Cheers to Labor Day Weekend

On Sunday of Labor Day Weekend, we celebrated by going with our friends Brian and Adrienne out to Long Island for a Winery Crawl.  Actually only 3 of us were drinking, because Adrienne is pregnant, but she enjoyed the scenery and the time out and we enjoyed having a DD :).  Brian and Adrienne packed a cute basket full of snacks and lunch.  We started off for the 2 hour drive to the North Fork of Long Island which boasts over 30 wineries.

Our first stop was Vineyard 48, which we all really liked.  We got there right when they were opening for the day, so we got great service being that we were the only customers at 11am on a Sunday.  Charlie and I are not big wine people but we loved tasting and we even bought 2 bottles from Vin 48, one of our favorites was a Peach wine and the "Red 48" wine - which was their house red that was fairly priced but very good.

Next was Shinn Estate which was a cute little bed and breakfast with a vineyard.  The wines were not bad, but the atmosphere was a bit more subdued and quiet; not nearly as fun as the last place, but it was still nice to sit there and try a flight of wines.

Next up was Pellegrini Vineyards, which was probably our 2nd favorite.  They had a beautiful tasting room and great patio.  We got 2 wines from there as well - they named their Reds for people like us.  One was called the BBQ Red and another was the Steakhouse Red....we got the Steakhouse Red of course!  And have since finished it, with a grilled steak a week or so later.

(Pellegrini's Tasting Room)

Next up was Martha Clara Vineyards....this place was by far the largest and the most crowded.  It had a huge tasting room with 2 very long bars and the service was exactly what you would get at a crowded bar.  They had  a very lively band and a large outdoor space that it seemed like lots of people had brought the whole family including the dog to hang out all day, but we were on a mission to squeeze in 2 more vineyards.

(Martha Clara Vineyards..this place was packed!)

Our last stop was Paumanok Vineyards which also had a nice patio.  I still don't think we know the different between a Merlot and a Shiraz...but it was definitely a beautiful day to sit outside and was really fun enjoying all the different wines.  It was great place to wind down what had turned into a long day.

Once we were done at Paumanok, we left the North Fork for the 2 hour drive back to White Plains.  We had dinner there at Emma's Ale House, a fun pub named after the owner's dog.

Needless to say, we were happy to see our own doggie when we got back that night!