A young couple determined to grow the variety of grapes and make the type of wine they like. That, in a nutshell, is how Louisa and Alex Hargrave came to be the pioneers of East End viticulture.

The path from concept to bottle travels through California, France, the Finger Lakes and finally Long Island. And it is the story that has defined more than 50 years of wine making on the North Fork.

It's a story only Louisa Hargrave can tell.

For centuries natural cork, harvested from cork oak trees, was the preferred, and often only, method of sealing a wine bottle. But as the global wine industry exploded in the last half of the 20th century, TCA also known as cork taint, increasingly became the nemesis of winemakers and wine lovers.

On this week's episode Kevin Andre, North American Sales Director of DIAM, explains how, through trial and error, the French company revolutionized wine closures. Kevin is joined by TJ Hauser, whose Hauser Packaging is a leading supplier for U.S. wineries and breweries.

Growing up in a farming family in Oregon, viticulture was all Leo Mora wanted to do. But when a pandemic-era life change toward Mexico went south, Leo and his wife took a left turn to New York.

Now production winemaker at Sparkling Pointe and consulting vineyard manager at Ev&Em, Leo talks about his early viticulture influences and how growing grapes on the West Coast and East Coast truly are a continent apart.

Byron Elmendorf, winemaker at Macari Vineyards, has spent his fair share of time in classrooms. He's got combined Bachelor's and Master's degrees in plant biology and environmental studies from Brown University and a Master's in viticulture from UC Davis. But it's what he learned in vineyards from New Zealand and France to California and Canada that taught him what to expect on Long Island.

In this episode, Elmendorf talks about hybrid grapes, new styles, classic blends and the many hats he wears as winemaker for several North Fork wine brands.

There are the winemakers, the vintners, the cellar masters and tasting managers. Then there are the talented few who tell their stories.

On this week's episode meet Shelter Island native and WSET Level 3 certified Amy Zavatto whose storied career includes being an editor, author and now the editor in chief of 3 publications and 2 digital websites which chronicle the good life on the East End.

Kareem Massoud has been following in his father's footsteps, literally, for decades. When the Massoud family bought an Aquebogue farm in 1983 Kareem followed his father Charles, step by step, planting the vineyard. He was 10.

But it was hit mother, Ursula, who came up with the name for the vineyard, Paumanok, which she'd recalled from a Walt Whitman poem.

Kareem, who is now winemaker for both Paumanok and Massoud-owned Palmer Vineyards, talks about the past, present and future of East End viticulture.

Zander Hargrave has winemaking in his blood.

His parents, Louisa and Alex Hargrave, planted the first vinifera grapes on the East End in 1973. The did it, Zander says, because they wanted to try and make the bold Bordeaux blends they enjoyed drinking.

More than 50 years later, Zander is the winemaker at Pellegrini Vineyards, itself a legacy North Fork winery which boasts three vineyards across the North Fork.

From chamomile between the vines to Sauvignon Blanc in the cellar, Zander brought the stories of growing up in the Founding Vineyard.

A world class destination demands a best-in-class organization to promote all it has to offer.

Beyond representing East End grape growers and winemakers, Long Island Wine Country partners with local, regional and state groups to promote the region across the country and around the world.

On today's episode Kristen Curcie, president of LIWC and general manager at Ev&Em Vineyards, talks up Long Island wines.

Sam McCullough grew up on the North Fork and, after graduating from Colorado State, returned to build a career in viticulture. He 1989 he took the reins as vineyard manager at The Lenz Winery in Peconic. He would go on to plant his own 16-acre vineyard in Jamesport beginning in 1993.

On this episode hear how Sam helped shape the wine industry on the East End, starting in the vineyard and ending in the bottle.

Set between three bodies of water, with rich, glacial soil and a maritime climate, Long Island Wine Country is an East End paradise. The region includes more than 80 vineyards in three distinct AVAs with more than 50 farm wineries and tasting rooms.

In our debut episode, award-winning winemakers Robin Epperson-McCarthy and Thomas Spotteck, talk about what makes this region so special.