Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Our Weekend Getaway

Hi, Anne here!

This past weekend, Nick and I took a much-needed mini-vacation to Long Island wine country. "Long Island makes wine," you ask? Oh, it does indeed! Nick has been so busy lately that I have rearely seen him, and he usually shows houses on the weekends so it's been a while since we've spent an entire, uninterrupted, weekend together. We made a deal that this mini-trip would be for rest and relaxation and that he wasn't allowed to do any work. I was skeptical as to whether he would be able to surrender his BlackBerry for an entire 48 hours, but much to my surprise, he managed to get through the withdrawl. Spending time together as a couple and enjoying each other's company was #1 on the list.

The two of us are obsessed with all the coupon sites like Groupon and Living Social, and we happened to come across a great deal for a one-night stay at the Hyatt in Hauppauge, LI. $85 for the night, including breakfast for two. Rooms booked up very quickly and the only night we could get a room was on a Friday, so we decided to make a whole weekend out of it and book a second night somewhere further out on The North Fork of the island. We decided on the beach town of Greenport. Greenport may only be 2 & 1/2 hours from Mid-town Manhattan, but let me tell you, it felt like we were thousands of miles away from the hustle and bustle.

Nick picked me up at my office and we drove out to Hauppauge. The Hyatt is beautiful, and we had a view over looking the golf course from the 10th floor. We had a few drinks in the room and then headed down for a nice dinner. The hotel was packed full of young couples who had booked through Living Social as well. The next morning we headed out to the wineries after having breakfast.

Because we were driving, we only stopped at two vineyards. Although you only get a couple ounces of wine to taste per glass, it adds up quickly. However, you can taste it and then spit it out (but seriously, who does that?). The first vineyard stop was Borghese Vineyards. This is the oldest vineyard on Long Island, and they have some amazing wines.

















What stood out to us was a 2001 Cabenet Franc - $85 a bottle. Cab Franc is now one of our new faves. It's a Cabenet Sauvignon grape with a hint of merlot (I'm so fancy when I talk about wine). We ended up leaving with a bottle of a less expensive Cab Franc and a Pinot Grigio.

Next was The Old Field Winery. This was by far our favorite out of the two vineyards. It was so cozy, and situated on an old farm in a big empty field (hence the name), and the tasting room was in a barn. We walked in to find a fire burning and live music, and the cutest old dog was alseep on the floor curled up in his bed by the fire (well, the cutest next to our pooch, Barney).






This winery doesn't date back as far as Borghese, so their vintage is around 2004. None-the-less, we loved it. We left Old Field with a bottle of their table red, Rooster Tail. At this point, I was starting to feel the wine a bit (oopsie, I was a lil' tipsy. Nick was driving, so don't worry). We headed to our next hotel destination, The Sound View Inn, in Greenport, LI.

I'll be honest, I was a bit worried about staying at The Sound View. The reviews on Trip Advisor were great, but it's more of a motel than a hotel. It's less expensive than most of the lodging in Greenport and they don't have a two-night minimum, so we gave it a shot. We had the most amazing view of the ocean from our balcony because Sound View is on a private beach. The room was a little dated, but that doesn't bother us. As long as it's clean, we're good. When we arrived it was cold and windy, but the next morning was sunny and beautiful.















We had dinner that night at a restaurant called Noah's. We had heard this was a must-try in Greenport. Let me tell you, it was fantastic! We made a reservation, but it's such a popular place that we still had to wait 45 minutes for our table. No problem, because we waited at the bar. It's primarily Tapas style, so we ordered six plates to share. The beer and bacon glazed almonds appetizer, and the jumbo lump crab cake were two dishes we will never forget.

Sunday was warm and sunny, and perfect for walking around town. We took tons of photos and ended up at the local brewery - The Greenport Harbor Brewing Company. For just $6 you get a keep-sake pint glass, and samples of seven of their signature brews. Nick's favorite was the Black Duck Porter. Similar to Guinness, but it balances cocoa and coffee flavors. After that we decided to wait a few hours before making the treck back to the City. A greasy lunch was definitely in order.


This trip was such a blast that we've already decided to gather up some friends and head back out to enjoy the Greenport beaches during the Summer, and everything else this lovely town has to offer.

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