Wine blending on Long Island: What to know

You, too, can be a winemaker for a day — or at least a couple of hours.

You won’t be stomping on grapes with your bare feet, but venues across Long Island offer the opportunity to blend your own wine according to your personal palate. These blending sessions are designed for wine enthusiasts looking to tap into their inner sommelier, those curious about the art of making wine or still others who are just looking for a fun and unique way to spend an afternoon.

If you don’t consider yourself a connoisseur, no need to worry. Generally during such sessions, an expert will lead a discussion of the different varietals (wines made from one grape variety) and the various methods of creating wine, according to Marisa Sannino of Sannino Vineyard in Cutchogue. Participants can taste select wines, making note of their flavors and aromas, and learn about the craft of wine blending — in which wines such as merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah and zinfandel are combined to create a final product with its own unique character and nuances.

Guests are then invited to create their own custom blend using a pre-determined set of varietals, usually reds, Sannino said. You’ll be given a marked beaker and a pad to take notes while you merge wines like an alchemist. Once you’re satisfied with your compilation, you get to take your newly corked bottle home.

Arielle Crothers, 38, of Patchogue, said she went to a wine-blending session at Sannino Vineyard recently. After a tour of the grounds, she said she created her own wine from merlot, petite verdot and cabernet sauvignon.

“It was like a science experiment,” she said. “We all made completely different wines.”

At RGNY in Riverhead, hospitality manager Courtney Fitt said, “We let them play. . . . We’re there to guide participants if they have questions. Once they’ve mastered their own custom bottle, they get to cork it with the corking machine and take it home.”

And for those who want to learn to make wine from scratch — grape to bottle — wineUdesign in Hicksville offers a comprehensive experience that includes grape crushing during the harvest, processing and bottling. The next grape-crushing season starts in September.