Michael E. Affatato is a Franco-American gourmet aficionado and wine expert born and raised in Brooklyn and proud to have returned to Long Island’s venerable wine-soaked North Fork.

 

His decades-long career has taken him around the globe from Mexico to Scotland to Korea and beyond – all while tasting everything along the way. During his years in France, Michael owned and worked his family’s 17th-century 28-acre vineyard producing the Chateau La Gatte wine – rated in The Wine Spectator and Bon Appetit.

 

The vineyard included a 10 bedroom-inn where for over 10 years Michael cooked for clients charming his guests with the delights of the region from artisanal cheese to charcuterie to grilled duck breasts. Using the fruits, plants, and wine he cultivated, Chateau La Gatte offered wine salts, pates, and aromatic oils and vinegars.

 

In 2014, Michael returned to his native New York. And in June of 2015, Michael purchased The Village Cheese Shop of Mattituck, a business he had long admired and whose owner he had known for over 10 years.  He looks forward to bringing his decades of international retail success and his countless cultural experiences to the shop and the North Fork.