wine

Nolan Visits the North Fork

~ Jenny ~ 1 Comment

Although we headed to the North Fork once or twice during my pregnancy, the reality is that if you’re not tasting the wares, it’s not so fun … especially when everyone around you is swirling and sipping and enjoying. All that was forgotten Thursday when Matt and I (and Nolan) headed to two vineyards and then had a lovely dinner. Going to the North Fork during the week is ideal because you avoid any traffic and the tasting rooms aren’t crowded. One-on-one time with the staff is usually fun and informative and they are often much more generous when it comes time to pay the bill if no one else is around.

I picked up Matt right after work and off we went! During the week, most tasting rooms close on the early side (between 5 and 6) so check with the individual vineyard you are visiting. First, we stopped at Paumanok in Aquebogue. We had never been here but I tasted their Sauvignon Blanc at A Mano and it was so amazing that Matt gifted me four bottles after I had Nolan. I asked for an IV of it while I was in the hospital but surprisingly, the staff would not oblige. It turns out their steel-fermented Chardonnay is delicious as well. Both wines are perfect for summer so bring one to a bbq! Preferably at my house.

After Paumanok, we took the short ride to Sherwood House’s Jamesport location where we sipped some more and had a few good laughs with Ami and the guy who is really nice whose name I never remember. The people who run Sherwood House are seriously the FRIENDLIEST people ever. Go there already!

Me and Nolan snuggling

 Me and Nolan again, this time he is trying to peek his eyes open, but that Ergo Baby is just too damn comfy

After Sherwood we had another delicious dinner at A Mano in Mattituck – great food, wine and dessert. Before heading home I had the pleasure of breastfeeding in my car in a parking lot, which I’m getting better at. It’s not too bad, especially if I’m not driving. Kidding!! Don’t call CPS; I don’t nurse and drive.

Far Away at Corey Creek

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While Matt and I love the vineyards, we practically never go past Peconic. (PS – go to Peconic!) There are so many to choose from, it seemed like, why bother? Since we were staying all the way out in Greenport, we knew it was the perfect opportunity to try some new places. Much like what we found in California, we realized that many tasting rooms close pretty early, often around 5:00. Bummer!  Renata, the lovely hostess of Morning Glory Bed and Breakfast, recommended Corey Creek and told us about their Moonlight Mondays and Twilight Tuesdays. Corey Creek is actually an offshoot of Bedell Cellars, which also looks beautiful.

We visited there on Monday night and were so wowed. The views are unbelievable. The vineyards look gorgeous and lush at this time of year, and there are beautiful woods behind them. You can do a traditional tasting flight, order wine by the glass, or be total lushes (like us) and buy a whole bottle to share on the deck. They now have live music on both Monday and Tuesday nights.

This was a tasty white blend and only $12!

Lucky for us, Mark Twain was there. Amazing, right?  Matt pointed out that this guy really looked like a cross between Mark Twain and the grandfather in Road Trip.

Get out of my picture, Mark Twain!

Don’t even get me started about the humidity and my hair. On this day it was much like a bathroom after you’ve taken a 20 minute shower (because you haven’t shaved your legs in a while) with the door closed and no exhaust fan.

Southold may seem far away, because, let’s face it, it is. BUT, an hour and twenty minutes isn’t really that bad when you consider that sometimes it takes an hour to get to Brooklyn and Brooklyn sure as hell doesn’t look like that.

So, guess where we went on Tuesday night before dinner? Twilight Tuesday!

North Fork Bliss

~ Jenny ~ 2 Comments

What’s better than a beautiful Sunday afternoon? A Sunday afternoon that’s really a Saturday because you have the next day off – woo hoo!

Matt and I took a quick trip out to Mattituck for lunch at one of our favorites, Love Lane Kitchen. We ate outside and enjoyed a delicious lunch (breakfast for me). Lemon Ricotta Pancakes – yes, please!

Speaking of lemon pancakes, add the zest of a lemon to your pancake batter next time, so fresh and delicious.

There was a flea market going on right down the street so we walked down there and I snagged this little plant stand/side table for $15! It was $18 but I talked him down. The flea market line to use is, “Could you do it for (insert price you want to pay here)?” Works every time.

Our favorite vineyard Sherwood House has their little outdoor tasting room up and running but they also have a brand new one at 1291 Main Road in Jamesport that is really beautiful.

The decor is straight out of a magazine and I’m ready to move right in. The tasting room shares a space with Material Objects, a home decor store that obviously provided much of the furniture and accessories.

Nice bag, honey!

There is plenty of seating, both inside and out


The Sherwood Manor blend is AMAZING. It’s one of their most expensive, probably around $55 a bottle, but it’s worth it for a special dinner.

Even with a little Memorial Day traffic it only took us an hour and fifteen minutes to get there, even less time coming home. Go already!

A rainy day and a beautiful day

~ Jenny ~ 1 Comment

Our third day in California was a rainy one, so we planned as many indoor activities as possible. We started with ANOTHER  amazing breakfast at the Farmhouse and then relaxed a bit before heading to Korbel.

The brandy tower was modeled after the tower that Francis Korbel saw from jail in Czechoslovakia. He was a criminal! (Not really, he was protesting or something)

The tour was ok, too much history and too little champagne-making explanation. Our guide was an older gentleman whose favorite phrase was, “Really think about that for a minute.” Then he would immediately start talking about something else.

I was insulted at one point by what I considered to be blatant sexism but Matt says I’m overreacting. The tour guide was explaining why the bottom of champagne bottles have a concave bottom (it’s for reinforcement) and he said, “Ladies, you’ll know this, when you drop a mayonnaise bottle with a flat bottom, what happens? It breaks!” Ahhh right, our small hands and fingers have trouble holding the jar while we’re at home making sandwiches for our husbands.

After the tour we grabbed lunch at Willow Wood Market where I spotted salt and pepper shakers that I really want.

Unfortunately, they weren’t for sale.

I needed a break from wine so I ordered a chai tea latte and was confused to receive this:

Yes, that’s a bowl of tea. For the sake of my bladder, I didn’t finish it.

That night we drove to Santa Rosa for dinner and we ate at Syrah. Wow! This was the first time I did a tasting menu with a wine pairing and it was amazing. Great food, delicious wine, funky decor, good stuff!

The next day was absolutely gorgeous so we tried to get as many outdoor activities in as possible. We visited Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve which was muddy but beautiful.

Many people describe me as tree-like, what with my never-ending legs that hold up my 5’1” body. You can imagine then how large this tree is.

We tried (unsuccessfully) to time a picture but my camera focused on the branch it was balancing on instead. Oh well.

A friendly passerby took this one for us instead.

Being the beach lover that he is, Matt really wanted to drive to the coast. I was lukewarm about it because I thought, we live on Long Island! We’re surrounded by beaches! Yeah so the Pacific Coast is pretty different. My bad.

Sure, that looks just like our beaches…

This rock reminded me of the final scene in The Goonies when they’re on the beach and One Eyed Willie’s boat sails by.

Anyone who knows me knows that I typically avoid places that have danger signs. Once again, Intrepid Matt bullied me and I’m grateful for it.

That’s not a cool new hat, it’s my hair being whipped by the insane wind.

This is how we got back and forth from the car. I get winded just looking at it.

Hey, Matt!

I had no idea that everything in Sonoma closes really early. All the vineyards’ tasting rooms close between 3:00 and 5:00 which was kind of annoying! We were able to stop at Iron Horse Vineyard and Hartford Family Winery to get some tastings in. Hartford looked like a beautiful private residence but it’s primarily a tasting room and wine processing facility.

For our final night in Sonoma we visited Healdsburg and were disappointed to see that all the stores and tasting rooms also closed before 5:00. Annoying! We were able to shop in Lime Stone which had really cool home accessories and jewelry. I bought myself a vacation gift:

Dry Creek Kitchen was the destination of our final dinner and it was fabulous. I feel like I’ve said that for every meal but the food everywhere was just so good! It’s a Charlie Palmer restaurant so I’m interested in trying his places in New York, Aureole and Astra.

Stay tuned for a complete list of restaurants, vineyards and places to visit!

Wine Tour-rific

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Day #2 in California was filled with even more food and wine!

One of the perks of staying at The Farmhouse Inn is the breakfast. Oh lord, the breakfasts. No Costco muffins and mediocre coffee here! Yesterday it was oatmeal pancakes and the best scone I’ve ever had. Today it was waffles with a caramelized bacon and banana sauce and a pork patty. INSANE. The most interesting mix of flavors!

The main house and restaurant

Our room

After breakfast we were picked up by Ken, our wonderful tour guide from Platypus Tours. He was really knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating. We visited five different wineries in the Russian River Valley and pretty much loved all of them. There were eight of us in the group and with the exception of “million questions guy,” everyone was normal. We visited Russian River Vineyards, Inspiration Vineyards, Battaglini Estate Winery, Foppoli Wines and LaCzar Vineyards. In addition to meeting the owners/winemakers at four of the five vineyards, we actually had tastings in the proprietors’ homes for the last two.

Our transportation for the day

Russian River Vineyards

This vine at Inspiration Vineyards is over 100 years old. Older vines produce really concentrated flavors but have small yields.

These are younger vines, they are smaller and not designed to grow as thick and gnarly as older vines.

John’s tasting room is his garage which doubles as storage and a crystal meth lab. Kidding.

The forecast called for rain.

I’m starting to doubt that meteorology is a science…

They were big fans of the old country at Battaglini.

That’s us with Joe. Ciao, Joe!

The wisteria covered tasting room

The home of Foppoli Vineyards

The view from their home

Dominic, the guy in charge (he’s my age)

The final stop was to LaCzar Vineyards where we had a tasting (and some delicious snacks) in the owners’ home. This is the view from their backyard. You can imagine what the inside of the house looked like. I’ll give you a hint. GORGEOUS.

I think I could manage to live here.

California, here we come!

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Matt and I are settled in to our California trip. We’re spending this week at the Farmhouse Inn in Forestville, about an hour north of San Francisco. Aside from some rain and a dash of traffic, getting here was a breeze!

This was our first time flying on Virgin America and overall, it was very pleasant. I was disappointed to see that the movies were $8 a piece, so instead I watched marathons of Cold Case and Law and Order for free. They also don’t offer any complimentary food so everything needs to be purchased. Boooo!  I picked up some high-brow literature in the airport:

Virgin America is like Jet Blue’s cool younger sister.  Based on previous experience and what The Bachelor tells me, I imagine all pilots to look and sound like John Edwards (minus the cheating and the love child). When the captain came  over the loudspeaker I was surprised to hear that he did not have that southern drawl and instead had some sort of accent, Caribbean, Irish, Mandarin, I’m not really sure. These are some pictures I took from the plane:

For some reason whenever I think of snow-topped mountains I think of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when he is forced to jump from the plane that’s crashing. I’m a weirdo, I know.

Before heading up to Sonoma County, we stopped at Hog Island Oysters in the Ferry Building by the Bay Bridge. Amazing! The Ferry Building is a fabulous marketplace with tons of delicious looking shops and restaurants. It’s reason enough for me to pick up and move over here.

Image: Ferry Building website

Considering that when Matt and I started dating his palate did not extend past tuna sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, and chicken parm, I’m proud to say that he ate oysters and enjoyed them! He didn’t go for the raw ones (although I did) but he was a good sport.

possibly the best clam chowder I’ve had – super fresh with a delicate creamy broth, not the bisque-ish consistency I’m used to

the view from our table

After lunch we made our way over  the Golden Gate Bridge and of course I snapped some mediocre pictures. Photography from a Kia Spectra is hard!

In addition to being a hotel, Farmhouse Inn is also an acclaimed restaurant and we can see why! We had a really delicious dinner there on our first night. Pork cheeks (way better than it sounds), halibut, chocolate beignets (fancy doughnut balls), mmmmmmhmmmm.

Oh the tannins!

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Last Thursday Matt and I ventured into Manhattan to have dinner with friends at Flex Mussels.

Image: http://www.flexmusselsny.com
Image: http://www.flexmusselsny.com

Even if you think you don’t like mussels, you should go. Obviously the mussels are sensational, but the oysters are refreshing and delicious and the doughnuts? YES YES YES. Get the caramel ones!

On the train to Penn Station we sat two rows behind a group of four men who epitomized the hipster stereotype: skinny jeans, scruffy reddish beards,and flannel shirts a size and a half too small? Check! While they seemed like perfectly nice guys, they were LOUD. After a minute I couldn’t help but listen (isn’t that why they were talking so loud in the first place?) and what I deduced rather quickly is that one or two of them work in a wine store.

Image: http://www.3ammagazine.com

Let the glass clinking begin! Yes, they were basically holding a private wine tasting on the Long Island Railroad. Three of the four got off the train in Jamaica to switch to the Flatbush train (Brooklyn hipsters!) but before they left we enjoyed these nuggets:

The tannins on this vintage are so well blended!

Mmmmm, this has woodsy chocolate hues.

And my personal favorite: That cab franc is so broad-shouldered!

I love wine as much as the next person, but let’s keep the wine tasting to the vineyards shall we?

The North Fork

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As promised, for all the reasons I’m reluctant to live here, there are just as many reasons I’m reluctant to leave.

Reluctant to Leave Here Reason #1

Image: offthevine.us

The North Fork is a BIG reason. Although it’s probably the best representation of what Long Island used to be, being out there now feels like you’re hundreds of miles away. It can certainly get crowded and touristy during the summer months, Halloween, and a few other holiday weekends, but most of the time it’s quiet and filled with delicious food, local wine, and friendly people. You don’t go to Whole Foods for organic fare if you’re living in Cutchogue. Farms are everywhere selling vegetables, meat, livestock, and the like.

Matt and I took our first trip to the North Fork about five years ago. The car ride sounded something like this:

“Ooooh they sell pies!”

“Oh my gosh we can buy a goat!”

“Look at the village barber! And the village cheese shop! And the village coffee shop!”

“Aaaaaaah! The library is in an old country church! And they have a BOOK CLUB!!!”

As you can imagine, I was quite smitten.

Since then we’ve visited probably a dozen times, we spent the two nights after our wedding at Jedediah Hawkins Inn, ate a few delicious lunches at Jamesport Country Kitchen and tasted our way through many of the vineyards until we found a few we really love.

Yesterday we visited our favorite vineyard, Sherwood House, and then had lunch at Love Lane Kitchen. Sherwood House occupies a small, outdoor tasting room during the warm weather months.

Image: Sherwood House Vineyard Website

They are in the process of creating a larger indoor space to be used year round in Jamesport. In the meantime, they have limited hours on the weekends at the owner’s home just up the road.

We felt a little strange walking up the driveway to this seemingly private home.

Once inside however, we were warmly greeted by the staff and we enjoyed six different wines and great conversation for nearly two hours.

After purchasing a few bottles, we headed off to lunch at Love Lane Kitchen in Mattituck.

I can’t tell what’s whiter, the wainscoting or my pasty skin.

Eeeek! It looks like Matt’s middle finger got cut off!

Yes, this is actually the street sign for Love Lane.

To give you an idea of Mattituck’s quaintness, this is the entire Mattituck train station.

Getting out here is not as daunting as you might think. From Mineola to Mattituck takes just over an hour without traffic. It sometimes takes us that long to get to Park Slope and that’s only 20 miles away.

In addition to Sherwood House, we also enjoy the wine at Peconic Bay Winery. They have a newly expanded tasting room with a ton of outdoor seating and live music on the weekends. Although I’ve never eaten there, The North Fork Table is apparently wonderful. Finally, if you’re up for the drive, the village of Greenport has several inns, shops, restaurants and activities.

Winter is really the perfect time to visit because most vineyards’ tasting rooms are open, there is no traffic and no crowding. Spend the day out there and let me know what you think!