Seasons · 5 min read
What's Happening on the Long Island Wine Trail in August
August is the East End at peak volume. Book everything. Drive early. And use the Sound-side wineries (Kontokosta, Sparkling Pointe) for sunsets — they're the secret weapon.
What's happening on the wine trail in August
_By Hollis Cooper — updated for the August 2025 season._
August is the East End at peak volume. Book everything. Drive early. And use the Sound-side wineries (Kontokosta, Sparkling Pointe) for sunsets — they're the secret weapon.
Below are the 2–3 things actually worth driving out for this August, broken out by region. Dates and lineups change year to year — confirm on each winery's site before you book — but these are the recurring events and seasonal pours I plan my own August around.
North Fork
- Sound-side sunset tastings — Kontokosta in Greenport runs reservation-only sunset flights on the bluff that are the single best August booking on the North Fork.
- Macari weekday lawn service — the lawn is open through August; weekday visits are still bookable.
- Mid-month harvest watch — first whites (sparkling base wines, early Chardonnay) usually start coming in by the last week of August; cellar tours get genuinely interesting.
For August North Fork itineraries, see the North Fork day trip guide and the first-time visitor's guide. Browse the wineries directory to build your own route.
The Hamptons
- Wölffer Twilight Thursdays peak — the long-running concert series runs strongest in August.
- Channing Daughters extended hours — the full skin-contact and pét-nat lineup is in distribution.
- Hamptons Bastille Day at Wölffer — when scheduled, the Sagaponack tasting room runs a Provençal-themed evening in early August.
For August Hamptons planning, see the Hamptons wineries overview and the hotels & stays guide for nearby rooms.
How I'd plan a August weekend
If you're putting together a single weekend on the East End this August, the move is to anchor Saturday on one fork and Sunday on the other. North Fork Saturday lets you string together three winery visits at a comfortable pace — start at one of the producers listed above, break for lunch in Greenport or on Love Lane, and finish at a Sound-side tasting room for the late-afternoon light. Sunday in the Hamptons is best built around one major Wölffer or Channing Daughters visit plus a long lunch in Sag Harbor before the drive home.
Reserve every tasting in advance. In peak season the walk-in option is essentially gone. And if you're staying over, book the room before the tasting — the hotels guide has the full lineup by town.
What's next
Next month's edition will cover the events and seasonal pours worth planning around in the following weeks. In the meantime, the Long Island wine events calendar tracks the bigger dated happenings, and the seasonal guide collects every month-by-month edition in one place.