Lieb Cellars Ready To Toast East Hampton Tasting Room

A North Fork winery is ready to open a tasting room in East Hampton, its first on the South Fork.

Lieb Cellars is just waiting on a liquor license to arrive before it can open its doors at 26 Park Place, off of Reutershan's parking lot, according to Logan Kingston, the marketing director. "Hopefully, we'll be opening soon," she said.

The tasting room is not only a first location on the South Fork for Lieb, but also the only tasting room on this side of the East End for a North Fork-based winery.

Founded in 1992, Lieb opened its first tasting room in Mattituck in 2001. In October, the Cutchogue tasting room opened.

Known for its Pinot Blanc, Lieb Cellars will encourage tastes before purchase, sell bottles of its entire portfolio and also offer pairing recommendations at the East Hampton location.

It will not, however, offer "tasting flights" and live music, which are offered at the other two tasting rooms.

"We decided to start slowly and see how things go," Kingston said.

The location at 26 Park Place has been completely renovated -- the space last served as a branch of the Bridgehampton National Bank several years ago.

Lieb is by no means new to South Fork wine drinkers. East Hampton Grille and the Montauk Yacht Club serve wines from Lieb, and the Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton serves its private label Rosé.

Lieb Cellars is gaining recognition for its Sparkling Blanc, recently receiving a 91-point rating from WineEnthusiast, the highest rating of a sparkling wine on Long Island, Kingston said.

Since the new tasting room's opening is yet to be determined, the hours have not been set. Kingston said it will be opened year-round.