Classic Wines

Classic Wines visits Paumanok Vineyard in Long Island to taste their 2005 Sauvignon Blanc Late Harvest wine. Second generation winemaker, Kareem Massoud, tells us of the history behind this refreshing Sauvignon Blanc.

In an intriguing twist of winemaking fate, the Massoud family was forced to deal with an outbreak of noble rot. After much deliberation and anxiety, Kareem and his parents turned this potential disaster into one of their finest dry wines. This Sauvignon Blanc is such a success, they have trouble keeping it on the shelves.

Winemaking in Long Island at Paumanok Vineyards is a family affair. Like a lot of the wineries in the Long Island New York area everyone in the family learns every aspect of the business; from harvesting the grapes to bottling the wine. We spoke with Kareem Massoud of the Paumanok Vineyards during the harvest of the sauvignon blanc grapes. Join us to learn more.

Picking grapes for wine is the first step a winemaker must do to make delicious wine. The timing is crucial for picking grapes with the correct sugar content since this is so important in making the wine. It goes beyond this one fact though, so join us at Bedell Cellars as we learn more about fine wine making.

One of the important steps in making wine comes before the grapes are even picked. The winemakers job is to determine the correct time to pick the chardonnay, or viogneir grapes for optimal flavor. Classic Wines interviews the winemaker at Bedell Cellars, John Levenberg, in Long Island to find out the many determinations that a winemaker will make to bring you that wonderful glass of wine.

There are many wine tours along the North Fork of Long Island. Bedell Cellars, known for producing a high quality Merlot, has redesigned their tasting room into a beautiful state of the art facility. Join us next week for more in a series on the Long Island wineries, where we visit the vineyards, taste some wine and meet some of the winemakers themselves.

At the Old Field Vineyards in Long Island we learn how they use the traditional French method of making champagne. Brian Freedman talks with Ros Baiz about the Blanc de noir champagne method sparkling wine that they produce and the careful steps it takes to make such a wonderful wine.