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South to North Fork

"Number 3!" The man steps outside the guard booth pointing toward the lanes leading to the Cross Sound Ferry. I park in Lane 3 and go inside a low building to buy a one-way car-and-driver ticket, and one passenger ticket from New London, CT, to Orient Point, LI. The car ferry leaves every hour, and there's available space so we can catch the next boat.

Leaving the ticket counter, I glance up to see Northeast Regional Amtrak pull into New London's Transportation Center, and looking over to the right, passengers piling into a city bus.  Note to self: It's possible to get to Long Island without using a car at all. Just then, we receive the signal to drive aboard into the gaping hole at the bottom of the ferry, and since the plan is to traverse the entire North Fork, we will need the car.

Aboard, we have an hour and twenty minutes to bronze our bodies in the bow of the ferry as it cruises out of the mouth of the Connecticut River and into the calm waters of Long Island Sound. Excitedly, we peruse pamphlets with maps, scant summaries of Long Island's North Folk wineries, and a photo of a dangling bunch of purple grapes, only to disembark with no real sense of what to expect.

After a short drive we arrive at our base camp—a three-story Victorian painted lady, looking stately among the shrubs and overlooking a small pond. "Airbnb.com is controversial around here" our hostess warns us, "but, with only 6,000 rooms, where are people going to stay?" I'm not sure if that is a lot or a little. The drive through this bucolic neighborhood revealed some quaint inns and guest houses but no hotels. When I inquire about the vineyards, our hostess opens a local magazine to a map of the 53 wineries on the North Fork, and points out her recommendations.  This is to become our preferred method of finding the best wineries—asking the locals for their favorites.

Each vineyard has its own character and soon many are recommended by someone whose personality resonates with the features of a particular wine producer.  However, no one endorses the infamous Vineyard 48 with its loud music, buckets of sangria, and barbeque. I scribble suggestions on a slip of paper; the list grows over the weekend: sit next to cows, bring your own food, wood fired pizza oven, live music, only rosés, eco-friendly, and I fear the vineyards will all blend together in recollection.

With so many wineries, we need a strategy. Wine flights or tastings allow us to sample the varietals, especially Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, the three main wines produced in the region. Our exposure to the wineries of Long Island commences at the Shinn Estate Vineyards. Pulling into the driveway a small sign states, "No limos, no busses" and to reinforce this directive the parking area is tiny, and the seating intimate. We crunch over the gravel path to an inviting bench in the outdoor garden facing the rustic barn. A server pours our personalized wine flights—reds and whites—and prepares a platter of cheese. We sip to humming of buzzing bees and a light breeze.

Most wineries close by 5 p.m., but a few stay open a bit later. As the sun sinks low in the sky, we find Lieb Cellars open, a pizza truck parked on the premises and fired up.  Who doesn't love red wine with thin, charred crusty dough layered with tomato, fresh mozzarella, and sprinkled with basil? Turns out, it tastes good with a crisp white, too. We imbibe al fresco, in front of the fire, listening to strains of a folk guitar.

Unbeknownst to us, it's Restaurant Week on the North Fork. Getting a table is near impossible, so we settle at the bar to an excellent meal at the highly recommended A Lure.  A kind and attentive gentleman sees to our needs, reading aloud and then reviewing the wine list comprised of wines from many local vineyards.  A couple seated nearby engages us in conversation and we learn that they run Coffee Pot Cellars and a thriving colony of bees, and that our waiter is actually the owner of the restaurant. We chat about the wine industry and promise to visit their tasting room, which turns out to be extremely entertaining, the show-and-tell about the bees fascinating, and the wines delicious.

Love Lane Kitchen, touted as the best spot for breakfast, doesn't disappoint.  We are early and get a seat right away, but when we exit, people are lining up outside peeking through the windows to guess at the wait time. We stroll in the lane, the morning sun dappling the street as its rays make their way through the trees, so much like a French Impressionist painting. Like other tourists, we visit the shops and peer into the windows of bistros we will visit another day. Even after a full breakfast, our mouths water at the offerings at Love Lane Market. I read the signs stuck into the prepared foods: eggplant rollatini, string beans almondine, roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, artichokes, stuffed peppers, broccoli rabe with garlic, barley salad, barbequed chicken, fried fish, and cheeses galore.

Today's strategy starts with visiting vineyards closer to Riverhead, then heading back toward Orient Point. It's at a mid-morning tasting at Jamesport Vineyards, standing at the boat-shaped bar with a furled sail reminiscent of Jason and the Argonauts, that we learn about the bus-and-limo culture. No sooner has the hostess explained that bachelorettes, birthday celebrants, and other revelers hire limos, or take busses out of NYC to tipple and trip through vineyard after vineyard, when a limo pulls into the driveway. The merrymakers, outfitted in floppy hats and straw fedoras, sleek fitted dresses, high heels, and fashionable suits, belly up to the highly polyurethane-glossed bar to order the proscribed flights of fancy. Conveniently, for the person who doesn't want to drive, chauffeurs offer a relaxed and safe way to tour the vineyards in their car or yours.

Taking a break from the pre-noon wine visit, we lunch at Legends on one of the picturesque beaches on Peconic Bay. While we wait for our repast, I leaf through some brochures and note that the North Fork sports a few golf courses, some kid-friendly attractions such as the Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center, farm stands, and quaint shops in addition to winery tours.

After lunch, in the pastoral setting of McCall Wines, it's with eater's remorse that we sit near the cows grazing the bright green grass on one side, and on the other side a picnicking table of Italian code-switchers who elect to taste their wines by the bottle, ordering different vintages as they run out.  Craning our necks, we spy smoked salmon, mozzarella, arugula salad, and oil-cured olives laid out on a picnic table weathered to a silvery gray. Next time.

The drive through rural Suffolk County, designated an American Viticultural Area, whose rich soil and temperate climate, due to its proximity to Long Island Sound, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Peconic Bay, grants wine grapes an extended growing season, and provides us a relaxed reprieve as we make our way toward the shops of Greenport and eventually home. I log onto longislandferry.com to purchase return tickets. Sold out! The only spaces left are on the 7 and 8  p.m. ferries.  Yes, we have time for another tasting! While on the site, with the North Fork exceeding my expectations, I become a Rewards Member.  I'll definitely return.