Long Island wines get rave reviews

By Leslie Gevirtz

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - What do the Wine Advocate, the Wine Enthusiast and The New York Times have in common?

"They all been raving about Long Island wines," said Jane Starwood, editor of the Long Island Wine Press.

It's been more than 30 years since Louisa and Alex Hargrave founded the first commercial winery on 66 acres of sandy, loamy soil on a spit of land about a two hour drive due east of New York City.

Today, there are more than 37 wineries that are members of the Long Island Wine Council and more than 3,000 acres of vineyards.

Jutting out about 100 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, the mild climate and soil resemble that of Graves area in Bordeaux. Paul Lukacs, author of The Rise of American Wine, noted that unlike big California wineries, those on Long Island seemed to be inspired by the "artisanal, agrarian yeoman, working the land."

As a result, the wines are coming into their own.

Robert Parker, the man credited with creating the 100-point wine-rating method and publisher of the Wine Advocate, sent David Schildknecht as his designated reviewer to the Long Island vineyards in 2006 to report back. The results -- of the 69 wines sampled, more than 20 from different producers had scores of 90 or above.

"Amazing for such a young region, don't you agree," Starwood said.