A Long Island winery lost its liquor license Thursday after it allegedly hosted a rowdy party where patrons reportedly got into fist fights, had sex in public and defecated on neighbors’ properties.
Vineyard 48 in Cutchogue was ordered by New York State Liquor Authority to suspend its alcohol sales and consumption, Newsday reported.
“Vineyard 48 has amassed a disturbing record of repeatedly serving patrons far beyond the point of extreme intoxication, straining police resources and wreaking havoc on their neighbors and the surrounding community,” Christopher R. Riano, the Liquor Authority’s authority counsel, wrote in a press release.
Peter Sullivan, Vineyard 48’s attorney, told Newsday the allegations were not true and the order “would be reversed quickly.”
The State Liquor Authority decided to order the suspension after a boozy party disturbed some of the neighbors who lived nearby, the New York Post reported.
Some 400 customers reportedly had defecated and urinated on homeowner’s premises due to long lines at the restrooms.
“Security prevents people from going onto adjacent properties unless they live there,” Sullivan said. Newsday reported Southold Town Police getting calls from neighbors about “two patrons engaging in sexual acts in view of their backyard bordering Vineyard 48.”
The Liquor Authority stated police went to the winery due to “an altercation involving 400 disorderly, heavily intoxicated patrons who were pushing, shoving and screaming at one another.”
Sullivan denied the allegations and said he had proof to debunk the accusations.
“For example, they allege that there were 400 drunk patrons [fighting] and we have videotape showing that it’s six people — a son and his mom and a drunk girl and two girlfriends yelling at each other,” Sullivan told the New York Post.
Authorities said the wild party was not the only incident where patrons at the winery lost control.
“The disturbing incidents of September 30 are only the most recent in a long line of resident complaints and police encounters at Vineyard 48,” the press release stated.
The vineyard has gotten in legal trouble previously, Newsday reported. In 2016, Southold Police reported alcohol overdoses and physical altercations on the vineyard’s property.
Next week, the vineyard will have a hearing on the matter.
