A Memorable Non-Memorial

---

Long Island.

Playground of Manhattan's Rich and Famous.

On this decidedly non-memorial day weekend, Robyn and I managed to make for ourselves a memorable weekend indeed.

The winery region out here is not napa, and not hoppin' before Memorial Day, but we found some kind people and fine wine that definitely warrants a jaunt from the Big Apple.

The Hertz rental location could not be easier (across the street from us!) so after we sparked our Toyota ignition we were on our way down FDR and out of the city. Our hotel could pretty well double for a beach version of the Bates Motel. 12 cabins, 12 vacancies. But a quick drive up the road led to a delightful lunch at Love Lane Kitchen - banana nut pancakes with nutella maple syrup, and a stellar lobster roll with fries. After stopping in the sweet shop for Robyn (of course) we made our way to our first winery - Castello di Borghese. This was not a great start. Maybe it was the first winery to open up shop out here, but it hasn't aged well, lets put it that way.
Fortunately our next venture was a pleasantly successful.

Shinn Estate Vineyards has the perfect rustic lack of pretension. The winery dog, Panda was very friendly and jumped up to try and lick Robyn in the face. At Shinn they don't have to brag about what wines won gold ribbons at whatever competitions, because their wine speaks for itself. Everything we tried (whites and reds) had a complex aroma and a delicate balance of flavors. Very good wine for the area.

Lastly we tried Macari Vineyards which fell somewhere in between. Large tasting room and a very friendly staff made the place enjoyable. And their wines were certainly a step up from Castello but nothing to really write home about. I don't even much feel like writing in my travel blog about it either. But they had some very pointed recommendations that we'll likely try tomorrow.

For dinner we sauntered down to Jamesport Country Kitchen. It was quite good, Robyn and I split a salmon cake, and a bowl of black bean/ham soup and a really great Shrimp/Filet Mignon Brochette and enjoyed some white wine. On the way to dinner we made an excursion to Waldbaum's Grocery Store where they are fond of employing the mentally challenged.

Over all a very memorable day!

---