Wine is often referred to as an art; for winemaker Robin Epperson-McCarthy, finding the opportunity to express that concept from the inside out is a wonderful perk of the job.
The Artist’s Series of wines, all drawn from estate-grown fruit, was part of the Osprey’s Dominion line-up about 20 years ago, but over time was discontinued. It was both a way to highlight a local artist’s work, and also meant to punctuate the notion of hyper-local food pairing — specifically, the fruits of our waters. It was an idea that the winemaker believed it to be high time to resuscitate.
“The whole concept is it goes with the local cuisine; it’s meant to be paired with with local seafood,” she says. The pretty watercolor imagery on the labels, created exclusively for the seriuesy makes them stand out from the rest, highlighting their special place in the local food and drink scene.
Local artist Melissa Hyatt, whose well-regarded work has caught the eye of everyone from Martha Stewart to Melinda Morris, owner of local bespoke invitation and card boutique, Arni Paperie — painted the watercolor labels in collaboration with Epperson-McCarthy’s input.
“I told her I wanted an osprey flying over the vineyard at sunset,” she says. “and we have a nest over one of vineyards and I wanted that reflected on another. And on the Bayman’s Harvest, it’s an osprey flying over the Peconic Bay.”
Fitting, certainly, for the winery named after what is perhaps the unofficial bird of eastern Long Island. But in addition to the beautiful scenes portrayed on these unique bottlings is what’s inside, which was the biggest reason to bring back the Artist’s Series for the winery.
“When I think about wine, I think about what I’m going to have it with,” says Epperson-McCarthy.
The re-launch of the series has been in the works for about a year, but label approval slowed down the process a little bit, with the quiet but official release of the trio of wines — all dry-style blends made with local seafood in mind — finally occurring in December. They include:
- NV Bayman’s Harvest, $25 — a white blend of 62% riesling, 20% gewürztraminer, 10% chardonnay, 4% pinot gris, 1% sauvignon blanc. Melon, lime zest and subtle candied ginger aromas; quenching and refreshing on the palate with some zesty, juicy grapefruit and yellow apple notes. “I just want a bucket of littleneck clams with some lemon and to drink this wine with it,” she says.
- 2023 White Pet Nat, $25 — Flip-top and gently sparkling, Epperson-McCarthy says it’s a bit of a gateway wine for beer lovers. Indeed, the combo of gewürztraminer and pinot gris, along with the energetic bubbles, create a spicy-grapefruity-zippy flavor profile that’s a nice bridge to bring together wine and IPA lovers. Grab some briny oysters with this one.
- 2023 Rosé Pet Nat, $25 — This blend of 82% merlot, 7% carmenere and 7% cabernet sauvignon is rife with strawberry, red plums and crushed pink peppercorns, which predominate the aromas and flavors that draw you in. Skin-on striped bass crisped on the grill is just about the perfect thing here.
“Pet nats are new for us. It’s a much newer style, it’s something they haven’t done before,” says the winemaker of the what’s-old-is-new resurgence of this bubbly style of winemaking that’s become extremely popular over the last decade. “One of the things I love about this winery is when you’re here on the weekend, it’s very vibrant —there’s music, there’s people; there’s a lot of young people! They want to be passionate about something; they want to know a wine is made with thought, not just because it’s something that you do. It makes it more authentic that it’s the winemaking team and the owner doing this. It’s very grassroots. If we can pair a wine that they love and that they’re excited about, then we have the opportunity to introduce them to wine the way we do it on Long Island.”
Osprey’s Dominion (44075 Main Road, Peconic, 631-765-6188) is open Thursday – Monday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Artist’s Special wines are available for purchase in the tasting room.
