East End: Lieb Cellars and Pugliese Vineyards

Have you picked out your champagne for New Year's Eve yet? If not, there are plenty produced on the East End.
Pugliese Vineyards started when Ralph Pugliese planted two acres of grapes in Cutchogue in 1980.
Today his wife and children run the now 50-acre vineyard and winery. They produce four sparkling wines.
“We also make a sparkling merlot, which is a red champagne. That's very different and good for any festive holiday,” says Peter Pugliese. “There's a fourth one which is Dolce Patricia, which is sweeter with a nice pink color to it.”
Pugliese Vineyards has also become famous for its painted bottles and glasses. Winery co-founder Pat Pugliese has hand painted thousands of them through the years.
Another winery nearby is Lieb Cellars, which produces two sparkling wines, including a rose sparkler. They're both big sellers all year round.

“There is a little sort of casualization that's happening with sparkling wine,” says Ami Opisso, of Lieb Cellars. “So here when they're in the tasting room, when they're on the patio. We even have people buy sparkling wine and say they're going to a barbecue.”
A lot of people find the cozy tasting room on a remote farm road the perfect place to warm up on a winter day.