They say you can’t go home again, but our visits to the North Fork of Long Island, post-real estate sale, continue to make us feel welcome. And nowhere was that more apparent than at our former next door neighbor, Macari Vineyards.
Living next door to a winery is great! As I liked to joke when we visited the tasting room with house guests – it was stagger distance. But, all kidding aside, they truly were great neighbors. From the very beginning, the Macari’s were helpful, kind, warm and generous. While most people consider borrowing a cup of sugar from their neighbors in a pinch, we borrowed their winemaking expertise in the form of a chemical analysis of the wine that my husband made with two friends from Macari fruit. Plus, they produce amazing wine, currently under the direction of winemaker Kelly Urbanik Koch.
So, when my husband’s employer decided to do an event on the North Fork, we knew that Macari would figure prominently on the agenda. Upon arrival, the assembled guests (a group of employees, management and advisory board members) were provided with a tour of the winery, followed by a guided tasting with Alexandra Macari in their beautiful, Private Barrel Cellar. Afterward, we enjoyed dinner on the deck, accompanied by an assortment of Macari wines.
All in all, it was a wonderful visit and we definitely felt at home!
TASTING NOTES
Macari Sparkling Pinot Noir Gabriella 2012, $35.00
Named in honor of Alexandra and Joe’s daughter – and an integral part of the Macari team – Gabriela, this effervescent wine offered up aromas of cotton candy, cherries and yeastiness. On the palate, it is dry with medium+ acidity, ripe berries, cream and melon.
Macari Sparkling Cabernet Sauvignon “Horses” (2015 or 2016), $N/A
Unfiltered and cloudy wine due to the minimal intervention used to produce this non-disgorged sparkler, it is named for a vineyard area called horse head bluff because well, it looks like a horse’s head. Pale salmon in color, the wine is slightly off-dry, with slight cherry fruit, strawberry cream and toasted marshmallow on the cleansing palate. It is currently sold out; make sure to catch it next time around.
Macari Sauvignon Blanc “Katherine’s Field” 2016, $24.00
Fermented in 100% stainless steel, this wine displays notes of slight smoke, citrus, and tropical fruit, which persisted on the clean, fresh palate, with a slight spritz and long length.
Macari Sauvignon Blanc Lifeforce (2016), $28.00
In contrast to the Katherine’s Field Sauvignon Blanc, this wine is fermented in concrete egg-shaped tanks yielding an edgier, more structural wine with angularity, heaviness and a fuller body, along with intense acidity (whereas the other SB is softer and rounder).
Macari Chardonnay Reserve 2014, $27.00
This full-bodied white was barrel fermented in two- and three-year old French oak, resulting in aromas and flavors of toothpick, apple and spice, along with medium+ acidity.
Macari Bergen Road 2013, $50.00
This Bordeaux-style wine leads with 51% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. Aromas of black cherry, oak, balsamic vinegar, give way to flavors of herbs, earth, oak and spice on the dry, full-bodied palate, culminating in long length.
Macari Alexandra 2010, $85.00
A flagship red blend made only in top vintages, it is primarily produced with Merlot. Compared to the Bergen Road, it presents with darker fruit, smoke, vanilla as well as beautiful dried fruit, dried herbs and resolved tannins on the full-bodied, lush, palate. Only 200 cases were made.