LATE FALL-WINTER PICK UP 2021

As our followers have noticed, this blog has been still for many months; nothing was wrong; the redoing of the front of our home kept us preoccupied and from wine country from the mid-summer till this week.  We are back on the road again, making the pick-up enjoying a few glasses of wine in the vineyards, and filling out the wine cellar for the coming holidays.  Good this Christmas day is at our home this year.  We had so many clubs and past club selections that we needed to do pick-ups on two separate trips.  Between the fall and winter club selection, we brought home over 100 bottles.  The first run on 19 Nov had us bringing home 44 bottles (Figure 1), and the 08 DEC run fetched 55 bottles from 9 wineries (Figure 2). 

1 - 19 NOV 2021 WINE PICK-UP

2 - DEC 2021 WINE PICK-UP

We still have Channing Daughters Winery and Wölffer Estate Vineyard for one more run before Christmas and delivery from Jamesport before we close out the year.  To balance all this fine Long Island wine, we also had shipped in about a case of excellent California wine to round out the full selection. 

From California, we received a ½ case of mixed wines from De La Montanya Vineyard & Winery and ½ case from Lindstrom Vineyard.   The De La Montanya selection included a 2020 Gewurztraminer, 2020 Viognier, 2019 Pinot Noir, 2091 Tempranillo, 2018 Petit Verdot, and a 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon.  From Lindstrom Vineyard, we acquired six bottles of their 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon (Figure 3). 

3 - DE LA MONTANYA FALL SELECTION

On Long Island, we picked up from Terra Vite Winery & Vineyard, Pellegrini Vineyards, Lenz Winery, Raphael Winery, Sparkling Pointe, Kontokosta Winery (shipped), Lieb Cellars, Sannino Vineyard, and Roanoke Vineyards.  The optimum driving route determines the pick-up order (thanks, Jo, for the 170 miles logged) to cover all this in just under 4 hours and does not reflect a preference for which wines we prefer.

From Terra Vite, we had two pick-ups; the first was a Diliberto 2015 Merlot, a Terra Vite 2017 Cabernet Franc, and a Terra Vite 2020 White Merlot (perfect with oysters).  Terra Vite is currently clearing out the Diliberto cellar for the second pick-up.  So, we got a Diliberto 2018 Chardonnay, and Diliberto 2017 Syrah, and a Terra Vite 2017 Mercato, which is a fine blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot (Figure 4&5).

4 - TERRA VITE NOV 2021 PICK-UP

5 - TERRA VITE DEC 2021 PICK-UP

The Pellegrini (Figure 6) pick-ups included a 2019 Chardonnay (steel, two bottles), a Steak House Red (N/V), 2015 Merlot, 2014 Cabernet Franc, 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (two bottles), 2015 Petit Verdot, 2019 Chardonnay (two bottles), 2015 Regalo, and a 2010 Encore (Figure 7 & 8). 

6 - PELLEGRINI TASTING ROOM DEC 2021

7 - PELLEGRINI NOV 2021 PICK-UP

8 - PELLEGRINI DEC 2021 PICK-UP

Lenz was interesting as it turned out that we have fulfilled our club requirements for the year.  However, having come all this way, we could not leave there empty-handed, so we picked up some of our favorite old vine wines. We did a ½ case split between 2015 Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon (three bottles) and 2015 Old Vines Merlot (three bottles); both will pair perfectly with the Filet Mignon on the Christmas menu (Figure 9).

9 - LENZ DEC 2021 PICK-UP

The next stop was at Raphael's, where we picked up not only for ourselves but also for our son and neighbors across the street.  This quarter's selection included a 2019 Cabernet Franc, a 2014 Cabernet Franc, 2017 Malbec (two bottles), 2013 Merlot, 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2019 Primo Reserve (Figure 10).

10 - RAPHAEL DEC 2021 PICK-UP

Sparkling Pointe, the heart of Long Island sparkling wine, had an entire case selection waiting for us, including 2015 Seduction (three bottles), Brut Nature (three bottles), 2019 Topaz Imperial (two bottles – my fav), Carnaval Rouge, 2011 Seduction, 2017 Brut, and a Carnaval Rośe (Figure 11 & 12). 

11 - SPARKLING POINTE NOV 2021 PICK-UP

12 - SPARKLING POINTE DEC 2021 PICK-UP

Kontokosta shipped us a 2020 Orient Chardonnay, a 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, and an Anemometer red, an excellent daily wine (Figure 13).

13 - KONTOKOSTA DEC 2921 SELECTION

Lieb had eight bottles split between Lieb and Bridge Lane.  2019 Lieb Cellars Merlot (two bottles), 2019 Lieb Cellars Teroldego – Lagrein (two bottles), Bridge Lane 2020 Sauvignon Blanc (two bottles), and 2020 Bridge Lane White Merlot (three bottles).  We enjoy the Lieb label wines when relaxing with a small group of friends and the Bridge Lane label when running a backyard party (Figure 14). 

14 - LIEB NOV 2021 PICK-UP

Sannino this quarter selected a 2017 Cabernet Franc, 13/17 Syrah, 2018 Prima Rossa (good daily red table wine), and their Spice wine.  We are not a big fan of spiced wine in general, but our Niece-in-law (is there such a thing) and her sister enjoy a good spice wine, so we had to add on to the pick-up a six-pack of spice wine for her that should help with the Christmas cheer (Figure 15).

15 - SANNINO DEC 2021 PICK-UP

Last but far from least is Roanoke (Figure 16).  Again, the pick-up was extensive as we also had a case of wine futures that we had signed up for last year, and we can now say we are not disappointed with the released wine.  The futures consisted of Prime Number (1/2 case) and 2019 The Hill (1/2 case).  Rounding out the white wines was a 2010 site-specific Rose, 2020 The wild (Chardonnay), and a 2020 Infinite Possibility (Chardonnay & Sauvignon Blanc blend).  The balance of the reds included a 2019 Cabernet Franc, 2018 Merlot, 2019 Greater Than (Red Blend), and something new, "Seven and one-half miles," which I will be exploring shortly (Figure  17 & 18). 

16 - ROANOKE TASTING ROOM NOV 2021

17 - ROANOKE NOV 2021 PICK-UP

18 - ROANOKE DEC 2021 PICK-UP

Overall, this was a fun and long overdue pick-up run, and we will be exploring all these wines over the next few weeks.