We started from the western-most estate, Roanoke Vineyards in Riverhead. A newcomer to the community, Roanoke advantageously has a top winemaker, Roman Roth of Wölffer Estate, on board. Here, we met Nena, a grade school teacher on summer break pouring wines at the tasting room. After a run through the two Chardonnays, one rosé and two Bordeaux blends, my thumbs-up went to the 2003 Roanoke Blend One ($30), made of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc. This one-hundred-percent French-oaked red was velvety, well-integrated and elegant. It made me think burgers but not for that particularly grueling summer day when we were all just craving a good white or sparkler with some oysters for lunch. A bit of chitchat gave away that Nena’s husband, Lenn Thompson, is a food and wine writer based in the area. He has his own website at Lenndevours.com. Although I never got to meet him in person, I am very excited to have met a Long Island wine writer friend via e-mail. Lenn is a great source for New York wines.