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This Westhampton couple has uprooted the North Fork wine trail and planted it in a storied and renovated Moriches farm stand.
Joseph Mileti and Kristina Kinneary unveiled The Wine Barn and Farmers Market in Moriches last Thursday.
[Keep scrolling for a photo tour]
Inside, the couple erected a half-wall dividing the decades-old LaCorte’s Farm Stand, which closed last year, into two business models with matching rural boutique aesthetics.
On the wine side, imbibers can order up bottles and glasses of one of a dozen wines from local wineries, including Croteaux Vineyards, Jamesport Vineyards, Roanoke Vineyards and Wolffer Estate Vineyard.
The farm stand area boasts locally sourced plants as well as jams, cheeses and other edible goodies. Come May, more flowers and an array of fresh produce from local farms will color the Moriches farm stand, just as it had since LaCorte’s Farm Stand opened in 1959.
“We thought it would be so cool to have a little winery inside the farmstand,” Kinneary said, “but also still have everything [LaCorte’s] had because that’s what people love around here.”
“We wanted to do something for the community over here,” Mileti added. “What’s better than plants, pies and some wine?”
Eyes on the pies
While the couple of four years has performed myriad renovations since they acquired the LaCorte’s farm stand last December, they are by no means hiding its history.
Inside and out, the couple left signage still bearing the LaCorte’s name. One outdoor sign boasts perhaps the most important bit of information locals will want to know: “LaCorte’s famous pies and baked goods.”
That’s right, the LaCorte’s pie recipes, from the Dutch apple crumb and lemon meringue to the peach cherry blueberry and the chocolate chip pecan are still baked at the Wine Barn and Farmer’s Market. Mileti has known the LaCorte family most of his life, as his family’s business, United Garage Doors Ltd., and his first business, CBD Boss Inc., are located at the back of the same Moriches property.
When husband and wife Paul and Evelien LaCorte decided to sell to Mileti and Kinneary, they shared with the young couple the esteemed recipes for their loaves and pies, including Mileti’s favorite, the fruits of the forest, loaded with apples, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries.
“The rhubarb makes it bitter, the berries make it sweet, so you got that mix that’s just really good,” Mileti said.
It’s wine o’clock somewhere
To the patrons who popped by the establishment ahead of its April 7 grand opening, the entirely new wine bar arm of the Moriches business is a welcomed addition to the community.
“It was always a lovely farmstand, they had nice produce, and the pies,” Irene Labella, of Center Moriches, said while sipping a chardonnay from Peconic Bay Vineyards last Friday. “But wine? Now that’s of great interest to me.”
At the Wine Barn, Mileti and Kinneary serve up mini pizzas, charcuterie boards and other bites. They also offer a selection of beers on tap from Blue Point Brewing Co., Great South Bay Brewery, Greenport Harbor Brewing Company and Montauk Brewing Company.
The joint may soon carry brews from Westhampton Beach Brewing Company as well, according to brewery owner Brian Sckipp, who enjoyed a Jamesport East End field red at the Moriches spot last Friday.
“We’re just happy to have this new venue to come to, it’s beautiful,” Sckipp, who resides in Moriches, said. “We’ve come here for years [when it was] the farmstand. The conversion is just phenomenal.”
While many businesses comparable to the Wine Barn and Farm Stand on the North Fork close or reduce their days and hours during the winter months, Mileti and Kinneary said they will decide how they adapt to the winter when it arrives.
In the meantime, they’re excited to work with other businesses and community groups around the area, starting with hosting a book club. Once the warmer weather arrives, the couple will open up the garage doors in the wine bar and serve patrons inside as well as outside at their newly built wine shed.
The open space plus the canopied area will provide ample room for what will likely be a lively inaugural summer for the new Moriches spot.
“We’re going to do events with live music,” Mileti said. “We want to get everybody from across Long Island to one place to hang out, vibe and have a good time.”
Hours and location
The Wine Barn and Farmers Market is located at 339 Montauk Hwy in Moriches. It’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. From Mother’s Day through the summer season, the Moriches hang out will be open until 7 p.m.
Photos
Photos: All photos taken by GLI reporter Nicholas Grasso
