The best Long Island wineries

Wine is in the Macari’s blood. The Macari vineyard, now run by two generations, unofficially started when the grandfather (third generation) was peddling alcohol during Prohibition in Queens. Now, the family owns 500 acres full of homegrown grapes and some major kudos behind it (Wine & Spirits award, Texsom International Wine Awards). As one of the more wine-serious joints, it is reservation-only and doesn’t accept parties larger than 12 (if you want to come for your birthday/bachelorette, you’ll be relegated to their downstairs cellar room). The tasting room overlooks the looong stretch of vineyards, and if you decide to walk amongst them, you’ll spot a composting piles for the soil and plenty of livestock. Not to mention, and trip to the end gives you a breathtaking view of the Long Island sound. 150 Bergen Ave, Mattituck (631-298-0100, macariwines.com)

This Hamptons’ winery’s logo of an uprooted, upside tree was actually drawn from IRL inspiration when original owner and sculptor, Walter Channing, discovered it splayed on the yard after a stormy night. He then suspended the tree as dangling artwork in the winery’s yard (taken down in 2016) alongside his sculptures. And they’re just as serious about their wine–taste one of three dozen bottles, including six different vermouths, six different Chardonnays and six to eight different rosés (you’re in the Hamptons, after all) in the laidback, artistic space. While the tasting room is relatively small, the front yard is set up with standing metal and oak barrel tables in the warmer months. 1927 Scuttle Hole Rd, Bridgehampton (631-537-7224, channingdaughters.com)

Winemaker Miguel Martin brings a distinct Spanish flavor to the red-and-gray barnyard space that’s one of the closest to the city at only 80 miles away. Martin was the first one in the region to spearhead planting and growing the white Albarino grape, native to northwest Spain. And the venue lends itself to more serious affair, soft jazz plays while sip a few glasses (they don’t serve bottles) and camp out on the adirondack chairs on the lawn facing the 90 acres of vines. 5120 Sound Ave, Riverhead, NY (631-722-9463, palmervineyards.com)

Think of Lieb Cellars as the parents and Bridge Lane as the children at this dual-personality winery. Lieb is the classic, more serious brand established in 1992, while the younger label Bridge Lane is more playful and experimental of the two, currently schilling wine kegs and canned varieties at affordable prices. Its laid-back tasting room has a chalkboard wall menu while the outdoor space is dotted in rainbow-colored picnic tables. Lieb Cellars: 13050 Oregon Rd, Cutchogue, NY (631-734-1100, liebcellars.com); Bridge Lane: 35 Cox Neck Rd, Mattituck, NY (631-298-1942, bridgelanewine.com)

Not too many of the Long Island vineyards specialize in Pinot Noir, which makes McCall perhaps the best to visit if you’re looking for the Sideways red. Sip its three varieties in its farmhouse-decorated tasting room, complete with antique ranching equipment hanging from the wood-paneled walls. They also supply and serve organic beef from the herds of cattle grazing the wind-powered farm. 22600 NY-25, Cutchogue, NY (631-734-5764, mccallwines.com)

This one is for the whole fam. Let the kids loose in the enclosed Barnyard area with attractions like a Bunnyville (yes, a mini church and school for wandering rabbits), pig races, a big bounce pillow and a “Three Little Pigs” houses (a straw, a stick, a brick)—not to mention the singing hayrides and Halloween corn mazes in other farm areas. The renovated potato barn of a tasting room purveys Chardonnay and Merlot from the four-acre vineyard for the parents who need some liquid encouragement to let their kids linger. 715 Sound Ave, Mattituck, NY (631-298-0800, harbesfamilyfarm.com)

The flashiest vineyard of the bunch, this tasting room with an Italian villa exterior and a running fountain in front makes you feel like you’re in the Hamptons. J. Biebs was recently spotted there, as well as Alec and Hilaria Baldwin who just renewed their vows there. And even though the Summer in a Bottle rosé put Wölffer on everyone’s radar, it’s not all for Insta posts (although we spotted a girlfriend directing her boyfriend for a vineyard photoshoot). Roman Roth has been the winemaker pretty much since inception in 1988 and he takes his vino pretty seriously, garnering inspiration from his German heritage (it’s not all beer there) and family–his mom graces the Riesling bottle while his dad’s on the Merlot, respectively. 139 Sagg Rd, Sagaponack (631-537-5106, wolffer.com)

There’s no vineyard on site at this catalogue-ready (reclaimed wood tables, metal chairs, chesterfield brown leather couch) tasting room that blasts Mumford and Sons and Florence and the Machine, but the main space inside the Nantucket-looking house (a renovated 1870s farmhouse) is set up like a cozy living room with a roaring fireplace in the center. To make guests feel extra cultured, the door to the right of the entrance leads right into a rotating art gallery, so you can sip Sherwood’s speciality Chardonnay while you put that Intro to Art History class to good use. 1291 Main Rd, Jamesport, NY (631-779-2817, sherwoodhousevineyards.com)

Bedell resembles a clean Hamptons barn, with three living-room-style levels in a black and white color scheme and a lazy golden retriever sleeping between the front office entrance and the foyer. But if that all sounds too banal, their “Taste White 2016” bottles were actually rejected from NYC’s Aldo Sohm Wine Bar for their racy labels of a Marilyn Monroe look-a-like with an open mouth. The large outdoor porch is covered with soaring white wooden ceilings, as well as tables on the grass overlooking the vineyard. 36225 Main Rd, Cutchogue (631-734-7537, bedellcellars.com)

With a teeny tiny tasting room (no groups over six are allowed) in a red-painted house, the focus of the One Woman—actually run by two women, Claudia Purita and her daughter Gabriella—is strictly on the wine grown on the property’s 16-acre farm. Claudia was born and raised working on her family’s vineyard in Calabria, Italy, before moving to Long Island to run restaurants, and eventually get back into wine by opening One Woman vineyard. Can’t make it out to Long Island? Gabriella currently curates the food and wine at the Taste NY store in Grand Central. 5195 Old North Rd, Southold, NY (631-756-1200, onewomanwines.com)

It’s the combination of two Long Island wine dynasties: the Pellegrini family who started the North Fork vineyard in 1982, and the winemaker Zander Hargrave, the son of the first vineyard planters and operators in the region (Hargrave Vineyard).  The picturesque vines and backyard create a romantic backdrop for weddings, but if you’re just there to drink, it’s a safe bet to sample the estate-grown Chardonnay and Merlot. And no, it’s not related to the sparkling water brand. 23005 Main Rd, Cutchogue, NY (631-734-4111, pellegrinivineyards.com)

It’s bubblies-only at this glitzy spot with sparkling glass chandeliers and nods to Brazil and Carnival in the decor (cityscape mural hanging in the lobby, carnaval costumes in the gift shop). The effervescent Blanc de Blancs and Cuvée Carnavals are best enjoyed on the palatial outdoor patio at a tables set with black wicker chairs and lounge-like umbrellas. 39750 County Rd 48, Southold, NY (631-765-0200, sparklingpointe.com)

After starting her career in engineering, Alie Sharper eventually opened Brooklyn Oneology in Williamsburg in 2006 and shuttering it ten years later in 2016. Moving out east, she now operates her boutique tasting room out of Peconic Cellar Door in North Fork, purveying her special line, As If, with grapes sourced from the New York region. 2885 Peconic Ln, Peconic NY 2885 Peconic Lane, Peconic (631-488-0046, peconiccellardoor.com)