Vineyard Haven

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No visit to the East End of Long Island is complete without a stop at Ternhaven Cellars, a tiny shop located in Greenport. The winery is steps away from Greenport's many shops, galleries and eateries. Harold Watts, Ternhaven's owner and winemaker, is a retired Columbia University economics professor who used to tinker at winemaking in his Manhattan apartment. When he left teaching, he bought several acres and started a modest operation, the ultimate mom-and-pop winery of the area. Ternhaven's sign reads LAST WINERY BEFORE FRANCE — bragging rights earned by being the easternmost winery in the state. If you're lucky, you'll get to meet Watts. Ask to see his unusual storage tanks, which are converted dairy vats.

When you get tuckered out, head to the Greenporter Hotel and Spa in Greenport. Inside you'll find La Cuvee, a restaurant and wine bar that offers one of the area's largest selections of Long Island wines and that is excellent with food-and-wine pairings. The staff can make reliable wine recommendations as well. It's also the perfect place to sip a wine that you might have missed along the way — if you're still up for imbibing.

Thirty years is a blink in the life of a vineyard. In some aspects, these wineries are still finding their footing, looking for ways to distinguish themselves and earn praise from the finicky wine establishment. But they have preserved the near extinct agricultural heritage of Long Island and given residents and visitors alike something to drink to.