With the first vitis vinifera vines planted on Long Island in 1973, this year marks the 35th year of viticulture on the East End and the birth of the Long Island wine industry. When Louisa Hargrave and then husband, Alex Hargrave, initially sought to make wine in the area, there was a lot that they admittedly didn’t know. As others followed, many were also without much, if any, experience in growing grapes and/or making wine.

At the time, most of the wine books and literature weren’t available in English and what was available was focused on California. The Long Island vignerons clearly recognized that their terroir and climate were vastly different from those of California and thus, these books weren’t particularly helpful. However, they did see the similarity between the East End and Bordeaux.

Not surprisingly, in 1988, Larry Perrine, presently of Channing Daughters winery, organized the Long Island Bordeaux Symposium (Maritime Climate Wine Growing: Bringing Bordeaux to Long Island), which brought the Bordelais to Long Island to see the wine region and provide advice. For many, this was a turning point for the wines produced on Long Island, with the quality increasing rapidly post-Symposium.

Fast forward 20 years and Long Island is now a well-respected, albeit still less well-known, wine region. No longer in need of specific advice from their colleagues, a new Symposium will be held this year, which expands the query to the world wine industry, once again spearheaded by Larry Perrine, this time joined by Louisa Hargrave. Titled, The Art of Balance: Cool Climate/Maritime Wines in a Global Context, the Symposium will be held on August 5 & 6, hosted by the Stony Brook Center for Wine, Food and Culture in partnership with the New York Wine and Grape Foundation ane the Long Island Wine Council.

The full agenda for this two-day Symposium is available online: (http://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/winecenter/symposium2008.shtml).

While the daytime programs of the Symposium may be of more interest to those in trade (although non-trade members are more than welcome), there is a Grand Tasting on Tuesday evening, featuring more than 200 wines, paired with wonderful food from area restaurants.