Sunny skies, stellar sips and bites and a whole lot of groovin’ at the 4th annual Northforker Wine & Food Classic

Could it have been the best Northforker Wine & Food Classic ever? We think so.

It’s hard to top this event year after year, but this — the 4th annual — had the stars aligning with a who’s who of Long Island’s restaurant and food-fielding purveyors, a thoroughly impressive line-up of North Fork’s outstanding wineries, breweries and spirits, as well as even a few from further afield.

“We love celebrating the North Fork and everything we have that’s so unique here,” said publisher Andrew Olsen when he took the stage to greet about 1,000 guests gathered and thank the event’s generous sponsors who helped make the night a smashing success, including California Closets, Sheri Winter Parker, Empire Volvo Cards of Smithtown, Peconic Landing, Long Island Ice & Fuel, Modern Yachts, Intelli-tec, JM Window Treatments, Manhattan Beer, Nestle, ConnectOne Bank, Engel & Völker, The Agency Cheryl & Regan, Twin Forks Portables, Renewal by Anderson, Ocean Electric, Riverhead GMC, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, Port of Egypt Marine, Daniel Gale Realty, My Mochi, Subourban, Box Pickleball, Riverhead Bay Motors/VW, Goldsmiths Boat Shop, Connect One, Golfopia, Owen Brothers Landscaping.

Held among the vines at beautiful Borghese Vineyard and Winery in Cutchogue, the sunny, breezy late-August weather made for a gorgeous evening to sample the multitude of dishes on offer, drink and dance the night away to the sounds of In the Groove.

The giant tent from Ace Party Rental & Tents held a multitude of venders, including:

• A Mano
• Aldo’s
• Art of Eating
• Bake Me Healthy
• Balo Foods
• Barrila’s Pastaria Ristorante
• Cuisine By Colleen
• DJ Chef
• Goomba Johnny Pizza
• Grace & Grit
• Hamptons Catered Affairs
• Hamptons Gyro
• Jedediah Hawkins Inn
• La Plage
• Long Island Lobster Bake
• My Mochi
• Oysterponds Shellfish Co.
• Seaside Grill
• Swizzled Desserts
• The Sweet Vegan
• The Catered Fork
• The Halyard
• The North Fork Shack
• The Pike
• The Village Cheese Shop
• Vincent Natural Foods

And the stellar sipping brought old and new fans together to try a multitude of wines, brews, spirits and other quenching treats from bottle and can alike. On hand were: Bedell Cellars, Bridge Lane Wine, Chronicle Wines, Coffee Pot Cellars, Jason’s Vineyard, Justin Vineyards & Winery, Lewis Cellars, Longevity Blanc de Rosé, Macari Vineyards, Mattebella Vineyards, One Woman Wines & Vineyard, Palmer Vineyards, Paumanok Vineyards, Peconic Bay Vineyards, Pellegrini Vineyards, Poppy & Rose Wine Co., Pugliese Vineyards, Sannino Vineyard, Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, Jamesport Farm Brewery, Kidd Squid Brewing Co., Long Ireland Beer Co., Po’ Boy Brewery, Take Two Brewery, Übergeek Brewing, spirits from Subourban, Spytrai and Twin Forks Distillery, as well as selections from Manhattan Beer and Nestle.

Outside the big tent, sponsors like ConnectOne Bank and Golfopia brought the fun with a Dryvebox mobile golf simulator, a star attraction all night, along with a dazzling display of cars from Riverhead GMC, Volvo of Smithtown and Riverhead Bay Motors/VW and dreamy boats to climb aboard from Modern Yachts, Port of Egypt Marine and Goldsmith’s Boat Shop.

We hope everyone had as great of a time as we did at the fantastic fête — and we can’t wait until next year!