During the beginning of the spring break, four classmates and I visited Shinn Estate Vineyards on Long Island AVA. They have planted total ten kinds of dominate varietals: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. The vineyards are 22 acres wide; they are not huge vineyards even though I felt that the land was large when we walked in the actual vineyards. The viticulture is becoming a sustainable bio-dynamic method. To keep non-chemical planting, there are many ingenious plans that the owner Barbara Shinn has come up with. For example, she explained that the roots of bunch of clovers, dandelions and grasses give nutritious effects towards the soil and the roots of grapes. Also, clovers and grasses help the soil drain water very well. In addition, they help grapes to avoid bugs in the soil which improves the nutrition of the grapes. She has created this natural cycle eco system for vineyards. Furthermore, she uses the powdered seaweed and nutritious liquids made from fish, which she spreads as fertilizer. She also showed a few tools, such as trellis and long black nets. Trellis helps the grapes’ cordon and cane keep long and straight. Furthermore, the black nets help the grapes avoid insects such as bees and flies.

Marking for varietals

Nutrition tanks of clovers’ roots

Trellis and black nets

Vineyard atmosphere

Juice Pressing tank

Tanks in an ecological system house

Barrels Cellar for red wines

The tasting room was like a countryside cottage, including a garden. The design was a mix of modern and natural atmospheres. Some wine barrels were used like tables. We could taste four kinds of wine per person for $40, including two types of tours: vineyard and viticulture. They had about 19 wines and spirits tastings. We shared at least 10 different kinds of wines to taste most of their products after two tours. Most of us liked ‘Riesling 2014’; it has golden yellow color, and a nose of honeysuckles and white flowers. The palate was like cloves and honey. ‘Pinot Blanc 2014’ surprised me because I am not used to drinking unfiltered white wine. The clarity was muddy and smell was dirty and vinous, but the palate was clear and fruity.

Tasting space

Tasting terrace seats

Tasting wines which we shared #1

Tasting wines which we shared #2

When I asked the staff, “Which wine is the most popular in this winery?” she said Coalescence, Frist fruit (Sauvignon Blanc) and Mojo. Additionally, she explained that Coalescence and Mojo are easy to drink, and so customers like them. Moreover, one server briefly explained the wine characteristics before pouring wines, which was the fantastic wine serving for me. The staff was knowledgeable and skillful.

As a marketing aspect, I asked David Page who is also the owner if they export their wines and if so, where would they export them. I wanted to know this because through my research I knew that most of their wines are consumed on Long Island and New York. Surprisingly, the answer was they export only to Tokyo, Japan. David described the process of how he decided to export to Japan. When I heard about it, I was moved and thankful of Japanese buyer’s effort to explore Japanese wine industry.

Wine library

Wines& Spirits selling

I totally recommend the vineyards as a destination to visit, and I would like to come back again during the harvest season because the bud had just come up when we visited. Their passion for wine was accomplished without the aid of chemicals and the blending of imported grapes were tremendous, which made me thankful. This experience led me to learn and think more about wines.