This Week on the Trail · 2026-06-03
Memorial Day recap, three tasting-room upgrades, and the wine to buy this week
Memorial Day was the busiest opening weekend since 2019. Three tasting rooms just finished renovations, and there's one specific bottle worth driving out for.
The Memorial Day recap
Memorial Day weekend on the wine trail was the busiest opening weekend I've seen since 2019. Bedell, Wölffer, and Duck Walk all had tasting rooms at capacity by 2pm Saturday. Lesson for the rest of June: reserve, or arrive right at 11am.
The surprise was the North Fork's smaller producers. Macari's back patio was easier to get into than any of the bigger names, and the flight was frankly the wine of the weekend for me.
Three renovations to check out
Three tasting rooms finished off-season renovations and reopened this week: Sparkling Pointe (new sit-down bar), Palmer Vineyards (redone patio), and Roanoke Vineyards' Riverhead tasting room (fully expanded). If you've written any of these off, they're worth another visit.
Wine of the week
The one bottle to drive out for this week: Macari 'Bergen Road' 2020. It's the kind of Bordeaux blend that used to be a Long Island rarity and now shows up two or three times a vintage. Under $60 at the tasting room, worth the trip.