Shinn Offers Daily Self-Guided Tours

Vintners set up markers to describe various aspects of their Mattituck vineyard.

Local vintner Barbara Shinn has announced that self-guided tours are now available at her Mattituck winery / bed and breakfast she runs with her husband, David Page, on Oregon Road. Markers describing an organic and biodynamic vegetable garden, how vines “turn sunlight into wine," a flock of Japanese Bantam chickens, wind and solar energy, and the winery’s crush pad are just a few stops along the way at Shinn Estate Vineyards — one of the more eclectic operations in Long Island Wine Country. Tours began April 27 and will be available this spring, summer, and fall, Shinn said. “It is perfect for a quiet walk through the vineyard,” she said. “Visitors 21 years and older can purchase a glass of wine and do the walk or conduct a tasting in the…

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‘Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing’ Gets Certified

First sustainable vineyard certification program in the eastern U.S. takes shape.

For winemakers like Richard Olsen-Harbich, sustainable practices in local grape production are an essential part of creating quality Long Island vintages and in keeping the area eco-friendly. Which is why he and other local vintners have partnered to create Long Island Sustainable Wine Growing, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that “provides education and certification for sustainable farming practices in growing premium wine grapes on the East End,” according to a recent press release. “We are eager to strengthen the ecological leadership and social responsibility of the Long Island wine region,” said Olsen-Harbich, winemaker at Bedell Cellars. “This effort has been an important process for Long Island wineries to demonstrate they are …

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Spring Spotted on North Fork, Got a Picture?

Local winery owner grabs quick photo of spring flowers. Why not share yours?

You can't be that surprised that spring flowers are popping up on the North Fork, not after the weather we've had. But here's photographic proof. Shinn Vineyard co-owner David Page snapped this photo Friday of a few flowers breaking the ground in front of his farmhouse on Oregon Road. He can't be the only one. If you've got your own pictures of spring peeking through this strange winter we've had, share them in this gallery.

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Vintners: Mild Winter OK, But Sudden Freeze a Worry

Local winemakers say that the spring-like weather probably won’t disrupt the 2012 growing season — but a sudden deep freeze could damage the vines.

With recent temperatures in the 50s in the middle of January, grapevines, like the rest of us, think it feels like spring. That means the sap in the vines, instead of spending most of its time underground, is still flowing through the upper portion of the vine, which could mean an early bud break, according to local vintners like Ann Marie Borghese of Castello di Borghese in Cutchogue. Borghese said that in her 13 years of winemaking on the North Fork, she’s never experienced a January as warm as this. But with the warmth comes with a major danger: If sudden deep freeze hits, the sap will expand and the vines might break. “If they freeze and crack, that would be a problem,” she said. “That happened at a vineyard up the island a few years …

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5 Things You Need to Know Today

5 Things To Do This Weekend

Take it easy this weekend before getting into full-on holiday mode.

Enjoy one of the last non-holiday-focused weekends left of the year at local wineries, art galleries and nature preserves: 1. From Nov. 4 throughout the winter, Shinn Estate Vineyards will stay open on Friday evenings until 8 p.m. for a special evening of wine, cheese and  Joan Bernhardt will conduct palm readings from 5 to 8 p.m. for $20 per session. Glasses of wine and cheese plates are $5 each. 2. Inlet Pond County Park in Greenport hosts an informational session Friday at 6 p.m. on how you can help save cold-stunned sea turtles. It's a special presentation by the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, sponsored by the North Fork Audubon Society. 3. Enjoy a bird walk through the woods at Hallockville Museum Farm …

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Event: Have Some Wine and a Palm Reading at Shinn

Shinn Estate Vineyards will feature a palm reader every Friday during the winter.

Wondering about your destiny and feel like some wine? Visit Shinn Estate Vineyards in Mattituck on Fridays starting this week and continuing through the winter. Open until 8 p.m. on those days it will feature palm readings by Riverhead-based psychic Joan Bernhardt. You can also enjoy $5 glasses of wine and $5 cheese plates. Vintner David Page said that the idea came from a restaurant in SoHo called Raoul's, a French bistro he and Barbara Shinn used to frequent where a palm reader greeted you as you walked in. "It was a big draw for the restaurant and has been in the back of Barbara's mind to do for a while now," Page said. The readings are $20 for about 15 minutes of fortune-telling. Bernhardt did the same thing this past summer on …

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Shinn Estate Vineyards Featured in Food and Wine

Food and Wine Magazine showcases slide show of Mattituck vineyard and B&B.

WSJ Blog: East End Wineries Could Benefit from Experimentation

A lot has changed in East End wines in the past four years, says Lettie Teague of the Wall Street Journal, though experimentation would benefit vinters and drinkers.

What has changed about Long Island wines in the past four years to make one wine writer from the Wall Street Journal call the region full of "potential" - a word she calls "insulting" - to one with grapes leaving her longing for more? Lettie Teague explores what's changed about Long Island wines as of late in the Wall Street Journal's "On Wine" blog. She speaks to local vinters David Shinn of Shinn Estate Vineyards, Kareem Massoud of Paumanok Vineyards, and Roman Roth and Christopher Tracey of South Fork vineyards Wolffer Estates and Channing Daughters, respectively. Teague says she would like to see local winemakers be a little more experimental, an option Shinn says is difficult due to the high cost of land in the area. To read the full …

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NY Cork Report: Shinn Vineyards' 2010 Rose is Intense

Wine expert reviews a 2010 rose from Shinn Estate Vineyards.

Long Island wine enthusiast Lenn Thompson elaborates on the wonders of local rosé in a recent review of Shinn Estate Vineyards' 2010 Rosé on his website, the New York Cork Report. "Most local rosés are racy and fresh -- begging for lobster rolls or nothing more than a beach or pool," he says. "Others, like the yearly offering from Shinn Estate Vineyards, are richer and more intense, making them better suited to most anything hot off the grill." Read the full review of this summertime wine here.

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Report: From Tasting Room to Winemaker Studio

New York Cork Report features preview on winemaker Anthony Nappa's latest venture in Peconic.

Anthony Nappa, the winemaker at Shinn Estate Vineyards in Mattituck, will soon be opening The Winemaker Studio — a renovated version of the former Tasting Room in Peconic. The place will still feature local boutique wines from various small vineyards but will look quite a bit different, according to a recent story from Lenn Thompson of the New York Cork Report website. Nappa is inviting those working in the local wine industry to a soft opening on June 1 — stay tuned for that story on North Fork Patch. Read the full article on the New York Cork Report.

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