TRAVESSIA Winery Blog

Visit to Long Island

I recently visited the North Fork of Long Island for the first time along with Pedro Teixeira, one of the owners of Running Brook Vineyards.  I made the trip primarily to pick up a few used French Oak barrels.  Making the trip was easy… 1 ½ hour drive from New Bedford to New London, CT where I drove right into the ferry.  Then a 1 ½ hour boat ride across to Orient Point.  Another 20 minute drive and we were at Lenz Winery where Eric Fry awaited us.  If you have read my previous references to Eric here on the blog, you understand how much I appreciate having Eric as sort of a mentor. I’ve met with Eric several times and every time I walk away a richer person… in knowledge.

Eric poured several of his wines for us.  All around very tasty wines, including his lesser-oaked Chardonnays. Then he took us to his cellar and we tasted through three of his yet to be bottled reds.  These were some of the best red wines I’ve tasted from an East coast winery.  These wines show great balance and it’s easy to tell that they were aged with patience and care.

We then met Kareem Massud, winemaker at family owned and managed Paumanok Winery.  I was very excited about tasting their Chenin Blanc and the wine delivered big time.  Excellent wine with gorgeous floral notes that I expect from a Chenin.  We took a trip out to the vineyard to take a look at their plantings, both new and old vines.  Paumanok is the only winery in the region to grow Chenin which is surprising to me despite knowing that Chenin is not a very popular grape.  If Travessia ever ventures into planting its own vineyard… Chenin Blanc will be there.

We stopped at a couple other wineries and eventually ran out of time.  We loaded the barrels at Bedell Cellars and waited for Shinn Vineyards winemaker Anthony Napa to meet us just to say hi.  A.Napa used to be winemaker at Running Brook back in 2005.  I had spoken with him a few times over the phone so it was great to finally meet him in person.  I’ll have to make another trip and taste his wines at Shinn.

A few final notes…

-    Most white wines I tasted were excellent. Most reds were good but in my personal opinion, overpriced.
-    Long Island’s climate is very similar to Southeastern Massachusetts.  Yeap, we aren’t that distant.  So, generally, our vintage quality will match theirs.
-    Every winemaker or person I met was welcoming and eager to share their knowledge.

In the end, the trip was worth it for the people I met and the wines I tasted.  The barrels were a perfect excuse.

Eric Fry

Last Friday I met Eric Fry, winemaker at Lenz winery in Long Island, New York. Eric refuses to carry a cell phone and drives a Honda Civic hybrid.  After following me on 195 West for about 30 minutes he complained that his car’s mileage went down from 55 to 50 miles per gallon...!  He uses an email address and does check his email… once a month.

Eric has been in the wine business for over 30 years.  He started at Robert Mondavi winery in California as a microbiologist right after college.  From there he went on to work at wineries in Australia and France.  When he returned to the US he worked as winemaker at Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars in the Finger Lakes region.  He has been winemaker at Lenz for the past 18 years.  Eric has a tremendous amount of knowledge in wine “growing” and he’s not shy when it comes to sharing his knowledge with others.  I can tell that he's committed to making quality wine above any commercial accomplishments.

How good are his wines?  I have never tasted any myself (yet… day trip to Long Island in the works), but professional blind tasting results have concluded that Lenz wines are as good as some of the top French Bordeaux wines with a much smaller price tag.

Eric “downloaded” a lot of information onto my brain in the span of four hours.  By the time he left on his way back to the ferry, my eyes were spinning and I had a serious headache.  pH was one of the main subjects of discussion during our conversation.  I already knew that high pH was not a good thing in wine (despite what many California winemakers will tell you), but Eric just confirmed it further to me.  I got a quick pH for dummies lesson that I’ll have to revisit many times in the future I’m sure.

Eric is also consultant for many wineries including several in Massachusetts, such as Westport Rivers, Truro Vineyards, and now Running Brook.  We tasted and discussed 12 wines that we made at Running Brook this past harvest.  His impression was that we could have adjusted some things differently prior to fermentation, especially in regards to pH.  But overall, only one wine really seemed to fail the tasting.  I have finally found someone who can clarify some of my winemaking doubts and troubles.  I’m definitely looking forward to learning more the next time I meet Eric.

Oh…. I also asked Eric if he had any recommendations for someone like me who is looking to start his own winery.  His answer went something like this… <<anyone who starts a winery is insane>>.

* Eric's picture from this source.