Visit to Pindar Winery

Picture of their vineyard

For my wine and beverage class, I decided to visit a winery called Pindar. This winery is located in the heart of North Fork wine country, about 90 miles east of Manhattan. Because I went on a Monday early in the morning, there was no much traffic and it took me about 1:30-2hrs to get there. Public transportation does not take you there for which I had to ask my uncle to take me there.

Initially, I was looking to visit Brotherhood winery. However, I could not go there because I work and study, both full time. Therefore, my schedule only allowed me to request off on a Monday which is the day Brotherhood winery closes. For this reason, I had to look for an alternative winery. Then, I found Pindar winery, which I thought it could be interesting due to the fact that this is a family owned business and it is Long Island’s best-known wine producer. Furthermore, I was even more impressed when I saw all the medals they won.

These are the multiple medals they won. This is display before entering their tasting room as soon as you enter the winery

This winery was founded in 1979 with Dr. Herodotus “Dan” Damianos, who helped to create the winemaking industry on Long Island in the early 1980’s. They started with 30 acres of farmland and now they have over 500 acres. This winery continues to be owned and operated by the Damiano’s family.

During my visit to the vineyard, I was impressed by the size of the winery. Of course, 500 acres is a big number, but once I got there it was, the vineyard looks like it has no ending part. This winery has a tasting room together with a wine shop, a production facility and the vineyard.

I visited the winery on March 26^th and unfortunately, because it was March I was advised they do not offer any wine tasting so early in the year. However, the personnel of the winery, John, still welcomed me to see the wine tasting room, the vineyard and the outside of the production facility because the facility is open to see it inside only with the tours.

This is the Production facility

Entrance of tasting room

The tasting room can accommodate 3,000 guests. The tasting-room light bulbs are efficient, compact fluorescents, tasting sheets are recycled, and tasting glasses are washed in a modern, high-efficiency dishwasher that uses a fraction of the water a conventional dishwasher does.

This is a picture of the tasting room with the inside seating area

This is an outside deck which is still part/attached to the tasting room

The employee, John, mentioned when they have wine tasting, the regular price for 5 choices of wines from the menu they provide is only twelve dollars, which I found it very reasonable.

This is a picture of the menu showing the wines and blends they sell in bottles and offer in the tasting bar when there is a tasting tour.

About the employee, I have to say he was knowledgeable and he provided me with some pamphlets and reinforced the information I saw it in their website before my visit. For instance, he reconfirmed in the vineyard, they grow 17 varieties of grapes and about 23 together with blends varietals. Their maritime climate helps them to grow different grape varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Riesling, Chardonnay and more. Of course as it was March, it was still cold and a little windy.

In terms of vinification, he indicated for fermentation they have both oak barrels and stainless steel tanks.

Oak barrels I could see on this winery

Stain Steel tanks

Moreover, even though, the process in all long island wineries is about the same, he pointed out their Champagne process can outstand comparing to other wineries. Their Champagne differentiate them from others because they utilize the classic method “Champenoise” and they use 100% Pinot Meunier grapes. In addition, this Champagne is cellared on its own lees.

This is their Champagne. On this case, I used the picture from their website because the one I took was note clear

Furthermore, they have a limited production call Dan’s collection. Their Dan’s Signature Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are both made in a reserve style, using handpicked grapes and aged in American oak.

The employee, had a good customer service skill and he said he had 7 years of experience in this winery and it took him about two to three years until he started developing his palate to distinguish wines. This reinforced what my professor mentioned in class and the employee reconfirmed “the more you taste a wine, the more you develop your taste”.

This winery produces 70,000 cases of wine a year, making them the largest vineyard on Long Island. Theyir selection of wines includes wine from bold red blends, to steel fermented, fruit-forward whites.

Sustainable agriculture is used, from the vineyards to the tasting rooms. For this reason, the organic waste in this winery is being returned to the earth instead of wasted in landfills. They are pioneers in the movement away from chemical fertilizers and pesticides that benefits both grapes and the community. They utilize a geothermal heating and cooling system for its wine-making tanks -a zero-emissions system that reduces the use of fossil fuels.

Throughout this unique experience, I would certainly recommend everyone to visit a vineyard and I would definitely want to come back for the wine tasting tour. After my visit, I realized sometimes we ignored many great and interesting places that we have within few a hours away. Like in this case, this winery is only about 1:30-2hrs from New York, but once you get there you feel like in a completely different place. This winery has great things to offer in addition to their wines, such as, their production facility and vineyard itself. Anyone can be impressed by the size of this winery, which gives a contrasting view from the city and it is worth the visit.

Reference:

Pindar Vineyards. (n.d.). Pindar Vineyards. Retrieved on March 20, 2018 from https://www.pindar.net/