Laurel Lake Vineyards

I’ve been coming to Laurel Lake every year for Mother’s Day. We love the wine and the atmosphere. We’d always buy multiple bottles, grab a picnic table, and enjoy cheese and dips that we brought. Additional bottles were always purchased by the end of the visit.
We just left, sincerely disappointed and not with the wine. We parked the car and my parents went inside to buy three bottles of wine as the rest of us started towards the back for a picnic table with our food. One rep ran outside and started yelling at us that outside food was not allowed. We sincerely didn’t know the rules had changed, the woman said last August since they began getting a food truck. So after getting scolded in front of all of the patrons from 100 feet away and sent away, my parents soon returned to the parking lot without their wine. Apparently the woman who scolded us about the cooler went inside and started bragging to someone who was ringing my parents up about making two girls with a cooler leave the vineyard. My dad said «that was my family». He tried explaining that we had been coming to the vineyard the last 5 years on Mother’s Day with food and it’s never come up. I understand people who have never visited calling up to check but for us, who have been visiting every year, we didn’t think to call ahead.
It’s fine that the policy changed. We would have been disappointed either way but we would have returned or bought the wine today had the situation been handled in a more professional way. I can’t picture us every returning or buying Laurel Lake bottles at our local wine store. The memories have been mostly pleasant, just stinks that it had to end up this way.

Went to a wine and chocolate pairing this past Saturday. It was a perfect pairing. The wine maker Juan was a professional and artist at matching the wine with the chocolate. The chocolatier Steve Amaral was also extremely creative with his flavors, pairing everything from apple cider from woodside to a dried pickle with his chocolates.
Great pairing, would go again.

I’ve been here with family many times, but my really crappy experience this weekend made me want to write a review to save other wine lovers from the hassle we experienced.
I will say, my family and I love this winery; so much so that I have about 6 bottles of their Cabernet Sauvignon and their Reisling in my wine fridge. That being said, we were treated terribly on Saturday, ¹⁰⁄₃ when we arrived to celebrate my cousin’s birthday.
We had a reservation for 6 on the patio at noon. We all arrived on time and waited to be seated. Once we were, we had to wait 45 minutes for our pre-​ordered food. We also were waiting for a tasting that the staff seemed shocked we wanted. We were there almost an hour before they even acknowledged our presence with a «we just thought you guys were doing your own thing.» Maybe on a nice day people do their own thing. On a rainy, freezing day, people sit at their table and drink wine and buy a few bottles of the ones they like. When our food arrived, we were missing the cold salads my cousin had paid for and one of our sandwiches was missing the bread (how on earth does that happen??). They tried to make it right by bringing us a couple of bottles of soda and giving us a free tasting of Moscato; but at that point, we were kind of done with the day, and $ 4 worth of soda and a small pour of wine doesn’t make you feel not forgotten. We’ve had MUCH better experiences in the past when we could bring in outside food (they have a way overpriced food truck on weekends now, so no outside food) and enjoy the wines at our own pace.
We’ll be visiting a different vineyard next time for sure!

Good place to go but slightly pricey. $ 10 for 3 drinks in a tasting but they were good drinks. The people here were easy to talk to and made us feel very welcome. We got a few extra drinks to try which made it worthwhile to stop in and we bought a decent bottle.

This is a smaller winery located on 25. My wife really likes the sweet whites here, but it’s not one of my favorite wineries. Nothing really stands out to me here. I think that they are on the pricier side for there tastings. If I’m remembering correctly it was $ 15 to taste 3 wines.

I haven’t been here in over a year and as a result, I decided to stop in today.
The staff is nice but seems a bit uninterested in my tasting as well as the general decorum of the tasting bar.
3 tastes for $ 15 is a bit on the higher side… IMO they should break out different flights for different prices or charge per taste etc.
I had their ’12 Reserve Chard which was fine but lacked the balance I was looking for.
Their Reserve Pinot was okay but Borghese and McCall’s Reserve and Estate Pinots from ’10 and their Hillside’ 12 blow LL’s away… and McCall’s 07 Pinot Reserve just very well may be, the best red wine produced on the NoFo IMO.
LL’s ’10 Cab Sauv reserve was good but the tannins and acidity were both quite pronounced, which they should be and perhaps this wine will age well as a result, but for now, not quite a fan.
THIS has been a review by Gaurav

Laurel lake was definitely my favorite vineyard of the day. I stuck with the white flight while others opted for the red (although, their Pinot noir was amazing) I chose to sip on Pinot Gris for the day and it was delicious ;). Love this vineyard bc there are huge seating areas outside on the deck and on the ground which is where we chose to enjoy our small picnic bites (yes u can bring food here which is a huge deal to me). It was a warm cloudy fall day but we enjoyed the beautiful view of the well kept vineyard. Flights 10 $ for 3 tastings glass I think was $ 7. All bottles of wine are taxed I wanna say the bottle or noir came to 32 or 37 $ that’s a little much… Only thing that was annoying was the fruit flies lingering inside eeek! But other than that it was avoided and this place was still my favorite

Great grounds. We purchased a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and sat outdoors snacking with friends. Great atmosphere.

VERY RUDE HOST! Place sucks! There are 40 other wineries nearby with much better service! Service is terrible. Never coming back

My girlfriend and I came here on a Sunday to sample the wines. We are big Moscato and Riesling fans. So, Laurel Lake was high on our list to visit.
We had a tour planned for the day, but long story short the tour never happened and we were amazingly compensated. Derek gave us discounted tours for the next day when Juan would be there. We were given a discount on some wine and the tours. Derek helped us tremendously and put us on the right track.
We still enjoyed our day here. The weather was perfect, wine was delicious, and my girlfriend of 4 years and I got engaged here that day! We will never forget it!
We arrived the next day for the tour, but we were wined out. They compensated our tour $ for some other wine bottles and Juan was amazing and regretfully sorry. He gave us a bottle of Meritage as a nice engagement gift too!
I recommend this winery to anyone looking for the right people to assist you and the right atmosphere to enjoy a peaceful day on the North Fork.
Thank you Juan and Derek!
–Chris and Jessica

Sauvignon Blanc is great! Nice patios and live music on the weekends. They staff was nice. You can bring your own food as well.
Definitely worth a stop!

I came here with a group of about 30 people. There was plenty of room for all of us and additional groups. We toured a couple other vineyards that day, but this was my favorite. It was truly relaxing, beautiful view outside and an outdoor bar. Perfect and relaxing Saturday!

The quaintness of the Vineyard is very special… You must try their Pinot Gris which is new this year wonderful! Also among our favorites is the Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Credence Meritage Limited Edition is off the charts. We had a luncheon here last week with 20 people it was serpurb in every way! Thank you…

A good girl friend and I came here over the weekend. Before I begin about the winery, I’ll say that the winter is thee best time to visit the North. Yes, the magazines and guides will say the Fall is the best, but it is so tranquil and beautiful that the ambiance can’t be beat.
This was my friend’s favorite vineyard. She got a bottle of the Reisling and sparkling Moscato. They are very fun wines to drink! It is hard to find a good Gewürztraminer, but this place does a fantastic job.
As for reds, the Syrah was extremely unique, not a lot of places have it. Their Pinot Noir is also nice and light (it’s a tough grape to grow on the Island). And I’ve liked their Cabernet Franc for a while now.
Our server Ursula was very friendly and personable with high energy, I like her a lot!
This winery has some great things going for it as well as a nice deck space with a great view of the vines. It has a lot to offer for both wine experts and newbies alike!

Laurel Lakes is a great vineyard for the quieter crowd who are there to be at peace with the vines and the wines. No loud raucous partying or music to be heard, no obnoxious voices, no, no, no… none of that… just quiet conversations amongst good friends and good wine tasting. They offer several options for seating, indoors by the bar, outdoors on the deck, outdoors under the large attached tent and outdoors next to the vines… I LOVE that option especially.
The wines we tasted weren’t necessarily the best that L.I. has to offer but the atmosphere makes you forget that easily.
One of the best things is that you can bring your own food/​snack and stay as long as you like. I LOVE that too… just to be a good sport, I bought a few bottles to show them my loyalty and support in the hopes that places like this stick around for the long haul.
I can’t wait to revisit!!!

Laurel Lakes was the first vineyard we stopped at this past weekend on our day trip. There was plenty of parking around 1 PM, and inside was pretty empty — probably because it was such a nice day outside. You can either check out the wine bar inside, or outside where the live music is. The lady behind the counter was pretty helpful and knowledgeable in recommending which wines she preferred. The menu here was good as well — you have a broad selection of wines to pick from, not pre-​set flights. As with most vineyards out here, the tasting is very reasonably priced ($ 7 for 4 tastings). My favorites were the gewurtztraminer and the sparkling wine (the Moscato is very well done). I’d probably pass on the dessert wine, which was a bit too sweet for my liking.
There’s plenty of wine and merchandise inside, and, as with many places here, you have live music going on in the back, and they let you wander around (pretty unrestricted) amongst the grapevines, which is pretty cool. There’s a nice little pond further back with a gazebo if you feel like wandering around further back as well. All in all, a well-​rounded experience that has plenty of space for you to relax, sip on some wine, and enjoy the weather (it was gorgeous when we were out here).

First time I’ve been to a vineyard /​winery. The experience was good, shame I had to drive…
For $ 7 you get to sample three wines, great value. (not that I loved the wine)
The location is great…
Can’t wait to go back.

My review is only based on the wedding I attended this September.
The staff was super friendly and the venue was absolutely beautiful.
The wine was delicious and my friends wedding was perfect.

Small but intimate tasting room. There is a large deck outside where you can enjoy a picnic lunch and listen to live music. The wines are very good and moderately priced. The staff is warm and friendly.
The music on this particular occasion was a duo called Nina Et Cetera. They played Johnny Cash styled country music with a steady bass beat. It’s monotonous after a while, but it does keep your toes tapping to the steady beat.

Tastings here are 3 for $ 5 and they have plenty to choose from. The tasting bar itself is on the small side, but they have a large sit down area with cheese & crackers available for purchase. They also allow people to bring their own food to enjoy with a glass of wine.
I thought their wines were very drinkable for both wine newbies and for those who have a more developed palate. Several of their wines have also been rated by the Beverage Tasting Institute. I purchased a bottle of their 2006 Cabernet Franc for my pops!
The only thing I couldn’t appreciate was how rushed we were by our server who kept asking us which wine we’d like to try next even though we hadn’t finished our previous tastings yet…