Greater Sayville coverage is funded in part by
The Shed, your scratch kitchen for brunch and dinner daily at 21 Main St. in West Sayville.
When New Yorkers think of Long Island vineyards, the North Fork typically comes to mind. But the vineyard nearest to New York City is the one bearing fruit at the north end of the historic John Ellis Roosevelt Meadowcroft estate in Sayville.
Loughlin Vineyard, with 3,000 vines on 15 acres, has a small tasting room made out of logs from the surrounding trees and offers something “more rural and down to earth with a rustic feeling,” said Beth Cutrone, one of three daughters who inherited the vineyard from their father, Bernard “Barney” Loughlin.
The Meadowcroft estate (John Roosevelt was a cousin of President Theodore Roosevelt) is located at 299 Middle Road, and is now owned by the Bayport Historical Society. Barney Loughlin and his family served as the caretakers of the estate and bought the property at the north end by the railroad tracks as farmland in the 1960s.
Barney Loughlin originally raised some farm animals on the land, then started growing grapes in the 1980s, said his granddaughter Brittany Cutrone, Beth’s daughter.
“My grandfather never drank wine, only whiskey, so we were all like, ‘Why are you starting a vineyard?’” Brittany Cutrone said.
“When you were in [World War II], you drank what they gave you. He drank scotch and liked farming,” added Beth Cutrone. “He was told he can’t grow grapes on the South Shore of Long Island, and he said, ‘I’m going to do that.’”
Since Barney Loughlin’s death in 2017, his legacy has been left to his daughters: Beth of Bayport; Mary Ellen Loughlin of Center Moriches, and Patricia Jones of Sayville.
The sisters have an equal say in making decisions about the vineyard.
Patricia said, laughing, that her father told his daughters that when he “goes away,” they would “each get a piece of the melon.”
“We’ve always all gotten along. We made a commitment that if we all don’t agree, then we couldn’t do it,” Beth Cutrone added.
Mary Ellen Loughlin, a retired banker, deals with the finances and the behind-the-scenes details of the vineyard. Both Patricia Jones, who still works as a teacher’s aid, and Beth Cutrone, a retired teacher, split their time on the weekends running the vineyard — with Jones working on Sundays and Beth Cutrone on Saturdays.
“I want people to feel welcome and comfortable as being part of our community, or family. No one is a stranger. Everyone is family and everyone has a community here,” Jones said.
The sisters say running a winery can be daunting at times — Barney Loughlin did much of the work himself before he died — but they have made improvements by working together with the assistance of a crew.
After harvesting, the family celebrates with a bottle of wine from the harvest after it’s been aged and bottled, before releasing it to the public.
“My grandfather did it for enjoyment. Everyone would get a free glass of wine. He loved talking to people and sharing his war stories,” Brittany Cutrone said. “Every Saturday and Sunday he would sit in his captains chair and he would look down the road.”
Longevity is important to the sister trio. The land has been a part of their family for decades, and they intend to keep it that way. The property’s rights were sold to the county so that it could never become commercial.
The vineyard currently faces the same obstacles many small businesses are facing due to coronavirus restrictions.
“With the virus, we can’t just open and have people come in. It’s a challenge. If we get too busy, we have to shut down,” added Mary Ellen Loughlin said.
COVID-19 has really determined how small businesses can function now, Jone said. “We’ve had to become innovative,” she added.
Beth Cutrone said during a normal day the vineyard could fit up to 25 people in its tasting room. Now, it is strictly outside with limited capacity. The vineyard suggests bringing a coat or a blanket to stay warm, and people are welcome to bring their own food.
The tasting room is only open for bottles and glasses, one guest at a time on Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4 p.m.
Brittany Cutrone, 26, of Bayport, who is a freelance packaging designer in the beauty industry and a Parsons College graduate, has commuted to Loughlin on the weekends from Manhattan for eight years to help her family.
“Like so many other local businesses, we started doing delivery,” she said. “We are very fortunate because we have all of this space. It’s not that different than any other season, other than wearing masks and socially distancing.”
Most of the wine labeling was done in house by Barney Loughlin’s sister, Anna.
Brittany Cutrone said she was inspired by her grandfather’s ability to problem solve and think outside the box, and said that it was his imaginative nature that inspired her to be a designer. She put her designing skills to practice by designing the label for the summertime rosè favorite, Pinky.
There’s a story behind every wine label at the vineyard. Just ask Brittany Cutrone, who notes that while growing up, they had a donkey named Pinky that was rescued from freedom land in the Bronx and has become the unofficial mascot of the vineyard.
Pinky, of course, later became the name of the vineyard’s popular blush wine, Pinky. Brittany Cutrone said Loughlin’s South Bay Breeze Blush got its name in reverence to the moments her grandpa sat on the front porch with the Roosevelt family, seated on rocking chairs and catching the breeze from the Great South Bay.
Brittany Cutrone has special memories of working with her late grandfather.
“If you didn’t like the wine, he’d joke and say have a shooter!” she said. “Some people wouldn’t get the wit of what he was saying. I would say, it’s fine, you can laugh, he’s joking.”
A pillar in the community
Even before Loughlin’s came about, Barney Loughlin was very involved in his community. Originally, he went to school for Lyno-type and had worked for the local town paper, the Suffolk County News. He later opened a printing store located on Railroad Avenue in Sayville. The Lyno-type shop is still located on the premises, in the tiny brown house near the winery.
Barney Loughlin was also a member of the Sayville fire department for 74 years, which inspired his newspaper called Smoky, which was geared towards volunteer firefighters.
Barney met Christine Benderoth who would later become his wife, after returning home from World War II, where he was a part of the 36th infantry division. His inspiration to grow grapes is rooted in his experience in France during the war. He got to experience tons of vineyards first hand. In the 1960’s he purchased the 15 acres from the Roosevelts and then used it as farmland until the 1980’s when he decided to grow grapes. That’s how the Loughlins came to be, said Brittany.
In 1983, the family decided to plant 500 grape seeds on the farmland to see what would happen, and they didn’t start producing their own wine until about 30 years ago. By then, Barney Loughlin was in his 60s. The vineyard has been a labor of love since.
“I’ve really come to appreciate a glass of wine after the physical labor that goes into producing it,” said Patricia Jones.
Jones noted that when her mother passed in 1995, her dad retired from the printing business; and that’s when he turned his grape-growing into a business.
“I originally said I want nothing to do with it, and I learned my lesson. Never say never, because I’m there every day now,” said Beth Cutrone.
Loughlin Vineyard wines
2018 Pinky Rose
By the glass: $7
By the bottle: $25
2018 Chardonnay
By the glass: $6
By the bottle: $20
2018 Merlot
By the glass: $10
By the bottle: $32
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon
By the glass: $10
By the bottle: $32
2018 South Bay Breeze Blush
By the glass: $6
By the bottle $20
Tastings of each variety are available for $10 a flight.
Beginning Nov. 1, Loughlin released a Merlot-based mulled wine that will be available for the winter. The variety has been boiled with cinnamon, spices, and apple cider, and is served up warm for the chilly season.
