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Richard Olsen-Harbich has worked in the Long Island wine industry since 1981. Over the past 40 years, he has been a leader in the region, implementing pioneering techniques for Long Island vineyards. Currently winemaker at Bedell Cellars, he is the author of “Sun, Sea, Soil, Wine: Winemaking on the North Fork of Long Island.”
We spoke to Olsen-Harbich to learn more.
Why is the North Fork the perfect place for winemaking?
In his debut book, “Sun, Sea, Soil, Wine,” winemaker Richard Olsen-Harbich, of Bedell Cellars, sets out to answer this question, exploring the vast geological and ecological qualities and deep-rooted agricultural history that has led the North Fork to produce high-quality, award-winning wines.
Long Island wine country is situated on the North and South Forks of Long Island—two scraggy tines of land that extend into the Atlantic Ocean. With its maritime climate and northerly latitude, the region’s vintners have long embraced comparisons to Bordeaux and other Old World wine regions. Yet, nearly 40 years since its first commercial vinifera vineyard was planted, a new era is emerging in an area once mainly occupied by potato farms and fishing villages.
“We bottled 1,100 cases of wine yesterday,” Richard Olsen-Harbich remarked as the two of us paused before the towering evidence of his productive day. It was just after nine in the morning in late May, and Mr. Olsen-Harbich, winemaker at Bedell Cellars, in Cutchogue, N.Y., had been at his post over an hour. It was too bad I hadn’t been at the winery yesterday, he said. Bottling day is always hectic.
At Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue, winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich led the charge to plant Auxerrois and Verdejo, both lesser-known white grapes that were tested at CCE Suffolk. After success during a trial, vines went into the ground at Bedell in 2018 and the first vintages of each were released in 2020. So far, Olsen Harbich is pleased with the results.
‘Surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay, the North Fork is a “Goldilocks region with a cool, maritime climate,' explained Richard Olsen-Harbich, winemaker at Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue.
Based on what is inside the bottle or your glass, the state of Long Island wine is strong. Very strong. Long Island wine has never been better. Even wineries that historically cared about the quantity of tasting visitors more than the quality of what was being poured are making at least one wine worth drinking. That wasn’t true 10 years ago.
This is probably my 41st vintage of making wine on the East End,” says Richard Olsen-Harbich, who’s been the winemaker at Bedell Cellars (bedellcellars.com) for the last 12 years. He’s been making wine on the North Fork since before the area was known for its wine, and has played a major role in making it an established wine region.