Saltbird Cellars Press
in their words…
Long Island Wine Country - Cheers to 50 Years
by Dan Belmont for Boldly NY
Long Island Wine Country invites you to the 50th Anniversary Grand Celebration at 5pm on August 19th at Peconic Bay Vineyards.
This event celebrates the founding of the Long Island wine region when Louisa and Alex Hargrave planted the first wine grapes in 1973. In attendance will be Louisa herself along with other pioneers of our industry including many of the winemakers who have dedicated their entire careers creating the wines that you have come to love. All that is needed to complete the celebration is you, without whom our region would have never reached this milestone.
Top regional culinary talents will create tasty bites from locally sourced farm products to pair with wines that celebrate the diversity of wines styles produced on both the North and South Forks! Whether it is traditional methode champenoise sparkling wine or pet-nat, white wines that display “maritime minerality” or a rare red library wine selection from our best vintages, there will be dishes created specifically for each wine style to showcase the best Long Island has to offer.
Photo Credit: David Benthal
The powerful partnership that makes Chronicle Wines so good
by SARA AUSTIN on JULY 11th, 2021
Robin Epperson-McCarthy and Alie Shaper named their company, Chronicle Wines, for the story behind every bottle. They get energy from the individual expression of each grape, the one-on-one exchange with customers in their storefront tasting room and the personal meaning behind each of the labels under the Chronicle umbrella, including Epperson-McCarthy’s Saltbird Cellars; Shaper’s As If Wines, Brooklyn Oenology and Haywater Cove; and the Chronicle wine and line of CANette spritzers they create together.
photo credit: Madison Fender
Les Dames d’Escoffier International Names 2019 Legacy Award Winners Supported by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts
Louisville, KY (May 2019) Seven professional women, chosen as this year’s Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI) Legacy Award recipients, have each earned a culinary mentoring experience delivered by seven of the organization’s distinguished members.
Robin Epperson-McCarthy, Owner/Winemaker of Saltbird Cellars awarded the BEVERAGE & HOSPITALITY AWARD from Wente Family Estates in Livermore, CA.
Photo Credit: Vera Chinese
6 tiny tasting rooms on the North Fork
written by BJ Gamboa for Northforker (2018)
The new home of Robin Epperson-McCarthy (Saltbird Cellars) and Alie Shaper (As If Wines, Brooklyn Oenology).
Custom tables allow for couples or a few groups of four or may be combined into one long table for a more communal tasting experience.
Bonus feature: Robin or Alie are usually on hand to talk wine. Well-trained and passionate servers are excellent. Speaking directly to the winemakers? Priceless. Peconic Cellar Door, 2885 Peconic Lane, Peconic.
Nadira Vlaun's work on wine bottles from Saltbird Cellars.
PHOTO:KEVIN HAGEN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Sept. 17, 2015 4:34 pm ET
When winemakers on the East End of Long Island need a label to help sell their wine—or set it apart from the other bottles on the shelf—many of them turn to the same college-track-star-turned-wine-label savant in Greenport, N.Y.
Nadira Vlaun, 38 years old, moved to Greenport nine years ago on a bit of a whim. She and her husband, Kristian Iglesias, were living in Brooklyn and considering a move to Miami when a Greenport-based friend persuaded them to postpone their move. The friend needed help renovating his house and urged the couple to move to Greenport for a few months to help him out.
Photo Credit: David Benthal
The evolution of Long Island winemaking
Written by Lenn Thompson for Northforker (April 2018)
“Growing up local and then working with several talented winemakers on Long Island gave me the understanding and appreciation for the wonderful wines being produced here,” said Epperson-McCarthy, who has also made wine in New Zealand, Australia and California. “Traveling beyond the known philosophy to other regions to experience other wine cultures enabled me to discover my own style and explore what Saltbird Cellars wines can be within the context of the North Fork AVA (American Viticulture Area).”