This past Saturday myself and a colleague took a leisurely drive to wine country out east. I usually start the day at a winery at the eastern edge of the island and work my way back west. I decided that today I would concentrate on white wines and rose. Our fist stop was One Women Wines & Vineyard located at 5195 Old North Road in Southold.  A small family run operation, the one women owner and wine maker is Claudia Perita and her perky and hard working daughter Gabriella who is usually overseeing the little shack of a tasting room. They produce some very nice wines. They bottle the only Gruner Veltner (2010) on Long Island as well as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot.  I had the 2008 Estate Reserve Chardonnay, aged in new oak, nose of pineapple and honey with a full mouth feel. The 2008 Chardonnay aged mostly in steel, was crisp and steely.

After leaving the winery we headed east to the village of Greenport. I have to admit with all the times I’ve been to the wineries this was the first time I stopped in Greenport. A scenic former whaling town it was chock full of day trippers on this sunny Saturday afternoon. We stopped for lunch at one of the dock-side restaurants, Claudio’s Clam Shack. I had sashimi tuna nachos with a wasabi sauce which went pretty well with the glass of local rose I was drinking. After a double espresso and a biscotti, it was time to head back west.

On the way back we stopped at McCall Winery located at 22600 Main Road Cutchogue. A cattle rancher turned winemaker, the tasting room is in a rustic potato barn and I sipped on the 2010 Marjorie’s Rose of Pinot Noir. Driving further west, the last stop was at the Roanoke Vineyards at 3543 Sound View Avenue, Riverhead and I finished the day with the very tasty 2011 DeRosa Rose.