In their own words:
“We are dedicated to making dry, fruity, fun to drink pink wines styled after those made in the South of France for centuries. The fruit from our vineyards is grown and harvested specifically for this purpose. The results show in ripe, extremely drinkable rosés that strike a subtle balance of fruit flavour and crisp acidity. Most rosés are made as a by-product of the red wine-making process, bleeding off the first pressings not desirable for full-bodied red wines. This first-run or “Saignee” becomes rosé almost by accident. The taste, color and wine style vary depending on the fruit grown for red wine.
We approach rosé differently. We grow and harvest our fruit specifically for the purpose of making rosé wines. We harvest early when fruit is optimum; and when the skins are just thick enough to allow for subtle color and tanin in the wine making process. Fruit is transported to the winery and de-stemed, then pressed in a hydraulic French “Basket Press” in 3-4 ton loads. The juice is immediately separated from the skins, giving the wines a pale pink, salmon or pheasant eye color. Stainlesss steel fermentation combined with oak barrel fermentation rounds out the style of each wine”.
Sparkling wines are quite hot nowadays. It started with Prosecco, a sparkling wine from Italy, several years ago.
If you observe the trends, you will find many restaurants have replaced Champagne with sparkling wines. The main reason is many of these wines are just a satisfying as Champagne and for less than half the cost.
For years now, I would greet dinner guests with a glass of Prosecco in my home and would suggest my BetsaPasta clients do the same. I have now included this beautiful pink sparking Croteaux wine to my repertoire and I can guarantee you will include it to your wine collection should you make the time to visit..
Take it from me! The next time you are on the north fork in Long Island wine country, stop in for some cheese & wine… and say hello to Paula & Michael Croteaux, the personalities behind the success of this off the beaten path vineyard on South Harbour Road in Southold.
Update: Michael Croteau sold the business in 2018 to New Jersey financier Randy Frankel and Kristen and Daniel Pennessi, who own The Menhaden hotel in Greenport. In a previous interview with Northforker magazine, Mr. Frankel said he intends to keep the character and identity at Croteaux, which produces exclusively rosé wine.
“Croteaux has always had a great atmosphere and we’re happy to be keeping it alive,” he said. “There wasn’t anything to change, so we just want to keep it as a place where everyone can visit and have a great experience.”
Up next…Rafael Vineyard
Entrance to Rafael at Dusk
Next up…Rafael Vineyard in Peconic, Long Island, New York, U.S.A
Down the road a bit on Route 25 in Peconic is Rafael Vineyards.
We decided, at the last second, to stop in here at the end of the day and caught them just before closing. The timing was perfect because we had the tasting room to ourselves. It’s not so much a selfish thing, but more that we were able to have the attention of our server. In this case, we were fortunate enough to meet Nick.
If any of the Petrocelli’s read this, this fellow has personality. He’s a keeper. He knows his wines and sure knows how to welcome his guests.
The impressive wines for us were the La Tavola Bordeaux-style red blend (40% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Malbec…yes Malbec) and the the Portico Port.
My feeling is that Long Islands best reds are their blends. It all started with Osprey Dominion’s 1997 Meritage blend and I’ve loved most of them ever since.
Up Next…
&nbs
p; Ahhhhhhh….Grana!
Bert with David Plath of Grana Trattoria Antica
Mushroom Pizza
By the way, one pizza is enough to satisfy two with a normal appetite…so with a couple of sodas, it’s about $18.00-$20.00
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