Parras de la Fuente sits in the high desert of Coahuila, Mexico — a town where vines have twisted through chalite soil since the sixteenth century, making it the oldest wine-producing region in the Americas. It is from this ancient terroir that the Rivero González family drew their first grapes in the late 1990s, and it is that same bloodline of tradition, fermented through twenty-five years of family winemaking, that now courses through 205 acres of former Entenmann potato fields on the North Fork of Long Island. RGNY is not merely a winery that replaced another winery. It is a cultural graft — Mexican heritage fused onto New York maritime soil — and the result is one of the most ambitious and distinctive estates in Long Island Wine Country.
The property at 6025 Sound Avenue carries weight. Robert Entenmann, of the famed bakery dynasty, purchased this land in 1978, converting it first into a Thoroughbred horse farm that once bred up to two hundred mares, then into Martha Clara Vineyards — named for his mother — beginning in 1995 (Wine, Seriously, 2022). The Entenmann family planted the first vines in 1996 across what would become eighty-eight acres of vineyard land, introducing fourteen grape varieties including Chardonnay, Viognier, Gewürztraminer, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. Martha Clara became a North Fork institution, beloved as much for its Clydesdale horses, goats, and llamas as for its wines. When William Entenmann passed in 2011, the family eventually sold the property in April 2018 for $15 million to the Rivero González family (Wine, Seriously, 2022). Martha Clara Vineyards closed for exactly one week. When it reopened, it carried a new name: RGNY.
The Rivero González Legacy: From Coahuila to the North Fork
The story of RGNY cannot be told without beginning in Parras. José Antonio Rivero Larrea, a Mexican businessman, planted his family’s first vines there in 1998. By 2003, the first harvest was in. By 2004, the first wine was bottled. A decade later, the Rivero González brand had expanded to tasting houses in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Parras itself (Northforker, 2019). The family brought fifty hectares of Mexican vineyard experience — and a philosophy rooted in what they call Menos es Más — to their North Fork acquisition.
María Rivero González, who studied at Columbia University and fell in love with Long Island’s eastern reaches, took the helm as CEO. She was twenty-three when she first decided to transform her father’s hobby into a commercial enterprise (Northforker, 2020). That same youthful audacity drove the RGNY rebrand. The winery is female-led, with María overseeing operations across both the Mexican and New York properties. The founding winemaker, Lilia Pérez, trained in Bordeaux and brought French technique to North Fork fruit, producing the estate’s first 5,000 bottles on-premises — a significant shift from Martha Clara’s previous practice of processing at Premium Wine Group in Mattituck (Northforker, 2019). Pérez departed in 2022, succeeded by Jonathan G. Bomberg, a UC Davis-trained viticulturist with experience in Russian River and Napa (Wine Industry Advisor, 2022). The current winemaking program continues to push boundaries, with Leo Mora contributing to the estate’s evolving portfolio.
The Wine: Fourteen Varieties and a Spirit of Experimentation
RGNY’s vineyard produces fourteen grape varieties across eighty-eight planted acres within the larger 205-acre estate. White grapes include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Viognier, and — in a nod to the property’s history — Albariño. Reds span Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, and Syrah (Northeast Wine Company, n.d.). The maritime climate, moderated by ocean breezes from the Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay, keeps winter temperatures milder than most of New York State, with January averages between 30°F and 35°F.
The portfolio divides into two distinct lines. The RGNY label represents the estate’s more complex, labor-intensive expressions — wines with oak influence, structured tannins, and aging potential. The Scielo line offers fruit-forward, approachable bottles designed for everyday enjoyment, including the widely praised Scielo Sparkling Riesling, which María Rivero González has described as embodying everything the winery aspires to: unconventional, flavorful, and sustainable (TravelAwaits, 2024). The White Merlot has emerged as a signature oddity — refreshing and unexpected — while unfiltered expressions of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc showcase a winemaking philosophy that prioritizes authentic texture over polished uniformity.
In 2021, Lilia Pérez’s 2019 Sauvignon Blanc–Sémillon blend scored a 95 and earned a Gold Medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards, competing against 18,000 entries from fifty-six countries (Northforker, 2021). That Bordeaux-style white blend remains a testament to the estate’s potential and its willingness to experiment with traditional French cuvées reinterpreted through North Fork fruit.
Sustainability as Covenant
RGNY earned certification through the New York Sustainable Winegrowing Program in 2025, joining a growing cohort of producers committed to third-party-verified environmental stewardship (New York Wines, 2025). The certification is grounded in VineBalance, New York’s sustainability standard built on decades of viticultural research and updated annually with academic input. For the Rivero González family, sustainability is not a marketing badge but a core value inherited from their Mexican operations. Their official position is direct: they believe in growing without harming anything or anyone, committing to products with low ecological impact and economic contribution to every region they inhabit (RGNY, 2024).
Vineyard manager Jim Thompson, who joined Martha Clara in 2009 and continued under the RGNY flag, has narrowed herbicide application strips to less than one-third of total row width and pursued experimental plantings of cold-hardy, disease-resistant hybrid varieties — including Marquette, La Crescent, and Cornell’s No-Spray 301 — to test alternatives to fungicide-dependent vinifera cultivation in Long Island’s humid conditions (Wine, Seriously, 2022). RGNY also operates as one of four founding properties in the Long Island Sustainable Winegrowers certification program, reflecting a systematic approach to environmental responsibility that extends from soil management to bottling.
Experiences: Beyond the Tasting Flight
RGNY has reimagined what a North Fork winery visit can be. The property offers guided tastings paired with seasonal Mexican-inflected bites — guacamole, charcuterie, crab tostadas, cheese boards — alongside more immersive programming. The Create Your Own Blend experience invites guests to work with estate-grown varietals, mixing Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot under professional guidance. The at-home Scielo Blending Kit, developed during the pandemic lockdowns, extends that philosophy beyond the tasting room, shipping beakers, glasses, and curated video instruction from the winemaking team (James Lane Post, 2022).
Seasonal programming includes Vino y Fuego summer evenings beneath the pergola with fire pits and live music, the annual Harvest Series in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension (where visitors help harvest grapes for upcoming vintages), a Día de los Muertos celebration each November, and the beloved September Stomp Party featuring grape stomping and salsa dancing (RGNY Events, 2025). The underground El Sótano space hosts art-and-wine collage nights with VEME Studios, while Sunday brunch service pairs wines with culturally curated food from both Mexican and New York culinary traditions.
The Anakin Gardens — named after one of Martha Clara’s original goats — occupy the space where farm animals once roamed, now transformed into private garden dining areas available for catered events and expert-guided pairings. Private tastings are also offered in the remodeled upper floor of the main tasting room and inside the former Entenmann estate.
Weddings, Private Events, and the Estate’s Second Life
RGNY hosts over fifty weddings annually, accommodating up to 200 guests across versatile indoor and outdoor spaces (The Wine Chef, 2025). Ceremonies can take place among the vineyard rows at no additional charge. Wedding receptions operate from a preferred vendor catering list, with the estate providing tables, chairs, and a catering kitchen. Events must begin after 3:00 PM and conclude by midnight. The property’s combination of sweeping vineyard views, modernized rustic interiors, and the expansive great lawn has made it one of the North Fork’s most sought-after event destinations.
Beyond weddings, the estate’s broader ambitions include plans for a farm-to-table restaurant, luxury residential homes on the property, and the conversion of the original Entenmann estate into a bed and breakfast (Northforker, 2019). A three-bedroom, three-bathroom vacation rental is already operational on the grounds through StayMarquis, offering guests overnight access to the 205-acre estate with exclusive vineyard tour and tasting privileges.
Visiting RGNY: What You Need to Know
The tasting room at 6025 Sound Avenue is open seven days a week during peak season. Current hours reflect seasonal adjustments: Monday from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM, Thursday from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM, Friday from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM, Saturday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Google, 2026). Reservations are highly recommended, particularly on weekends, and can be made through Tock at exploretock.com/rgny-wine. Walk-ins are accepted for parties of ten or fewer, subject to availability. Parties exceeding ten require a prepaid experiential booking. Outside food and beverage are not permitted. Dogs are welcome at outdoor tables but not for indoor reservations.
The tasting room carries a casual dress code and accepts all major credit cards. Parking is free and ample. The property is wheelchair accessible and offers gluten-free and vegan options. RGNY holds a 4.2-star rating across nearly 400 Google reviews and a 4.7-star rating on OpenTable based on over 300 reviews.
Address: 6025 Sound Avenue, Riverhead, NY 11901
Phone: (631) 298-0075
Website: rgnywine.com
Reservations: exploretock.com/rgny-wine
Shop & Wine Club: shop.rgnywine.com
Events & Weddings: events@rgnywine.com
Social Media: @rgnywine
Google Rating: 4.2 stars (399 reviews)
OpenTable Rating: 4.7 stars (318 reviews)
The Rivero González family motto translates simply: Menos es Más. Less is more. It is a philosophy that runs counter to the maximalist instincts of contemporary hospitality — and yet, standing on the great lawn at RGNY with the late afternoon sun cutting sideways through fourteen varieties of vines planted in soil that once grew Long Island potatoes, you understand its precision. What matters here is not volume but intention. Not spectacle but substance. The family brought twenty-five years of Coahuila winemaking discipline across a border and an ocean, planted it in Entenmann earth, and produced something that belongs entirely to this particular stretch of Sound Avenue. RGNY is not trying to be Napa. It is not trying to be Bordeaux. It is trying to be exactly what it is — a Mexican-American estate winery on the North Fork of Long Island, making wine with low ecological impact and high cultural memory, one vintage at a time.
— Peter, The Heritage Diner
