Moviemaker Michael Lynn makes a move into winemaking with a major investment in winemaking equipment, a decision to bring in young creative thinking, and the release of two new blends.

Long Island: Bedell Maps the Future

The 2005 harvest is not the only thing fermenting at Bedell Cellars right now. Significant transformations and innovations over the past year are changing both the internal operations and the public face of this important Long Island winery.

Michael Lynn, an East Hampton resident, is the owner or Bedell Cellars. He is also chairman and chief operating officer of New Line Cinema, and an important collector of contemporary art. Mr. Lynn is accustomed to success, and he clearly has something ambitious in mind for Bedell.

It is not just about image and marketing. They are part of it, but a whole blueprint for the future is unfolding. Most importantly, the decisions and the investments Mr. Lynn has been making are setting the stage for some exceptional winemaking. To begin, the winemaking facilities have been expanded by about 10,000 square feet and outfitted with custom-made equipment that is intriguing in concept, design and engineering. It’s actually fascinating stuff, but I’ll leave it there. The description would be too technical for this column. I naturally thought that the expansion signaled an increase in production, but it turns out that the driving principle is excellence. The work was done to enhance the quality of the wines, not the number of bottles. In fact, quantities may be somewhat smaller than they were in the past.

When I spoke to Mr. Lynn about this, it became clear this was his vision from the time he bought the winery from Kip Bedell, who remains very much in the picture as founding winemaker. Bedell Cellars was already making notable wines, and Mr. Lynn felt that with additional investments in money and personnel he could move into the very top level of winemaking. That is a question that will be answered definitively only over the next few years, but the results so far are encouraging, at least based on my extensive sampling of wines recently released as well as barrel tastings of wines on the way to market.

The chief operating officer and principal force at Bedell Cellars is Trent Preszler, who was brought in by Mr. Lynn for the challenging job of making it all happen. Mr. Preszler in turn searched for and found a rising young star in the wine world, John Irving Levenberg, who now has the title of winemaker at Bedell Cellars in what appears to be a smooth and unrushed generational change. Both Mr. Levenberg and Mr. Preszler give the winery a decidedly youthful face.

Mr. Levenberg, educated in California, trained in France and in New Zealand and prior to joining Bedell was the associate winemaker at Paul Hobbs, the award winning and highly respected Napa Valley producer. Pascal Marty, who served as director of winemaking for Baron Phillippe de Rothschild, rounds out the team as consulting oenologist for Bedell.

Some of these various strands came together last summer with one of Mr. Levenberg’s first releases. Taste 2005 is an unusual white wine blend of viognier, chardonnay, and gewürztraminer, and it is unusually delicious. The viognier lends it a delicate floral aspect, while the other grapes add body, fruit and flavor. It is a sophisticated blend, beautifully balanced, mannerly and polished, reflecting a mature, aesthetic approach to winemaking.

The Taste label is a striking original print by Barbara Kruger, known for amalgamating words and images. Bedell’s second in a series of artist’s labels, it is a fitting expression of Mr. Lynn’s passion for art. The wine sells for $25 at the winery. Taste 2004 red wine is a merlot dominant blend produced by Kip Bedell and demonstrates his time honed skill with this grape. It also sells for $25.

It’s not just the grapes that are benefiting from the extensive renovations. A large covered pavilion, intended for visitor tasting as well as weddings and events, has been added. With ravishing views out over the fields it is an ideal spot to relax with a glass of one of Bedell Cellars increasingly well-formed and well-bred wines. Look around, and the future of this interesting winery is plainly in sight.