Random Observation/Comment #530: MiniMoons are great. I need more of these long weekends away.
For our mini honeymoon (AKA MiniMoon), Wanessa did a long weekend out in Sag Harbor with a general agenda of drinking wine, picking pumpkins, and eating cheese. All-in-all it was pretty perfect and really made this whole marriage and spending-the-rest-of-our-lives-together thing sink in.
Things Sag Harbor does well
- Wineries – There are more choices in North Fork, but Wölffer makes up for it.
- Wine tasting – What a great deal, and easy way to meet all these other people from long Island. Apparently, there’s a 3-degree of separation.
- Cute mom and pop shops – These are usually pretty cool, but ridiculously expensive. I think it adds a lot to the atmosphere though.
- Farm stands – Really creative local products for outrageous prices. The stands themselves are still pretty.
Things Sag Harbor can Improve
- Weekend parking – At least the parking is free. Unfortunately the town is either completely empty or overflowing with baby strollers.
- Pumpkin picking traffic – Since there’s only one road to Montauk, the autumn pumpkins lead to some crazy lines. Looking at you, Hank’s.
- Outrageous pricing – Double NYC prices are pretty bad. We wish we found King Kullen earlier.
Our Itinerary of awesome
Thursday night – Late night drive (2.5 hours driving through LIE and 25A)
Friday – Discovery of Estia’s breakfast deliciousness
Noon – South Fork winery tours via taxis. We just called the same local taxi company (hometown taxi – 631.725.6969) between the three Wineries and spent around $100 total on transportation.
Southfork Vineyards:
Duck Walk Vineyard
During the autumn weekends, this place is crowded because of Hank’s Pumpkin Patch across the street. While the kids pick some apples, the parents can do a $8 5-flight wine tasting. We got a chance to speak with Mike and hear his 2-sentence tag line for every wine. I also loved the beer selection from Publick House.
Wölffer Vineyard
Perfect for autumn outdoor snacking for lunch. Definitely go with the autumn tasting for the reds. The 2012 Cassango Cabernet Sauvignon is my favorite and pairs excellently with the charcuterie appetizer cheese board. I’d recommend this vineyard for everyone and it’s definitely a must if you’re in South Fork area.
Channing Daughter Vineyard
Out of the South Fork, I found these wines to be the most creative and different. It’s a cute little small area for tasting and the staff is extremely friendly. Channing Daughter also sends their yeast to a nearby neighborhood bakery, so we were able to get some delicious sour dough bread.
Saturday – more Estia’s breakfast.
We ordered a $50/hour private tour from 10am to 6pm in North Fork. Took the ferry ($15) up through shelter island and then another ferry ($15) from there to into Greenport area. Note: this could very well be a traffic jam trap on peak hours since the one line to wait and get onto the ferry wrapped around a few blocks.
Northfork Vineyards:
Sparkling Pointe
In my opinion, this is a must-visit from North Fork. Their $17 tasting of the 4 sparkling wines are all delicious. I love the architecture of the building and the Carnival/Brazilian theme in the modern white hall. Everything is just so photogenic and well lit. I personally love their new red sparkling wine. Note that if you buy 2 bottles, you get the tasting for free.
Macari Vineyards
Beautiful large catering area and small outdoor sipping spot. I’d recommend buying some chips and artichoke pesto dip, and getting a bottle of merlot for the outside. We didn’t do the tasting here because we had drank too much already, but there were enough bar areas to keep people happy with flowing wine.
Martha Clara vineyards
One of our favorite vineyards because it has a full gambit of activity. Love the live music and huge picnic area. We got an awesome horse ride for 20 minutes and just drank a whole bottle of wine while chatting. This was also the only winery that had a food truck on the premise. Really good idea because I’m sure they made a killing. For the drinking 20-30year olds, there’s corn hole right next to the horse ride area. Definitely a great place to revisit and hang out for 2-3 hours.
Paumanok vineyards
Very open space, but could use more bar room. The tasting was pretty lovely and I loved the oysters on a half shell outside. There was a lot of hype for this place, but it wasn’t as impressive as all the magazines wrote about. The wine was decent, but I wasn’t blown away by any of them.
Sunday – More Estia’s breakfast, walked around town, visited some farm stands for Apple and pumpkin picking – a bottle of wine for lunch.
Monday – Slow and relaxing drive home with pit stops while heading home and returning the car.
Thank you so much to our generous friend, Shomita, for letting us stay at her place over the long weekend.
~See Lemons Love Sag Harbor
