Long Island Merlot Alliance

The Long Island Merlot Alliance is not actually a winery but a cooperative of five East End estate vintners. The organization was formed to promote Merlot as the signature grape of Long Island. The members are particularly focused on the expression of terroir of Long Island as one of the few locations in the world to be able to provide superior wines composed primarily of the Merlot grape. The alliance is open to all Long Island vintners that meet their quality standards for the Merlot varietal and pass a board review. The process of forming the group started in 2004 and became official in summer of 2005. They are similar to the Finger Lakes association Tierce which is a cooperative venture of three vintners to produce a signature Riesling.

The alliance was originally started by Richard Olsen-Harbich, Raphael's winemaker and managing director, and by newcomer Trent Preszler, Bedell's vice president of operations. During the early formation the existence of the alliance caused some controversy. Many winemakers felt that focusing on a single varietal would pigeon hole the region at the expense of the diversity of both the red and white varietals then being successfully produced. There were concerns that the region could be putting itself into a corner by building its reputation on a single varietal. The alliance felt that it was following the model of Oregon's Pinot Noir, Napa's Cabernet Sauvignon, and New Zealand's Sauvignon Blanc where the signature varietal helped gain recognition for the region as a whole. In the end Bedell did not join the alliance. The owner, Michael Lynne, felt that although Merlot is indeed a specialty of the vineyard, he was committed to a broader range of wines. The Alliance is composed of Pellegrini, Raphael, Sherwood House, Shinn and Wolffer.

The alliance's first release was in 2006 of a vintage 2004. The second release was in 2008 of the 2005 vintage. The wines were produced from the submission of two barrels from each of the five vineyards. The wines were blind tasted and then blended to produce approximately 235 cases for each year. The wine was produced at the Premium Wine Group facility in Mattituck.