Third Annual ilili Lamb Roast at Paumanok

Our little jaunt to Long Island was motivated by the desire to spend the 30th Anniversary celebration of Paumanok Vineyards with Charles and Ursula Massoud. They have given us countless hours of their time to answer our numerous questions as well as to introduce us to others in the business. August 20th turned out to be a beautiful summer evening. We arrived before 6 and found the crowd slowly assembling.

The al fresco dinner featured food made by Charles' nephew Philippe Massoud, Executive Chef and Proprietor of ilili Restaurant in New York City. When we sat down, there was an assortment of Lebanese dips and pita breads and the wait staff was making the first of their rounds asking what kind of wine we would like to drink with the appetizers.

We sat across of Gale and Tom who live about 30 minutes from Paumanok. We had a great time talking with Gale and Tom, this was the second time that they have attended the Lamb Roast. The food was served family style and there was more than enough to go around. Ursula and Charles personally welcomed each and every person in attendance. Below is the menu and the accompanying wines which were served:

At the end of the evening, we had a chance to speak with Charles who asked us how our vineyard was doing. We talked about the cool, wet June and the dry July. Charles said that the good thing about this vintage is that the berries are small. (Small berries make for a concentrated juice because of the favorable skin to pulp ratio.) It was a wonderful evening and as we drove off to our B&B we were already making plans to attend next year's Lamb Roast at Paumanok. Hope to see you there!