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Sparkling Pointe Review

Sparkling Pointe Review

Address: 39750 Route 48 Southold,New York 11935.
Phone Number: 631-765-0200
Tasting Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:00-5:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-6:00

Region: Long Island AVA, North Fork of Long Island AVA, New York
Reviewer: Becky Parr
Review Date: 10/23/2015
Reviewer: Becky Parr
Rating: 5

The Review

My best friend decided she was going to move from Texas to D.C., so before she left, we took a girls’ trip to New York and Long Island. The New York portion was to see a Billy Joel concert (I’m a huge fan), but Long Island was all about wine tasting. We chose the North Fork, rented a cute, little cottage, and designated a Friday as Wine Tasting Day. Sparkling Pointe was the last place we visited, and by far our favorite.

The Place
Sparkling Pointe’s facility is gorgeous. It’s spacious, with tall ceilings and huge windows that provide lots of natural light. It has a modern touch in that the predominant colors are white and shades of gray with black chairs – but there are splashes of color everywhere in the art, which represents Brazil and the festive atmosphere of its Carnaval. The back room contains comfortable sofas and a fireplace. There’s also a large outdoor terrace overlooking the vineyards, with ample seating and a great view of the sunset. It was too chilly to sit outside on the day we went, but I could certainly envision an elegant wedding or a fabulous anniversary party.

The People
There were several team members staffing the large tasting counter, and they tag-teamed to make sure we always had tastes when we needed them. Everyone was chatty, efficient, and knowledgeable, and genuinely seemed to enjoy what they were doing. We learned that Brazilian art is displayed because the owners enjoy Carnaval and that part of the world and wanted to celebrate it in their winery. I got the feeling that it was the owners’ personality coming through in the facility – definitely a nice touch.

The Wines
Sparkling Pointe only makes sparkling wine (hence the name) and brandy. We tasted four selections: three whites and one red. All were quite good. I was surprised by the presence of a red sparkling (the Cuvee Carnaval Rouge) and had a momentary flashback to cheap Cold Duck from my earliest wine-drinking days, but fortunately, that memory was quickly dispelled when I took a sip – the only resemblance to that ghastly Cold Duck was the color. The Carnaval Rouge is made from Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay grapes, and it’s quite pretty in the glass.

As usual, my wine-tasting buddy and I didn’t agree on our favorite, but we DID agree that everything we tasted was good. Her favorite was the Brut Seduction, which seems to be Sparkling Pointe’s premier offering at $72 a bottle. I found it to be a little lighter and more tart than the others we were sampling. My favorite was the Brut; my tasting notes say it’s “what champagne should taste like.” (Please forgive me for calling it champagne outside of the French region – it was just my tasting notes!) I found it to be crisp and refreshing, but with a body of substance and a good mouth feel, not too sweet, not too tart. It was perfect. I found it quite a good buy at $29 a bottle.

We elected to purchase a glass of each of our favorites and go sit by the fireplace to enjoy it, since Sparkling Pointe was our last stop of the day. We got an extra boon when a bottle ran out mid-glass and our server had to go get another one – and then he started to pour the wrong wine into the same glass! OOPS! He realized it very quickly, but not before he’d created a new blend. Rather than pouring it out, we tasted it, and it was actually pretty good, so we got an extra almost-full glass of wine out of the deal!

We bought a bottle of the Brut to enjoy that evening at our cottage. I was ready to sign up for the wine club, but unfortunately, we learned that Sparkling Pointe can only ship to California, Florida, and New York. (I see from the website that they have since added Massachusetts and the District of Columbia). Sadly, Texas is a far cry from any of those states, so I’ll have to visit again to get my fix of Sparkling Pointe wines.

I wholeheartedly recommend Sparkling Pointe. Visit when you have some time to sit and enjoy the facilities and the wines. And if you’re coming to Texas, bring me a bottle of the Brut!