Floral Terranes: Reclaiming Long Island Through Small Batch Fermentations
Floral Terranes, a project by Erik Longibardi and Benford Lepley, is less of a winery than an art project aching to understand Long Island. Erik — who has never formally studied winemaking, who taught himself by reading and drinking — makes really, really good wines. When I visited Erik’s house in Roslyn last year, to help press the 2019 Merlot into barrels, the whole project came into focus: this ain’t “small production”; this is micro. The cellar is a single-car garage just off a busy road. Cars slow down to peek at the barrels inside — ten barrels and a few dozen glass demijohns, filled with snapshots of Long Island. If the garage door is closed, there’s no way to tell that this historic property is home to one of Long Island’s most exciting projects.
This year Erik and Benford released 350 cases of wine and cider, and we’re thrilled to offer you a slice of our favorites.. With any luck, we’ll be able to keep these in stock for the next few weeks, but if you’re interested, don’t wait.