Sunday, November 13, 2011

Wine Tasting Weekend with the Girls in Long Island,New York



So this weekend I made the trip from Rhode Island to Long Island,NY for a weekend of food and wine tasting. Friday morning I loaded up my suitcase ( brought a big luggage because I knew I would be coming home with more than what I came with. ) I caught the Ferry from New London,CT and an hour and twenty minutes later I was in New York! This part of Long Island was beautiful. A quaint, beachy town that is bustling in the summer and sleepy in the winter.
My First View of Long Island



We spent the night shopping at nearby outlet malls( Tanger) , which lets be honest with six girls was insane. We ended up with far too many bags and not enough room in an SUV to fit it all. Whoops.

Anyway to the best part of the weekend. Wine Tasting! We started our day off at Duffy's which was a great little food store/deli. The breakfast was a great start to our day. Yes- I got a breakfast burrito. Katie started to tell the girls that I always get that everywhere. Catherine then told her," I know I read it in her blog!" So thanks to Catherine for even reading my blog to know my preferences of Mexican goodness. Here is a picture of the inside and these HUGE muffins they had.
Duffy's- Mmmm Breakfast Burrito
After a delicious breakfast we got ready for the limo that was going to pick us up and take us to three local vineyards. The first was Pindar and was bustling for 11:30am( and I thought we started early.) The layout had two separate bars where groups could sample five types of wine. There were so many to choose from I could hardly pick!
Look at all these people!
A Great Syrah in Amazing Surroundings

After we sampled five types of wine we each got a glass of our favorites to sip outside on their patio overlooking the vineyard( I know - tough life.) So we were enjoying the scenery when the group next to us started shouting and clapping. A man proposed to his girlfriend right next to us! What a great date idea or engagement spot guys!

The Girl's Enjoying their Wine

After relaxing a bit Katie and I were sad we missed the vineyard tour. The workers told us we could take a look around we we did just that. Hey we already had a few glasses....

Impromptu Photo shoot Anyone?

The barrels moved after that and I almost fell

Anyway- On to the next Vineyard! Next up was Pugliese Vineyards.


It was such a beautiful day outside and it really highlighted the surroundings at this vineyard. We didn't see the vines like at Pindar, but it had a beautiful fountain in the back and a tasting tent outside.We had an amazing catered lunch, which we ate outside enjoying the crisp fall air.

Prosciutto and Mozzarella with a salad- Amazing!

The wine here was great also. The whites seemed to be the winners here. I am preferential to red, but even I loved the whites.And of course no lunch is complete with another glass of wine.



Our last stop was quite controversial. Our limo driver let us know the wine at Vineyard 48 was not the best, but if we were going for the party atmosphere we were in the right place. Where else would a group of 26 year olds go? So we headed to Vineyard 48. How to describe this place... gone were was the quiet atmosphere we had just been to. There was a cigar shop, a DJ cranking out techno music and top 40 and little explanations of the wine. I actually saw a few people who just bought bottles and were drinking from bottles- no need for a glass right? After quite a bit of wine we were ready for some dancing anyway.
Vineyard 48

The dance floor and security.. Hmmm
The wine here was actually better than expected. I stuck with whites, a Riesling to be exact. It was really good. Elyse and I sampled the cigar offerings and it also was good. Overall we had a really great time here. Not so much for wine tasting, but for the fun factor and atmosphere. If you are really serious about wine tasting and not so much the party scene- skip it. Big thanks to the drunk man that took this picture of us!

The Girls!

Sun setting at the Vineyard

We stayed here for a good hour or two and called it a night ( at 6pm.) Overall a great day with some great ladies. We went home and had an amazing dinner of penne ala vodka, stuffed peppers and artichokes, chicken, pigs and a blanket and Katie's famous spinach dip. We were stuffed. This was such a  great weekend and I would suggest a NY vineyard tour to anyone. We had a great time and hey we didn't even have to drive anywhere. I will include the information Katie used to book the tour in case anyone would like to book also. I will also include addresses for the Vineyards.

Tour Information Website : http://www.livineyardtours.com/

Ferry Website: https://www.longislandferry.com/default.aspx


 Vineyards we visited: 

Pindar Vineyards
Main Road, Rte. 25
Peconic, NY 11958
631-734-6200

Pugliese Vineyards
Main Rd. (Rte. 25)
Cutchogue, NY 11935
631-734-4057

Vineyard 48
18910 Route 48
Cutchogue, NY 11935
Phone: 631-734-5200



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