It’s been an exciting few weeks for Ava Grace Sannino, the youngest of the family behind Sannino Vineyard (15975 County Road 48, Cutchogue, 631-734-8282).
In the last two weeks of May, she graduated from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with a degree in viticulture and enology and released her first wine named Sorellina — which translates to “littlest sister” in Italian — with sights set on eventually taking over the vineyard with her brother Francesco Sannino.
The lighter style red blend, 75% cabernet sauvignon and 25% cabernet franc, has notes of berries, dried fruit and a slight peppery finish, serving as a great introduction to deeper bodied reds.
“I thought of the idea of making a wine that would be more serious than a sweet wine, but more accessible for more people that want to get into wine drinking,” says Sannino. “I think the culture is just so beautiful.”
Through her time at Cornell, Sannino studied everything from soil science, plant physiology, viticulture practices, pruning, weather patterns and their impacts on agriculture, enology and wine making.
While her friends sipped on canned beverages like White Claw seltzers, screwdrivers and shots, Sannino never strayed from her love of wine.
As the 2023 vintage approached, Sannino decided she wanted to make something that her friends might enjoy too.
“We had a pretty rainy year on the North Fork in ’23 so we ended up having a lot of bright fruit notes that I thought were perfect,” says Sannino. “Nice bright acid, a little bit of pepperiness too, kind of like that underripe fruit note, which is why we decided to age for 24 months in oak.”
She and her family harvested in October, destemmed the fruit, did a cold soak and punch down to ensure maceration of the grape skins and fermented for about a week.
After the aging process in 30% new French oak cast barrels, Sannino had three barrels of cabernet sauvignon and one of the cabernet franc that she deemed perfect for the flavor she was hoping for.
“My mom, dad, my brother and even my sisters were involved,” says Sannino. “So, it was just like a big family ordeal and very creative.” Upon release in late May, there were 1,200 bottles total, priced at $40.
While there is a limited quantity, Sannino plans to release more of her own wine in the future. This summer she’ll be keeping busy running the Jazz Night events at Sannino Vineyard, in their second year. “This is my attempt to bring nightlife to the North Fork,” says Sannino.
On Friday nights from 8 to 10 p.m., jazz musicians will perform while the Sanninos serve up craft cocktails and estate wines.
In addition, Sannino and her family are bringing in other new features to the vineyard like their still, where they’ll be making brandy, cognac and moonshine; they are also planting new to the vineyard Italian varieties like dolcetto and schioppettino.
Learn more about the vineyard, Sorellina and upcoming events on their website and Instagram.
