Seasons · 5 min read
What's Happening on the Long Island Wine Trail in November
November is the year's hidden gift. The harvest is in, the rooms are quiet, and the holiday-release weekend before Thanksgiving is the single best buying weekend of the year.
What's happening on the wine trail in November
_By Hollis Cooper — updated for the November 2025 season._
November is the year's hidden gift. The harvest is in, the rooms are quiet, and the holiday-release weekend before Thanksgiving is the single best buying weekend of the year.
Below are the 2–3 things actually worth driving out for this November, 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 November around.
North Fork
- Thanksgiving release weekends — most North Fork wineries push their holiday lineup the weekend before Thanksgiving; Paumanok Chenin Blanc is the bottle for the bird.
- Post-harvest cellar tours — by mid-November the new vintage is in tank and barrel; the cellar story is at its most interesting.
- Small-Business Saturday tastings — Bedell, Lenz, Sparkling Pointe and Pellegrini all typically run reserve flights on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
For November 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 Estate Thanksgiving pickup weekend — the wine club release lands and the tasting room runs holiday-paired pours.
- Channing Daughters fall reserve flights — the rare reds and amphora wines are at full strength.
- Sag Harbor's quiet shoulder — The American Hotel, The Beacon and Le Bilboquet are all bookable again with a few days' notice.
For November Hamptons planning, see the Hamptons wineries overview and the hotels & stays guide for nearby rooms.
How I'd plan a November weekend
If you're putting together a single weekend on the East End this November, 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.