Pellegrini Vineyards

Pellegrini Vineyards is a Cutchogue estate known for Vintner's Pride Encore — its long-running Bordeaux-style flagship.

Pellegrini's signature Vintner's Pride Encore is a Merlot-led Bordeaux blend that has anchored the estate's lineup since the mid-1990s and helped define the North Fork's red identity — a structured, savory wine built on Cutchogue's gravelly loam and aged in mostly neutral French oak for two years before release. Founded by graphic designer Bob Pellegrini in 1991 on 30 estate acres along Main Road, the winery has been quietly farmed by the same vineyard team for over two decades. In the cellar The Pellegrini cellar is built into a cedar-clad, courtyard-style building designed by Bob Pellegrini himself — gravity-assisted, with a long barrel hall that holds primarily neutral and second-fill French oak. The house style is restraint: judicious extraction, very limited new oak, and long élevage before release. Encore typically sees roughly 22 to 24 months in barrel and another year in bottle, which is why even current releases tend to drink as if they have a few years of cellar age on them already. The solo Petit Verdot — a rarity in any region — is fermented in small open-top bins, aged separately, and bottled only in vintages where the team thinks it can stand alone. What I order in the tasting room Start with the estate Chardonnay (the lightly oaked one), then the dry rosé for season, then the Cabernet Franc, then Encore, then — if it's poured — the solo Petit Verdot. The Old Vines Merlot, when available, is the wine to compare directly with the current Encore release; the two together tell you everything you need to know about how Cutchogue Merlot behaves in different blocks and clones. Encore is the bottle to take home by the case; the Petit Verdot is the bottle to take home if you want a conversation piece for your next dinner. Best time to visit Late September through early November is peak Pellegrini — the courtyard is warm in the afternoon sun, the crush pad is in action, and the team often opens library pours during release weekends. The room is also one of the more pleasant rainy-day stops on the North Fork because the courtyard is sheltered. Avoid July and August Saturdays without a reservation; the courtyard fills early. The signature bottle Vintner's Pride Encore is one of the most under-priced cellar wines on Long Island. It's a Merlot-led Bordeaux blend (typically with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot in shifting proportions) drawn from the best lots on the estate, aged roughly two years in mostly neutral French oak. In a strong vintage it shows ripe plum, dried herb, cedar and a fine-grained, savory finish that drinks well past a decade in the cellar — and it routinely costs less than a comparable Right-Bank Bordeaux. If the solo Petit Verdot is open, taste it on its own to understand why it's quietly becoming a flagship variety on the North Fork.

Vintner's Pride Encore, Old Vines Merlot, Petit Verdot

Pellegrini is one of the most under-priced cellars on the North Fork — Encore from a good vintage drinks well past 10 years and routinely costs less than a comparable Right-Bank Bordeaux. If the Petit Verdot is open, taste it solo to understand why it's becoming a quiet flagship variety out here.