With Susan Simm

Holiday Cheer At Paumanok Vineyards
On November 30, CBS Sunday Morning News aired a segment featuring Charles Massoud, owner and winemaker of the two-decade old Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue. Paumanok, without question one of the North Fork’s preeminent wineries, was founded in 1983 by the Massoud family and has since produced an impressive number of award-winning local wines.

During the segment, Massoud showed John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter, wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, how a small vineyard achieves this level of success.

“Winemaking is actually a farming activity,” Charles says. “[It is] about growing high quality fruit. The riper the fruit, the better the wine. And, if you have very ripe fruit… it’s going to turn into wine. Your job is not to make mistakes.”

It appears that Charles has made few mistakes over the years. The 77 acre estate is owned and managed by Charles, his wife Ursula, and their three sons, and plantings consist of Chardonnay, Johannisberg Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

In an airy tasting room with panoramic views of the vineyards, Paumanok’s current vintages, excellent gifts for the holidays all, can be sampled. Recommended wines currently available include: the 2002 Chenin Blanc, off-dry with wonderful tropical fruit flavors ($15), the 2000 Assemblage ($36), a big, smoky Bordeaux-style blend, the 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vintage, touted by The New York Times as being “full bodied and full of flavor” ($39), and the 2001 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, rated 86 by the Wine Spectator, which concluded that the wine’s “spicy finish… draws you back for another sip.” Also highly recommended are the vineyard’s late harvest wines.

This weekend, December 6 & 7, Paumanok Vineyards (722-8800) will be participating in the First Annual Aquebogue, Jamesport, Laurel, (AJL) Business Association’s Christmas Wine Tour. See our North Fork Events listings this issue for details. Cheers.

Susan Whitney Simm is Dan’s North Fork editor and wine writer. Please forward questions, comments and industry news to wine@danspapers.com or call 631-537-0500, ext. 510. Pre-release samples welcome.