"Wine makes everyone hopeful" . . . Aristotle

Early budbreak in 2010 due to warm weather conditions

A NEW YORK STATE OF WINE

Comtesse Thérèse vineyard is located just an hour and a half east of New York City, on the eastern end of Long Island, surrounded by almost 50 vineyards and wineries, farms, farmstands, beaches, antique stores, golf courses, and shops, located on both the North and South Forks.

In Aquebogue, just east of Riverhead, the winery is one of the few in the world using Hungarian and Russian oak barrels and the first winery on the east coast to use Canadian oak barrels. It is also the only vineyard to own a restaurant, the soon-to-open bistro which will feature exclusively Comtesse Thérèse wines along with our own-grown herbs and locally grown vegetables, seafood and duck.

COMTESSE THÉRÈSE BISTRO OPENING SOON!!

T. Dilworth and Arie Pavlou. Photo by BarbaraEllen Koch, Suffolk Times, News-Review

"Soon" is a relative term - first we thought we'd open in 2008, then in 2009 - but now it's really getting close!  The kitchen equipment is in, except for the fire suppression system and range exhaust hood, to be installed first or second week of August '10 and then we can apply for final Suffolk County food service inspection!! Target opening date is now end of AUGUST 2010. See BISTRO page for more information. For Feb. 11, 2010 Riverhead News-Review article on the bistro, click here.

 

Tasting Room manager Charles Lazarou, with Chef Arie Pavlou 

WINEMAKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Comtesse Thérèse has pioneered the use of Hungarian, Russian and Canadian oak barrels, in addition to the more classic French oak.  Her Hungarian Oak Merlot, unique and a with a hint of spice, has been a best-seller since 2001. See Edible East End, No. 24 spring 2010, for the feature article, "Behind the Bottle: Comtesse Thérèse2005 Hungarian Oak Merlot, A Wine With a Story Partly Abut Wood," by Eileen M. Duffy.  "In the glass, the fruit flavors and aromas of the wine predominate. It's not too tannic; it's more like the wines Dilworth says she herself likes: pleasant and drinkable. And the Hungarian Oak is fit for that. It is said Hungarian oak lets fruit flavors come through while adding a light oakiness. "It's spicier," says Dilworth, "like cinnamon. People can't put their finger on it." To read the whole article, click here or visit - http://www.edibleeastend.com/spring-2010/behind-the-bottle.htm

Click here for Lenn Thompson's review of the 2005 Hungarian Oak Merlot. Click here for www.winesny.com's 90 point review of the 2004 Hungarian Oak Merlot.  The Hungarian Oak Merlot won "BEST MERLOT IN NEW YORK" at the statewide NY Wine and Food Classic in 2004, out of 54 merlots and 194 wineries across New York state. 

The barrel-fermented Russian Oak Chardonnay is another popular wine, with the subtlety of Russian oak barrels lending just a hint of oak, balancing the acidity and fruitiness of the cool-climate chardonnay.  Click here for www.winesny.com's 95 point review of the 2006 Russian Oak Chardonnay. In October 2005, the 2002 Russian Oak Chardonnay won "BEST CHARDONNAY" in Dan's Papers "Best of the Best". The previous year, the winery won "BEST NEW WINERY" in Dan's Best of the Best. 

The excellent 2007 vintage will see the debut of the world's first-ever Comtesse Thérèse Canadian Oak Babernet Sauvignon.  The winery is one of the first to use Canadian oak barrels in the U.S. In summer 2010, the vineyard's first ever Sauvignon Blanc (the 2009) will also be released.

For other mentions in the national and local press, click on the name of the article on the left, or see the NEWS page for all articles.

ALIE SHAPER, CONSULTANT WINEMAKER

As of January 2010, with former consultant's Bernard Cannac's move to the Finger Lakes, Comtesse Thérèse has hired a new consultant winemaker, Alie Shaper.  See the WINEMAKING page for more details.

Alie Shaper, Consultant Winemaker, and owner / winemaker of Brooklyn Oenology

 

THE TASTING ROOM

Tree Dilworth of Comtesse Thérèse is also the proprietress of The Tasting Room, Long Island's only multi-vineyard tasting room, located on Peconic Lane in Peconic. There, the full line of Comtesse Thérèse wines are available, as well as wines of seven other small boutique-style wineries that do not have their own tasting rooms. See the TASTING ROOM page for more information or go to www.tastingroomli.com.

ABOUT US

Comtesse Thérèse is owned by international tax attorney Theresa (Tree) Dilworth and two Japanese friends, Chizuko Tomita and Kayomi Hirota. Theresa is a 4th generation Long Islander, from the Lloyd Harbor/Huntington area, now living in Manhattan and Mattituck. During the weekdays, she is responsible for global tax planning for MasterCard Wordwide in Purchase, New York. Her father's mother's family is from Alsace, France, where they were in the vineyard business. Theresa's husband, Mineo "Sammy" Shimura, a former steel executive, became certified as a sommelier, and now manages the vineyard full-time (see VINEYARD page.)  Theresa's parents, Professor David and Mary Dilworth of Huntington, also work in the vineyard, five days a week.  Click here  for more information about the owners of Comtesse Thérèse.

Lavender and dill at the herb gardens in Mattituck