Sannino Vineyard will open the doors to its new eco-friendly winery and tasting room today.
The family, including co-owners Anthony and Lisa Sannino along with their daughter Marisa, who serves as director of operations, were putting the final touches on the roughly 6,000-square-foot winery operation early Tuesday morning.
“It is a sense of relief,” Mr. Sannino said of the project’s completion. “We’re ready.”
The move allows the Sanninos, who already operate a bed-and-breakfast and a vineyard on the 8.9-acre property off Route 48 and Alvah’s Lane, to sell, bottle, store and produce wines at one location for the first time. The tasting room is double the size of its former Peconic location, where Sannino Vineyard started offering tastings in in 2010. The Peconic Lane outpost officially closed Monday, though the Sanninos will continue to maintain and harvest the vines at that property.
The Cutchogue tasting house has a rustic-meets-modern vibe, with exposed natural wood elements contrasted by concrete floors, cement bar tops and industrial metal accents. Guests will be greeted in the reception area and welcomed to sit at one of two indoor bars or for table service. Another highlight of the tasting room is the wall of retractable windows that leads out to a patio area overlooking the vines and the bed-and-breakfast, which is also the Sanninos’ personal homestead.
“This space is always going to be evolving,” Lisa said. “We want it to be a reflection of us. It is not ultra modern. It is down to earth.”
There is also a sectioned-off lounge reserved for wine club members and for special wine educational programs, which will be expanding along with production. The winery now has three sommeliers on staff.
“As far as guest experience goes, it is going to be very personalized,” Mr. Sannino said. “Our guests get a specialized attention from our servers and can really learn about the wine.”
Mr. Sannino built the tasting room to be one of the most efficient wineries in the northeast, opting for timbers fabricated using environmentally responsible practices. The building also features insulated concrete forms for the foundation walls and main floor decking, and structural insulated panels for the walls and the roof.
A contractor for 30 years, Mr. Saninno said the materials allow for maximum efficiency in cooling and heating. The eco-friendly construction methods go hand-in-hand with the winery’s farming and winemaking practices, he said.
Wednesday’s grand opening marks the end of a four-year process of building the new winery. It received town approval in 2017.
During the fall, Sannino Vineyard, located at 15975 Route 48 in Cutchogue, opens at 11 a.m. each day. it closes at 6 p.m. on weekdays and at 7 p.m. on weekends.
