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