Our Vineyards

Our Estate Vineyard

Set on Peconic Bay, Onabay Vineyards is just two miles from the majestic Long Island Sound. The vineyard is blessed with a moderate climate that allows our grapes to maintain their natural acidity while ripening to the optimal level over a long season. Well-draining, sandy-loam soils (containing high percentages of clay and gravel) enable us to produce wines of structure, complexity, and pleasing minerality.

Winemaking Philosophy

Onabay's winemaking philosophy is based upon minimal intervention. All handling is focused on a respect for the integrity and purity of the grapes that are harvested. Our goal is to capture the authentic expression of our unique growing conditions in each wine. All grapes are hand-harvested.

Chardonnay

The grapes are picked very early in the morning and whole cluster pressed. Only the juice from the most gentle pressing cycle is used. The juice is cold settled for 24-48 hours before being racked for the start of a long, cool primary fermentation.

Red Wines

After de-stemming, the whole berries are soaked for two days at 58ºF to extract color prior to the beginning of fermentation. The wine is then warmed to approximately 82ºF for the start of alcoholic fermentation. Following the completion of alcoholic fermentation, the wines are racked to barrel. Malo-lactic fermentation is started and completed in barrel, and the wine is stirred weekly for four months in order to build elegant tannins.