A Visit to McCall Wines
My sister, Laura Plimpton and her husband, Randy, spend a great deal of time at the Plimpton family home on the North Fork of Long Island in New York State. This past summer, I dropped by to visit and they took me to nearby McCall Wines. Russ McCall, engaged to Randy’s sister, Nicola, has been very involved with land preservation on the North Fork. In fact, upon 108-acres of land, which he rescued from development, is where he has planted a vineyard and where he is raising a small herd of Charolais cattle.
As the former owner of a wholesale imported wine business, Atlanta Wines International, Russ has extensive knowledge of wines. On his 22-acre vineyard, he grows his favorite varieties, merlot and pinot noir. In the charmingly rustic tasting room, I got to sample some of the wines and I was so impressed that I bought a mixed case, which I enjoyed immensely. McCall Wines has been receiving high praise in the press, including a recent New York Times review. It is interesting to note that in little over a quarter of a century, the Long Island wine industry has grown from one small vineyard to more than 3,000 acres of vines and more than forty wineries producing world-class wines. Please enjoy Laura and Randy’s little tour of one of Long Island’s newest vineyards, located at 22600 Rt.25 in Cutchogue.
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- The Charolais graze happily on wild grasses that grow on the 100 acre farm.
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- The recent addition of this wind turbine has provided the farm with clean wind energy; enough that the McCalls can also supply clean power to the Long Island Power Association!
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- Meanwhile, work in the vineyard continues. This narrow tractor travels between rows with a spraying device to help keep mold and other diseases in check.
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- Emerging from the cab is vineyard manager, Charles Flatt.
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- The grape clusters are placed in stacking bins and transported to the winery where the wine-making process begins.
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- Sweet, juicy, and so very flavorful!
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- In fact, the pickers are scrambling to harvest as much as possible before the forecasted rain arrives.
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- These are merlot grapes ready for picking.
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- A great way to travel to work
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- Decorated with antique tools, the tasting room has a great rustic appeal.
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- McCall Wines sits upon land known as Fort Corchaug, from which Cutchogue gets its name. The fort was a cultural center of the Corchaug Indian tribe, which once occupied the North Fork of Long Island.
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- With its grand opening just this past spring, the tasting room is a work in progress. Russ has great plans for the future.
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- The wines in the McCall tasting room include a merlot, a merlot blend, a pinot noir, a reserve pinot noir, a pinot noir rosé, and a chardonnay.
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- Discussing the current merlot harvest with award-winning winemaker Gilles Martin.
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- With its open barn doors, the tasting room looks out onto the rows of grapes beyond.
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- The latest accolade from wine writer, Howard G. Goldberg of the New York Times
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- Outdoors, wine tasters enjoy the crisp autumn weather.
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- There’s a pleasant casualness at McCall Wines.
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- With the sun setting, it’s time to close up shop.
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- Russ McCall and fiancé Nicola Plimpton oversee the tasting room.
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- A beautiful autumn sunset over McCall Vineyard and Ranch
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- Preparing for the night ahead – Charolais is a historic breed of cattle originally from France and central Europe.
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- After much research and traveling to several ranches, Russ decided upon Charolais, which is heralded by many chefs as the finest beef.
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- Healthy, grass fed Charolais beef will be available at McCall Ranch in late summer 2011.
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