A wakeup call of a pinot grigio. An integrated single field blend of three white grapes. A chardonnay that slow ferments for a year. Channing Daughters’ grand slam of new releases.

Channing New Releases, risk-taking and rewards

I try to get to the Channing Daughters winery on Scuttle Hole Road in Bridgehampton soon after they release any new vintages. The haste is more a matter of necessity than choice since, in keeping with their artisanal approach, they produce small quantities, and the new releases often sell out quickly. I don’t think timing your purchase is critical at many wineries, but for anyone who wants to taste or buy Channing Daughters wines, punctuality can be important. Be there or be thirsty. Or try the option of joining their wine club and getting first dibs on most of those new wines.

In what is now becoming a defining characteristic of Channing, the winemaker Christopher Tracy and one of the winery owners Larry Perrine, have taken a commonplace grape, pinot grigio, and produced a vibrant, cheerful, wake-up call of a wine. Channing’s 2004 pinot grigio, like the vitalized 2003, continues to nearly redefine what an American pinot grigio ought to be. It’s not a grape that I ordinarily find terribly appealing. A relative of the deep purple pinot noir grape and the greenish yellow pinot blanc, pinot grigio translates as “grey pinot,” and that sets the middling tone for too many of the resulting wines. I’ve tasted some good ones from the Fruili region of Italy, and a few even better ones from Alsace, where it is known as pinot gris. But mostly I’ve had stale-tasting, anemic versions poured at art openings and beach parties.

Jancis Robinson, in the Oxford Companion to Wine describes, or rather dismisses, that sort of pinot grigio as "a sea of reasonably undistinguished dry white with low aroma and noticeable acidity."

I think she’s correct, so it is thoroughly satisfying to see Channing break out of the pack with a well-constructed, robust version. The 2004 is quite aromatic with pear, lime and floral notes and even a suggestion of white pepper. The nose is anything but drab. The taste is crisp, buoyant and dry, with full body and nice mineral traces. They still had some when I visited the winery a few days ago, but it is going fast. A bottle costs $18.

Sylvanus, the Roman god of forest and fields, is the name of Channing’s field blend of muscat, pinot grigio and pinot bianco. Breaking with custom, Mr. Tracy integrates vines of these three varieties in the same field, and then harvests and ferments and ages them together, so they are amalgamated at every step from soil to bottle.

The motivation is to capture and express the location and season in which the wine was created: a true vin de terroir. I questioned last year whether this purity of method produces a wine different from a similar non-field blend. I really can't be sure, but I’m inclined to believe it does make a difference. Moreover, I like the concept, and in the 2004 vintage this technique has produced a wine with marvelous character and with even more complexity than the previous vintage. The method might be unconventional but the wine is everything you want for sipping in the shade on a summer afternoon. It sells for $24 at the winery.

The 2003 L’Enfant Sauvage chardonnay from Channing is also innovative. It’s an intriguing wine that is both thought-provoking and taste-provoking. Fermented only on ambient, indigenous yeast (rather than having yeast instilled in the juice) the fermentation process takes about a year (rather than a few weeks). This is only one of several unusual and discriminating steps in producing a remarkable chardonnay. The confidence that Mr. Tracy brings to this intricate process carries through to what ultimately counts, the wine in the bottle. This one is a beauty.

Rich, intense, balanced, it fills your mouth with flavor and texture. The powerful, full-bodied character tells you that something of consequence is in your glass. Savor the sensory experience of this wine slowly and thoughtfully. You’re in for a treat. The 2003 L’Enfant Sauvage chardonnay costs $35.