Some of the award-winning crew from Macari Vineyards, from top L to R:Joe Macari, Sam Wood, Jennifer Brown, Sam Filler, Gabriella Macari, Nicole Hennessey, Lauren Conklin, Erin Shields, winemaker Byron Elmendorf, Joe Macari Jr.; bottom L to R: Meghan Corazzini, Dylan Carruba, Brianna Pivirotto, Andrew Kim, Bernard Ramis. (Photo credit: Jeremy Garretson)
This past week, Macari Vineyards (150 Bergen Ave., Mattituck, 631-298-0100) struck gold at the annual wine competition TexSom. Easily one of the most important wine contests in the country, the Mattituck family-owned winery brought home a trio of medals — certainly a big win for the Macari family and winemaker Byron Elmendorf; but also a huge nod for Long Island wine country well beyond its borders.
“Winning these three medals, especially the gold, means a lot to our entire team from the vineyard, to the cellar, to the tasting room,” says Gabriella Macari, director of operations for the winery. “It’s authentic recognition for the work we all put in every day.”
Macari picked up a gold, a silver and bronze for their 2022 Lifeforce Cabernet Franc, 2022 Dos Aguas red blend and 2021 Alexandra red blend, respectively.
Founded in 2005, TexSom has become an important international event in the wine community at large, raising the bar not just on wine education and service, but also as a place to get your juice acknowledged and lauded by the professional wine community at large with its rigorous annual competition.
“I’ve always regarded TexSom as the best wine competition in the U.S.,” says Macari, who holds the diploma from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and is also a certified sommelier with the venerable Court of Master Sommeliers. She’s also poised to become perhaps Long Island’s only master of wine. “Known for rigorous standards and a highly trained judging panel of master sommeliers, masters of wine and industry experts.”
Amy Zavatto is the Editor-in-Chief for southforker, northforker and Long Island Wine Press. She's a wine, spirits, and food journalist whose work appears in Wine Enthusiast, InsideHook.com, MarthaStewart.com, the New York Post, Liquor.com, SevenFifty Daily, Imbibe, Men’s Journal and many others. She's the author of The Big Book of Bourbon Cocktails, Prosecco Made Me Do It: 60 Seriously Sparkling Cocktails, Forager’s Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients, and The Architecture of the Cocktail. She is a respected judge for the American Craft Spirits Association’s annual small-production spirits competition, and has moderated numerous panels on the topics of wine, spirits, cocktails, and regional foodways. She is the former Deputy Editor for the regional celebratory publications, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn, as well as the former Executive Director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. She is a member of the New York chapter of the international organization of women leaders in food, wine, and spirits, Les Dames d’Escoffier. The proud daughter of a butcher, Amy is originally from Shelter Island, N.Y., where she developed a deep respect for the East End’s natural beauty and the importance of preserving and celebrating it and its people.
