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VINEYARDS & CONSERVATION

Vineyards

Corchaug Estate Logo

Our original vineyard, established on land rescued from development, borders the Fort Corchaug archaeological site and Down’s Woods preserve. The estate also includes our tasting room, an existing barn reclaimed as a place for visitors, and our grass-fed cattle.

The sandy southern end of the vineyard is planted with 11 acres of Pinot Noir, comprised of four clones selected from the best french clonal varieties grown in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. This is one of the largest Pinot Noir vineyards on the East Coast.
The clay-rich northern end of Corchaug Estate – similar in makeup to the right bank of Bordeaux – is an ideal home for ten acres of Merlot, comprised of three clones.

The vines in Corchaug Estate were planted incredibly close together, ensuring competition among roots and encouraging the plants to grow deeper. We also chose to single-cane this vineyard, in effect cutting our production in half and allowing our vines to focus on producing a lesser volume of fruit, but of much higher quality.

North Ridge Vineyard Logo

Just north of Corchaug Estate lies a vineyard planted by Dr. Gristina in 1983. The overgrown and neglected old vine Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay plantings were taken over by our family in 2011 and groomed back into production.  We found that this site produces stellar fruit, and expanded the plantings by adding Sauvignon Blanc, Petit Verdot, and Syrah to this site.

This vineyard is unique – both in its hilly relief and the inclusion of a large dry kettle hole, nestled in a parcel of protected forest in the center of the vines.  The glacial terroir, exceptional drainage of the vineyard, and pedigreed age of the vines is evident in the resulting wines.

Conservation

Walking through our farm on any given day you may see foxes, pheasant, deer, hawks, turtles, wildflowers and more. We’re proud of that.

A commitment to the preservation of local wild and agricultural land and to our environment in a broader view is integral to our mission. We began by partnering with the Peconic Land Trust to save our land, Down’s Woods, and the Fort Corchaug site (over 200 acres in total) from a proposed development of condominiums. When we succeeded in that goal, we sold the development rights to our land, guaranteeing that it will remain in a wild, natural state or be devoted to agriculture forever.

The addition of our wind turbine in 2010 has provided our farm with clean wind energy; enough that we can also supply clean power to the Long Island Power Association.

With the use of innovative techniques such as recapturing spray, we limit the use of pesticides and herbicides and ensure that they don’t leave the vineyard or affect either the neighboring preserve or our organic grass-fed Charolais cattle. We are proud members of the Long Island Sustainable Winegrower’s Association and all of our wines are certified sustainable.

The addition of our wind turbine in 2010 has provided our farm with clean wind energy; enough that we can also supply clean power to the Long Island Power Association.

With the use of innovative techniques such as recapturing spray, we limit the use of pesticides and herbicides and ensure that they don’t leave the vineyard or affect either the neighboring preserve or our organic grass-fed Charolais cattle.