Wine pairing and people pairing: Larry Perrine and Jacqui Smith marry. And the wedding is reported in the wine column of the East Hampton Star.
Long Island: Perrine Marriage
On last Saturday night Larry Perrine and Jacqui Smith were married at the home of Stuart Goode on Mitchell’s Lane in Bridgehampton.
So why are you reading about it on the food pages? No, the editor of the Star did not slip up and put a marriage announcement in the wrong section of the newspaper. This was news in the local wine world as well as in the in the romance department. (Up till now, the word marriage has appeared in this column only to describe a particularly successful pairing of wine with food, but I can now use it in the more conventional sense to describe what is in this case the successful pairing of two people whose lives revolve around wine.)
Mr. Perrine is president, chairman of the board, and one of the owners of Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton, and Ms. Smith, who once owned the famed Grange Hall restaurant in Greenwich Village, works on the business end as well as in the tasting room of Channing. Over the years, Mr. Perrine has guided Channing Daughters to an eminent position as a small artesinal winery. They produce about 7,000 cases per year, in small batches, entirely by hand. More than most producers of comparable size, their wines are poured in some of New York City’s most notable restaurants. Mr. Perrine is considered an expert on the soil and climate of Long Island’s vineyards.
Over the years he has taught and consulted extensively, and his expertise as a viticulturist is demonstrated in the sense of terroir—the elusive, difficult to describe, but recognizable sense of place and season—that runs so strongly through the Channing Daughters portfolio. Mr. Perrine’s vision remains the cornerstone of winemaking at Channing, even as most of its wines are made under the supervision of Christopher Tracy, their principal winemaker.
In some interesting ways the wedding reflected the many dimensions of the wine trade on Long Island. After the ceremony, a mariachi band filed across the lawn and performed—a surprise gift from Latino vineyard workers. I am not really familiar with mariachi music and I found it fascinating. With seven stringed instruments, two trumpets, a singer and remarkable teamwork, it seemed to me more parallel to a chamber group than to a pop band.
A wedding toast was delivered by Steve Mudd, one of the first and still one the principal grape growers on the North Fork, and an important associate of the Channing group. Also among the guests was Roman Roth, the winemaker from Wolffer Estate, a friendly competitor from Sagaponack, a few miles east of Channing Daughters. Later in the evening, Mr. Roth, who has a trained voice, sang “Some Enchanted Evening” for the bride and groom.
For me, the evening managed to be both a celebration of friends and a recognition of how significant and enjoyable a part of our lives vineyards and winemaking—and the people involved in the wine business—have become on the East End.
