Jedediah Hawkins Inn

We got lost going to Jedediah Hawkins, but finally pulled into their gorgeous driveway. The Inn was the Designer Showcase a few years ago where several designers pulled together their talents and refurbished this house that was falling apart. Let me just say, this inn is beautiful. It is worth going just to see how beautiful it is.

We waited for them to reset our table and enjoyed a quiet meal. We split the soft-shell crab. I had a bowl of wild mushroom soup that was great along with their spice rolls. The sauce under the crab was wonderful. We're both not sure about eating the soft shells, but we did anyway.

I had a glass of Martha Clara Shiraz that really grew on me as I enjoyed it. Steve had a glass of Cabernet, I believe from Macari.

Although I enjoyed another evening of chef cooked food, I think I would have enjoyed at least one casual dinner. We already ate at Bobby Flay's and Scrimshaws and we plan to eat at the Frisy Oyster tomorrow night. If I could do it again, I would have found a cool, casual restaurant that had fried shrimp or hamburgers. Something not too fancy and down to earth.

Harvest Inn Bed & Breakfast

This is the one place I knew I wanted to stay on our visit. I'm so glad I did. When you stay with Chris & Darolyn, you feel like part of their family. As we walked up to the house, Chris put down his wine and showed us into their home. Previously, he was entertaining past Wine Campers on the porch. Darolyn showed us our room and told us we might want to visit with the Wine Campers outside.



I wanted to take a nap so I laid down for awhile. Steve joined everyone on the front porch. That's where he learned about various wineries on the island.

After my nap, I joined Steve on the porch and talked with others about their winery visits. Chris even called North Fork Table to see if they could squeeze us in tonight. We decided to keep our reservations at Jedediah Hawkins.

Paumanok Winery

Everyone recommended Paumanok. I don't know if it was just being the end of the day, but we weren't real impressed with their wines. I wanted to go back tomorrow, and see if we tasted them differently first thing in tomorrow. Oh well...

If I remember correctly, we tasted their red wines. They were good, but I still liked Macari Merlot for 9.99. You just can't beat that deal.

Jamesport Winery

After lunch we moved over to route 25 and drove to Jamesport Winery. Jamesport has been around for awhile. It is one of the older wineries on North Fork. We tasted their Red Wines and enjoyed them. Unfortunately, I can't remember what we drank and they didn't give us the tasting notes. I'll have to ask Steve more about them.

Macari

Our favorite vineyard of the day! Really!



Ask if Karen is pouring the day you go. She is extremely knowlegeable and will make your visit well worth it. We loved everything about Macari, except the fact we couldn't join their wine club and have our wine shipped to Texas. The laws are all screwy in New York and some wineries will ship to you and some won't. Just ask and see what you can work out. We were able to ship some wine back home that we ordered today.

We chose to taste the House and Premium Flights. I'm glad we did because we would have missed some great wines if we chose one or the other.

Here's a run-down on what I discovered.

The Collina 48 Chardonnay was fruity and pleasant. I am not a big fan of fruity wine, but this one was nice; something you could enjoy everyday. And at $7.99 a bottle, it is a GREAT VALUE!

The 2007 Sauvignon Blanc is one of their best wines. It is cool and crisp. You will taste grapefruit, lime and some lemon blossoms. It is fermented in a stainless barrel so you won't have those oakey flavors...it's all fruit!

Next we had a Rose 2007. Again, I'm not much of a rose girl, but this was delicious fruit. Soft coral in color (from the Merlot grape skins), aromas of watermelon, white cherries and Italian plums evolve into a friendly wine with a dry, fruity, crisp finish. I'm sure you will enjoy this wine.

We moved on to the reds...

The Collina 48 Merlot as one of my favorite wines today. I ordered several bottles and had them shipped back home. This Merlot is fantastic for everyday drinking or sipping. It is a great value and tasted as good as the $42 Shinn Merlot we just bought...really! It is full of spice and flavory with a rich, lingering finish.

We also tried the 2003 Merlot Estate and Sette. Both were good, as well as a good value at $14.99 a bottle. Steve enjoyed a very good and smooth wine with the Merlot Estate. YOu will taste a ripe, juicy black cherry in the Merlot.

The Sette is half Merlot and half Cabernet Franc. This wine also had an aroma of spice and fruit combined. I enjoyed a slight spicy flavor.

On we went to the 2004 Bergen Road Merlot which is extremely smooth. It should be at $42.99 a bottle. There are hints of nutmet and pepper aromas with wild berries, cherries, plums and vanilla. I found this a luscious, velvety finish.

We ended with an unexpected treat, the 2004 Block E, a dessert wine. We haven't had a good dessert wine in years, so we were very pleasantly surprised at this treat. As Karen told us, "You have this for dessert, not with dessert". Even if you are stuffed full, you will enjoy this terrific wine. It is much better than any Canada ice wine we tasted. It is like drinking fruit!

I discovered they don't have enough cold days to make a true ice wine, so Macari freezes their grapes and then makes wine from their frozen grapes.

Steve definitely wants to get one of the Block E bottles so we will have it shipped home.



We chose a cheese package with 4 cheeses, crackers, olives, pickles and almonds along with a bottle of Collina 48 Merlot. We each had a glass of Merlot on their patio and viewed their beautiful winery. I'm not much into big wineries but if you come on a week day, you'll have a glorious time at Macari. This was definitely our favorite stop today.

Shinn Estate Vineyards

We arrived at Shinn Estate Vineyards, another cute winery. Shinn has a few rooms for lodging along with their vineyards. We chose the 3 wine tasting for $6.50. we received a free tasting of "first fruit" Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon with our corks. I found it similar (once again) to Chenin Blanc. Not very much depth...just a plain wine.

On to our 3 red wine tastings...

The 2005 Estate Merlot was a good value at $26. (I hadn't see the other wines for that day yet) It wasn't my fav, but it was good flavor for the price.

The 2005 "Wild Boar Doe" was spicy and aromatic. This is a blend of Merlot, Cab Sauvignon, Malbec, petit VErdot, and Cab Franc. You might try it with seasoned meats or grilled meats.

Finally, we tried the 2005 Nine Barrel Rserve Merlot. This was smooth with flavors at the base of your tonge. There is a wonderful finish that doesn't disappear. The rich taste lingers for awhile.. The Nine Barrel includes mostly Merlot with some Petit Verdot, Cab France and Malbec. Only 9 barrels were produced (225 cases). If you like this wine, grab some now before it is all gone.

Sherwood Winery

After a huge breakfast, we started down route 48 to taste a few wines. The first winery we found was Sherwood Vineyards...what a cute tasting room. We discovered they won the award for Best Tasting Room the past 2 years by Dan's Paper (Long Island-Hamptons newspaper). When I saw the outdoor tasting room, I knew why they received their award. You will see cute outdoor decor along with an old Studebaker. Plus, your wine pourer will seat you at a patio table and bring your wines to you. We sat under an umbrella and enjoyed 7 wines.



The tasting was $10 for 7 wines, a pretty good Monday deal!

We had never tasted a White Merlot before so I was curious to see what it was like. I found it was similar to a Chenin Blanc from years past. The Chardonnay was flat. The 2007 Rose should reveal lots of aroma of strawberry and raspberry. I found it was too strawberry in flavor. Unfortunately, I was reminded of Boones Farm Straweberry Wine.

We moved on to the Merlot. Steve thought the 02 Merlot was OK and I liked it, seeing a variety of flavors. We both liked the 03 Oregon Road Merloot as a table wine. The bouquet was wonderful. As the winery states, this wine smells of spice and tastes of velvet. You can pair it with lighter dishes of chicken & duck or heavier dishes of beef and potatoes.

The Cabernet Franc was ok and we ended with the 04 Merliance. The Merliance is a combo of 5 vineyards which I enjoyed very much. At this time, less than 20 cases of Merliance remain.

We left with a few corks for a free tasting at Shinn.



Whether or not you like this wine, you should go to Sherwood for the experience of the quaint little wine tasting room. It is well worth the trip off route 48.

Lavender by the Bay

As we drove away from By The Bluff B&B, we ran right into Lavender By The Bay. We stopped and looked around at the lavender farm...quite interesting. I've always read about lavender and the calming effect it has. I had fun looking around and seeing their huge farm in back.

Breakfast By The Bluff

I woke up and read the clock wrong. I thought it said 8:30 so I got out of bed and took a shower since breakfast is served from 8:30 to 9:30. When I got out of the shower I realized I had read the clock wrong. It was really 7:30am. And, I could have slept another hour. Oh well, I had some time to write!

Breakfast was delicious! French Toast with Cooked Apples, Quiche, Fresh Berries...yummy!

After breakfast, Patricia showed us the Main Suite they just opened this year. The room is named after her aunt, Auntie Kate, and is a gorgeous suite with a claw foot tub. I love the colors Patricia uses in the entire house. Truly classy!

We're off to visit some wineries, cheese shops and whatever else comes our way!