Wines From the Peninsula

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The New York Sun

One recent morning, I watched the “Today Show” in the waiting room of a Toyota dealership as restaurateur and winemaker Joe Bastianich did a feature touting offbeat American wines. One was Sakonnet Vineyards Gewirtztraminer, made a few miles east of where I sat in Little Compton, R.I. And so, when my Avalon’s air conditioning had been restored, I decided to head in that direction to check out Sakonnet Vineyards as well as nearby Wesport Rivers winery, both of them known to be visitor friendly.

Those wineries are located on a coastal peninsula shared by both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Rural and rolling, this is the one of the loveliest stretches of the maritime Mid-Atlantic coast. Officially within the Southeastern New England Winegrowing Appellation, it pushes the northern limit of where wine grapes can ripen. While cold ocean waters mean that spring comes late here, those same waters remain warm as autumn approaches, moderating temperatures and extending the “hang time” of the grapes. It’s the same effect that benefits vineyards on Eastern Long Island, but I daresay that this region — which is rolling rather than flat and rich-soiled rather than sandy — is even prettier.

A winding, wildflower-bordered private road leads to Sakonnet Vineyards. Established in 1975, it has been owned since 1987 by Susan and Earl Samson. The winery produces 30,000 cases annually of red and white wine from classic vinifera varieties including chardonnay and pinot noir, as well as from hybrid grapes including the white Vidal and red Chancellor. “It would be nice if we had a little less rain and a little more heat,” the viticulturalist, Joetta Kirk, told me, “but I wouldn’t trade with any other wine region. We have a good, neutral climate that makes the appropriate grapes shine. Our wines are lighter than those that lots of people are used to, but they’re also brighter. They work with food.”

A dozen Sakonnet wines can be tasted (only a mouthful of each) for $6 at the wine bar in the winery’s large, handsome visitors’ center adjacent to a spacious lawn, with picnic tables and a pond. To anyone used to the ripe fruitiness typical of mainstream wines from warmer places, the reds from this region seem on the thin side and more vegetal than fruity. But they have a sneaky way of stepping up to food, as I found when I sipped Sakonnet’s Cabernet Franc with a grilled vegetable pizza from Geppetto’s, a Providence eatery with a summer outpost at the visitors’ center.

While the red table wines of this region may be also-rans, the white wines have racy strength. Over the years, Sakonnet’s flagship wine has been its Vidal Blanc. The 2005 vintage I tasted is flowery and lively, with a lemony zing to its finish. Focused rather than fat, it reminded me of a high quality Italian pinot grigio. Sakonnet’s other strong white is Gewirtztraminer, the 2002 vintage of which won Best in Show at a major California wine fair. Graceful and just off-dry, this “gewirtz” will partner with rather than dominate food, as ultra-intense Alsace examples are prone to do. Sakonnet’s chardonnays, in regular and reserve bottlings, disappointed me. They seem like chardonnay wannabes. The winery’s fulsome 2001 Port, on the other hand, was an unexpected winner that tasted like the real thing.

It’s a 15-minute drive east, through vistas of forest, farmland, ponds, and the rustic village of Adamsville, just at the Massachuetts border, to Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery. Formerly a 140-acre dairy farm, its vineyards stretch along a branch of the Westport River (actually an inlet of Rhode Island Sound). The property was purchased in 1982 by Bob and Carol Russell, whose son, Bill, makes the wine. Early on, the Russells made two decisions that have served them well: They planted only European vinifera grape varieties and they only grow grapes for white wine. (The winery’s cabernet sauvignon grapes are sourced from Long Island’s North Fork). The still whites, including a tight, bright, chardonnay, are well done. But the unlikely star of Westport Rivers is its sparkling wine. As in Champagne, chardonnay and pinot noir grapes don’t get ripe enough to make fulfilling still wines, but they do get just ripe enough to turn into energetic, light-on-their-feet, bubbly. It’s a style that doesn’t come naturally in warmer California wine regions.

The Russells have managed to preserve much of the area’s rustic charm. Westport Rivers’s tasting bar is located in a terraced, Victorian-era house with a pair of cows grazing in the adjoining pasture. A few steps in the other direction is handsome Long Acre House, a 19th-century residence now used for dining and wine events directed by resident chef Kerry Downy Romaniello. A magnificent former dairy barn has been converted into the winery. And a few minutes from the winery is Buzzards Bay Brewing, a maker of tiny lots of beer, also owned by the Russells.

RECOMMENDED WINES

Sakonnet Vineyards Vidal Blanc 2005 ($10.95) Zingy, fruity, and seafood-friendly. This easy sipper avoids the monotonality to which Vidal too-often falls victim.

Sakonnet Vineyards Gewirtztraminer 2004 ($16.95) This white evokes canned lychee nuts in light syrup, which somehow is not a bad thing here. The peppery aftertaste typical of this variety is almost absent, allowing delicate orange and rose petal elements to shine.

Sakonnet Vineyards Port 2001 ($15.95) Deep and rich, with chocolate notes that last. When the winery had a surplus barrel of Chancellor, a hybrid red grape that tends to be “syrupy and heavy,” according to Ms. Kirk, the decision was made to create this port. Based on the success of this wine, port may be Chancellor’s true calling.

Westport Rivers Blanc de Blancs 1998 ($22.95) Really dry and citrusy, with enriching toast and yeastiness after six years aging. Would fit right in with a flight of French champagnes. Pure chardonnay.

Westport Rivers Imperial Sec 2000 ($22.95) Eighty percent riesling, 20% Rkatsiteli (a Georgian grape), this wine boasts honeysuckle aromas and subtle apricot flavors. Good acidity keeps this bubbly fresh tasting at age 5. Perfect as an aperitif.

Westport Rivers Cuvée Maximilian 1991 ($49.95) Only recently released, this late-disgorged sparkler is rich, nutty, and characterful after 15 years of development. It’s in the style of fuller-bodied champagnes such as Pol Roger.

Sakonnet Vineyards, 162 West Main Road, Little Compton, R.I., 401-635-8486, www.sakonnetwine.com. Open daily for tasting and tours, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. through Columbus Day.

Westport Rivers Vineyard & Winery, 417 Hix Bridge Road, Westport, Mass., 800-993-9695, www.wesportrivers.com. Open daily for tasting and tours, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. through Labor Day.


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