5:28 AM Friday, March 11th, 2011
Dear Friends of Shinn,

It is a dark, gray, wet, sloppy, rainy March morning up here on Oregon Rd, better known as mud season in these parts. The rain should subside sometime mid-afternoon and the sun is expected to be back for the entire weekend. With the temperature expected to climb into the mid to upper fifties we are looking forward to a couple of spring like days, perfect for cruising out to the North Fork to pick up a few bottles of our newly released 2010 Rose of Merlot and Cabernet Franc or our also newly released 2010 “First Fruit” Sauvignon Blanc. With the release of these two wines we get the first look at how perfect the 2010 growing season was – and is now preserved in the bottle. Both wines show off ripeness rarely experienced, while highlighting the natural acidity, salinity and minerality that Long Island wines have come to be known for. Get some and celebrate 2010!

Between bottling the 2010 white wines and dodging the weather our vineyard crew has been tying down the last of our vines to the fruiting wire, setting up the vineyard for the upcoming growing season. Barbara has been ordering seeds and plants that will allow us to continue our edible hedgerow project, and Anthony has put the order together for our new copper Alembic Pot Still which should arrive from Portugal sometime in the next six to eight weeks. If all goes well we should be producing some artisan brandy during the 2011 harvest season.

On Saturday March 19th between 2-5 P.M. we will be hosting our first “Afternoon of Jazz” here at the Shinn Estate Farmhouse with the Evan Sherman Trio. We will serve wine and cheese. $20. Call 631-804-0367 to reserve. Evan Sherman is currently a student at Millburn High School in New Jersey. He began playing the drums at age 5, inspired by Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones). At 11, Evan toured 10 European cities with the Sussex County Youth Orchestra. He has played at many clubs in the New York Metro area including Smalls, Fat Cat, Jules, Puppet’s, Trumpets, Shanghai Jazz, Cecil’s and other venues. For 4 years, Evan performed at the Jazz Standard every Sunday with the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra. He continues to lead a trio at Samurai Sushi in New Jersey every Saturday for over 2 years. Evan has developed by attending programs such as New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Jazz for Teens program and Jazz in July at UMass Amherst. In 2009, Evan attended the Vail Jazz Workshop where he studied with one of his idols, Lewis Nash. In January 2010, he performed at various events for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California as part of the Grammy Jazz Ensemble. Growing up in the New York area has made it possible to play with many top jazz musicians including: Kenny Burrell, Abraham Burton, Roy Hargrove, Hubert Laws, John Lee, James Moody, Tim Ries, Dave Stryker, Julius Tolentino, Mark Whitfield, Steve Wilson and many others. Evan has studied with many esteemed jazz artists in the New York area and is currently studying with drummers, Neal Smith, Willie Jones III, and others.