New Long Island Wines Debuting in 2015

Another summer on the East End means plenty of new wines to taste. Across the North and South forks, vineyards are pairing their new vintages and labels with exciting events, making a visit to the vineyards an essential.

On the North Fork, Martha Clara Vineyards is releasing three new vintages this summer, including two of their 2014 Northern Solstice Blends. The Northern Solstice Rosé has notes of watermelon, strawberry and hints of cotton candy. Northern Solstice Blanc offers hints of ripe pineapple and exotic tropical fruits. Martha Clara’s third release of the summer is a new vintage of Northville Blanc, an eponymous blend that demonstrates the dynamic terroir of the Northville district on Long Island. Northville Blanc is a blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Viognier. 6025 Sound Ave, Riverhead. 631-298-0075, marthaclaravineyards.com

Southold’s Sparkling Pointe will hold their 6th Annual Carnaval Celebration on Saturday, July 25 from 1 to 6 p.m. The event celebrates the second release of Cuvée Carnaval Rouge (a sparkling red wine with notes of black cherries and cinnamon), and features the Samba Nova Drum Band and Brazilian Carnaval dancers. The celebration has also inspired the second release of NV Cuvée Carnaval Rosé, a slightly sweeter style of sparkling rosé with notes of watermelon and strawberries. A new release of Sparkling Pointe’s 2005 Brut Seduction will also be available for you to taste this summer. The wine is a mature sparkling blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with notes of almonds, brioche, and vanilla. 39750 Middle Rd, Southold. 631-765-0200, sparklingpointe.com

Kontokosta Winery in Greenport is introducing two new wines this summer: the 2014 Field Blend (63% viognier, 37% sauvignon blanc) and the 2013 Anemometer White, an oaked blend of 64% chardonnay and 36% viognier. Two other 2014s will also be available at Kontokosta. Enjoy the delicious 2014 Rosé, a blend of syrah, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, as well as a 2014 vintage of their award winning sauvignon blanc. 825 North Rd, Greenport. 631-477-6977, kontokostawinery.com

Wölffer Estate Vineyard is releasing a new vintage of their extremely popular rosé, Summer in a Bottle. This beautiful rosé is a homage to summertime in the Hamptons and evokes the East End’s sunsets, tinged with pink and copper. Aromas of ripe local fruit—cantaloupe, strawberry and peach—fill the glass and the wine is textured with vibrant, tropical flavors like honeydew melon. Following the success of Summer in a Bottle, Wölffer Estate has just released Summer in a Bottle White. This wine has the color of sunshine and gives juicy aromas of summer fruits such as peach, apricot and cantaloupe, along with honeysuckle and freshly cut hay. After the ripe lush fruit, including those on the nose plus lychee, come wonderful layers of acidity, yeasty lees notes and mouth-filling texture. A new rosé will also make its way to Wölffer Estate this July. Finca Wölffer Rosé 2015 comes from the Wölffer Estate vineyard in Mendoza, Argentina. Similar in style (fresh, crisp and elegant) to the iconic gold-label Wölffer Rosé, this new wine is a blend of classic Argentine grapes, including Malbec and Torrontes. Starting May 17, visit Wölffer Estate on Sunday morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Sundays on the Terrace, a brunch service featuring rosé mimosas and cider cocktails. Live music, yoga in the vines and special events will be held throughout the summer. 139 Sagg Road, Sagaponack. 631-537-5106, wolffer.com.

At Sannino Bella Vita Vineyard in Peconic, you have the opportunity to be a winemaker for a day. On select dates throughout the summer, attend a VIP blending session to learn about life as a vintner and to blend a custom bottle of wine. The vineyard’s historic barn and tasting room also has six new varietals and labels for you to taste this summer. Among these is the vineyard’s first release of a sauvigon blanc, a glass filled with aromas of tropical fruits and nuances of pineapple, followed by crisp citrus and lemon zest flavors. There are two new merlots: Bianca Dolce, a wine tinged with ripe peach flavors and natural sweetness, and Bianca, a white merlot with flavors of watermelon and a hint of pink grapefruit. Also two new chardonnays: 2014 Chilly Day Chardonnay is a 100% stainless steel fermented wine with aromas of clean crisp apple that meet tropical notes, and. 2014 Chardonnay, 50% oak and 50% stainless steel fermented, has enticing aromatics that range from hints of pear and dried apricots to slight undertones of vanilla. Perhaps their most personal release is a blend called Francesco, dedicated to Anthony Sannino’s father. Live music returns on Memorial Day Weekend, happening every Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. 1375 Peconic Lane, Peconic. 631-734-8282, sanninovineyard.com

Enjoy live music every Sunday at Raphael Vineyard as you taste one of their four new wines. Bel Rosso is a new label remade from a previously discontinued blend. It incorporates merlot, cabernet franc, and cabernet sauvignon, seamlessly bringing bright fruit, a soft hue and a medium body. Notes of blackberry and licorice on the palette turn into a long earthy finish. Bel Rosso is made in both stainless steel and French oak for 16 months before blending, and is bottled unfiltered and un-fined. A second new label, Rosé of Pinot Noir, is cool fermented in stainless steel to retain fresh fruit flavors. This dry wine with balanced acidity exhibits a beautiful floral nose of citrus blossom with flavors of grapefruit and lime. Raphael Vineyard is also releasing two new vintages this summer. 2014 First Label Sauvignon Blanc is hand-selected from the vineyard’s oldest vines, which produces balanced and structured wines. Made with partial skin contact and cold fermented in stainless steel, this dry wine exhibits a bright floral nose of citrus fruit, with crisp flavors of pineapple, grapefruit and lemongrass, a full body and a long dry acidic finish. Cabernet franc, a bright fruity red wine, combines a soft hue with a rich full body. Showing notes of raspberries, licorice and black olive, the wine hints of ripe tomato leaf and summer garden herbs. Made in both stainless steel and French oak, with an acidic backbone, this wine complements a variety of foods. 39390 Route 25, Peconic. 631-765-1100, raphaelwine.com