Post / Regram Your #KAVUTFAVS to Win a $100 Gift Card!

HOW TO PLAY & RULES:

● Post / Regram a Photo of your Favourite Piece from @KAVUTcom or KAVUT.com 
● Must Follow and Tag @KAVUTcom on Instagram
● Use the Official Contest Hashtag #kavutfavs
● Tell us How You Will Style Your Favourite Piece When You Wear It


The winner will be determined by the photo that receives the most likes!


Contest runs July 1st - 4th, 2016


GOOD LUCK!


Click here for a Complete List of Rules and Regulations

---

The KAVUT Showroom 
(102 Scollard St., Toronto)

will be CLOSED

Friday, July 1st and Saturday, July 2nd
for the long weekend


www.KAVUT.com
is OPEN 24/7!

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5 Common Home Repairs

There are certain home repairs that are unavoidable over time and every homeowner will eventually face them. In this short post we’ll discuss some common home repairs, including: holes in walls, sticky doors, stuck sliding windows, creaky floorboards and roof problems.

Image Source: Flickr.com

Below are 5 common home repairs:

Holes in Walls
Holes in walls are nearly unavoidable, even if you’re only renting. However, unless you’ve done plowed a car through it, you can fix most holes pretty cheaply. The simplest holes to fix are going to be screw or nail holes from hanging everything from pictures to TVs. For holes like these, you’ll want to clean the area of any debris and wipe down the wall. Use a putty knife to press some spackle into the wall and let it dry. Once it’s done, use some fine grain sandpaper to sand it down until it’s nice and flat. Depending on how seamless you need it to be and what color you your walls are, you may need to apply a coat of paint.
Larger holes can be a bit trickier. If a doorknob or fist went through the wall, you’ll need to cut out a rectangular section of the drywall surrounding the hole. Then, cut a piece of drywall from some scraps (or whole pieces you can buy at a hardware store).  Source: LifeHacker

Sticky Doors
Sticking or binding doors can sometimes cause squeaks because they put extra pressure on the hinges. Hinges can also get noisy when they begin to oxidize. If your door hinges announce anyone entering or leaving the room, you might be able to silence them with a little lubricant. First, cover the area under the door with a cloth and then apply penetrating oil to the hinges. Be sparing at first. After applying a few drops, open and close the door to work lubricant into the moving parts of the hinge. Give it a couple of minutes, and try opening and closing the door one more time. If there’s still a squeak, apply a few more drops and go through the process again. Source: HowStuffWorks

Stuck Sliding Windows
A little silicone spray lubricant (sold at hardware stores) will grease the skids. Spray it onto a rag, then wipe along the tracks, whether they’re metal, wood, or plastic. Source: RealSimple

Creaky Floorboards
Floorboards can creak either because their fastening screws have come loose, or because they’ve swollen and now rub against each other. Once you’ve found the problem, it’s easy to fix. If a floorboard covers an area of pipes or cables, fixing it with a screw instead of a nail will allow easy access. Source: HouseBeautiful

Roof Problems
The roof of your home may contain old or damaged shingles and improper flashing due to rain. The overall structure of the roof may be affected because of improperly installed collar ties and ridge beam supports. Source: HandymanProfessional

Contact:
Kerrisdale Roofing & Drains
8279 Ross St, Vancouver, BC V5X 4W1
(604) 360-2114

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Tullymore Classic Preview

Golf fans in west Michigan have a chance to watch professionals play this weekend at the second annual Tullymore Classic. This $100,000 championship marks the beginning of second half of the Symetra Tour’s schedule (The Symetra Tour is like the Triple-A for the LPGA). Here’s what you need to know. What: The second annual Tullymore... Read more »

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This Just In: Citi Bike Guest Post! (And other stuff too.)

As a cyclist, blogger, and cycling blogger, I've got an extensive résumé:

--Artisan curator of locally-sourced verbiage;
--Published book author of published books authored by me;
--Underpants model;
--Profligate embellisher of my own accomplishments.

You can also add accomplished Citi Bike Cat 6 racer to the list.  Indeed, I'm such a fan of Citi Bike that I've officially contributed to their website:

The idea here was to undertake some trips by Citi Bike in order to highlight their eminent utility for New York City neighborhood-hopping.  As you'll read in the above post, for my first trip I cut a diagonal swath through downtown Manhattan, and I've got a second and third post covering the Great Hipster Silk Route through Brooklyn and Queens currently in the works.

Sometimes I wish I didn't live here so I could visit as a tourist, because it must be awesome--and now I doubly wish I could visit as a tourist and use my own incredible Citi Bike blog posts as guides.

So read it now, because for all intents and purposes it's basically today's post.

Speaking of Citi Bikes, residents of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn will NOT let them destroy the very fabric of their neighborhood:

Pro tip, you nitwits: if "traffic and parking is a nightmare" you're gonna need more bikes, and that includes Citi Bikes.  By the way, I used to live in that neighborhood in a past life and pretty much all the traffic is due to drivers cutting through Downtown Brooklyn to avoid the toll on the Battery Tunnel and the traffic on the BQE.  It was a shitshow long before Citi Bike and it will continue to be a shitshow as long as the East River bridges are free.  So if you want to improve the situation you should be pushing for toll reform and not whining about losing three or four parking spaces to Citi Bikes, you friggin' dimbulbs.

By the way, the developers are going to peg you with shiny new high-rises no matter what you do.  The Citi Bikes and bike lanes are just red herrings.  (Or blue and green herrings respectively.)  So go ahead and argue about them, because you're playing right into their hands.

Lastly, via Streetsblog, Professor Putz over at Columbia University wants a mandatory bicycle helmet law based on his own anecdotal evidence:

I had spent the afternoon at Chelsea Market and the High Line and was in great spirits as I opened the door to my apartment and heard my phone ring. I picked it up and heard a voice inquire, “Is this Pendray Winkleman’s father? I’m calling from the emergency room of Weill Cornell. We have your son. He was in a cycling accident.”

My heart stopped. I listened and then jumped into a cab not really knowing what to expect.

SPOILER ALERT: The kid's pretty banged up, but ultimately he's fine.  So is his wife, despite her reckless driving:

My wife arrived, having driven at the speed of light down from Harriman State Park. We spent the evening explaining whatever we could and encouraging him to speak with family members and a few friends. Some memories began to reappear, but others disappeared. Fortunately, he stayed overnight in the ICU for further observation. By morning, his memory was jelling quickly, and in the early afternoon he was released.

I mean sure, she arrived with three or four cyclists plastered to her hood, but it was an emergency.

Anyway, Professor Putz--who teaches Healthcare Marketing at Columbia, and as far as I can tell is neither a medical doctor nor a physicist--knows that it was a helmet that saved his son's life, even though nobody knows any of the details surrounding the crash:

Without his helmet, the story would have ended differently. While we may never know what led up to the accident because my son’s memories of the 18 hours surrounding the event are MIA, there’s no doubt that beyond the magic care by New-York Presbyterian and Mount Sinai, it was his helmet that saved his life.

OK, why is there "no doubt" if you don't know shit about what led up to the "accident?"  How do you even know it was an "accident?"  Maybe it was a hit-and-run.  Maybe you should be outraged that people like your son are left bleeding in the streets every day, and that the prosecution rate is abysmal.  You might also take issue with the fact that Albany won't let the city install more speed cameras, though you're probably not because then your wife Lady Leadfoot might have to drive more carefully.

Nah, it's much easier to write off your son's misfortune as an "accident" (just like the police and the media do) and then ascribe mystical powers to a plastic hat.

And just like a true religious zealot he's practically foaming at the mouth with righteousness:

In the days since the accident, I’ve watched cyclists, even loudly urging some to wear a helmet, and have been distressed by the number of Citi Bike, messenger and business cyclists weaving in and out of traffic, ignoring bike lanes and all sans helmets.

If this Winkleman character ever, ever, EVER loudly urges me to wear a helmet I will unleash upon him a flood of withering invective of Biblical proportions.  In fact, as soon as I hit "publish" on this post I'm heading down to Columbia and riding helmetless laps up and down Broadway in the hope that he'll try it.

And now he wants a helmet law:

These are young people embarking on careers, parents heading home from work and hardworking people making deliveries — many without health insurance and the majority without helmets. They are all risking their lives.

In New York, bicycle helmets are required by law only for bicyclists younger than 14.

That’s not enough. New York must pass and enforce a helmet law — especially for Citi Bike riders who aren’t experienced in urban cycling and for businesses that use messengers. Health insurance companies should give a benefit (as they do for safe driving or not smoking) for riders who use a helmet.

Wow, what a sanctimonious schmuck..  Hey healthcare marketer: maybe instead of making these people wear foam yarmulkes we should be working for safer streets and better access to healthcare.  And at the very least the police should crack down on people who drive "at the speed of light," right?

Wrong:

And the Police Department must crack down on cyclists who are not using bike lanes or using them incorrectly (going the wrong way, for instance).

Dick.

You know, there's a difference between riding a bicycle in the city and, well, this:



Now that's Fred "Woo-hoo-hoo!" speed.

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Cook Once, Eat Twice. Why Leftovers Are a Key to Saving Time and Energy

Find out why making dinner time easier and using leftovers can save you time AND, more importantly energy.

Unless you’re a young child, when time seems like a limitless resource, most people are always on a quest for finding and making more time.

“I would do X if only I had more time,” is basically the motto of the twenty first century. With limitless options of things to do and be, the only that hasn’t evolved with the times is time itself.

However, I’m gonna come out and be all contradictory and say that I believe we DO have enough time for the things we really want. What’s really missing is less of the time management, but instead our energy management. It was my boss at the coffee shop I work at, who dropped that idea bomb for me. He said “Don’t learn to manage your time, learn to manage your energy.”

How many times have you groaned in frustration about time you’ve wasted on stupid activities you didn’t really want to be doing, even though time is supposed to be a precious resource? Stayed up late watching Netflix, scrolled through Instagram mindlessly, found random things to do around the house to avoid what you actually wanted to be doing? How many times have you come home truly exhausted mentally and physically, unable to capitalize on the 3-5 hours you have each day after work?

I’ve been there, in fact, I’m there multiple times a week. Some days I feel like I can get 1,000 things done and I’m the master of my to-do list. Other days, I struggle to do the bare minimum. It’s not a time problem. It’s an energy problem.

So what can you do about it? Girl, I wish I knew how to always be “on” and have killer energy from sun up to sun down. But alas, I am a mere mortal and just trying to do the best like the rest of us.

However, I have found one area of “energy management” that has come in handy when I’m overwhelmed. It’s cutting out energy sucking decisions.

These choices don’t necessarily take up tons of time, but they do use up your decision making power (something I personally believe is a limited resource each day) for things that shouldn’t need that much energy.

One energy sucking decision that happens when energy is fragile: What’s for dinner.

Unless a specific craving strikes, it’s a rare person that is overflowing with creative ideas for what healthy flavorful meal they want to cook each and every night. Often the time and energy we spend on just choosing what we want, whether we should order in, go out for more ingredients, if we want to just eat cereal takes longer than the actual cooking.

Cue the magic of delicious leftovers and HelloFresh.

HelloFresh is a meal delivery service where each week, ingredients and instructions for 3 healthy meals are delivered to your doorstep. All you have to do is cook! You can get boxes for 2 or 4 people which means plenty of leftovers if you cook for yourself or just one other person. I’ve found in my own experience that even the 4 person box leaves plenty of food for leftovers the next day.

Imagine coming home to a box of fresh ingredients, prepped and measured with easy to follow directions. Or even better, imagine that you’d already cooked everything two nights ago and you still have food left for tonight. No agonizing decisions to make that drain your energy and time.

This week my family and I enjoyed the Basil Pesto Tagliatelle with Tomatoes, Beans and Greens for dinner one night and lunch for all of us the next day. Instead of rushing out the door stressed or spending another $15 on lunch in town I was able to relive the deliciousness of the night before.

One of my favorite things to do with leftovers is add some extra green component. For the pasta I added a bed of arugula to my tupperwear to make them even more fresh and delish.

Now instead of stressing over what to make or bring for lunch I can actually unwind after work or dive into all the projects I have on my list.

YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT HELLOFRESH’S DIFFERENT MEAL OPTIONS HERE.

Get $35 off your first box by using the code “GEORGIE35”

This post was sponsored by HelloFresh. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help this blog continue to grow and thrive <3

Your Turn:

• What would you do with a couple extra hours of time AND energy?

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Open de France Winners and History

The Open de France is the oldest national golf open in continental Europe, having been inaugurated in 1906. It has been on the European Tour schedule since that tour’s beginning in 1972. Since 1991, the Open de France has been held at Le Golf National every year but 1999 and 2001. In recent years, the... Read more »

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The Aiming Alignment Tool

The Aiming Alignment Tool The Aiming is an electronic device that’s supposed to help you develop proper alignment. To use it, with the device attached to the back of your pants, you stand behind the ball and click on the device. Then, when you get into position, sound and vibration alerts tell you whether you... Read more »

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3 Ways to Strengthen Your Doors

There are many precautions you can take to boost your home security and ensure that your home is safer. In this short post we’ll cover 3 simple and effective ways to strengthen your doors, including: reinforcing the strike plate, improving the locks and securing your door hinges.

Image Source: Flickr

Reinforcing the Strike Plate
To further reinforce the doorjamb, install a new plate in place of the old lip strike plate that serves the doorknob lockset. Attach it with 3-in. screws. Make sure the screwheads seat flush with the face of the strike plate. We used No. 8 x 3-in. screws. No. 10 x 3-in. screws (used for the deadbolt plate) were too large. Remember to angle the screws back slightly to be sure to catch the framing (Figure A). Again, you may have to chisel a slightly larger mortise and predrill to drive the screws.
Remove the lockset’s lip strike plate and 3/4-in. screws. Predrill and attach a new plate with No. 8 x 3-in. screws that are angled in slightly to catch the stud. Predrill with a 1/8-in. bit. Source: FamilyHandyman

Improving the Locks
In a significant percentage of burglaries, the criminal enters the victim’s home through an unlocked door. Even the strongest locks in the world are useless if you don’t use them. Lock all exterior doors whenever you go out – even if you’ll just be gone a few minutes.
Install deadbolt locks. With the exception of sliding doors, all exterior doors should have a deadbolt lock in addition to the lock built into the doorknob. The deadbolt should be high quality (grade 1 or 2, solid metal with no exposed screws on the exterior), with a throw bolt (the bolt that comes out of the door) at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. The lock should be properly installed. Many homes have lower quality deadbolts or throw bolts less than 1 inch (2.5 cm). These must be replaced.
Install a dead-lock. Adding an additional lock will provide extra security when you are home. The dead-lock, sometimes called an ‘exit-only deadbolt’ is a deadbolt that does not have an external key. It may be clearly visible on the door from the outside, but it cannot be broken into without destroying the door, frame, or lock itself. While this security won’t help directly when you aren’t home, its visibility may discourage an intruder from trying the door. Source: wikiHow

Securing Door Hinges
The hinges of a door are an essential part of the door that connects the door to the jamb. Most residential doors have hinges that are inward facing, because the door opens up inwards. Most of these standard residential doors can withstand attacks against the hinges of the door because burglars and intruders cannot gain access to them. However, not all doors work in the same fashion. For doors that open outwards, the hinges are usually placed on either the left or right of the doors exterior and this they are easily accessible by whoever is on the outside. If the hinges on your door are compromised, it will be relatively easy for burglars to knock your door of the hinges and gain entry to your home.
The hinges of your door can be secured by using safety studs, corrugated pins, and by using setscrews in your hinges. These are all minor additions to your hinges, which will go a long way to help strengthen your door and keep your family safe. The additions are simple and effective but because of how important the hinges are to the door, it is best to make sure that nothing goes awry and that your doors are made as secure as possible. Source: SafeWise

 

Contact:
Mr. Locksmith
555 W. Hastings St
L21A
Vancouver BC V6B 4N4
(604) 259-2953

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Suzy Green-Roebuck Wins 2016 Michigan PGA Women’s Open; Makes History

Suzy Green-Roebuck Makes History Winning Third Michigan PGA Women’s Open Championship THOMPSONVILLE – Suzy Green-Roebuck of Ann Arbor became the first three-time winner of the Michigan PGA Women’s Open Championship with a sizzling 6-under 66 Wednesday on the Mountain Ridge course at Crystal Mountain Resort. She also became the oldest winner at age 49, and... Read more »

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WGC Bridgestone Video Preview

Watch the PGA TOUR previews of the WGC Bridgestone.

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A Comprehensive Treatise on What the Brexit Means for the Future of Disc Brakes on Road Bikes

Further to yesterday's post, when it comes to an overarching obsession with helmets nobody beats Australia, where images of bareheaded cycling are tantamount to pornography:

At first glance, the Emirates advertisement on a suburban bus stop in Australia is both charming and unexceptional.

A woman is riding a bicycle over a brick-paved bridge in what must surely be the Netherlands, with the slogan: "Don't just visit, live it. Navigate new paths in Europe."

Unexceptional, sure, save for the fact the Dutch cyclist is wearing a helmet--which it turns out was added so as not to offend delicate Antipodean sensibilities:

Closer inspection indicated the helmet had been added to the original image with an editing tool, such as Photoshop. 

Not only that, but they appear to have also subtracted the red bag on the handlebars, presumably because it could cause this reckless daredevil to lose control of her bike and wind up at the bottom of a fetid canal.

Yes, apparently Australians are as touchy about depictions of helmetless cycling as Americans are about corrupting young minds by teaching evolution in schools:

Advertising Standards Bureau CEO Fiona Jolly told me that the self-regulation body receives complaints from the public, and if the item falls under the bureau's codes and initiatives, the board will consider the material and require the ad to be removed if the complaint is upheld.

Last year, the board tackled a 30-second video ad for Fernwood Fitness that featured a three-second clip of two women riding on a bike without helmets. People wrote to the bureau to say that state law in Australia requires helmets.

Wow, what is this relentless sense of dissatisfaction that plagues Australians?  You've got to have a massive New Zealand-sized hole in your heart to narc out a couple of women for riding bikes helmetless on TV for three (3) seconds.

And who could forget that black day back in 2008 when Australians were subjected to this horrific image?

In 2008, the Advertising Standards Board tackled the airline over an ad featuring a laughing woman getting a lift on the rear rack of a bicycle along a cobbled street, with a baguette in her hand, and the slogan: "The world is your playground."​​​

People who complained about the ad noted that while "the presence of the baguette" suggested it was shot in France, "to a younger audience this may not be obvious".

They said it sent a message that "reckless behaviour with a total disregard for safety" as ordained by Australian laws, is "something which the viewers of the advert should aspire to".

Reckless indeed.  In order for this image to meet Australian decency standards it would need to be edited thusly:

--The woman should be wearing a helmet;
--The helmet should be fitted with an avian defense system because that pigeon is clearly about to attack;
--The woman should be riding in an adult bicycle passenger seat that meets ACCC standards;
--She should be handling the baguette only while wearing work gloves and protective eyewear.

Incidentally, "The Presence of the Baguette" is how Mario Cipollini announces he is ready for coitus:

("Good news for you!  The baguette is present!")

Anyway, it's telling that the Australian idea of a dream vacation is to travel someplace where you can ride a bike without wearing a plastic hat:

If the evidence for the laws was so compelling, surely every nation would have them?

Instead, international cycling advocates see Australia as an example of what not to do. They argue that the law's main effect is to act as a barrier to cycling, with a resulting negative effect on population health. 

One of my joys is to visit countries where bike riders aren't faced with fines of up to $319 for choosing not to wear a helmet.

Though I'm sure his fellow Australians are disgusted and consider that the equivalent of sex tourism.

Therefore, in order not to run afoul of the censors, I pledge from this day forward that no Australian shall be depicted on this blog without a helmet:

I feel safer already.

Meanwhile, say farewell to the bicycle as you know it, because I've seen the future of cycling and it's this stupid thing:



It's called the "Cyclotron," which feels like copyright infringement:

But don't judge until you've read through all the features and seen just how stupid it is:

The Cyclotron - The Future of Cycling

- STOP! - Please take your time and read through all the features of this groundbreaking vehicle. The Cyclotron IS NOT just an ordinary bicycle!

For example, consider that it represents the next phase of bicycle evolution:

Wait a minute.  Are they saying the most noteworthy innovation between the advent of the safety bicycle and now is...the touring bike?

Nothing against touring bikes or anything, but come on.  That's like saying the most noteworthy movie since the first talkie and today is "City Slickers:"

I mean sure, it was a serviceable fish out of water comedy and all, and obviously it was successful enough to spawn the sequel "City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold," but it's not like sending some Jews out west was exactly breaking new cinematic ground.  (Case in point: pretty much the entire filmic works of Gene Wilder.)

And naturally the Cyclotron features all sorts of "smart" technology, like the obligatory app that tells everybody you're about to die:

As well as sending a press release and pre-written obituary to all local media outlets containing vital information such as whether or not you were wearing a helmet, as well as an artist's rendering of the incident:

But to truly understand the Cyclotron you've got to consider it in the context of the entire universe, of which it is naturally the center:

Never underestimate the importance of decals.

It's also got an uncluttered cockpit, free of any comfortable place to put your hands and designed to impart to you as little control over this idiotic machine as possible:

As well as two (2) wheels.  Oh, sorry, they're not wheels.  They're "Utility Slot Modules:"

"Utility Slot Module" is easily the most suggestive phrase I've heard since "the presence of the baguette," and indeed you'll experience a whole new world of convenience on your next shopping trip when you slip your baguette into your utility slot module:

I'm not sure why putting baskets inside your wheels where your groceries can get all splattered with digusting road scuzz is in any way preferable to carrying them on a rack or in panniers, but I suppose this bike is designed for a dystopian future in which the Earth has gone bone dry.

It even has an adult bicycle passenger seat that meets ACCC standards:

Seems pretty clear to me we've got a winner on our hands here.

Lastly, every so often "Bicycling" takes a break from insisting you need stuff like dropper posts and "keeps it real" by telling you that you should ride a fixie or a singlespeed:

I love when they do this, because it's always so delightfully stilted:

If you think of singlespeeds as merely the mountain bike of choice for disheveled mechanics, it’s time to think again. No matter who you are, singlespeeds are, first and foremost, fun. They strip away equipment excess and offer a simpler, more challenging experience.

Do people really think of singlespeeds that way?  I mean, I never saw Cooter riding a singlespeed:

Though I think some bike company just found its next irreverent model name.

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WGC Bridgestone Preview

World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Preview Field: There are 61 (of 76 qualified) players officially committed. Dates: June 27-July 3, 2016 Where: Firestone Country Club (South Course), Akron, Ohio Par/Yards: 35-35—70 /7,400 Architect: Bert Way (1929), Robert Trent Jones (1960) FedExCup Points: 550 Purse: $9,500,000; Winner’s Share: $1,620,000 Format: 72-hole stroke play; no cut Defending Champion:... Read more »

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A Day Trip to the North Fork of Long Island

This summer, I’ve been planning lots of special day trips and short getaways from Manhattan. One of my biggest priorities? The North Fork of Long Island.

Long Island extends eastward from Brooklyn and Queens and eventually forks in two. The South Fork gets most of the hype and vacationers — it’s home to the Hamptons and beautiful beaches.

The North Fork, however, is all about WINE. And food. And country goodness.

My girls and I didn’t waste any time. We planned our first summer day trip for Memorial Day weekend.

Five of us girls made the trip that day — me and my sister Sarah, our hometown friends Beth and Amy (also sisters), and Colleen, Beth’s close friend from college. Colleen, who lives on Long Island, generously volunteered to pick us up from the train and be our designated driver for the day.

And what a day it was. What I most enjoyed was being out in the country, smelling the fresh air, stopping at farm stands, and sipping wine with my friends as we laughed and told stories. Best of all, it couldn’t have been easier to explore. What a gem the North Fork is!

Here are the highlights of our day, listed from west to east without any backtracking!

Briermere Farm

“KATE! Are you going to Briermere’s? You need to get a pie!”

I got so much good advice from Long Island readers on Snapchat (you can follow me at adventurouskate!) but the single biggest recommendation wasn’t about wine — it was about pie! This farm stand, famous for their pies, is located in Riverhead, right where Long Island’s forks split in two.

There were so many kinds of pie! I went for my favorite — strawberry rhubarb.

Was it worth the hype? OH, ABSOLUTELY. This may be the best pie I have ever had. It was so tall and bursting with fruit (and probably tons of lard as well, but hey, that’s how you get a flaky crust). I kept inviting friends over for pie, just to hear them marvel at how good it was!

Shinn Estate Vineyards

For our first tasting, we stopped at Shinn Estate Vineyards, a casual, low-key farmhouse with a fragrant garden. This is just the kind of Long Island winery I imagined — rustic and friendly, where we could drink rosé in the sunshine!

We got to choose four wines each, and by the time we passed around all our glasses, I think we sampled almost everything they had available!

The Brut, chardonnay, and cabernet franc are excellent at Shinn. I also loved the wordplay on the “Wild Boar Doe” wine!

Lieb Cellars

Our second stop was Lieb Cellars, a winery that felt a bit more upscale and modern. Feeling the heat, we decided to head indoors for AC and got to enjoy a cool tasting room.

What I liked is that Lieb offers four different tastings of five wines each: a white tasting, a red tasting (which I obviously went for), a reserve red and white tasting, and a director’s cut including hard cider and dessert wine.

Here we added some snacks to our tastings — some truly delectable olives marinated in oil and lots of rosemary, and a little bit of manchego cheese. I think manchego and dark, spicy red wine is one of my favorite culinary combinations in the world!

The cabernet franc was a standout here. I loved it so much, I bought a bottle! The white merlot was also memorable, as was a peachy sauvignon blanc.

Pugliese Vineyards

“Do you want to stop at Pugliese?” Colleen asked us.

“Puglisi?” my sister and I piped up. Puglisi was the name of our grandfather who immigrated from Sicily. We had to drop in!

Turns out everyone in Long Island pronounces “Pugliese” like “Puglisi” instead of “pu-lee-AY-say” as the Italians do. Not quite an exact fit, but we enjoyed it nonetheless (and Sarah bought a bottle for our mom!).

I’ll be honest — Pugliese’s wines weren’t quite the caliber of the other wines we tasted that day. That said, they had a nice sparkling rosé called Dolce Patricia, and we enjoyed the carefree outdoor atmosphere.

Pugliese is a bring-your-own-food place with lots of picnic tables; if you have kids, I imagine this is a great spot to have them burn off some energy. Plus, at $10, it was the cheapest tasting of the day.

Sparkling Pointe Vineyards and Winery

For something different, we had our final tasting at Sparkling Pointe Vineyards and Winery. This winery specializes in sparkling wines, and it was much larger and fancier — with the price tag to match! This place also felt very stereotypically Long Island. Very loud. Very Italian. Lots of big hair. Lots of big jewelry.

We went for the Grand Tasting Flight here, featuring four sparkling wines, and I thought they were a little bit too similar to each other. That said, it was very different from the rest of the wineries and I’m so glad we stopped in!

Sadly, by the time we left Sparkling Pointe, dark clouds had rolled in. At least I got some good photos along the way!

Greenport

Greenport is a small town close to the tip of the North Fork and it’s a good place to walk around, explore, and grab some food. There are lots of shops selling nautical souvenirs and homemade food items.

Greenport felt very much like New England to me — it wouldn’t be out of place on Massachusetts’ North Shore alongside Newburyport, Rockport, and Gloucester.

We stopped for dinner at Noah’s, a farm-to-table restaurant in Greenport and while I didn’t get any photos, everything we had was fantastic. I’m still dreaming of their beet risotto, buffalo cauliflower, and Long Island clam chowder! (Also, this place is great for celiacs. Lots of their dishes are automatically gluten-free, even ones you wouldn’t expect like fried calamari!)

We finished our drive home with Beyoncé’s Lemonade, the two resident Beyoncé superfans singing their hearts out and explaining every lyric as the rest of us grinned and rolled our eyes in the backseat.

The Takeaway

This city girl went to the country for a day and came home with a pie. Could I be more of a stereotype?

This was such a fun day! And coming home laden with cabernet franc, pickled asparagus, and yes, that legendary strawberry rhubarb pie, I felt like I got to relive the trip for several more days. Actually, it’s been a month and I have yet to open the wine! I should do that!

North Fork, I had a great time in you. And I can’t wait to check out your southern sibling next time!

Essential Info: No matter what you do, please use a designated driver when wine tasting. Driving while intoxicated, even a little bit, could easily ruin your life or someone else’s.

If you don’t have a designated driver in your party, check out North Fork Designated Driver, who will drive your own car for you, as well as S&G Limousines if you’d like something more glamorous. Full tours are available from North Fork Wine Tours, Elegant Wine Tours and The Casual Ride. Uber and Lyft are not available on the North Fork.

Don’t be pressured to go tasting at a million different wineries. We enjoyed our leisurely pace and sometimes split the tastings to keep ourselves feeling slightly tipsy rather than heavily intoxicated.

At Shinn Estate Vineyards, you can taste four wines of your choosing for $14.

At Lieb Cellars, there are four different tasting flights of five wines that you can try, ranging from $12 to $20.

At Pugliese Vineyards, you can taste four wines of your choosing for $10.

At Sparkling Pointe, the Grand Tasting Flight is four designated sparkling wines for $20.

To get to the North Fork by train, take the LIRR from New York to Riverhead, Mattituck, Southold, or Greenport. It’s a bit faster to drive.

If you plan on staying overnight, I would recommend basing in Greenport because it’s a walkable town with lots to do. Check out hotels here.

 

Have you been to the North Fork?

from Adventurous Kate http://ift.tt/295mJYm