Long Island Wines

[Babywewe]

I started reading about Long Island Wines... some think they are going to be "the next big thing" ...what is everyones opinion on this? and/or is there a fav. LI wine you like. Since the winerys are only about 2 hours from me i'll take a ride out there to do some tasting one day.

[Thomas]

Doing your own tasting is better than listening to what any of us think is the best. But I can say this: the best LI wines often fall out of my favor because of the price, not because of the wine.

LI wineries are playing in a relatively closed market--they can get top dollar from well off vacationers and locals, and from their proximity to NY City. But when they are compared to much of the rest of the world's wines (and I do not mean the highest priced ones) LI wines are soon revealed as costing too much.

[Innkeeper]

Agree with Foodie. Have stopped at L.I. wineries when visiting relatives on the South Shore via the New London/Orient Point Ferry. They do a good job with cabernet franc, and allegedly with merlot and chardonnay. The price is high for the wines by the bottle, and also at the tastings. It is not unusual to pay $2 or $3 for a 1 or 2 oz "taste." Many producers don't even have to ship their wine to NYC. They have the Hamptons right next door, and rest of L.I. is affluent enough to buy up their production at their prices. I think one of my cousins buys up half the L.I. wine production.

[Tyrrell]

I've had a Merlot from a LI winery called Bedell Cellars that I thought was fantastic. That's all I know about long island wines.

[Kcwhippet]

Foodie and IK are correct. The wines, especially Cab Franc, aren't that bad, but nowhere near the quality they should be relative to the rest of the world to command the prices they're asking. We visit, but we don't buy the wines anymore. Just way too expensive for what they offer.

[wondersofwine]

I've heard that Lenz makes a good Gewurztraminer. (Also have received compliments on their red wines.) I'd say go ahead and plan a visit sometime to satisfy your curiosity and maybe discover a wine you really like. A helpful site for planning a visit, with map, hours open for tourists, tasting information, etc. is www.liwines.com.

[Thomas]

Lenz makes quite a good Gewurztraminer, and it is among the few well-priced quality wines of LI. Lenz also makes some good reds, plus a sparkler that can stand up to the best of them.