ONABAY VINEYARDS is a new name on the North Fork of Long Island, but it has a long history. The 18 year-old vineyard is part of a larger, historic farm owned by the Anderson family. Today, the property encompasses over 180 acres of fertile fields, meadows, and forests as well as over a mile of bay and creek frontage. It is a wondrous, peaceable kingdom of great horned owls, deer, osprey, herons, and shorebirds. Striped bass, bluefish, and flounder abound in the tidal creeks and the deeper bay.
The North Fork's temperate climate is often compared to Bordeaux, as it has a superb microclimate for viticulture. The surrounding waters of Peconic Bay, Richmond Creek, and Long Island Sound create a long and warm growing season. The soils are deep and loamy, the perfect medium for growing. Previously, the farms yielded crops of rhubarb, potatoes, spinach, and brussel sprouts. The old half-buried Sprout House and the Old Barn on the Main Road are remnants of this history. At the turn of the century, the Home Farm was self-sufficient, with cattle, pigs, and other livestock. There are still horses and chickens today.
The Anderson family is committed to the artisanal wines of Onabay Vineyards. Proud of their stewardship of the land, they appreciate the extraordinary natural beauty and bounty of the North Fork, and its culture of great wine, cuisine, and people.
Onabay Vineyard's nineteen acres are dedicated to growing the highest quality Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cot grapes. Onabay combines original plantings that are more than twenty years old with more recent high density plantings (of the highest quality clonal selections based upon research from the past twenty years). This synthesis enables Onabay to consistently produce balanced, world-class wines.
