It started with a text message on Friday afternoon from my sister-in-law Ashley: "Whatcha doing tomorrow, want to go to a wine tasting?" My first reaction was, "well I've got stuff to do." But really my plan was to stay home and roast a chicken, cook some leeks en papillote and watch the premiere of Grey Gardens on HBO with John. Tired of letting the dork in me take over I had a second thought. Two seconds later I texted Ashley back: "I'm in." She promised me I'd be home before Grey Gardens, albeit slightly drunk. Come to think of it maybe it would be a good idea to be drunk when watching Grey Gardens anyway.
And so we set off. The plan was for Ashley to pick me up, we'd go to our future sister-in-law Lisa's house (this was really Lisa's idea in the first place), get Lisa's friend Mariel (a fellow Scorpio I've heard all about – all good!) and head out east to the winery. Lisa and Mariel were prepared with a basket filled with cheeses (Manchego, Drunken Goat and Brie), crackers, some luscious strawberries and a bottle of white. Once we got to the winery, Lieb Cellars in Greenport, Long Island, we settled our picnic basket and blanket and Ashley and Lisa went in to get our wine tastings.
The tastings were paired with Oysters (Bay, Mystic and Rockefeller) supplied by The Frisky Oyster restaurant in Greenport. Both of the married girls thought the chef was cute too. Go figure.
We wasted no time digging right in.
As I am a novice wine taster I got caught up in the moment and neglected to write down any notes. Thankfully, Mariel remembered all of the details:
-
Blanc De Blancs (this actually reminds me of the name of the first Police album – but let me stop as I am dating myself)
- Pinot Blanc Reserve 2007
- Pinot Blanc Reserve 2006
- Pinot Blanc Reserve 2005
Mariel also provided us with a review:
"Well I absolutely loved the Blanc De Blancs (the sparkling wine we had first). I thought it was delicate, yet structured with amazing notes of honey and a well-balanced citrus acidity. My other favorite was the Pinot Blanc reserve 2007. Though not a highly complicated wine, it was a great representative of a pinot blanc with its stone fruits, light minerality and a notable finish!" I couldn't have said it better myself.
Lisa complained that the tastings were not large enough, but she compensated by buying two more bottles of wine that we all polished off.
Agreeing that we all needed some substance after our liquid picnic, we headed off to the Love Lane Kitchen for some espressos and dessert.
In the pre-season it was quiet, had an old-fashioned feel and was a nice place to relax after a day filled with laughs. I had Madeleine's dipped in chocolate, Lisa had semifreddo, Mariel had a super chocolate raspberry tart that was almost like a candy bar and Ash had rice pudding, her favorite.
The day was a blast and the girls got me home just as Grey Gardens was starting. In fact, John was watching it in the sunroom, martini in hand.
Note: Photo credits go to Lisa Romandetto
It was a great time! I cant wait to doit all over again. I would not have changed a thing about this day. Love you Marissa you are the greatest! xoxo
Posted by: Ashley Bishop | April 30, 2009 at 05:13 PM
I just watched Grey Gardens the day before yesterday. That was some story! I really wish I'd had the foresight to have a martini beforehand.
Posted by: Kim (Stone) Byer | September 03, 2009 at 11:08 PM