[2024 GW] New York Stay / Winery Tour / Long Island / MAREA [NY]

The day I went to a winery in NY

The third day of my stay in New York.
Following Toronto, I went on a winery tour during my stay in NY as well.
I don't think many people have the image of wine being made in NY.
Actually, NY is where wine grapes first landed in America. It started in the mid-17th century when the Dutch planted grapes on Manhattan Island.
When people think of American wine, Napa is famous, but the trend of winemaking moved to Napa after that. If you go to Long Island in NY, there are many places where wine is being made.
This time, the guide and I went out together, and just like in Toronto, a guide with a sommelier certification showed me around. Both of them had experience working at wineries here or had worked in jobs related to wine, so they were very knowledgeable.

They came to pick me up at the hotel around 9:30 AM. We headed straight to the winery where we had lunch reserved. It takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes by highway from Manhattan to that winery, or about an hour and a half on local roads, and I was told that New Yorkers head to Long Island with the feeling of going to a resort on the weekends.

1st stop

"DEL VINO VINEYARDS"
This is a relatively new winery that emphasizes its restaurant, and it is a place with the concept of enjoying food. They serve Italian cuisine, and since you can overlook the beautiful fields, it is a very popular winery where reservations are essential on weekends.

Everything on the menu is wine made here, and I ordered a tasting set of three white wines. Since it was my first time trying wine made in NY, I thought I would try this set first, and if I liked it, I could order by the glass afterwards.

For food, I ordered the Signature artisan meat & cheese board. I was told this was quite a large portion, so since there were two of us, we decided to have just this one item this time. There were also pizzas and calamari.

If you could come with about four people, you could order various things, so it seems good to come in a large group.
🔶Other menus are here

The other people eating on the terrace also looked like they were having a lot of fun. They were chatting slowly with wine in hand, which is a very nice weekend.

After finishing the white wine tasting set, I decided to order the red wine set as well since I was there. The reds were a blend, a Cabernet blend, and a Super Tuscan.

Both the white and red are delicious, but all the wines are refreshing.
According to the guide, the grapes themselves in this area don't have that much power. It's not about competing with the power of the grapes or the taste that comes from the terroir; the characteristic of this area is that wealthy New Yorkers who can invest abundant funds buy the latest brewing machines and equipment to produce high-quality wine.
So, although it has only been about 30 to 40 years since full-scale winemaking began in this area, it is said to be an area that produces high-quality wine for that history.

It's somewhat similar to the winery situation in Toronto, isn't it?
Even in Toronto, it is said that even long-established wineries are only about 50 years old, and I felt that the wine in Toronto and New York were similar in terms of the background of wealthy people investing assets to make wine with the latest equipment, as well as the varieties that can be grown due to the climate and the power of the grapes.

Of course, there are small wineries in this area started by farmers, but it seems that recent popularity is concentrated on restaurant-style wineries that are clean, modern, and have delicious food, like the DEL VINO VINEYARDS we are visiting this time.

Also, it took a little less than 2 hours to get here today because it's Saturday, even though it's usually an hour and a half, but being relatively close to the city is also said to be a reason for its popularity. Also, all the customers other than me were white. The guide said that it is almost always only white people, with occasionally some Chinese people, and I felt that spending time slowly chatting with friends while enjoying wine from the afternoon is something you can only do if you have a somewhat wealthy life.

Now, when I consulted with the guide about where to go from here, he said that the truly recommended wineries are clustered further out on Long Island, and it would take another hour and a half by car from here.
Since it would take two and a half hours to get back, we decided to go to other wineries in this area this time.

It seems there are several wineries at the far end of Long Island that have great atmosphere and good food, with views of the sea. I heard some even serve delicious brick-oven pizza.
However, to get there, the plan would be to head straight there without stopping at this restaurant in the morning (departing at 9:30 AM and arriving at 12:00 PM) and then quickly visit a few places in the surrounding area. But a two-and-a-half-hour drive is quite a distance, isn't it?
I was very satisfied with the atmosphere of the winery and restaurant this time, but if I wanted to hop between a few more places, this area alone feels a bit lacking. If I go to the far end of Long Island next time, I would like to do so if there is a helicopter charter plan available. However, I've heard that the wines in this area don't have much grape intensity, so it's hard to say if there will be a next time.

We had quite a lot of food left over this time, so we decided to take it home.
There is probably enough for four people. There was plenty of bread and cheese as well.
It was truly delicious to eat the cheese with fig jam. It really goes well with wine. The prosciutto and salami weren't too salty either, so I was able to eat several slices easily. Wineries with delicious food are the best. I wish I could have tried the pizza too~.
This time it was a mix of ham and cheese, but there was also a cheese-only board, so I'd like to try that next time.

Second stop

For our second stop, we went to "Harmony Vineyards".
Unlike the previous winery, this one was small and cozy, and the building was quite aged. But the good thing about this place is that it faces the sea and it's not very crowded.

Even though we dropped by without a reservation, they welcomed us kindly.
A very friendly winery.

We ordered a tasting set here. Instead of having pre-selected items, we were able to choose three we liked from the list. We chose a Chardonnay and two Cabernet blends from different years.
There were also other people drinking by the bottle.

The weather kept getting better and it started to get warmer. There were a few people drinking on the terrace. Some people were also taking a walk to the sea.

The wines at this winery also had a relatively light taste. The Chardonnay was also a bit light, making it a wine that seems good for drinking outside on a nice day. The older red wine was delicious, but the younger ones seem like they should be aged a bit more.

Also, we bought potato chips here.
Apparently, these are popular potato chips that are also sold at supermarkets around here.

The guide suggested showing us one more place on the way back, but since New York has so much traffic and it seemed like it would take a long time to get back, we only visited two places this time. As expected, the return trip took two hours. We got back to the hotel just after 4:00 PM.

Other recommended wineries

Another recommended winery is "The Red Hook Winery" in Brooklyn. It's surprising that there is a place making wine in Brooklyn as well.
This place seems to be very popular, so advance reservations are recommended. It's 30 minutes from the city, so it might be good to visit this place next time I come to NY.

Besides that, although it is closed at this time of year, there is also a place called "Rooftop Reds" in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. They apparently brought soil onto the roof of a building and are growing grapes and making wine on top of the building. That's amazing.
It is a vineyard created by a group of millennial wine enthusiasts who received funding from wine producers in the Finger Lakes region of the same state. I didn't know there were wineries like this.
The photos on the official website are also wonderful, and I would love to see how they actually make it.

Brooklyn is close to the city, so it seems easy to pop over. The far end of Long Island looks like it would take a whole day.
Also, I heard there is higher quality wine over in the Finger Lakes, but that also takes about two and a half hours by car from NY, so it's a full-day commitment.

Anyway, I highly recommend Harmony Vineyards, which I visited this time. It's a quick hour-and-a-half drive, and it's definitely a great place to visit with a group for a change of pace and spend two or three hours drinking.

Bonus

For dinner that day, we went to a restaurant called "MAREA."

I heard the chef here is Japanese. The restaurant was quite spacious and had a counter, but when we arrived at 7:00 PM, it was already full! Every seat that wasn't reserved was taken. Amazing.
In NY, reservations are a must for popular restaurants. Plus, it was the weekend, so everywhere was crowded.

The food is Italian. We ordered pasta, sautéed octopus, and other dishes.

The octopus somehow tasted like takoyaki...! The cabbage, mayonnaise, and sauce were a bit different, but the sauce was reminiscent of takoyaki. Maybe it's the sensibility of a Japanese chef. It was delicious. The pasta was also seasoned perfectly. The service was great, too—exactly what you'd expect from a popular restaurant.

For dessert, we ordered cappuccino and donuts. These were also very delicious. Both the pistachio cream and chocolate dips went perfectly with the donuts.
You can easily eat a la carte, and it's a highly recommended restaurant I'd like to visit again when I come to New York.

Summary

That was the situation with wineries on Long Island that you can visit from NY.
I hope this is helpful for those who have been to NY many times and are wondering what to do this time.