PEDAL POWER
Biking Local Wine Country
By Jeff & Stephanie Sylva
What’s the best way to experience some of the metropolitan area’s beautiful vineyards and wineries—and get a little exercise for good measure? Well, Pour & Pedal may be a good solution. With five locations on Long Island and in New Jersey, here’s a great way to explore local wine country in a unique and fun way.
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
Pour & Pedal founders Jason and Jen Cohen were so impressed with their wedding venue, Rafael Winery on Long Island’s North Fork, that they were excited to introduce more of their friends to some of the North Fork’s great wineries. When they encountered busy wineries packed with crowds, they became determined to find a better way to get people into these busy wineries with some exclusive access.
And then it hit them. Organize a group of wineries that would be willing to provide private tasting events for their group. Then they added the perfect way to get their group to the wineries—on bicycles! “Now in our eighth year, we feel we have developed great relationships with our partner wineries,” says Jason. “We feel we have become ambassadors for local wine regions.”
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Pour & Pedal’s all-inclusive tours provide top-of-the-line hybrid bicycles equipped with baskets. Helmets, water bottles, snacks, a tour map, and safety instructions are also provided. Want to take home some of your favorite wines that you tasted? You will find the staff very accommodating to transport your purchases in their support vehicle.
Each tour includes two wineries visits to the tank room, barrel cellar along with a perspective into the winemaking process. This is then followed by a wine tasting. The tours average approximately 10-plus miles and generally follow a predominately flat terrain.
Peddling to the next winery is rewarded with another wine tasting and a picnic lunch. And depending on the location, you may have a chance to ride through the vineyards—available only to Pour & Pedal guests.
LONG ISLAND
Long Island has two Pour & Pedal locations—the original one on the North Fork and one in the Hamptons. The wineries visited on the North Fork tour vary each week (they have a long list of winery partners in this region). We visited Lenz Winery and Pellegrini Vineyards. Especially memorable was the bike ride through the vineyard after enjoying a delicious picnic lunch. The Hamptons tour visits two of the South Fork’s three wineries—Wolffer Estates, Channing Daughters Winery, or Duck Walk Vineyards.
NEW JERSEY
After a successful first year with the North Fork operation, Jason and Jen wanted to expand. They partnered with their friends Lou and Christina De Martino who, given their knowledge of the many wineries in New Jersey, realized the potential of the Garden State’s viti-cultural areas.
We had so enjoyed our tour experience with Pour and Pedal’s flagship tour on Long Island’s North Fork that we were eager to try one of their tours in New Jersey. Located in the heart of Central Jersey, The New Egypt Tour offers visits to Cream Ridge Winery and the beautiful Laurita Winery which will have you thinking Napa Valley in no time. Most of the ride was on a gravel bike path where you could ride side-by-side and enjoy the beautiful countryside.
You may also want to try the The Ringoes Tour, which includes visits to the 90-acre farm housing the Unionville Vineyards through picturesque rolling hills that take you to Old York Cellars for another tasting and the catered lunch complete with a full glass of your favorite chosen wine. The Cape May Tour offers an approximate 10-mile ride through this historic beach area with stops at Hawk Haven Winery and Cape May Winery.
For more information on Pour and Peddle, visit pourandpeddle.com.
