Last weekend some friends and I headed down to Long Island wine country for a little mini-break. None of us had ever been there, but we’d heard good things. And even though we normally plan a bit better, this is such a busy time for all of us that we didn’t put too much thought into the trip. We booked a house but pretty much left the rest of the weekend open to hap and circumstance. I don’t know if it was because of or despite that, but we had an amazing weekend. It is an absolutely beautiful spot to spend time in, and the quality of the wine is very, very good. And, if you’re not that into wine (um, what??) there are other things to do too–eating, shopping, antiquing, boating, swimming, bike riding, or just lounging– you name it, you can do it on the north fork of Long Island!
I’m going to tell you our story through pictures because I have like 400 of them on my phone. I may have been a bit snap-happy. But really, you’ll see why now:
It’s a quick ferry ride from New London and if you go in April you won’t have touble finding a seat.Kontokosta Winery was on the way from the ferry to our rental so we didn’t see any reason not to stop.I love a beautiful barn, and if there’s wine to drink inside- well then, all the better!Girls are headed in…After you!The tasting room had us like…Time to shop!We met a friend who insisted we pose like this. It works.Cabernet Franc is a good way to start off a wine tour- and this one was fantastic. Nice view too…Fog rolling off the water gave us this view of the barn. Didn’t want to leave, but:Next stop: our rental. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this cottage.This place had everything we needed and more- plus was kinda like stepping into a West Elm catalog.Entry- kick those shoes off and stay awhile!I like it when there’s a nice bathroom. Bathrooms are important.My bedroom.Waking up here was a pleasure (well except for the massive hangover).First order of business, relaxing on the patio!Friday night we hit the town in our blazers. Didn’t mean to dress alike, but it is what it is: blazer brigadeCocktails at American Beech. We felt like we were in Miami and Tina got attacked by a big palm frond.Might have overdone in Friday night, but couldn’t miss a beat. First stop Saturday was Croteaux, the rosé winery. This place was seriously a little slice of heaven.The wine here was as lovely to drink as it was to look at.All day.Cheers to sunny days and the best of friends.So good. I love rosé when the sun is shining and there’s a Citroen Hvan in the background.We wanted to sit here but the stools were too tall.More ambiance at Croteaux. Would have been nice to stay all day BUT…More wine to try! This is Lenz.The tasting barn at Lenz.Lenz has a great old vine 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. Really tasty! Also, their merlot is very good. I don’t usually drink merlot, but this one was pretty inspired.Lenz vineyardLieb was next. I loved this place. It had a great low-key vibe: great staff, live music and more really good wine. Merlot again. Maybe I am a merlot drinker after all.Listening and tasting at LiebIt was too nice a day to stay inside so moved to the patio to soak up the sun and enjoy the view. Nice way to wind down the tour.This is Chris, our driver from North Fork Designated Driver. Best decision we made. He was super nice and we didn’t have to worry about being safe on the roads.We were probably really annoying.Saturday night we had dinner at American Beech (which was top notch) and checked out the local bar scene at Brix&Rye and Lucharitos. No pics of that (probably a good thing). Happy to report we didn’t spend any time inside here.This is American Beech in the daylight. Great spot!I loved how the town was cute, with lots to do but not overdone or pretentious.Thanks for the memories Greenport! We’ll be back for sure.
Last weekend some friends and I headed down to Long Island wine country for a little mini-break. None of us had ever been there, but we’d heard good things. And even though we normally plan a bit better, this is such a busy time for all of us that we didn’t put too much thought into the trip. We booked a house but pretty much left the rest of the weekend open to hap and circumstance. I don’t know if it was because of or despite that, but we had an amazing weekend. It is an absolutely beautiful spot to spend time in, and the quality of the wine is very, very good. And, if you’re not that into wine (um, what??) there are other things to do too–eating, shopping, antiquing, boating, swimming, bike riding, or just lounging– you name it, you can do it on the north fork of Long Island!
