Harvest Fest Standouts: White, Pink, Red and ... Orange?

This past weekend, the tents at the Harvest East End festival were packed with so much good, local food and wine it was impossible to try it all (without expecting some memory loss).

Still, there were a few stand-outs for this wine writer, some that won't hit the tasting rooms for a little while yet.

Martha Clara Vineyards, 2009 Viognier

The floral wines from this grape are usually some of my favorite, and the Martha Clara hit the mark. Very crisp flavors, wildflower aromas, some tart peach on the palate. It's not released yet, but is expected to sell for $19.99.

Macari Vineyards, 2009 Sauvignon Blanc

This pale-colored sauvignon blanc delivers some wonderful lime, white peach and mineral flavors with just enough grassy and herbal notes to make it more complex than your average wine made from the same variety. It costs $23.00.

Lieb Cellars, 2009 Bridge Lane White Merlot

Don't look for too much complexity here, but with temps under the festival tents over 80 degrees, this really hit the spot. So crisp, with a pink grapefruit flavor taking over the palate. It costs $15, but some of those proceeds go to the Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Foundation.

Roanoke Vineyards, 2009 Rhyme and Meter Chardonnay

This 100 percent oaked chardonnay is new for the folks at Roanoke, but winemaker Roman Roth has always done wonderful things with oaked chardonnays so the expectation was high. This wine is so lusciously tropical, with the oak adding this creamy, almost caramel flavor that elevates the peach, pear and apricot on the palate. This hasn't been released yet, but will cost $30 when it is.

Channing Daughters Winery, 2008 Meditazione

Easily one of the top 10 coolest wines on Long Island. Mediatazione, is an "orange wine," which means the juice had some time to macerate on the skins. The result is a wine with loads of spice and character. A blend of several white grapes, the wine has honeyed layers of honey, orange and coriander on the nose, while the palate is crisp with more of that spicy orange rind, petrol and even allspice. Think orange herbal tea, only in wine form. So much fun. It retails for $40

Roanoke Vineyards, 2007 Gabby's Cabernet Franc

If you know LI wine, you know Roanoke patriarch Gabby Pisacano, who lend's him name and time pruning the grapes to one of the winery's flagship wines. The beautiful red has layers of smoke, tobacco, earth, black plum, blackberry, pepper, green herb and dried cherry. Tannins on it suggest a long life for the wine, which was released the day of the festival (and Gabby's birthday). It costs $39

Shinn Estate Vineyards, 2010 "Alive and Kicking"

Alright, this isn't an official Shinn label, but it's the best we could do to describe the carboy of fermenting 2010 sauvignon blanc juice they brought to the festival. It's amazing, the transition from grape juice to wine, and this slightly fizzy potion tasted like sparkling grape juice with a yeasty, banana bread flavor starting to emerge. They may be on to something.