Cambridge, MA – (August 16, 2022) – Commonwealth Wine School, located in Harvard Square in Cambridge, is dedicated to providing the best in wine, spirits, saké, beer, and cider education for all levels of interest. The school recently concluded its inaugural Long Island Wine Camp where campers departed with an elevated vineyard-to-bottle understanding of the North Fork wine region. This northeast wine country has been making wine long before California and is home to more than 60 vineyards and spectacular tasting rooms.
Commonwealth Wine School teamed up with Discover Long Island, the region’s destination marketing organization, to promote the inaugural camp through a giveaway. Lori Lombardi of New York and Michele Velez of New Jersey were the lucky winners of the giveaway and enjoyed a full immersion of wine education and tastings with Long Island Wine Camp participants in the North Fork.
Each morning before campers boarded the East Wind Limo Company van, Sarah Trubnick, a Long Island wine expert and educator at Commonwealth Wine School, offered a short talk about the wine region and its unique geology. Over the course of two days spent in the North Fork wine region, campers tasted wines that included Pet Nat at Lenz Winery, bubbles at Sparkling Pointe, and a blind tasting at Lieb Cellars to determine which wines were from a bottle, box, or can. Dinner concluded the first day of camp — with more wines of the region tasted at Noah’s in Greenport. The final day began with stops at the organic Farrm Wine and a discussion with its owner, Rex Farr, to discuss biodynamic farming and to taste notable rosé and red wines, followed by a tasting, vineyard and cellar tour at Paumanok Vineyards, and then a blending session at RGNY. A farewell dinner at Preston House kept the momentum going with a blind tasting of Long Island wines compared to wines from regions around the world. Overall, the experience for campers included both traditional and non-traditional methods of experiential education, keeping in line with the mission of Commonwealth Wine School.
“Our goal is always to provide the best educational environment for learning about wine with the finest educators,” says Director of Commonwealth Wine School, Jessica Sculley. “We are proud that Long Island Wine Camp delivered on our goals to really educate participants about the terroir of Long Island and the fantastic wines being produced there. And it turns out we had a lot of fun too!”
The overall consensus from campers was that the experience exceeded expectations, especially the bonus experiences such as blending and labeling a bottle of wine to take home to enjoy once it ages a few years. Campers who participated in Long Island Wine Camp shared their appreciation of learning more than they anticipated.
Long Island Wine Camper Roseann Simonsen is a frequent Long Island visitor but had never experienced such in-depth winery visits. “Having the personal time with some of the vineyard owners, learning about their terroir, viticulture, and style of wine making was such an amazing educational experience,” said Simonsen. “The ‘wow’ for me was the ‘wine enthusiast’ camp activities like the wine blending experience at RGNY. It was a sight to see us all engaged in our creations. Everyone was in the moment — with the beakers and math equations to produce their own perfect red blend. It was just priceless.”
About Commonwealth Wine School
Located in the heart of Harvard Square at 35 Dunster St. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Commonwealth Wine School provides the best in wine, spirits, sake, beer, and cider education. Level of education ranges from beginner to connoisseur, inclusive to industry professionals. CWS instructors are dedicated and knowledgeable with a passion to share their expertise to provide a fun and engaging experience. CWS offers a wide variety of in person and online workshops, classes, and private events, as well as certification level programs from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), the Wine Scholar Guild, and the Society of Wine Educators. View the calendar of events on www.commonwealthwineschool.com. Private wine tastings available upon request.
