January 25, 2006

A Winter Festival in the Long Island Wine Country

It's the quiet time of the year for Long Island Wine Country but the draw all February will be the Winter Festival, with the lure of barrel tastings, free chocolate, spa treatments, cooking classes and discounts on lodgings, dining and of course wine.

To get the deals, you'll need to buy one $30 "passport" per couple or family.

The Winter Festival runs from February 1 to 28, with most of the special events set for the first three long weekends (Friday through Sunday) and family week from Feb. 20 through 26.

Offers include tours and barrel tastings at Lenz Winery, fire and ice brownies -- made with jalapenos and ice wine -- at Castello di Borghese Vineyard & Winery, tango lessons and a cherry pie extravaganza at Wolffer Estate, free chocolate and foie gras at Pellegrini Vineyards, Long Island-grown cigars at Vineyard 48, free tastings and wine discounts at Bedell Cellars, Corey Creek and Laurel Lake Vineyards and Old Field Vineyard will let you "put your sweetheart's initials in a vineyard's post" during the romance weekends, set for the weekends before and after Valentine's Day.

With the passport, there are deals at dozens of restaurants, bed & breakfast locations and attractions including Atlantis Marine World, the Custer Institute and the Southold Indian Museum. Vintage Tours is also offering a $5 discount on its normal rate of $65 per person on weekends or $58 on weekdays.

The complete roster of discounts is online (in pdf format) at the Long Island Wines web site.

Though be advised that in February, the weather is far from what you'll find during the summer in the Hamptons. This past weekend the weather was so warm and the traffic so steady that Roanoke Vineyards ran out of some wines and had to break into the 2000 merlot, which the New York Times recently said earned Roanoke a rookie of the year award. But this time a year ago, rather than of pouring wine Roanoke's grower said he was instead shoveling snow to clear a path to the road.

Earlier: Lazy Long Island weekend in Greenport off-season
Long Island wineries get boost

January 25, 2006 09:04 AM in Drinkology, Kids, Out of Manhattan, Romance

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