Duck Walk Vineyards

Duck Walk is owned by the Damianos family who also owns Pindar in Peconic Bay and Jason's Vineyards in Jamesport. They Damianos' are the largest producers of wine on Long Island. To be able to discuss Duck Walk we first need to discuss Pindar.

Pindar Vineyards was founded in 1979 in the town of Peconic, by Dr. Herodotus Damianos, a Stony Brook specialist in internal medicine. The winery was started with the purchase of 36 acres of what was a part of the Krupski farm. Although he was not the first winery on the island he was one of the earlier pioneers in the winemaking business on the East End. What he shared with the Hargraves, Mudds, and other 1970’s vintners was a basic lack of experience in the care and feeding of a farm winery. Like these other pioneers, he and his family had to largely figure this all out on their own. Currently Pindar is the largest winemaker on the island making 50,000 to 60,000 cases annually.

From its humble beginnings, the Damianos wine empire continued to prosper, grow, and figure out how to make wine. An opportunity arose in the early '90s to purchase another facility. The winery in question was in Water Mill that was started in the '80s as the Le Reve winery. The vineyard had fallen on hard times and declared bankruptcy. Its main creditor, Barclay's Bank, took steps to continue operations and changed the name to Southampton Winery while seeking a buyer. That buyer turned out to be Herodotus Damianos. The purchase was affected in 1994.

Renamed again as the Duck Walk Vineyards, the winery consisted of an impressive Norman style chateau and 56 acres of vineyards. Due to years of neglect and mismanagement the vineyards required significant overhaul. The new owners had to pull up the existent vines and replant. The vineyards were planted in chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Meunier, and of course Merlot among other varietals. It has since expanded to 130 acres and produces greater than 25,000 cases a year.

The Duck Walk brand seems to be the quality label in the Damianos stable of vineyards. The wines are generally more complex, richer, and aromatic than Pindar’s. Duck Walk's output is more solidly crafted than the Jason's label. The Merlots, in particular were exceptional ranking two in the top wines tasted for this article. Although the winery is in the Hamptons the grapes are from the North Fork.