11. The limited edition wine that you can only get in BK and The Hamptons
Here's what happens when a cartoonist and a wine maker get together.
Hi friends. I'm back from eating too much and doom scrolling in the Outer banks. The news continues to be extremely upsetting. Make sure to take breaks. If you live in NYC, vote, vote, vote!
We've got a special edition today. No party talk or news, because I wanted to use all of my precious character count to get deep with the couple behind my new favorite wine. The catch - you can only get it in Brooklyn or The Hamptons and it will 100% sell out by the end of the summer.
Today’s letter includes: the power of a power couple, how someone actually becomes a winemaker, why you’re wrong about Long Island wine, and a small breakdown of the NYC Mayoral race. Plus general fashion and business headlines in the “Other Stuff” section.
Meet Beachcomber Wines.
I love when power couples team up on a project. Ray and Charles Eames made some of the most iconic furniture together. Founders Tiya Gordan and Nathan King are building one of the most promising solutions to curbside EV charging. Artist couples like Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollack pushed each other's work to new levels.
That's one of the reasons I was so excited when Sarah Kempa, a New Yorker Cartoonist, told me that she was doing custom labels for a limited-run of exclusive wine made by her life partner Sam Wood and his colleague Andrew Kim - both winemakers at Macari Vineyards. It's called Beachcomber, it hails from the North Fork of Long Island, and, in addition to being the cutest wine you'll have at your house, it also tastes fantastic.
Tell me about Beachcomber, what inspired you to make it?
WOOD: Winemakers are always experimenting with fermentations during harvest. We found ourselves with enough fruit to make a few proper wines; enough for something a bit more than just a creative outlet. We were encouraged by our head winemaker and the family owned winery to bottle the wines and market them locally. Sarah said we should put a New Yorker type three panel cartoon on the label, and the little project is now off and running.
What did you make?
WOOD: We made three wines: a rosé, white skin contact, and sparkling [red].
The cartoon labels for the 3 different wines are so cute. How did you come up with the ideas for them?
KEMPA: The same way I come up with all my cartoons! I asked Sam and Andrew to tell me about the wines and then I drew a few different rough drafts to get their feedback on and see what resonated. I wanted them to be fun and something that maybe people would want to use for a vase after consumption.
I'm definitely using mine as a vase! Does making cartoons for wine labels differ from making cartoons for The New Yorker?
KEMPA: Not really! Maybe different format, though similar way of coming up with ideas and getting inputs for those ideas.
Sam, how did you decide winemaking was for you?
WOOD: I was a Brooklyn real estate broker professionally, but I detest the industry and always identified more with my fathers family background of blue collar creatives/builders, architects, and furniture makers. When I saw the raw work required to turn grapes into wine, I knew I’d be comfortable from the get go. I was pursuing my own “back to the land movement” during the pandemic, so processing sticky grapes, cleaning machinery, and digging out 3,000 gallon tanks filled with fruit would be as close as I could get to an agrarian lifestyle. Lucky for me, we have a world class wine region so close to Brooklyn — you can even take the Long Island Rail Road!
Why is it important to drink local wine if you can?
WOOD: There are several heavier topics surrounding the importance of consuming local wine, which consumers are certainly not conscious of. We can get pretty deep into this, but to start, we’re talking stuff like lowering the carbon footprint of urban market consumption habits, supporting local New York agricultural products and farmland preservation (the preservation of New York State working farms, not just land conservation).
As objectively as I can say this out loud, the North Fork of Long Island, which has some of the oldest continuously farmed land in the United States, is one of the most exciting new world wine regions emerging in the 21st century. Despite the winemaking creative energy in the region, the absolutely stunning farm and agricultural land located between several bodies of water, and its proximity to New York City, most urban wine consumers are infatuated with bullshit and greenwashed imported “natural” wine. Infatuated with a product imported from thousands of miles away that carries a staggering carbon footprint.
I loved touring Macari’s vineyard and getting to see just how close to the ocean you are. It’s really special. As you said, many people write off wine from Long Island and surrounding areas of NYC, why are they wrong?
Local wine has been completely ignored by millennial wine consumption trends, historically left out of the farm to table movement, and sneered by big city archaic, chi-chi sommelier posers. The North Fork is nearly on the same latitude line as Bordeaux, France for crying out loud. We have the perfect soil composition and extremely long growing season that allows for the proper ripening of some of the most famous wine varietals in the world. We’re talking big boys like Chardonnay, Sauvy B, Cab Franc and Merlot. Stellar Albariño’s are being made as well, even in the Hudson Valley (Fjord Vineyards 24’ Albariño is outrageous). We’re not making niche styles from grapes no one has ever heard of. We specialize in sparkling, rosé, white, skin contact orange and age-worthy barrel aged reds. As a winemaking apprentice, this is a charmed learning environment. We are very fortunate as New Yorkers to have such a bounty from the land and the sea, and as a surprise to most, we also have a world class wine region on Long Island.
Wine is already intimidating enough, which is even more of an incentive to just focus on what is produced locally, just like the tomato you’ll get at the farmers market, and the dairy, poultry, the fish and the oysters. Here’s a little industry secret… when you pair those local food items with local wine, your head will explode.
Mic drop! An easier question now (or perhaps not!) - which is your favorite of the 3 wines and why?
WOOD: The white skin contact was my baby of the 2024 harvest, and Sarah is always pleased with it. She has a discerning palate…
KEMPA: The white wine is good, though I’m a chardonnay person so it suits my palette well!
What’s it like working on a business venture with your life partner? Do you recommend it?
KEMPA: Well, it’s difficult to charge money :p. I have enjoyed it - I am mostly just doing the labels and fun things. Sam and Andrew spent a lot of time on the wine, so it was great to be able to contribute.
Where can people buy Beachcomber wine and how much is available?
WOOD: We will be sold out by the end of summer. You can get it in Brooklyn and Shelter Island.
Stockists:
Rodeo BK | PLG
Simple Syrup | Crown Heights
Franklin wine and spirits | Crown Heights (They deliver!)
Shelter Island Farmers Market on Summer Saturdays 9-12:30pm
PSA For NYC residents & other stuff.
Young people could turn the NYC mayoral race. Though polls consistently show Cuomo in the lead, pollsters often focus only on 'likely voters' which often exclude younger demographics who may have lower voter turnout rates compared to older groups. But Zohran Mamdani has excited the younger demographic with viral social media efforts and bold promises (that some fear he can't keep despite him putting forward a good plan). However, your choice doesn't have to be between an alleged sexual predator who doesn't even live here (Cuomo) and a young idealist - NYC has ranked choice voting. Here's how it works.
Another candidate made headlines this week for being arrested by ICE Agents trying to protect a migrant. He is the current comptroller with a good track record, years of experience (12 years in the City Council), and strong relationships.
He is Brad Lander - who I first became familiar with when he sailed past me on a float at the West Indian Day Parade. A man who stood out because he was so regular in a sea of color and costume. "What's he doing on a float?" I thought. But the crowd seemed to like him so much that it made me curious enough to look him up. Today, The New York Times' Ezra Klein published an in depth opinion piece on why Lander deserves our attention.
Voting tips.
Election Day is June 24th and early voting is happening now until June 22!
I love how comprehensive Soft Power Guides are if you want recommendations on every race (not just mayoral).
Use this website to see your sample ballot.
Other stuff: Substack is fundraising; Telfar is launching their own version of America’s Next Top Model; Meta tried and failed to poach OpenAI’s talent with $100M offers; Pop Mart's CEO is now China's 10th richest person thanks to Labubu; Byredo’s founder is leaving the company; Reese Witherspoon announced a Gen Z-focused offshoot to Hello Sunshine called Sunnie; Streaming officially overtook cable and broadcast TV in May; Texas Instruments (yes the calculator company) is committing $60 billion to expanding its U.S. chip-making capabilities.
Living for Julio Torres nuzzling Seth Rogan - Happy Pride! If you enjoyed, heart or re-stacks appreciated!
Thanks for reading! It would mean a lot if you gave this article a heart! <3