Shinn Estate Spirits: "Shine" and Micro-Distilling Reaches The North Fork

Okay...So I'm back! The Food Adventurer is back after a brief haitus, due to mourning the Patriots losing the Super Bowl and mid-winter doldrums. Of course, I haven't stopped adventuring and more than once in the last month I've found myself heading to one of my favorite spots on The North Fork of Long Island, Shinn Estate Vineyards.

On a mild but grey winter day, the fog rolled across Oregon Rd. as we turned north off of Sound Ave. Soon, grape vines emerged from the mist and we turned into the gravel driveway of Shinn's tasting room. It's not an easy task to grow wine out here on the North Fork. Threats like mildew and a variety of fungi, which can effect the grapes and vines, are always lurking around the corner. There's no question, cultivating grape vines is a labor of love on the North Fork. However, I wasn't visiting David Page and Barbara Shinn's vines this afternoon to taste their wine...I had something a little stronger in mind.

A side project is a serious understatement to describe David Page's newest addition of spirits to the tasting room at Shinn. Page's passion for distillate and his copper still stems from old family roots. "My grandfather used to distill corn and rye whiskey on his farm in Wisconsin and ever since I heard his stories I've been into it." Only with recent legislation allowing wineries to also distill on their property has Page been able to follow his dream.

After the obligatory stick throw to Panda, Shinn's border collie mascot, my glass was poured with Page's pinkish "Eau De Vie" or "Water of Life." Technically, eau de vie is colorless and distilled from fruit other than grapes, but Page has taken poetic license on the name. Double distilled from Seyval Blanc and Cabernet Franc wine, it is a dangerously delicious 80 proof spirit. Noticeably alcoholic, it's flavors gently transform  from a slight cherry to a smooth honey blossom finish.

As I sipped, David showed me around the relatively small copper still from which the spirit had come. A fairly simple contraption, distilling is a simple, but long process in which an alcohol-laden substance (in this case, wine) is boiled slowly to release the alcohol. Since ethyl alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water, the main goal of distillation is to separate alcohol to produce the concentrated distillate, or in my terms, the booze. Check out their web page for some cool distilling pics as well.

The second spirit Page has recently released is a good example of this process. The aptly named "Shinn Shine" is a 120 proof spirit created from Chardonnay lees, or the residual yeast found at the bottom of a wine barrel after fermentation and aging. The lees are boiled to release and concentrate the remaining alcohol Intense and very boozy, the Shine grows on you. Eventually, you can detect some nice apple, pear, and licorice notes. 


Both spirits offer an intriguing new tasting experience at the Shinn estate. While local distilling isn't completely new to Long Island (i.e. L.I.V), these types of spirits certainly are their own unique spin on micro-distillation. Unlike anything I've ever tried, they are worth the adventure. And while you're at it, their wines are excellent too...just make sure you have a designated driver or have booked a room at their farmhouse.