Marco is the winemaker at Castello DiBorghese so we decided to join his tour at 11am. There were only four of us; the other couple was from the Harvest Inn, too. We've taken tours of other wineries, but thought this would be different. Marco drove us to the back of their property where the wine is produced.
We also met his lovely wife, Ann Marie who told us about the pinot grapes nearby. She showed us the green grapes had not changed because they haven't received enough sun. A branch or cluster is hiding them from enough sun. As she says, pinot are the heartbreak grape...they can cause more problems than any of the others.
Marco drove us to other vines and grapes so we could see the difference in clusters. He reminded us that his vineyard is the first one on Long Island, planted about 1973. Thus, he has the oldest vines around. We drove back to the tasting room to get a real taste of what they make.
Marco poured each wine and told us about it. We started with their 06 Chardonnay that was stainless steel fermented. It was good, but not the type we really enjoyed.
Their 05 Chardonnay is oak barrel fermented and we really enjoyed it. Why? Because it has a slight oak taste that reduces the fruitiness of this wine. Chris and Marco call it their Steak White wine because they pair it with steak in their Wine Pairing Dinners. In other words, they don't follow the old saying "Reds with red meat and whites with white meat." This Chardonnay really will stand up to a steak.
Next was their Rose - a mildly dry and elegant Rose made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc grapes. This wine complements fish, poultry or just plain cheese and crackers. "Think Pink" and serve it slightly chilled. I'm not into roses, but this one was quite nice. Did you know the rose gets it light pink color from the red grape skins?
Moving on to the reds, we tried their Pinot Noir which was light and smooth. You can serve it with most anything.
