Cutchogue vintner sees opportunity to grow new varieties on 13 acres of Southold's 'farm belt'

A 13-acre property in the heart of Cutchogue’s “farm belt” will help winemaker Anthony Sannino experiment with new grapes as he prepares for the next chapter of his family business.

This spring, he’ll plant rows of albariño and grüner veltliner, white grapes gaining traction on the North Fork, alongside in-demand varieties like sauvignon blanc, petit verdot and malbec.

He sees the acquisition as a way to leave a legacy for his four children, who plan on working with him in both the winemaking and business operations.

The now barren land "enables us to plant exactly the grape varieties that we’re looking for," Sannino, 56, of Cutchogue, said.

Sannino's field is part of nearly 152 acres the nonprofit Peconic Land Trust bought in a preservation deal with the Bacon Family Trust. It includes seven properties in the Oregon Road farm belt, a sprawling rural stretch between Mill Lane in Mattituck and Bridge Lane in Cutchogue with more than 1,000 acres of protected land. Two of the properties were resold to farmers, including Sannino, to help expand their businesses. The land trust plans to lease or sell the remaining five lots to other growers. 

The land trust sold a second 26-acre property to Sang Lee Farms, an organic vegetable farm in Peconic.

“It’s not just about preserving the resource, it's also about ensuring the future of agriculture,” land trust president John v.H. Halsey said in an interview. Since its creation in 1983, the land trust has preserved nearly 14,000 acres spanning working farms, woodland and wetlands throughout Long Island. Farmland on the East End is under “tremendous development pressure,” and part of the land trust’s mission is to help farms remain viable, Halsey said.

Halsey described the area as a “step into the past,” and noted the land was likely first farmed by Indigenous people, followed by generations of European immigrants.

Sannino, who chairs Southold's Agricultural Advisory Committee, said keeping the fertile land productive helps the farming community.

"What people don’t want to see happening are large, sprawling lawns as you see on the South Fork," he said.

The new vineyard brings his total acreage to about 40 and will boost production at the winery, which produces 3,000 cases each year at its facility on Route 48 in Cutchogue. 

Sannino plans to continue leasing vines farther east in Peconic, since it can take up to four years for new plantings to produce a viable harvest.

Peconic Land Trust plans to sell four more properties — 73 acres — to established farms through an application process later this year. Plots on the remaining 40-acre property will be leased to startups as part of their Farms for the Future program, which breaks down barriers like the high cost of land by offering affordable land leases and shared equipment.

"We want to get these parcels into the hands of farmers as soon as we can,” Halsey said, adding that smaller growers owning their own land helps “control their destiny” over time.

The land was owned by the Bacon Family Trust for about 30 years and development rights were previously sold to Southold Town.

Land trust officials declined to disclose sale prices, which were not yet available in county records.

Through a spokesperson, owner Louis Bacon said it’s been a “great privilege” to protect the land.

“We are proud to partner with the Peconic Land Trust in its continued protection so that it can serve future generations of family farms on the North Fork,” he said in a statement.

Bacon, a hedge fund billionaire, owns the 434-acre Robins Island and has helped protect more than 214,000 acres of land across the country through his Moore Charitable Foundation.