Pindar Vineyards

Walk into any Long Island shop and you'll see rows of Pindar Vineyards wines lining the shelves. As Long Island's largest producer, making over 60,000 cases annually, Pindar enjoys the widest distribution and best name recognition of any local winery. They've also been around a long time by local industry standards. Dr. Herodotus "Dan" Damianos founded Pindar Vineyards back in 1979 and Dr. Dan and his three sons, Alex, Jason and Pindar still manage the operation, making it the oldest vineyard under continuous family ownership.

Many of their wines target the mass market, including a series of sweet blended wines. But, winemaker, Jason Damianos, also crafts a wide array of varietal wines, some unremarkable, some good and some much better than good. And most are respectable values, which isn't always the case with local wines.

One of my favorite Pindar offerings is their 2000 Mythology. This is a well-made red that stands out at a winery so popular with the white zinfandel crowd. This medium crimson wine has a layered nose of black cherry, black currant and black plum that is accented by subtle, but discernable, tobacco undertones. 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, 12% Malbec and 11% Petit Verdot, it’s full bodied and complex, and displays layers of dark fruit with tobacco, vanilla and oak. The tannins are very well integrated, gripping only slightly and while the finish could be a bit longer, this is a well balanced wine.

Drinking beautifully now, it will probably continue to develop for another five years or so in bottle.

Reviewed October 25, 2006 by Lenn Thompson.