If you’re looking for a vineyard that encompasses the meaning of “family owned and operated”, look no further than Pugliese Vineyards in Cutchogue. It is truly a family operation, and the pride that the Pugliese family puts into maintaining a charming atmosphere is evident from the moment one walks onto the property.
Pugliese Vineyards: American classic meets Italian rustic
Upon parking, we were greeted by a bright red, vintage American Gasoline pump, which stands out amongst the rest of the natural grounds. Though it doesn’t seem like it would fit with the vineyard’s atmosphere, it somehow works, and adds to the charm of the location.
The outdoor tasting area, where my mom and I enjoyed a flight, is just beyond the gas pump. This is currently my favorite outdoor area of all the wineries that I’ve been to so far: a pergola wrapped with grape vines allows guests to feel as if they are in a small village in Italy, rather than on the North Fork of Long Island. A lake, complete with fountain and koi fish, is nearby, and guests are welcome to take their drinks and sit by the lake to take in the views.
Koi fish swim lazily in the lake at Pugliese Vineyards
Though the indoor tasting room was closed, I was able to stop inside the gift shop where Pat Pugliese, the owner, was making and personalizing a wine basket for a recently-engaged couple. Mrs. Pugliese personalizes the vineyard’s bottles and glasses herself. She and her husband opened the current winery in 1993, though they had already been in operation for thirteen years prior to that. Today, the vineyard encompasses 45 acres, and all of the vineyard’s wines are grown, produced, and bottled on-site.
As the Puglieses’ four children grew older, they also became involved in the family business. Their son, Peter, is the current winemaker; son Ralph is the property’s photographer. Son Lawrence is the vineyard manager, and their daughter, Domenica, manages the winery.
The tasting at Pugliese featured a variety of wine samples
This family endeavor shows no signs of slowing down. When I asked one of the members of the family about the wines they are best known for, she paused at first. There is such a large variety available, that she had a difficult time choosing just one. Her recommendations: for sparkling wines, the Brut; for whites, the Chardonnay Gold; for reds, the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, and for dessert, the Late Harvest Riesling. Those were the same wines that I sampled in my tasting, and as a fan of sparkling wine, I really enjoyed their Brut.
The members of the Pugliese family who were on site the day that I visited were warm and cordial. Though they were busy, their passion for the craft was clear that day- it’s the kind of genuine passion in a business that makes you want to return again someday soon.
Pandemic or not, visit a Long Island winery on a beautiful summer Saturday, and it will be crowded. The wineries are a favorite pastime of Long Island and New York City residents, and “going out East” for the weekend- particularly from Memorial Day to Labor Day- has basically become ingrained in our culture. As a result, I’ve been doing most of my Drink.Explore.Repeat winery visits on weekdays, hoping that this will give me a better chance to be able to spend some time conducting interviews and not taking a manager or staff member away from their job responsibilities.
However, one recent Saturday I happened to be out East with some friends, and we had a few hours before our dinner reservations. Naturally, what did we decide to do? Why, we stopped at a winery, of course! I had been to Palmer Vineyards in Riverhead once before, but it had been a few years since that visit, so I was excited to go back.
Just as expected on a blazing hot, sunny summer day, the winery was packed. With the tasting room closed due to social distancing, all outdoor tables with umbrellas, as well as seating under the covered patio was at a premium. By some miracle, we happened to snag a patio table from a couple that was just standing up to leave- prime real estate (though I worry I may have scared them as I bounded over to the table upon seeing them get up; my apologies if you’re reading this).
The coveted patio: perfect for a blazing hot day!
As hours passed and we chatted and drank our wine, I began to worry that I would not have the opportunity to speak with Patrick, the manager. Our waiter had given him notice that I had a few questions to ask, but for hours all staff hands were on deck, attending to guests and preparing bottles. They remained attentive, but it was clear that they were extremely busy, so we continued to enjoy the bottle of Albariño that was recommended to us.
Crisp and refreshing; my go-to from now on when I visit Palmer
Luck must have been on my side this day, because as the afternoon wound down and we were getting ready to leave, Patrick kindly took advantage of some rare downtime to speak with me about Palmer Vineyards. The vineyard itself was opened in 1983 by the Palmer family, though they sold it to the current owners, the Massoud family in 2018. When the Massouds purchased the vineyard, Palmer became the sister winery to Paumanok, another Massoud-owned winery in Aquebogue.
One of the most intriguing facts about Palmer lies in the grapes that they produce. They were the first vineyard on Long Island to grow the Albariño grape, which is a native varietal to Spain and does not grow easily on North Fork soil. However, the previous winemaker employed with Palmer was from Spain, and took a chance on growing the Albariño grape. The risk paid off, as Palmer’s Albariño continues to be the wine that they are best known for. And now, I must confess: though I had been to Palmer years ago, I had never heard of Albariño before this visit (I was clearly not as attentive in my twenties; one of the perks to being a thirty-something, I suppose!). I can now appreciate and understand why it’s so popular. It is a crisp white wine, which was refreshing, and perfect to drink on the sweltering day that we visited.
In addition to their Albariño, Palmer prides itself on successfully growing other varietals that are either challenging to sustain in the area, or that are not as common on Long Island wineries. Their Pinot Blanc is another popular wine that comes from a grape that often has difficulty growing in the region. The twenty or so varietals that are grown on Palmer’s 43 sustainable acres encompass a wide tasting portfolio, so there is a strong likelihood that all wine drinkers will find something to enjoy on their menu.
One of the things I love most about the Drink.Explore.Repeat project is getting to immerse myself in the unique atmosphere of each winery that I visit. I’ll be honest: when I first started this in the beginning of the summer, I assumed that over time the wineries would all blend together. However, as I visit more, I’m noticing that the opposite is happening. Yes, they all serve wine and most have rows of beautiful, sprawling grape vines. However, that’s where the commonalities end. Each winery truly has its own distinct feel and setting, and the more places I visit, the more I am noticing and enjoying those differences. Walking up to Palmer, the first view that greets is a wooden, steepled tasting room that provides a charming, rustic introduction. The welcome continues around back on the covered patio that enables a slight breeze to blow through, making it extremely easy for an afternoon of relaxing, sipping, and chatting to pass quickly by. The view from the patio completes the bucolic atmosphere, with wooden picnic tables and acres of green fields surrounding the grape vines.
As our conversation ended, I thanked Patrick for taking time out of a busy Saturday to talk to me. By that point, the sun had moved further west, so we finished our wine and started packing up. The groups of guests that had been scattered on the patio and lawn tables had either already left, or, like us, were getting ready to leave. The staff at Palmer was cleaning up- they would be closing soon and were probably grateful to be heading home after an extremely hectic afternoon. Golden hour descended upon the North Fork, closing out yet another successful Saturday out East.
“Seek not…the life of the immortals; but enjoy to the full the resources that are within thy reach.”
-Pindar, 5th century BCE
When thinking of how to begin this post about Pindar Vineyards, I wanted to do some research on the history of the name, “Pindar”. Though both the winery in Peconic, New York and its owner are named Pindar, it originally became a household name thousands of years ago, in ancient Greece. At that time, a man named Pindar was writing poems and cementing himself as one of the greatest ancient Greek lyric poets. His reputation stands for good reason: a quick Google search of Pindar’s poems shows that many of his words are not only applicable to life in ancient Greece, but are also relevant enough to have been written this year.
Fittingly, Pindar Vineyards embodies the spirit of poet Pindar’s quote, above. The vineyard is the oldest family-run winery on Long Island, and for forty years the Damianos family has been dedicated to bringing an enjoyable wine-tasting experience for all guests. However, to do so requires a team effort, which owner Pindar Damianos understands well. While I was visiting, Mr. Damianos was busily working alongside his staff, moving boxes, cleaning glasses, and providing tastings for customers. In between these tasks, he was kind enough to take time to speak with me about his family’s passion for winemaking, and why Pindar Vineyards remains one of Long Island’s most popular wineries.
Mr. Damianos explained that part of his winery’s dedication to guests’ enjoyment is understanding that their visitors encompass all types of wine drinkers, from novices to connoisseurs. As a result, they make different types of wine for all palettes, and strive to educate guests about their wine. For example, their four seasons wines- Winter White, Spring Splendor, Summer Blush, and Autumn Gold- are on the sweeter side and make for easy drinking. Though technically considered to be wines that are great for novices, they are some of the vineyard’s most popular wines.
If the seasonal wines are “introductory wines,” Pindar Vineyards also provides plenty of tastes for the more advanced wine drinker, such as their Pythagoras Red, which is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Mr. Damianos explained that over time, our palettes mature, which enables us to enjoy drier varieties. Regardless of where one may be as a wine drinker, it is not difficult to find a wine that is suitable to your tastes at Pindar. As someone who is still expanding her palette, I appreciate that Pindar has this understanding of their customers. The tasting that Mr. Damianos poured for me provided wines suitable for a variety of palettes, and I was able to taste the differences in wine as it progressed from introductory to more advanced. As a personal bonus, I was excited to find that I liked the Pythagoras Red, since it is a blend of two of the drier red wines.
The tasting flight provided a nice blend of “introductory” and more “advanced” wines
Actually enjoying a drier red wine!
Perhaps one of the most recognizable features of Pindar Vineyards are the sunflowers that bloom annually on the grounds. As a Long Islander, it is almost a rite of passage to come to Pindar at some point and take pictures in the sunflower field, so before we finished our conversation, I had to ask Mr. Damianos about it. The story he told me is fantastic: in the early 1980s, Mr. Damianos’ father- Pindar’s original owner- happened to be driving by some of their acreage of Chardonnay, when he noticed one lone sunflower growing amongst the grapes. He decided to name that year’s Chardonnay after that one sunflower, and from there, planted sunflower seeds along the side of Pindar’s tasting room. Since that year, the release of each year’s Sunflower Chardonnay is timed to coincide with the full bloom of the sunflowers. This is a tradition that is now 35 years strong, and only seems to be growing in popularity.
I visited just as the first sunflowers were beginning to bloom
Pindar’s famous Sunflower Chardonnay
Pindar had already been a favorite Long Island winery of mine before I began Drink.Explore.Repeat this summer. It’s the winery I visit most frequently, both for the wine itself, and for its comfortable atmosphere. Mr. Damianos reinforced this when he said that the vineyard strives to maintain a welcoming atmosphere, free from any pretension. Listening to him speak, he undoubtedly values his customers, and continues to educate himself and his staff on the best ways to make guests happy. He stated that he never wants to be a “winery of ‘no’”; rather, he wants to continue to welcome and ensure that visitors are having an enjoyable experience. Part of the vineyard’s success in doing this certainly comes back to their embodiment of the team culture- both management and staff are always on premises and working together. I witnessed this on my visit, as after I spoke with him, Mr. Damianos continued to circulate both indoors and outside on the grounds, completing tasks and making sure that guests were enjoying themselves.
Pindar’s grounds provide plenty of outdoor seating options with beautiful views of the grapes. On weekends they also offer live music, which adds to their welcoming nature
Poet Pindar may have written about enjoying the resources one has access to over 2,500 years ago, but his words certainly apply to life in 2020. If quarantining and social distancing has taught us anything, it’s that we need to appreciate what we have, and to enjoy each experience to the fullest, because it can be taken away quicker than we may have realized. On that note, I’ll be spending the rest of this afternoon enjoying some Sunflower Chardonnay and planning my next trip to Pindar. Salut!
‘til next time,
Lau
Interested in visiting Pindar? Check their website for more information!
