Bernie Madoff Scandal Stretches to Long Island Wine Country

Wed April 1 2009 2:44:00 ET

As investigators continue to untangle the ugly $50 billion scam that Bernard Madoff perpetrated for years on unsuspecting clients and colleagues, many terms of disendearment have been applied to the now infamous financier. Repulsive. Disgraceful. Despicable. Evil. #@*%&$!!!

But on Long Island’s North Fork, not far from where Madoff [pronounced made-off, as in “made off with the money”] sits in a prison holding cell, awaiting sentencing for his guilty plea, the 70-year-old. Indeed, in this tightly knit community that represents the epicenter of the region’s budding wine industry, Bernard Madoff is better known as “the gentleman vintner.” And while the bulk of America is calling for the silver-haired, silver-tongued financier’s head, some Long Islanders care calling for...a statue.

“Without Mr. Madoff, we’d still be growing taters,” said one Patchogue resident who requested anonymity because he felt it would make him sound more important. “We called him Weekend Bernie, ’cause for darn near 13 years he shlepped out here every weekend from May through October and went vineyard to vineyard, offering advice. Kind of an odd fella… liked to carry a shovel, and usually worked at night, digging up soil samples and whatnot. And wouldya believe he never asked for one penny from any of us! We oughta erect a big statue of Bernie, and put it somewhere on the L.I.E. so people stuck in traffic can admire it.”

Despite local sentiment—or perhaps because of it—at least one authority is paying attention to the fallen Wall Street icon’s apparent viticultural interests. Emile Paynow, an examiner with the Securities and Exchange Commission, thinks Madoff’s ongoing visits to the North Fork hold the answer to the question where did all that money go?

Paynow notes that Madoff’s egregious Ponzi scheme began in earnest 13 years ago. In addition, he notes, the aggregated average of Long Island wine ratings in national wine magazines began a statistical uptick beginning with the 1996 vintage, gaining approximately .07 points on the 100-point scale with each successive year.

In turn, Paynow is convinced that the true depth of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme may be buried, literally, in the vineyards of the North Fork. But proving his theory may prove difficult, which is precisely why he has hired Long Island’s greatest wine authority, Lenn Thompson, to assist on the case.

Though Thompson’s only previous claim to wine fame is the occasional citing of his lenndevours.com blog reviews in winery press materials, his palate sensitivity is considered so keen that he is sometimes called “the wine whisperer” out on the Island. According to Paynow, Thompson’s intensive vertical tastings have led him to laud a “distinct richness” to some North Fork Chardonnays, not to mention “green hints” in some Sauvignon Blancs as well as a number of Merlots that display an “inky texture” that gives way to an “elegant, if slightly metallic, finish.”

Can Thompson help trace Bernard Madoff’s billions directly to the North Fork’s terroir? If he does, be ready for the backlash when critics line up to say, “Big deal, they sunk 50 billion into Long Island vineyards and the wines still can’t crack 90 points in Wine Spectator.”

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