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A lot of heart, a lot of soul and a lot cash figure into the winemaking at Osprey's Dominion Vineyards. This year, the investments paid off.The Peconic winery, earlier this year, garnered a major accolade: New York State Winery of the Year, wining medals for each of the seven wines it entered in the statewide Governor's Cup competition. The contest drew more than 400 wines from the state's 218 wineries. Osprey's Dominion 2001 Cabernet Franc was voted not only the best of its type, but also the best red wine in the entire competition. We always endeavored to make great, new wines, said Bud Koehler, the retired contractor who owns the North Fork winery with boyhood friend Bill Tyree.Indeed, the winery produces some 33 different wines, not all of them from grapes. It's a great challenge, said Suprenant, the Cornell and University of California-Davis educated winemaker. We get to make almost any style of wine we can make. Suprenant's passion is high-end red wines, such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Reds, for me, are a whole lot more fun to make, he said. Whites, you've got to be methodical. There's not much blending and it's all one variety.Nevertheless, Suprenant, who came to Osprey's Dominion five years ago after a stint at the nearby Galluccio Estate Vineyards (formerly Gristina), gets enthusiastic about one his whites. Fume Blanc, an oaked Sauvignon Blanc that won a bronze medal this year. I'm probably one of the few [winemakers] who likes what oak does to Sauvignon Blanc - as long as its not the dominant flavor, he said.Suprenant aims for year-in and year-out consistency in his wines. Great wineries built their reputations over the years. Maintaining quality is really the biggest challenge.A native of Bronxville, N.Y., Suprenant attributes Osprey Dominion's success to the quality of the fruit. We've got some great grapes to work with, he said giving credits to vineyard manager Tom Stevenson, also a UC Davis graduate with experience working in the Long Island wine industry. The New Jersey native has worked for Osprey's since 1997. Before that, Stevenson worked for Gristina.This year, Supernant says he is extremely happy with the harvest - despite rains in early October that brought disaster to some of the region's grape growers. But the rains meant hand picking only the good fruit. The result, the 2005 harvest will make quality wines in smaller-than-usual quantities.Koehler along with Jack Gilles founded Osprey's Dominion in 1983. The original 25-acre vineyard was called Hermitage Vineyard. Gilles sold his stake to Tyree in 1993, around the time the winery sold its first bottle. They changed the business name to honor the large fish-eating hawks that flew over the vineyard and added to their vineyard holdings, which now total 90 acres. Osprey's Dominion produces up to 12,000 cases annually, most of it sold out of the winery's tasting room on Main Road in Peconic and to East End restaurants. Since winning the Winery of the Year designation, Osprey Dominion's sales have taken off. We've been very busy, said Tyree. And the double-gold winning Cabernet Franc is sold out. Not to worry, said Suprenant. The 2002 is now available and he says. It's even better than 2001.