Long Island wineries offering unique experiences

This summer, the choices in Long Island Wine Country go well beyond red, white and rosé. Daytrippers can try food pairings ranging from caviar to enchiladas, watch a classic movie at a "drink-in" theater, stroll an exhibition of works by an East End artist, or paint their own masterpiece on a wineglass.

These entertaining extras "take the wineries up a notch and really put them on the same level as a lot of the Napa wineries I visited," says Larry Saccone, 52, of Amityville, operations manager for a national electrical and communications construction company. Saccone, a devotee of Long Island Wine Country, says the added attractions "make it so you don’t have to go somewhere else" for food or fun after your Long Island wine tasting.

Here are five wineries offering more to see and savor while you swirl, sniff and sip.

Caviar service at Sparkling Pointe

39750 County Rd. 48, Southold

Sparkling Pointe complements its Méthode Champenoise wine with a tasty tinfull of luxury: caviar service with a vineyard view.

"It’s beautiful and a little decadent," Lauren Smith, hospitality manager, says of the service. "You are seated by a host, and you order with a wine educator from a portfolio of a dozen sparkling wines," Smith adds. "The caviar is served on ice, with North Fork potato chips, wafer water crackers and crème fraîche ... It’s our hope that this makes a more luxe product very approachable and inclusive."

The tins of famously salty fish eggs available include Olma caviar, from a sturgeon known as hackleback, and a variety of Pearl Street Caviar from Brooklyn, "a very high-end nutrient-rich" caviar product, the official caviar of the National Basketball Association, Smith says.

More info: 631-765-0200, sparklingpointe.com, $50-$90 per tin of caviar.

Drink-in theater at Harmony Vineyards

169 Harbor Rd., Head of the Harbor

Wine and cinema are a popular pair at Harmony Vineyards’ drink-in theater, held on Fridays from June through October. Sipping and dining at tables on the lawn, guests can see popular movies projected onto the tasting room’s white facade.

The movies include "a little bit of everything" and are often chosen by polling the winery’s Instagram and Facebook followers, says Nita Simoes, tasting room manager. Last summer, hits "Mama Mia" and "My Cousin Vinny" paired with such Harmony signatures as Chablis-style chardonnay, Simoes says.

"People come early to watch the sunset on the water" — the vineyard borders Stony Brook Harbor — "and then you enjoy a movie with a glass of wine outside," Simoes says.

During screenings, servers "go around quietly" so guests can order more food or wine. Says Simoes of drink-in theater: "It’s a different kind of activity for adults who want a night out."

More info: 631-291-9900, harmonyvineyards.com, free with wine purchase.

Brunch a la Mexicana at RG|NY

6025 Sound Ave., Riverhead

Mexican-owned, with a sister vineyard in rural Parás, Mexico, RG|NY offers “a really traditional" Mexican brunch under a pergola or in the pavilion main tasting room, says Courtney Fitt, hospitality director.

Created with different culinary partners each year — currently, it’s Casa Carmen Mexican restaurant in Manhattan — the menu usually features chilaquiles, enchiladas and house-made guacamole, Fitt says. A tropical salad with ingredients such as locally grown strawberries is generally available, and the refreshments range from agua fresca (fruit juice) to rosé sangria made with grapes harvested from the vineyard. "All of the wines we serve are made on-site because we’re an estate vineyard," Fitt says.

Desserts include paletas (Mexican ice pops) and sugar and cinnamon-coated churros, Fitt says. A musician is often on hand, she adds.

More info: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. June 29, July 6 and 20, Aug. 10 and 31; 631-886-4801, rgnywine.com, $65 per person includes three glasses of wine, $30 per child under 12 includes unlimited juice.

Art exhibitions and workshops at Chronicle Wines

2885 Peconic Lane, Peconic 

In July, a new artist-in-residence will be invited to exhibit original art and host events at Chronicle, which serves as a satellite gallery for the East End Arts Council in Riverhead, says Robin Epperson-McCarthy, of Riverhead, who co-owns the winery with Alie Shaper, of Peconic.

Most exhibitions feature photography or paintings by artists from Eastern Long Island, Epperson-McCarthy says. With two walls dedicated to the art gallery and the rest of the interior decoration designed to show off art, "we basically allow the artists to install and feature their art throughout our shop," Epperson-McCarthy says.

Currently, Floral Park teacher and artist-in-residence Kerri McKay is exhibiting about two-dozen still lifes and seascapes, Epperson-McCarthy says.  

If you want to take home a little art, it’s right there on the bottle; many wines feature labels created by the artists-in-residence, Epperson-McCarthy says.

More info: 631-488-0046, chroniclewines.co, exhibition admission is free, $25-$40 per workshop.

Arts and Crafts Workshops at Pindar Vineyards

37645 Main Rd. (Route 25), Peconic

Maureen Myles, 72, of East Northport, doesn’t drink alcohol, but she belongs to the Pindar wine club and takes frequent trips with friends and family to Pindar, one of the region’s oldest wineries.

"I’m the designated driver," Myles explains. She also likes to stroll the vineyard and take Pindar’s wineglass painting workshops.

"I’ve made tons of glasses for Christmas, Mother’s Day and Valentine's Day," Myles says. She donates the wine bottles she receives as wine club member, as well as the decorated glasses, to make baskets raffled off to benefit a nonprofit, Comunidad Latinx in Corona, Queens.

Pindar’s Paint and Sip classes offer "a really nice way to relax and do something creative while you’re drinking wine out east at the vineyard," says instructor Maggie Carine, of Jackson Heights, Queens-based Wine of a Kind online wineglass shop.

Carine guides workshoppers in decorating two wineglasses using acrylic enamel paints. "I try to do everything themed with the times of year," she says of summer efforts that have featured painted-on ladybugs and butterflies. "You don’t have to be an artist to take the class," Carine adds. "It’s to have fun."

Rose Faiella, the tasting room manager, says Pindar also offers workshops in making sea glass jewelry, such as charms used to identify wineglasses.

More info: 631-734-6200, pindar.net, glass painting $40, sea glass wine charms $50.