The third winery we went during the Vintage Tours was called Shinn Estate Vineyards. Our tour guide, Jo Ann told us that they also offer bed and breakfast right behind the winery, which was very interesting… Maybe a good option for my future? Another interesting fact about this spot is that they have solar and wind power system. They are the first East Coast winery and inn to be solely powered by alternative energy. Pretty great, right?
We went through a wooden gate with a sign that said “Welcome” on the outside, and “Thank you” in the inside. They had nice tasting patio, with nice amount of outdoor seating, surrounded by lots of flowers.
Since it was a really hot day, Everyone was sitting in the shaded side of the patio. They had wood barrels as tables, which I always think are so cute.
Towards the back, they had a bar with couple of barrel tables and seats. They had cute signs with inspirational (or kind of funny) words on wooden signs all over, such as “soulful,” “honest,” “peace,” and so on. It was a nice little touch to make this place a bit more homey and cozy.
We took a seat near the bar and waited for the wine tasting. Since the Vintage Tours only covers the wine tastings at the first two wineries, we were given a choice of whether or not to do the tasting here. We did the white and red wine “flight” of 4 wines for $14. It included Coalescence, Rosé, Estate Merlot, and Wild Boar Doe.
The Coalescence 2015 was a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling, and was refreshing with citrus notes. Light, clear, and easy to drink, a bit acidic, and not as sweet as I thought it might be, from the Riesling.
The Rosé 2015 was dry and had floral aromas with flavors of strawberry, raspberry and watermelon. From all the red-colored fruits, it has strong colors, more red than pink. It was clean, indicated as “perfect for barbecue” on the menu. I guess I could see that to be a refreshing match.
Estate Merlot has aromas of sweet spices, toasted herbs and minerals, with flavors of black cherry, chocolate, coffee and vanilla. It was strong, a bit heavy but flavorful and had very deep garnet red to it.
The last but not least, Wild Boar Dow. I really liked the name, it was very creative and clever. It is a Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. It was spicy, had nice aroma to it.
On top of winery and bed & breakfast, they also hold a farm distilling license. With that, they also offer grappa, eau de vie, grape vodka and fine alembic brandy. Although we didn’t try any of them, I thought that was interesting. It is always good to have more offerings for the customers to choose from.
They also had indoor tasting room, with lots of wood and again, cute signs of inspirational words. On a cold day or rainy day, this room will come in handy.
At the end, we didn’t find any wine that we really loved, so we didn’t make any purchase. But it is always fun to go to a different winery and learn about them and their wine. In their vineyards, they had lots of baby grapes. I am sure they will become great wines soon enough.
The staff who gave us the tasting was not very friendly, and a bit strange…in the way that she was not really interested in providing tastings. We didn’t get much information on the wines that we were drinking, other than the name of the wines. It seemed as if she just wanted to rush through them. The owner was there, greeting some selective customers. We got to talk to her right when we were leaving, but I didn’t feel a warm, welcoming vibe. Maybe because we didn’t buy any wine. Regardless, I really like their nature-friendly concept!
Shinn Estate Vineyards – 2000 Oregon Road, Mattituck NY, 11952