How many wineries are in Cutchogue?
Nine tasting rooms are open in Cutchogue: Bedell Cellars, Castello di Borghese, Lieb Cellars, McCall Wines, Pellegrini Vineyards, Pugliese Vineyards, Coffee Pot Cellars, Peconic Bay Vineyards and Sannino Vineyard. That is more than any other hamlet on the North Fork — Southold has six and Peconic five — and all nine sit inside about four miles.
Can you walk between the Cutchogue wineries?
No. The nine are spread across roughly four miles of Main Road and the roads a mile north of it, so this is a driving hamlet, but the hops are short: most are two to five minutes apart, and Coffee Pot Cellars and Peconic Bay Vineyards are close enough on Main Road to treat as one stop. Bring a designated driver rather than a plan to walk it off.
Which Cutchogue winery should a first-time visitor pick?
Bedell Cellars. It has the most generous walk-in policy of the nine — 15 people without a reservation — flights around $28 to $32, a covered patio over the vines, and wine serious enough to explain why the region matters. If you would rather taste with the winemaker in a small room, Coffee Pot Cellars on a Sunday is the opposite end of that scale.
Do you need a reservation for Cutchogue wineries?
For most of them, not for a small party. Bedell takes walk-ins up to 15, Pellegrini up to four, Borghese and Sannino up to six, Coffee Pot up to five, Peconic Bay up to eight, and Pugliese always. Lieb strongly advises booking on Tock in 90-minute slots, and McCall runs on Tock with walk-ins first-come. Above those numbers almost everyone wants a call or a prepaid slot.
What does a tasting cost in Cutchogue?
Pugliese is the cheapest at $20, then Borghese at about $24 to $30, Lieb at $26, $28 or $36, Bedell at roughly $28 to $32, and Sannino at about $30 for four wines. Pellegrini, McCall, Coffee Pot and Peconic Bay do not publish a walk-in figure — Coffee Pot last showed about $21 for all wines back in 2023 — so ask at the bar.
Which Cutchogue wineries let you bring your own food?
Three. Castello di Borghese has no kitchen and encourages a picnic on the lawn, Pugliese lets you eat your own food at the outdoor benches, and Coffee Pot Cellars has a picnic area behind the tasting room. None of them allows outside alcohol. Everywhere else sells cheese and charcuterie and bans outside food, and McCall adds seasonal Burger Nights on Thursday and Friday.
Can you take a group or a party bus to Cutchogue?
Carefully. Borghese, Lieb and McCall refuse buses and limos outright, and Lieb moves nine to 12 people into its 21+ Library room at $48 a head. The rooms that do take a crowd want it prepaid: Pugliese asks $20 a head plus gratuity for anything arriving by bus, limo or sprinter, Peconic Bay takes 8 to 24 on a Garden Reservation at about $55 a head, Sannino takes 7 to 15 at $35, and Pellegrini needs any hired vehicle arranged in advance.
Which Cutchogue wineries are open in winter, and which days are closed?
Watch three in particular. McCall closes for January and February, Coffee Pot is shut Tuesday through Thursday year-round, and Borghese runs only 12 to 4 on Sundays, the earliest close of the nine. Lieb keeps its patio and lawn to May through November, and Peconic Bay’s music season runs May to October. Bedell is open daily but loses the room to private events, so check its calendar first.
Which is the oldest winery in Cutchogue?
Castello di Borghese, on Middle Road. The vines were planted by Louisa and Alex Hargrave in 1973, which makes it the first vineyard on Long Island; the Borghese family took it over in 1999. Bedell Cellars followed in 1980, Pugliese the same year, and Peconic Bay was founded in 1979 but closed in 2013 and only reopened in May 2024.
