Resolve to Expand Your Wine Geekdom

By Lenn Thompson

I love the beginning of a new calendar year—new chapters, clean slates and all that. But, I've never been big on New Year's resolutions. Yeah, I say that I'm going to work out more and eat less, but you can't really count those, can you? Especially if you rarely follow through?

But, I do have one standing resolution year in and year out that I don't even bother writing down: learn more about wine.

If you think about it, it's the perfect resolution. It's not difficult to do—there are chances to improve your wine knowledge everywhere you look. It's fun—not like dieting or training for that marathon. And, because there is always more to learn, it's a resolution you can achieve every single year.

Of course, with a wine industry right here on the East End, we have it even easier. Visit any tasting room—especially this time of year when the summer and pumpkin-picking crowds have subsided—and you're bound to learn something. The best tasting rooms are staffed by extremely knowledgeable and passionate pourers who are always excited to share what they know.

For more organized, formal classes, you don't have to look far either. Individual wineries, Stony Brook University, and a yearling wine education company are all great ways to expand your oenological horizons. Some things to keep an eye out for include:

• Winemaker's Walk at Castello di Borghese (www.castellodiborghese.com), $15 includes a guided tour of the winery and production facility, and a wine tasting.

• Shinn Estate Vineyard (www.shinnestatevineyards.com) offers a similar tour conducted by the owners that also includes a walk through the vineyard.

Visit www.liwines.com for an almost-complete list of local wineries and their websites — even if they are often pathetically out of date.

One of the coolest things coming up is happening at Stony Brook University's Center for Food Wine, and Culture. They've recently a new wine education program called "Inside Wine: From Vineyard to Glass" and takes place on Thursday evenings from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. on January 25 and February 1, 8, and 15. The cost is $185 per person for all four sessions.

The four-part series features local winemakers and chefs, including Ursula Massoud of Paumanok Vineyards, Gary Madden of Lieb Family Cellars, Eric Fry of The Lenz Winery, and Americo Mintegui of The Seafood Barge, are the instructors and will examine viticultural practices, terroir, Old World vs. New World winemaking, blending and food pairing through a series of guided tastings and discussions. The Center offers a lot of great classes in its Manhattan, Stony Brook and Southampton campuses. For more information, visit www.sunysb.edu/sb/winecenter/

Their website isn't updated with their spring class schedule yet, but Grand Cru Classes, which will be opening its educational center this year in a renovated barn after hosting classes at local various tasting rooms, is the North Fork's first organization dedicated to wine education. Tracy Kamens and Jared Skolnick know their wine and know how to teach you about it. Visit www.grandcruclasses.com for contact information.

Long Island Winterfest (www.liwinterfest.com) started last weekend too and it promises to be fun. This yearly event—which had a couple different names over the years—includes concerts, historic tours, and dance and art exhibits combined with the discounts and other offers at East End restaurants, hotels, bed & breakfasts, wineries and shops. Several wineries are offering discounts on tasting flights and wine purchases.

Not everyone has the time to bounce around the East End every weekend though, so check back here next week for some ways to learn about wine in your own home—on your own schedule.