Paumanok Vineyards,Ltd.

Paumanok Vineyards, Ltd.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Paumanok Vineyard located at the far end of Long Island at 1074 Main Road, Aquebogue NY. I met with Maisy who is a long-time guide at the vineyard. She stated that the vineyard is family owned and run by the original owners, Ursula and Charles Massoud who actually live on the property that is now tended to by their 3 sons. They only plant premium vitis lubrusca grafted to vitis vinifera grapevines and have 8 grape varietals; Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. They own 127 acres that yield a similar climate to the Hudson Valley vineyards but do get the benefit of the Maritime climate due to them being located on the island. They hand harvest and machine harvest their vines depending on the sensitivity of the vine and its importance. Since most of Long Island was mainly used by potato farms, the land being fertile and sandy made for great natural irrigation when Mr. Massoud thought to grow grapes. They own the 4^th vineyard to be owned in Long Island and are considered the 11^th winery in Long Island. Their grapes begin to fruit set in the middle of June. By the beginning of August they begin their veraison stage where they transition from berry growth to berry ripening and develop their color. They are then able to harvest by the end of August towards the beginning of September. For their Bordeaux blend, they use a grape variety known as Petit Verdot. This is the last to harvest and takes the longest to grow. They typically have 15 employees in the fields on hand and timing is everything to ensure that nothing is lost. They use a Bladder style press to crush the grapes which they found to be very thorough. Their fermentation tanks were huge and are kept in the 50 to 60 degree Fahrenheit temps. Sulfites are added into the tanks and there is no chaptalization. The chardonnay is fermented in their oak barrels to create a different richer flavor. They hold about 52 gallons of wine and can make about 100 bottles of wine each. These are kept in the basement and kept at room temperature as it is relatively cooler there. Upon bottling, they run the bottles thru a conveyor belt which rinses the bottles, air blows them dry, fills them and caps them and labels them. They are transitioning over from cork tops to screw tops as they provide a tighter seal. The cork screws being porous aloud for too much air to get inside the bottles which lead to a difference in quality over time. The screw tops that they use are Stelvin caps and can allow the wine to hold its quality until opened. While I was curious as to what was considered a good year for wine for their vineyard, Maisy told me that 2010 was the best year for all of Long Island and that the red wines were noted to be top notch. Well, apparently, I love my wines sweet and after tasting all of their dessert wines, all 4 of them, my sister and I purchased 12 bottles…don’t judge us. My favorites were the Late Harvest Riesling and the Vin Rose. Both were sweet but delightful in flavor. Not overwhelming at all and the Late Harvest Riesling had an aroma so pleasant that it was hard not to keep smelling it. Their bottles can apparently be purchased all over New York and I was informed that our previous President Obama served his guests wine from the Paumanok during his famous Ray Charles tribute. The vineyard feels that their wine was so enjoyable that it made everyone want to sing! Well, I sure did during my 2-hour ride back home so maybe there was some truth to that!