July 1: Long Island Farm Brewery

We stopped here after a long day of driving to stretch our legs. Though this brewery is about 30 minutes from my parent’s house we had never visited before. I ordered the raspberry gose and Leandra had the Farmers Tan amber. The outdoor space was expansive with lots of chairs available on a cool summer evening.

July 7, 23, 28: Lenz Winery

We have been members here for years, and as usual, we visited Lenz several times, first to sample the new releases, then just to enjoy their courtyard.

Fri, July 7 – our tasting day, I tasted the new whites and Leandra tasted reds. The 2016 Cuvee was excellent as expected, and the other standout was the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Estate Selection North Fork which had a lot of tropical notes this year. My notes:

• 2016 Sparkling Cuvee – a little sharper than 2015, clean with lots of bubbles. Lots of wet stone, a little bread. Dry, good acidity, medium finish.
• 2022 Sauvignon Blanc – very tropical. Pineapple, guava, passion fruit. Medium light acidity. Very pleasant. 9
• Firefly White – former tango. Clean nose. P.gris like, medium light acidity and medium finish. Good dinner wine.
• 2017 Estate Chardonnay – mild butteriness, stewed apple, light ash note.
• 2017 Pinot Gris –  less plastic than other years. Light, stewed nectarines and white peach compote, hint of earth and smoke. Oaked this year, like paradox. 87
• 2022 Pet nat Firefly- watermelon, strawberry and cream, medium  sweetness, not much acid. Very summery, but probably want one glass. 82

Sun, July 23 – Instead of going to a restaurant we decided to stop in for a lunch of cheese and almonds paired with the Cuvee – simple but leisurely as we sat in a shady spot with a light breeze, great for a lazy Sunday. We also tried

• 2022 Blanc de noir (pinot noir grape) More body this year, lots of strawberry. Provence style, Light finish, light acidity – pair with salads. 86
• 2010 Chardonnay late harvest – we had tried this way back in 2016 – it is still delicious! Creme brulee burnt sugar and a little spice on long finish. Very nice! 92

Fri, July 28 – Our final night in NY, this time we brought family with us, and split another bottle of the Cuvee and shared the Camembert cheese.

July 13 & 26: Suhru Wines

We had tried some of their wines in the past, so when we learned about their happy hour discount on wines by the glass we decided to stop in. They have a lovely outdoor space in the back that is shaded from the afternoon sun. Over two trips we tried:

• 2022 La Crescent – lots of stonefruit, apricot and peach, a little lime too. Light body, Nice acidity, medium finish. Very drinkable, nice porch wine . Came home with one!
• 2022 Rose – light salmon pink. Soft Mineral, cranberry, a touch of residual sweetness. Medium bodied, lasting acidity.prefer slightly chilled. Pair with chicken or turkey. 88
• 2022 Dry Riesling. Grapey! A little stone, lime. Medium acidity. Not bad, but not distinctive. 82
• 2021 Teroldego – typically a northern Italian grape, grown right up the road in Mattituck. Lovely spice and fruit, light bodied.
• 2019 Cabernet Franc – also an enjoyable glass, heavier than the Teroldego with very little of the LI nose as is typical of a cab franc from the North Fork.

Leandra purchased a bottle of the Shiraz at Vintage Mattituck as well.

July 14: North Fork Brewing

Our favorite local brewery for several years now, we stopped in halfway through our trip. I tried the golden ale with Lewin Farms strawberries, which was fairly creamy, with a slight bitterness on the finish. Leandra tried the Dark Side of the Maple porter. It was a nice evening so all the doors were open, and we sat on the patio – the neighboring distillery was hosting a rambunctious gender reveal party that was fairly entertaining.

July 17: Chronicle Wines

We visited Chronicle for their Monday half-off glasses happy hour. They have expanded their space into the former Anthony Nappa wines, so they had lots of air conditioned indoor seating on a fairly warm afternoon.

• Chronicle: Migratus Sauvignon blanc 2021 –  light, french style. Green herb, earth, very light stone. Some fruit on the end. A little thin on finish.
• Rose – a little smoke, not much fruit, a little cream. fairly light, but a lingering mineral finish
• Social Club Pink (canned rose) – slightly cooked fruit, blend of cab franc and merlot, great value for happy hour considering you get two glasses from one can.
• Saltbox Cellars 2019 “Red Skies”: Fruit and smoke on the nose with a bit of evergreen; dark fruit on finish with some earthiness, low tannins. B+

July 20 & 27: Corey Creek Tap Room

We visited Corey Creek twice for their Twilight Thursday music and food truck event, and we will make a point to visit next year too.

On the 20th we arrived around 7pm to find the site quite busy with a long line of parked cars. Thankfully they have spaces all the way back in the vines! They have an expansive lawn and picnic table section, then a deck with tables plus more indoor space. We ended up on the empty front porch and enjoyed the breeze along with sunset. All their wines were on draft and they fill bottles for $20-30. After discussing options with the bartender we ordered a bottle of the old vines rose which is mostly gewürztraminer with some Malbec. Our notes: a very light blush pink, the rose smells of floral and honeysuckle, with rose, white peach, some green melon, and very light honeysuckle on the palate. Light bodied with some acidity, but lingering mineral finish.

We returned on the 27th, this time grabbing the Adirondack chairs on the grass. It was a warm night but the strong breeze off the vineyard kept everything comfortable. This time we tried the Malbec rose, which had juicy cherries, a little cream, a touch of smoke; not too dry, with a light bitterness on finish. We preferred it cooler so kept it in the ice bucket.

We also tried the blue cheese sliders from the Buns truck on this visit- messy, but tasty sauce. Sadly their fries were underdone and disappointing.

July 22: Übergeek Brewing

After clothes shopping at Tanger we stopped in for a beer. I got the raspberry, while Leandra tried the doppelbock. We were also hoping for a food truck but none were around this year.