Wine business on LI expanding

Recession or not, a new crop of wineries, tasting rooms, vineyards and wines is making its way to Long Island wine country this season, suggesting that the business of sipping may not only defy but thrive in tough economic times.

From the planned September opening in Southold of a 10,000-square-foot tasting room and winery called Sparkling Pointe devoted exclusively to sparkling wines to a quaint red tasting shed across the road called One Woman Wines & Vineyards, Long Island will play host to nearly a dozen new winemaking operations over a one-year period, pushing the total to more than 60.

The "newcomers" include some stalwarts in the business. Just this week, Jason Damianos, the winemaker of Pindar Vineyards fame, plans to open a two-story, 5,500-square-foot winery and tasting room called Jason's Vineyard in Jamesport. His plans preceded the economic downturn, Damianos said. But financial changes since then actually have helped, because interest rates are down. "I'm hoping they stay low," he said.

What recession?

Steve Bate, executive director of the Long Island Wine Council, a Riverhead-based advocacy group for the region's grape growers and winemakers, said that, despite the recession, traffic is up in the region, as more people in the metropolitan region plan "staycations" close to home.

"The region is really starting to gain recognition and people see a lot of potential in small, premium wine production," he said.

That was evident last week in Southold, where the owners of the new Onabay Vineyards hosted a formal coming-out for their wines amid the rows of sun-soaked vines. Wines from the 18 planted acres of grapes were as much as five years in the making.

"We're putting any money we have into the vineyard," said Chiara Edmands, whose family (the Andersons) owns nearly 200 acres in Southold and a barn on Main Road, but won't open a tasting room just yet. The wines can be sampled at The Tasting Room in Peconic. "Right now the intent lies in quality versus quantity," Edmands said.

In September, Sparkling Pointe plans to open its doors in Southold. Owners Tom and Cynthia Rosicki recently gave a tour of the 10,000-square-foot, 12-acre operation. It boasts vaulted ceilings, a Bubble Room for special events, a large concrete cellar and a retail store.

"We really wanted to create different venues," Cynthia Rosicki said. Asked if he'll offer any still wines, Tom Rosicki answered by gesturing toward the winery slogan scrawled on his black T-shirt. "If it's not sparkling what's the pointe?"

A new destination

General Manager Michael Falcetta said in addition to being the region's only sparkling wine-only winery, the plan is to create a new destination for events that will build a revenue base. Falcetta said he's received requests to book the place for weddings, corporate events and outdoor gatherings.

On a more modest scale just down the road in Southold, Claudia Purita, whose family winery in Calabria, Italy, instilled her with a passion for grapes, opened a small red wine-tasting barn in May just beyond her 16-acre farm and vineyard.

Purita does most of the work herself, from pruning and leaf-pulling to harvesting. "I put so much work into it and I don't give up easily," she said, holding out her work-roughened hands two days after a hailstorm damaged part of her crop. The winery makes 1,200 cases a year, and she said she hopes to open a larger tasting room.

In Calverton, Peter and Linda DiBernardi plan to sell barreled wines from a wine-cart on the River Road property beside his nine-acre farm, called The Hidden Vineyard. He plans to personalize the bottles, which he'll fill for patrons on the spot, customizing the wording on the label. DiBernardi acknowledged a level of concern about economic conditions, but said starting in a downturn may be "best."

"If you can get it off the ground and fight your way through, as times get better you'll be better established," he said.

At McCall Vineyards in Cutchogue, owner Russ McCall said that, after years of selling his grapes wholesale, and bottling some of his high-quality reds, he's preparing to begin selling wines from a farm stand on his Main Road property.

He said the motivation to enter retail himself was in part financial. "Economically, you pick up the discount that normally goes to retailers and wholesalers," he said. Still, he added, "I'm getting into it slowly." He plans to open in midsummer, pending town and state approvals.

Another veteran of the region that's expanding this season is Macari Vineyards, the Mattituck producer and tasting room that bought the former Galluccio winery on Main Road in Cutchogue over a year ago. The new location opened last weekend, said coordinator Barbara Hofer, and traffic has been strong. "People definitely are still visiting the North Fork," despite the downturn, she said.

At Sannino's Bella Vita Custom Winemakers' Center in Cutchogue, owners Anthony and Lisa Sannino are branching out as part of an agreement with the owners of Ackerly Pond Vineyards in Peconic.

The Sanninos recently inked a long-term lease to use a 3,000-square-foot barn attached to Ackerly's tasting room, and they have opened their own tasting room. Bella Vita also has access to more than 70 acres of Ackerly Pond's vineyards.

Custom winemaking

The new space "will allow us to offer more custom winemaking choices to our members," Anthony Sannino said, including extended barrel aging and case storage. "We will be doing joint events and advertising with Ackerly Pond."

In St. James, Steve Gallagher and his wife, Laura, have expanded the Borella's farm and farm stand to include 15 acres of grapes.

Calling winemaking "a rich man's hobby," Steve Gallagher added dryly, "Unfortunately, I'm not rich." Nevertheless, he plans to open a tasting room in about a year to showcase wines that are already in the bottle.

It's not just wineries that are opening and expanding. At Roanoke Vineyards in Riverhead, owner Rich Pisacano recently released a cabernet franc-based wine named after his father, Gabby Pisacano, whose face graces the bottle.

The three-year effort was a tribute of sorts to 79-year-old Gabby, who tended the grapes to get the fruit just right. The new wine is called Gabby's.

"He's the primary caretaker for this vineyard," said Rich of his father. "He's here every day," putting in 50 hours a week.

Gabby said he can't imagine doing anything else. "What am I going to do, get up and go to senior dances?"