Vacation day!

 

This is a map of Long Island.  Lots of people compare the shape of the island to a fish, with its head nestled against NYC and its tail in the Atlantic.   If you look at the East End of the island, you see that the “tail” branches out, there are distinct “forks”.   The South Fork contains all the glamour and glitz of the Hamptons and Montauk.

But the North Fork … well, the North Fork has always been more …agricultural.  Traditionally that meant farms and farm stands (I used to take my children apple picking  in Cutchogue or Baiting Hollow) but more recently has included vineyards.  Yes, the North Fork of Long Island is wine country.  And most of the vineyards have wine tasting rooms,

So a group of us decided to spend a day on the North Fork.

We went to two very different wineries and had two unique experiences.

We started our day at Sparkling Pointe, in Southold.  As the name suggests, this place specializes in sparkling wines.  We were ushered through the indoor tasting room to a table on the patio overlooking the vines.  Our waitress brought menus and gave each of us a complimentary glass of one of the more popular rosé wines.  A tasting “flight” consists of three full glasses of wine; we ordered two flights to share among the four of us (the 5th member of our group does not drink alcoholic beverages).  We also ordered a cheese board and some nuts, because you really don’t want to drink that much wine without some food…and yes, I was a bit buzzed…

I think we all were buzzed, actually, so lunch seemed like a good idea.  We wound up at Modern Snack Bar, an old-fashioned, homey place in Aquebogue.  I’m boring, I just ordered a chicken salad sandwich, but two of our group had oysters and another had soft shell crab.  We are, after all, near the ocean.

We wanted to go to  O’Oldtymer Moonshine in Riverhead for a whiskey tasting, but unfortunately the place is closed on Wednesdays.

So we decided to head for another vineyard. And as we were driving along one of the narrow country roads, we passed this sign:

And then it was time to enjoy Pindar Vineyards in Peconic.  This is a much more casual place than Sparkling Pointe.   There are indoor and outdoor spaces, but we never ventured out to the patio because it was too hot to sit outside (by now the temperature had risen to about 95°).  There’s no waitstaff here, you find your own table.  You can order a tasting flight or a glass of wine at the bar.  There’s a self-serve area where you can get cheese, crackers or a chilled bottle of wine (pay at the bar), and, of course, an area where you can buy bottles to take home.  Here a “flight” consists of five wines, each served in a plastic cup.  You get about half a glass of wine in each plastic cup.  Drew and I split a flight, our friends also split a flight.  We bought a box of cheese sticks and a bag of North Fork Potato Chips, a local brand of kettle-cooked chips made from locally-sourced potatoes.   

We ended our day by visiting two local farm stands. I came home with corn, zucchini, summer squash, beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers, wax beans, red onions, cherries and an interesting Vidalia onion relish.  Drew bought some nectarines.  

Harbes Family Farm in Mattituck also had ice cream …

And at the second farm stand, South Shore Market and Farms in Riverhead, we had to take pictures …

Yes, that was the display next to the parking lot.  

I’m told that the James port Farm Brewery is worth a visit, but none of us is into beer.  On the other hand, we’re thinking of visiting The Riverhead Ciderhouse next time we’re out that way.

Because yes, we very much plan to visit the North Fork again.