Smithtown Chardonnay?
Local farm converts 17 acres into areas first vineyard.
After more then a decade of waiting Western Suffolk’s first vineyard has produced its premier wine, a 2007 Chardonnay. When the farm will have all the necessary permits from the town and be able to sell the wine is still not certain though. According to Steve Gallagher, one of the owners, you may be sipping Smithtown Chardonnay, perhaps as early as 6 months from now.
Mr. Gallagher and his wife Laura along with her sister Barbara Perrotta choose the name Whisper Vineyards to pay homage to Town of Smithtown founder Richard Smith. Local legend has it that after rescuing a Native American Chief's daughter, Richard Smith was told that the Chief would grant title to all of the land Smith could encircle in a single day - on a bull. That bulls name was Whisper.
The 17 acre vineyard lies on busy Edgewood Avenue in St. James, and is part of the larger 53 acre Borella farm. It is one of Western Suffolk’s last remaining farms, and the new vineyard is part of a clever project to promote the tomatoes and corn that grow across the street on the remaining 36 acres of farmland. “The concept came about to bring attention to the fact that there are still working farms west of Riverhead” said Gallagher. He explained that as development swallowed most other area farms to build houses and storefronts, people started turning away from locally produced fruits and vegetables from neighborhood farm stands and started shopping in supermarkets for their produce. The farm is a throw back to an earlier era on the island, and not only does the fresh food sold there tend to be healthier then what supermarkets ship in from all over the world but it supports the local economy explains Mr. Gallagher. “We need to preserve our farms” agrees Suffolk County Legislature Lynne Nowick, whose district covers the farm and new vineyard.
The Borella farm was at one time a 300 acre potato farm. Today the main crops are tomatoes and corn but you can find a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables at the farm stand, as well as flowers grown in the greenhouses. “We grow everything from A to Z, arugula to zucchini” says Gallagher, adding “95% of the annuals and perennials we grow right here”
Laura Gallagher explained her parents, Joseph and Tess Borella, started the modern business in 1954. To this day it remains a family business, with three generations working in the fields or at the checkout counter. “Back in 92’ we first came up with the idea to turn part of the farm into a vineyard” recalls Steve. The first grapes were planted in 2004. The 12-year planning process was needed to study weather conditions and take a long look at the soil conditions, Gallagher said. Both are favorable, but it was necessary to add some micronutrients to the Borella earth.
“We planted 8 and half acres that first year.” says Mr. Gallagher. Since then more of the farm has been converted to growing grapes. There are now grapes on 17 acres of the Borella farm, including the 8 and a half acres planted in 2004. At this time there are no plans to expand further.
Consultants and a vineyard management team helped the family get started and still do come once a week. “It’s just another stage of agriculture for me” says Mr. Gallagher, a lifelong farmer “and I love what I do.”
Right now the wine is being fermented, bottled and stored by Eric Fry of Lenz Wineries but Whisper Vineyards hopes to one day do everything on site.
The family applied for a permit to sell the wine in January of this year, Mr. Gallagher hopes that in about 3 months all the paperwork will be done. Once all the permits are secured, the family plans to renovate an old barn on site into a tasting room. “As soon as the department gives the OK, we will start the renovations” says Steve, adding that in the meantime they can set up a temporary site from which they will sell the wine from.
The vineyard will produce "boutique wines," so-called because of its low volume output. In addition to the already bottled 2007 Chardonnay wines Mr. Gallagher expects to bottle the 2007 Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon the second week of August. He won’t set an exact dollar amount on his wine until more reviews are in but is considering an initial price of around $360 a case. A farmer clearly proud of his crop, he boasts that, “so far, it has been very well received”.
A website is in the works at www.whispervineyards.com and in the meantime if you want to keep abreast of any updates you can add your e-mail to a mailing list at the farm stand.