Paumanok

Ever since I emailed Charles Massoud of Paumanok to ask him about which rootstock he was using, information that I needed to complete an assignment for one of the UC Davis Online courses that I was taking at that time, I have been a fan. I didn't really expect a reply but, shortly after I wrote to Charles, I received his email and was able to add to my assignment that in our area, 3309 was the rootstock that was being used. Moreover, Charles was growing Chenin Blanc, something that we are interested in growing ourselves. So, on this Saturday, after visiting Lenz and One Woman, we headed toward Aquebogue, to Paumanok.
With our friends, Mary and Barry in tow, we arrived at Paumanok around 1 p.m. and asked Karen if we could meet with Charles. New Year greetings were exchanged and Charles invited us to sit at a table facing the vineyard. We told Charles that we have been busy putting in tiling in our vineyard, in order to plant our grapevines this spring. Charles, with Karen's help began the wine tastings with his 2012 Chenin Blanc.

Somewhere between the white wine tastings (Sauvignon Blanc, Festival Chardonnay, Barrel Fermented Chardonnay) and the red wine tastings (Merlot, Assemblage, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon Tuthills Lane), a platter of cheese, crackers and sausage appeared, (Karen's touch under Charles' subtle prompting) and Kareem, Charles' oldest son and winemaker, appeared. It turns out that Kareem has made a wonderful Chardonnay with minimal intervention, that we were privileged to taste. We also met Joanne and Frank Conti, long time aficionados of Paumanok. By the time we got up to leave, it was 5:30!
I highly recommend that if you are winetasting on Long Island, that you make some time to visit Paumanok. Once you taste these wines, you too will be an aficionado. One last thing---this is their 30th year in the business.
We want to wish Charles and Paumanok: