Author Archives: Anny ng

A Tour at Shinn Estate Vineyards

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My journey in Spring Break was to go to Long Island and go to one of the Long Island AVAs, I went to Shinn Estate Vineyards which is one of the first farm restaurants on the East Coast. It is located at 2000 Oregon Rd, Mattituck. The owners are Barbara Shinn and David Page who is a chef and also Mrs. Shinn’s husband. My friends and I decided to go to this place because it is well knows of their grape varieties and how organically the fed their soil. As we arrived, the staff greeted us very friendly and asked if we made a reservation for the tour. We were waiting in the tasting room which is very comfortable, relax and beautiful.

Mrs. Shinn gave us the tour to the vineyard while we were walking she told us what kind of soil they use for their grapes. They use loam soil that has rock and when it rains, it drain into the soil and dry very quickly. They do not use pesticide and to feed the soil, Mrs. Barbara said that they use seaweed, fish, whey, biodynamic method and self-sustainable ecosystem. She also showed us that in the ground their keep the clover crops and roots because it captures nitrogen to the soil and also can absorb the rain. This vineyard started planting on spring 2000 with 20 acres and their first harvest was Sauvignon Blanc on 2002.

Vineyard!

  Vineyard!

Growing bud with trellis and black nets to support them.

Growing bud with trellis and black nets to support them.

They mark the grape variety. SB= Sauvignon Blanc

They mark the grape variety. SB= Sauvignon Blanc

Nowadays, they have 28 acres with different grape varieties. They have five red grapes which are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot while for white grapes; they have three white which are, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. Besides those, they also have Riesling and Chardonnay.

In our second tour, we went to the winery and were directed by David Page. After the grapes being harvest, they send it to the pressing machine. In the pressing machines, they get all the juices and let it cools at lower temperature under 40 degree F. In the fermentation, they let the juice to be fermented with high temperature up to 50 degree F. After all this process is completed, it goes directly to the bottle. In the Barrel Cellar, they have about 200 French barrels and each barrel can be used only for three time. The room has to be at low temperature about 58 degree F. The barrel cellar has to be clean because hygiene is very important to keep the bacteria away.

Wine Making Room

Wine Making Room

Big Red Wine Cask

Big Red Wine Cask

Pressing Machine

Pressing Machine

Barrel Cellar Room

Barrel Cellar Room

After the amazing tour, we finally have the time to taste their wine. We sat outside with this awesome weather. The staff explain each wine to us which they really know all the details about their wines.We had their famous wines such as Coalescence, Frist fruit (Sauvignon Blanc) and Mojo. My favorite ones was Rose and Riesling.

Outdoor Tasting Wine

Outdoor Tasting Wine

Rose Wine

Rose Wine

Four Tasting Wines to share

Four Tasting Wines to share

This place is just amazing from the beginning to the end. I really learned a lot and it was a good experience to have this amazing opportunity and learn about wine. I would definitely come back here when I have the time and buy some on the way home. I was so regretted that I did not buy any of their wines because I could not finish all the ones that I wanted to buy by myself. I really recommend this place for those who want to learn wine.

Hunter Wine in Long Island City

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Hunters Point Wine and Spirits

Hunters Point Wine and Spirits  

Tasting room and more wines from another country.

Wines are divided by Countries and regions.

Inside of the store everything looks organized.

Inside of the store, everything looks organized. 

Best Rosé Champagnes & Sparkling Wines

 

The wine retail shop that I went was “Hunters Point Wine and Spirits in Long Island City.” The wine retail shop been opened for nine years and people go there depend of the neighborhood. I went with my classmate on Saturday and my first impression was good. We called to make a reservation and the employee told us that we can go anytime of the day. The environment of the store was gorgeous with some classic music from the 70’s that makes someone relaxes.

The first person who we talked to was an old man who works there and we told him that we had an appointment with Tony. Tony is the manager of the store and gave us a good welcome greeting and asking us if we wanted to do the questions first or take pictures of the store. We took the pictures first and looked around the store. The wines were divided by countries and regions. Some of the wines had little notes with them that explain where the wines come from, year, grape varieties, and others notes. I found that very interesting and helpful for the customers and people who do not know about wine. We went to the wine tasting that was in the back with others wines. We asked Tony some questions and he said that some of the customer knows what kind of wine they are looking for and some people ask for grape varieties and the year. He said that people ask more for Italian and French wine. He also recommended two French white wines from Burgundy and the grape variety was chardonnay. The most expensive wine in the store cost like $450. Tony also told us that in the summer, they sell a lot of Rosé because it is fruity, light, it can be drink it with food and itself and also the season is another reason. The most expensive Rosé wine cost like $30. After we finished the tour and questions, we asked Tony to recommend us some wines that we want to buy. My classmate bought a Rosé champagne and I bought a French red wine from 2009 and the grape variety is cabernet sauvignon. He recommended this wine to me because I wanted the wine with less tannin, full body that dry the mouth slowly. The wine was not for me that is why I asked him for his advice.

Overall, Tony was professional and polite when we asked all our questions. He did not look like annoying as we asked the question and also told us to call him or go back if we need any other questions. It was a good experience and the retail store was so peaceful with the music.