The first commercial Long Island wines, including my own Hargrave Vineyard cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and sauvignon blanc, were harvested in 1975—40 years ago this coming autumn.
Since then, Long Island’s wine industry has expanded to include 3,000 acres of vineyards with more than 60 licensed producers, of which more than 40 are open for public tastings. Beer and spirits have followed, along with the development of a regional farm-to-table cuisine. Tourism supports the perpetuation of our agricultural enterprises; at the same time, it challenges the serenity of our wide open spaces. Last year, an estimated 1.3 million people visited our wineries.
How Long Island wine will grow and prosper will depend on the industry’s successful transition from the hands of producers, characterized by our pioneering spirits and missionary zeal, to new and street-savvy visionaries who will parlay their social connections into internationally recognized businesses. In the past few months, the inevitability of change has been underlined by the loss of some of our leading vintners, including Charles Smithen of Sherwood House Vineyards in Mattituck, Dan Damianos of Pindar Vineyards and Ann Marie and Marco Borghese of Borghese Vineyards, both in Cutchogue.
How do some of the winemakers who have been here for decades see the coming years? Eric Fry, the winemaker for The Lenz Winery in Peconic since 1989, has called this the “graying of the North Fork.”
“I see a tectonic shift here,” he said. “There are two North Forks: the old guard, like me, who are more traditional, and the new guard, like Regan and Corey Meador, Tony Napa, and Kelly Urbanik Koch. The new guard are shadowed by the old farts, so they do goofy stuff to get attention.”
If that sounds like a criticism, it’s not, he said. “It’s fun, and it’s so much healthier” than if the newcomers continued making wines with standard, traditional formats, he explained.
Regan Meador, who has assisted Mr. Fry as an intern at Lenz, used Kickstarter to fund his family’s new Southold Farm + Cellar, planting “weird” grapes, such as lagrein, teroldego and goldmuskateller.
Tony Napa makes traditional wines for Raphael in Peconic while creating his own blends with anti-varietal names, including “Sciardonne,” pronounced “chardonnay,” and “Anomaly.”
At Macari Vineyards in Mattituck, Kelly Urbanik Koch experiments with sauvignon blanc fermented in a biodynamic cement “egg.”
Many young consumers prefer to experiment with a range of craft beers and exotic mixed drinks. When I asked Mr. Fry about how this affects his outlook, he said, “Beer and cocktails—it’s the fight we always fight. My wine requires significant income, so it’s usually the middle-aged crowd that can afford it. The young guys [winemakers] are going for the young crowd.”
Mr. Fry is being modest. The wines he makes at Lenz are more than fairly priced, in their category of premium wines. And at $15, I find the Lenz “White Label Chardonnay” among Long Island’s best-value wines. Still, these are, indeed, “traditional” wines.
At Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, Roman Roth—who is in his 25th year as winemaker—continues to make traditional wines, including a landmark “Christian’s Cuvée Merlot” which, at $100, is sold out, while adapting to the changing market with new products. It honors the winery’s founder, Christian Wölffer, who died in a swimming accident in 2008. Two of Mr. Wölffer’s children, Joey and Marc, are now partners with Mr. Roth and have injected their own energy into new projects.
Last summer, Wölffer’s “Summer in a Bottle Rosé” sold out in three and a half weeks. Joey’s inspired sparkling ciders, with fanciful labels, sell for $4 per 355-ml bottle—perfect for the beach. Then, there is the quaffable, non-alcoholic Verjus for $11. Soon, Wölffer will add a distilled gin and brandy to its product line.
Mr. Roth said he is excited by the trend to diversify Long Island’s beverages. “The more people focus on what they drink and want to experiment, the better it is for artisanal wineries, like those of us on Long Island. Interest in locally made craft products gives us a chance to tell our story and show our unique wines that are much more interesting than mass marketed producers.”
The emphasis on “local” radiates out from the wineries to other businesses here, embracing tradition and innovation. I like Long Island Wine Council President Sal Diliberto’s idea of the council and its affiliate members as a “flock of eagles.” Eagles, much like the independent businesspeople here, don’t naturally flock. But through our friendships and associations, we can “help each other, to educate each other and to strengthen the wine/tourist industry of the East End.”
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