I must admit, I didn't have high hopes for Long Islands' wine region. In fact, I avoided going there every year with my friends after a not so great experience out there a few years back. However, when friends promised us that a few producers were really working hard on improving the quality of wine, we decided to give LI another go ahead.
Lieb Cellars, on the North Fork, was the second winery we stopped at (we'd prefer not to talk about the first) and I have to say the sludge I remembered about LI wines started fading. Although the prices were way too high (catering really to the Manhattanites who come out for the weekend) their whites were surprisingly fresh, dry and not overly sweet as I imagined them to be. They have a lovely steel fermented chardonnay which had a great minerality, and althought I'm not particlar for barrel aged whites, their reserve chardonnay was quite nice, intense and full of apple aromas. The wine that surprised me the most was their sparkler. A Blanc de Blancs made in the same style as champagne, the bubbles we fine, frequent and persistant. Fruity and refreshing with hints of honey, my only quam was the price- $35 a bottle. Non the less we bought two bottles of the Bridge Lane Chardonnay, and headed back home, proud to finally say that Long Island can produce some good wines, and on finding a winery that is working on something other that just weekend entertainment!
Can't wait to see what my Italian friends have to say about the bottles!
