Sunday, October 23, 9:00 am
Members and guests $100

For reservations, please call 212.627.2308.

So long, Napa Cabernet. Cheerio, Barossa Shiraz. Adieu, Rhône Viognier. These days, New Yorkers are drinking wines grown much closer to home. And on October 23, a group of intrepid wine lovers will make a pilgrimage to the site of the recent harvest—the North Fork of Long Island.

Our journey begins in Manhattan at Columbus Bakery, where we will grab a quick breakfast and meet our guide from East End Excursions. Co-owned by Susan Wilber and Jean Fitzgerald, who met while working for Eberhard Müller at Restaurant Lutèce, the company offers tours of Long Island’s wine country. Our guide will explain the area’s trajectory from farmland to wine region.

Our first stop will be a tour and tasting at Sang Lee Farms in Peconic. Originally planted as an Asian vegetable farm in the 1940s, Sang Lee is now owned by Fred and Karen Lee, who produce over 250 varieties of artisan farm products.

Next we will make our way to Martha Clara Vineyards, located on the estate of former baked goods baron Robert Entenmann, who embraced winemaking after selling his company in 1996. Although the first vintage is as recent as 1998, Martha Clara wines have been getting a lot of attention, receiving praise from the New York Times, Newsday, and Wine Enthusiast. Amidst the vines at Martha Clara, we’ll enjoy a luncheon prepared by Erik Brown of North Fork Food, a to-go cafe and gourmet market in Southold. Brown has been the chef at several Long Island locales, including the Shelter Island Yacht Club and the Westhampton Country Club.

Our last stop will be at Shinn Estate Vineyards, where restaurateurs David Page and Barbara Shinn, owners of Home restaurant in Greenwich Village, have been making wine since 2002. Wrote Lawrence Osborne of New York magazine of Shinn Estate wines, “If Long Island is going to take the high road to acquiring local soul, this is the kind of wine it ought to make.”

Timetable:

9:00 am
Meet at Columbus Bakery for a light breakfast. 957 First Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

9:30 am
Depart in luxury motor coach.

11:30 am
Tour and tasting at Sang Lee Farms.

1:00 pm
Depart for North Fork Food luncheon and wine tasting at Martha Clara Vineyards.

3:30 pm
Vineyard walk and wine tasting at Shinn Estates Vineyards.

4:45 pm
Depart for the city with a quick stop at Briermere Farms to purchase pies.

7:00 pm
Approximate return to Columbus Bakery.