Seasons · 5 min read
What's Happening on the Long Island Wine Trail in March
March is the hinge month. The vines are being pruned, the new rosés are about to drop, and the season's first warm Saturday brings everyone back out. Get ahead of it.
What's happening on the wine trail in March
_By Hollis Cooper — updated for the March 2026 season._
March is the hinge month. The vines are being pruned, the new rosés are about to drop, and the season's first warm Saturday brings everyone back out. Get ahead of it.
Below are the 2–3 things actually worth driving out for this March, 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 March around.
North Fork
- Pruning-season vineyard walks — Macari and Shinn typically host weekend walking tours through the dormant rows; bundle up.
- First-rosé pre-release pours — by late March some wineries (Croteaux especially) start pulling the new vintage rosé from tank for soft launches.
- St. Patrick's weekend Greenport — Claudio's and Noah's both pour Long Island whites with the holiday menu; pair Paumanok Chenin with the oysters.
For March 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
- Channing Daughters spring release — the new pét-nat and skin-contact bottlings usually arrive mid-month.
- Wölffer rosé pre-release — the Sagaponack tasting room often pours the new vintage rosé from tank a week or two before the official release.
- Sag Harbor pre-season dining — The Beacon and Le Bilboquet reopen full hours mid-March; reservations are still easy.
For March Hamptons planning, see the Hamptons wineries overview and the hotels & stays guide for nearby rooms.
How I'd plan a March weekend
If you're putting together a single weekend on the East End this March, 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. Even in the shoulder months the better seated experiences fill up by Thursday. 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.