Long Island Viticultural Areas

NORTH FORK OF LONG ISLAND AVA

The North Fork of Long Island American Viticultural Area region lies entirely in Suffolk County and is governed under the State of New York. The western boundary of the North Fork appellation is the 6 mile long boundary line separating Riverhead and Brookhaven Townships. The boundary starts at the mouth of Wading River and then becomes a straight-line cutting through Peconic River Park to meet the beginning of the Peconic River. The boundary travels along with the river until it empties into Peconic Bay. It is here that the boundary lines become the three bodies of water. Peconic Bay accounts for the rest of the southern boundary, meeting the Atlantic Ocean at Orient Point. The entire length of the North Fork from the Riverhead Town line to Orient Point covers a combined total of 65,000 acres or 158 square miles. 

THE HAMPTONS, LONG ISLAND AVA

"The Hamptons, Long Island" viticultural area is located entirely within eastern Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. The viticultural area boundaries consist of all of the land areas of the South Fork of Long Island, New York, including all of the beaches, shorelines, islands and mainland areas in the Townships of Southampton and East Hampton including Gardiners Island, for a total size of 209 square miles. The boundarystarts at the intersection of Brookhaven and Southampton Town lines at the Peconic River and travels south approximately 10 miles along the Southampton/Brookhaven Township line until it reaches the dunes on the Atlantic Ocean near Cupsogue Beach in Eastport NY. Then the boundary proceeds east and west along the beaches, shorelines, islands and mainland areas of the entire South Fork of Long Island described on the "New York," "Providence," and "Hartford" U.S.G.S. maps until it reaches the Peconic River near Calverton at the beginning point.

Long Island

The Long Island American Viticultural Area encompasses Nassau and Suffolk counties of New York, including the smaller offshore islands in those counties. The AVA was established in 2001, over 15 years after two smaller AVAs were created at the eastern end of Long Island. The Long Island AVA designation was promoted as a benefit for some wineries located just outside the two smaller AVAs and for wineries that wanted to create wines that use blends from vineyards in different parts of the island. It was also developed and promoted as a consumer protection of the Long Island name; AVAs require that a minimum of 85% of the fruit used in the designated wine is grown within the borders of the region. Vineyards on Long Island benefit from the moderating influence of the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound, and Peconic Bay on the local climate.