Wine Beverage Analysis
By: Rukiya Graham
For this assignment, I had the opportunity to visit a vineyard with a winery.
The First Look: The Place:
The vineyard that I chose is Paumanok Vineyards located in Aquebogue, New York, on 1074 Main Road. This estate is roughly 127 acres. In this vineyard, they grow a rather large variety of grapes, such as Chardonnay, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and many more. This vineyard is located in North Fork of Long Island American Viticultural Area (AVA), in New York. When pulling into the entrance of the Paumanok Vineyards the parking lot has gravel soil and as you begin walking up to this barn house style entrance and looking to the right side you can see the wooden style tasting room and towards the left you can see their grapevines and a patio deck that leads to their tasting room as well. As soon as you walk inside of the barn the gift shop, bar and register are all located within the same proximity. Furthermore, this vineyard is so big and beautiful that it is capable of hosting weddings and other outdoor events.
My Outlook: The Experience:
Visiting Paumanok the wine tasting was very different from the one I experienced in Champagne, France. Within Paumanok I took the liberty to do the self-tour, instead of having a guide. I was able to walk the vineyards freely and take as many pictures, and seeing and smelling the grapes right on the vines as they grow, and see exactly what clusters are and how they separate each grape variety. What makes Paumanok Vineyards have great wines are the type of soil that is surrounding their AVA which is known as prevailing soil type. Also, the climate within the long island is considered Maritime climate. They keep their vines in very neat rows and they have a very careful pruning system. They make sure that they install the usage of cover crops between each and every row of vines. Their viticulture practices are the usage of being sustainable. It was explained to me that the vintage distinction can be slightly different from a year to year basis depending on the season. The knowledge and willingness of the tasting room personnel were amazing. Erika expressed the knowledge and history of the vineyard as well as giving us a menu to look at for which wines are in a pre-fixe menu. It was roughly around thirty (30) dollars to taste six (6) glasses of wine. While getting the six wines of choice, she explained that majority of their white wines are held in their stainless steel tanks and their red wines are held/aged in oak barrels that are inert. Also depending on the grape, it would be hand or machine picked. They also sell one sparkling wine that is made from their Chenin blanc and Chardonnay. Visiting this vineyard and seeing the passion that each individual took to explain the process of how their viniculture is done and how they expressed their vinification techniques, without telling me to set an appointment shows their excellent customer service skills. Seeing these wonderful attributes make this vineyard a recommended choice.
It’s amazing that you were able to see grapes on the vines! Were you able to tell the difference in grape varieties just by the way they looked? If so, what were the characteristics? When I went to visit my vineyard, the managers had just finished picking all the grapes. Loved your blog post!
Honestly I could not tell the difference if it wasn’t for the associate that told me which section is which I would have been lost.
Your visit seem to be great as per the time of year you went allowed you to see actual clusters on the canes. I wish I would have went around the time you went. Nice pictures! I also noticed to had the opportunity to try the Chenin Balnc, Jealous.
Being able to be in the vineyard provides a unique learning perspective that was clearly expressed.
Being able to be in the vineyard provides a unique learning perspective that was clearly expressed.