Rich Pisacano of Roanoke Vineyards.
It looked like late afternoon in Italy. Outside on a white gravel patio under an umbrella Richard Pisacano, owner of Roanoke Vineyards in Riverhead was sitting with his family drinking wine and shooting the breeze. They were behind their new tasting room on pedestrian friendly Love Lane in Mattituck. Carolyn Iannone, owner of Love Lane Kitchen, was bringing over tiny sandwiches. Mike Avella of Love Lane Market was bring over little pizzas. The cause for the gathering was the opening of Roanoke’s new tasting room, which puts them now more in the center of the Long Island wine trail. The winery is one of the furthest west and can easily be forgotten on a day trip. Rich was pouring BOND, a new red blend–the winery’s speciality–that, for the moment is available only on Love Lane. The wine is a cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot from the excellent 2010 vintage. And, being further west, Roanoke does have a longer growing season (cabernet sauvignon needs time to ripen). Check out the floor. It’s made from wine barrels.
