{"id":280,"date":"2016-05-30T19:28:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-30T19:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=280"},"modified":"2016-06-25T19:37:57","modified_gmt":"2016-06-25T19:37:57","slug":"castello-di-borghese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=280","title":{"rendered":"Castello di Borghese"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not every day that you can buy a bottle of wine from a prince. Yes, a real live prince and members of his family for that matter.\u00a0 Oh, sure, you\u2019ve had wine from vineyards owned by princes, dukes and counts but we\u2019re talking about handing a prince some money and he hands you a bottle.\u00a0 Such is the opportunity you have at Castello di Borghese in Cutchogue on Long Island\u2019s North Fork.<\/p>\n

There are quite a few reasons to visit Castello di Borghese besides hobnobbing with Italian royalty.\u00a0 The foremost is that it was the first winery in this sector of New York State, when it was known as Hargrave Vineyard.\u00a0 Alex and Louisa Hargrave had the wacky idea in 1973 that the land that had been used to grow potatoes for generations would also be suitable for wine.\u00a0 Today there are more than 50 wineries there.<\/p>\n

For more than 25 years they made a variety of wines and sold them in bottles a distinctive lattice label.\u00a0 They tried quite a few varietals, including Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir.\u00a0 It was our opinion (and still is, to an extent) that the terroir of the North Fork favors Cabernet Franc more than other grapes and so this Hargrave was our favorite.<\/p>\n

(A little side story: The first time Steve invited Lucie to dinner, he wanted to serve his girlfriend from Qu\u00e9bec something she had never tasted before, so he opened a bottle of Hargrave Cabernet Sauvignon.)<\/p>\n

In 1999, the Hargraves sold their vineyard and winery to Prince Marco Borghese and his wife Ann Marie.\u00a0 That is how it came to pass that we bought a bottle from a prince.\u00a0 Marco and Ann Marie have passed away, but the winery is run by his heirs, so you still have your chance.<\/p>\n

Another reason to taste Castello di Borghese\u2019s wines is that they still rank among the best in Long Island.\u00a0 Their wines continue to win awards among local and national competitions.\u00a0 Now, the North Fork isn\u2019t Bordeaux and the best of the region do not compare with the world\u2019s greatest wines.\u00a0 But then again, New Yorkers don\u2019t have to take a flight to sip a bit from some pretty respectable vineyards when they go wine tasting on Long Island.<\/p>\n

\"KONICA<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of North Fork Weddings<\/em><\/p>\n

Befitting its status as the North Fork\u2019s first winery, the tasting room is, well, tasteful but unassuming.\u00a0 The building is a little pink ranch house with a simple bar for tasting, in a room big enough to withstand weekend crowds.\u00a0 People have been tasting here for many years and so it is a popular destination.\u00a0 Castello di Borghese does require reservations for buses and stretch limos, but here as elsewhere it can get quite crowded on summer weekends.<\/p>\n

A few wines bear some attention.\u00a0 The Petit Chateau (a red blend); Chardonette and Fleurette ros\u00e9 pay homage to the winery\u2019s history with a bit of the lattice design.\u00a0 Allegra, their dessert wine, is often quite good.\u00a0 It\u2019s not truly an ice wine, since they chuck the grapes in the freezer rather than letting nature take its course.\u00a0 But it comes out pleasantly sweet all the same.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t mind an hour or two on the Long Island Expressway, a sunny day on the North Fork is always pleasurable.\u00a0 And if you do go, you should definitely visit the Prince\u2019s own Castello di Borghese.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not every day that you can buy a bottle of wine from a prince. Yes, a real live prince and members of his family for that matter.\u00a0 Oh, sure, you\u2019ve had wine from vineyards owned by princes, dukes and counts but we\u2019re talking about handing a prince some money and he hands you a … Continue reading Castello di Borghese<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=280"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":291,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions\/291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}