Have you visited the North Fork lately?  If not, springtime is the perfect season to go explore it.   Vineyards, nurseries, farmsteads, and new boutique hotels and restaurants are just a few of the attractions to enjoy.  Here’s my cheat sheet from my recent visit last weekend.

1. Shade Trees Nursery (1875 Main Rd, Jamesport).  A great family owned 130 acre nursery and grower of over 400 varieties of plants.  What started as an experiment with 500 trees has now expanded to over 25,000 trees a year as well as a full line of container shrubs that include hydrangea, roses, spirea, viburnum and more.  My favorite part of the visit was meeting the Shade Trees mascot, “BITS” the pig!

2. Kontokosta Winery (825 North Road (Route 48), Greenport) : The North Fork’s first and only waterfront tasting room and winery. Situated on sixty-two acres, the winery property boasts over a quarter-mile of Long Island Sound waterfront. Perched atop sweeping bluffs overlooking the region’s coastline, guests are invited to sit and enjoy our wines in the maritime climate from which they were created.

The Kontokosta family owns and manages the vineyard and farm operations on a day-to-day basis. Their daily involvement allows them to sustainably shepherd the vines to guarantee consistent fruit quality and ripeness from vintage to vintage.

3. The Soundview Inn and Halyard Restaurant (58775 Route 48, Greenport) The story begins in our lobby lounge, where windows frame the Sound and the tables are thick with travelers who appreciate a strong coffee along with their sunrise. For a longer linger, fold into a plush sofa surrounded by the works of North Fork artists. And at day’s end, wind down with cocktails in-hand, as you watch the sun set over the Sound.

Halyard Restaurant offers guests a variety of settings for dining and imbibing: a waterfront restaurant with incredible seafood and American classic cuisine, a casual daytime lounge, the coolest retro piano bar, and laid-back poolside service in summer.