SIDEWAYS IN THE NORTH FORK

Each year when the trees start to bud, I retire my Harry Potter scarf and my wife prepares for her vacation from towering over 10 year olds I take the time to reflect the coming season and plan a much needed weekend getaway.

Considering I acquire only .85 of a full vacation day each month I have to use my time off wisely. Past Spring getaways have consisted of trips to South Beach (Mr and Mrs Delano trendy), Puerto Rico (Rice and Beans), Newport for SPA and scones and Hershey Park - which resulted in me getting sick on the Super Dooper Looper for the second time in my life..the first was 1986 and I threw up on my summer camp crush!

This year I began to surf the web for nearby destinations that would not only bring me the much desired relaxation and culture but would also not completely spend my entire Tax refund all in one Sat night. After much back and forth I decided to stay within New York but was determined to find an unexplored area that would live up to my unattainable Hollywood dream weekend..as it turned out I actually found such a place. Its the Napa Valley of the Hamptons otherwise known as the North Fork.

At first the thought of an ol time bed and breakfast was perceived as a turnoff. Yes I have a passion for antiques and all things described as vintage but the majority of the places that I researched were actual antiques including the sheets and blankets. Its one thing to have the decor of simpler times but another to sleep in a bed that George Washington may have cuddled in. Knowing the qualifications of my better half I ventured on until I found a unique place in the town of Mattituck. It was an old 1800 farmhouse converted into a modern anthropology catalogesqe bed and breakfast while also being on a working vineyard. The place was called Shinn Farms. named after one of the owners. The place is run by Chef-turned-winemaker David Page and his wife, Barbara Shinn. They actually also own the West Village Brunch Hot Spot HOME. It didn’t take much convincing for me and the wife to confirm our weekend and book our trip.

A Whino we will go...

I do not pretend to be anything close to a wine connoisseur. Yes I took a wine tasting class in Florence Italy where I spent my siesta days learning the proper etiquette of how to taste a fine wine..I learned the technique of smelling the wine by sticking your beak fully into the glass, the mastering of the glass swirl as you allow the wine to breathe and check for color and clarity..then the sensory methods of swishing the wine around your taste buds. All this before you can be allowed to fully swallow. Did I mention that I was 20 years old when I took this class and all I really cared about was how drunk I can get before I head off to the duomo to stare at architecture followed by my cigarette and daily tiramisu. But years later I still find myself doing the swirl, swish swallow combination even to the comic relief of my wife and friends at the local pizzeria on free Chianti night during my Shrimp parm dinner special.

My second experience into the world of wines came with the screening of the masterpiece film SIDEWAYS. I was blown away by the culture of Napa Valley, the characters perfectly written dialogue describing their love for the vine and how a certain grape perfectly natured and nurtured could define a person's entire outlook on life. I found myself becoming obsessed with educating myself on the different types of wines that I always took for granted. I especially sought after finding the perfect Pinot Noir if only to try to fully understand what Paul Giamattis character so beautifully expressed in the film's most poignant scene..

"Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and... Ancient on the planet."

I came close to pursuing a life long fascination with wine but alas my fickle mind wandered shortly after onto other film obsessions such as samurai swords in Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2 I believe. Nevertheless I remain a wine lover and as the years passed and I discovered new preferences of what my tongue/palate preferred I always hoped to one day get to experience my very own SIDEWAYS adventure.

Flash forward to April 11th as my wife and I are driving 20 miles per hour in the worst rain storm this season on the way to the Shinn Estate Farms in North Fork. We arrived with minutes remaining to the vineyards last wine tasting of the day. We ran inside for shelter from the pounding rain and stretched our tired legs inside the farms wood paneled tasting room. We were welcomed by a lovely lady who we named Rosey since we never caught her name. After hours of driving we finally made it to total relaxation! I taught my wife the techniques I had learned abroad as we tasted the farms many varieties of wines from table red and white to more complicated bottles of chardonnay’s, merlot and Cabernets. Our personal favorite wheich we bought a few bottles of as our weekend came to an end was
the Shinn’s 2008 Coalescence (a $14 bargain). It is a strikingly grapefruity, creamy mix of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, viognier and fermented white juice of red merlot grapes. Its bouquet evokes a meadow on a late-summer afternoon (Not my critique by the way).

The Bed and breakfast was everything we hoped for. A very well decorated common area greeted you as you entered your new home. the common room was filled with built in wall shelves filled with cook books from all over the world spanning over a hundred years. My eyes lit up as I was greeted to the sounds of classic 80's REM, the pot belly stove in the corner and a large leather chair wishing me to sit in its groove and enjoy a complimentary class of house red along with a large cheese plate of different local Hamptons bries. I was in a whole new level of happy!

The rest of the weekend is a thin red velvety blur as I sunk deeper and deeper into uttler care free tranquility. I ended my night by sinking into the rooms Egyptian sheets with an unusually high thread count and I was out into dreamland until I awoke to the sunlight rising over the vineyards blossoming fields.

The breakfast the farmhouse prepared for us was delicious. It was a large fritta that was cooked I am sure in an equally large skillet. It was made with goat cheese, leeks, potatoes and herbs and came with fresh baked scones and homemade jams.

It was only one night but I couldn't believe how such a simple getaway could bring me such a newly discovered level of satisfaction. I highly recommend Shinn Estate Farms to those with the desire to tap into their inner Sideways. Back to reality and continue rowing you’re bought until the next getaway!

www.shinnestatevineyards.com

www.shinnfarmhouse.com