CT Wine Trail

10/6-7 Annual Harvest Fest @ Jonathon Edwards

2007-04-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Annual Harvest Fest
October 6th and 7th
12 to 6pm
Our biggest party of the year and the best way to celebrate the fall grape harvest in New England! There are gourmet food vendors, local artists and craft vendors, grape stomping contests and more! Live music to include Village Jammers and Sugar Daddy! Free pumpkin painting and hayrides for the kids! Tickets are good for both days.
Tickets $15/adult in advance; $18 at the door and includes a souvenir glass
Under 21 free admission with parent

July & August Summer Nights Music Series @ Jonathon Edwards

2007-04-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

Summer Nights Music Series @ Jonathon Edwards
Every Thursday evening in July and now in AUGUST!!
7 to 9:30 pm rain or shine (event will be tented in case of inclement weather)
A customer favorite, these concerts keep growing every year! Imagine romantic evenings, sitting under the stars, listening to great music in an elegant vineyard setting. Bring a picnic and some blankets, pick up your favorite glass or bottle of Jonathan Edwards wines and enjoy those long summer nights while they last.
Tickets $12/adult for admission and includes a signature glass.
Discounted season tickets available. Call the winery for more information

July 5th – Hoolios (Original Cajun-Flavored Roots Rock)
July 12th – The Ian Kelly Jazz Trio
July 19th – 2 Cat Zoo (Acoustic Duo)
July 26th – Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters (Bluegrass & western swing)
August 2nd – Love Handles (Acoustic Jams)
August 9th – Dan Stevens (Blues & American roots music)
August 16th – Village Jammers (Funky Bluegrass)
August 23rd – The Ian Kelly Jazz Trio
August 30th – Hoolios (Original Cajun-Flavored Roots Rock)

6/2 Spring Wine Festival @ Jonathon Edwards, North Stonington

2007-04-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

Annual Spring Wine Festival
Saturday, June 2nd 12 to 6pm
Tickets $15/adult in advance or $18 at the door
Under 21 Free admission with parent
Don’t miss this one day only annual event! Wine tastings, local artists, food vendors and more! Acoustic & Vocal Duo Time Between Us will be playing from 12 to 3pm continuing with Blues & Swing favorite Eight to the Bar playing until 6pm. Call the winery for more information

10/28 - Gouviea & Chamard Wineries

2006-11-01T06:07:00.000-08:00

Gouviea Winery in Wallingford, CT

Chamard Winery in Old Lyme, CT

Sharpe Hill, Taylor Brooke - The quiet corner of CT

2006-11-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

9/10 - McLaughlin, DiGrazia***, White Silo

2006-09-13T05:09:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, Jaime and I got really Type-A and determined to do three vineyards in one day.

McLaughlin Winery in Sandy Hook, CT
An easy commute, it's a straight shot down I-84 to exit 10. That was the easy part. For some reason, my directional dyslexia came into play and I got amazingly lost and therefore was amazingly late.

The one caution I have for you, my dear readers, is the winery's driveway of death. It's a long, gravelly ordeal with potholes and built to accomodate only one car. You have to ask yourself why? Add in that this is the entrance AND exit to the place. Throw in the multiple blind curves, some of which you crawl through at 3 mph because you might sustain a head-on collision with someone coming the other direction. Guess what: they won't see you, either.

When I finally got to the tasting room, the layout of the place reminded me of a movie scene of an old New England Village. They had a huge mown lawn that resembles an old town green, stone walls, and a quaint and rustic tasting room.

They had a tent set up outside with live musician warming up. We did a tasting of the four wines (two were unavailable, missed out on their popular Merlot):

Farmer's Daughter - $16.00
A semi-dry Vidal Blanc.

Vista Reposa 2000 - $14.00
A definate taste of Hazelnut in this semi-dry red. A bit on the thin side.

Vista Reposa 2001 - $15.00
The more robust and complex sibling to it's anemic elder. My pick in the lineup.

Blue Coyote - $14.00
A semi-sweet white make from Aurora grapes. A demure little wine, it should have been second in the line up for this wine tasting. It was a bit milque-toast for me after the bigness of the Vista Reposa 2001. This wine suffered due to my palatte fatique after two reds.

The only one of note was the Vista Reposa 2001. I almost bought a bottle, but Jaime was lessed than impressed. The wines in general would be fine, but not outstanding. As we were leaving, people were arriving with picnic baskets and blankets. Looked like if we didn't have any other plans, it might have been a fun place to come out for the day.

DiGrazia Winery in Brookfield, CT ***
Our next stop was DiGrazia Winery in Brookfield, CT. This one was easy to get to, exit 9 off of I-84, Route 25 to Route 133 to Tower Road. Then turn into their short paved driveway. That I can recall the way there and back is an attestment to how easy they are to find.

At DiGrazia, you have 16 (yes 16!) wines available for tasting. They limit you to six per person. That is why I advise you to go there with one if not two other friends. Luckily, Jaime and I going together allowed us to taste twelve of their wines.

We chose the wines we would not be tasting and away we went:

Winner's Cup - $15.99
A Vidal Blanc in American Oak. I found it too acidic.

Wind Ridge - $15.99
A semi-dry Seyval blanc. A beautiful wine from nose to finish. It has crisp apple overtones. Well done.

Meadowbrook - $15.99
A medium-dry Vidal Blanc. I've become a great lover of Vidal Blanc. Full-bodied, big and excellent from nose to finish. A bit on the sweet side, this bottle came home with me and was appreciated that same night for a Thai dinner at my parents' house.

Honey Blush $15.99
I opted out of this because I had bought this bottle before. I have a huge sensitivity to sulfites, and this wine, fermented with honey, has no added sulfites. I enjoyed this wine when I had it, but most of my friends found it too sweet. This is a wine my mother would love, though.

Anastasia's Blush - $15.99
You definately tasted the grape flavor in this wine. Sweet, simplistic. I don't have anything bad to say about it.

William's Sonnet - $15.99
A white grape with raspberry thrown in for taste and color. I really liked this wine, but I have to argue that the finish was more blackberry than raspberry.

Fieldstone Reserve - $15.99
A dry, medium-bodied table wine. I definately tasted a bit of chocolate and a bit of peppery finish. It gives a nice little kick on the end. It's playful and hardy enough to stand up to steak or Italian dishes.

Autumn Spice - $15.99
This is what fall in New England is all about. This is the bottle to bring to Thanksgiving dinner, or for a fall picnic with friends. White grapes fermented with sugar pumpkins. Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Absolutely lovely, I'm sure this would be very good warmed up for an after dinner apperatif.

Harvest Spice - $15.99
I thought Autumn Spice was good, but this one was a purchase for both Jaime and me. Apple pie in a bottle. It's absolutely lovely. I cannot wait to open this bottle.

Yankee Frost - $24.99
A sweet Vidal Blanc. You need not say more for me, but really, it's a desert wine. Grapefruitty, clear and sweet. Some would think it's a bit too bitter on the grapefruit side, but I absolutely loved the fact that it was sweet and sour. Lovely.

The Birches - $24.99
Deep golden brandy, flavored with pears and walnuts. I definately tasted the nutty undertone. It was good, just not my preference. I envision Yale professors with Cuban cigars sipping this while reading their NY Times.

White Magnolia-Light Port - $24.99
This was so big, so complex, so .... well, I ordered a glass of this to sip in the garden. The thing I soon learned is port should be sipped in smaller quantities, it is heavy, and it sits in your empty stomach. Now I know why port is served after a big meal. It is a digestif, something to help coat the stomach. High alcohol content, but I absolutely loved it. Such an excellent light port.

Winterberry - $18.99
Very fruity, very complex. You could sip the entire bottle over the course of a leisurely afternoon and still be picking out different fruit flavors. Another winner.

Wild Blue Too - $24.99
A blend of blueberries and apples. We opted out of this one. But it sounds really good. I'd go back to DiGrazia again to taste the wines I missed out on.

Blacksmith Port - $24.99
This port makes out with your tongue. I wrote this down and Jaime laughed at me, but it's true. This Port is like one of those slow, deep, sensuous kisses that knock your socks off. You know exactly what I mean, and if you don't, well, you've been missing out. Blackberry finish. I think I must love ports after my experience at DiGrazia.

After purchasing our wine, they poured us two glasses of our choice and we then sat outside in their garden. They have a great space. One area has a great gurgling fountain. I did introduce myself to Mr. DiGrazia, a spry, cute-as-a-button older gentleman. I imparted that I was impressed by all his wines. He smiles placidly, and shook my hand. It's actually Dr. DiGrazia. He's a practicing gynecologist. He handed his cards to both me and Jaime. I didn't get a chance to meet his wife, she was busy bustling around, but she seemed nice.

White Silo in Sherman, CT
We then went on to White Silo. They have dry and sweet wines made from fruit, no grapes involved. We walked into an Art Show and this provided us with good people watching. One noteworthy chap had the big lambchops and the biggest Donald Trump comb-over I'd ever seen. Many were dressed in sartorial splendor here. It was interesting to see all these people dressed in their Brooks Brothers country-estate finest while hanging out in a very barnesque tasting room.

Their was a nice table spread with cheeses, baklava, and fresh veggies. I found myself crunching on my fair share of baby carrots and baklava squares. There was a photographer, first name Cynthia, whose work was quite good.

The wines were the like an aside. Anticlimactic to the chattering Art Show attendees and their kiddies running around picking fruit off the vines. The winery staff appeared a bit frazzled by the loud music for the art show. It was hard to conduct a wine-tasting when you had to yell at each other across the wine bar.

I had to keep reminding the pourer of what our next wine was. It just didn't seem fair that this winery followed the amazing DiGrazia experience. They had sold out of the Sour Cherry dry wine. The only wine I tasted that I did like was the Sour Cherry sweet wine. The pourer told us that both the Sour Cherry dry and sweet wines came into their prime after aging for four years, and now it was selling out quickly.

We left White Silo with hopes of getting to Hopkins just up the street. But we really didn't think we would have made it before their 5pm closing time. We are, however, looking forward to next weekend when they have their Harvest Celebration. Stayed tuned, my little viticulturalists, to hear more about my adventures on the CT wine trail.

8/27 - Stonington & John Edwards Wineries

2006-08-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

Disheartened that the end of my summer was being overtaken by rain, Jaime and I set out for another Vineyard tour. It had been a good almost two months that Jaime had not joined me on a viticulturalist excursion so it was fun to get another two notches on our wine belt.

We headed down to the Stonington area because we heard that the vineyards down there were pretty good.

Our first stop was Stonington Winery. They have two huge rooms, but the layout is so ill-planned that it makes for an akward tasting experience. In the larger back room, a small wine bar is squeezed into the back corner. That means, all the people that come in are pretty much piled on top of each other. Opening up the wine-bar design and location would make better use of the normal foot-traffic common to the human mammal.

We tried a selection of whites and reds. The most notable being their Seaport White at the cheapest running $8.99 a bottle. I also liked their 2004 Cabernet Franc but Jaime wasn't impressed. There selections include:

2004 Cabernet Franc
2003 Chardonnay
Seaport White
2005 Triad Rose
2005 Sheer Chardonnay
2003 Vidal Blanc
2004

We moved onto Jonathan Edwards. Practically everyone who had been at the Stonington Winery followed us here. One thing I did note about this area's wineries versus the ones in the Litchfield Hills are the flashy cars in the parking lot. I counted one silver hummer, three beamers, a slew of Volvos and other higher end domestics. Inside, the people were just as flashy as their vehicles, the woman in fancy heels and the men in their brook brothers weekend casual.

The place was crowded and it took about 10 minutes for us to finally reach the wine bar. Once there, we had some very friendly chatty people to our left. Then we had two yuppie couples to our right who were very vocally playing a game of "Keep up with the Joneses" one-upsmanship. One husband grabbed his wife's hand to proclaim that it was 1.25 carats. The other husband told his wife to show them her ring. The wife was hiding her ring hand under the sweater draped over her arms. When she pulled out her hand, it was a small stone but her husband urged her to tell them how he proposed. She expounded how romantic a romantic hike to a river climaxed in him down on his knees, ring in hand. This went on with the 1.25 carat lady showing off what looked like a 10-carat total weight tennis bracelet. Romantic hike wife flashed her earrings. 1.25 karat wife flashed her necklace and on it went.

Technically, what you will find here is a lot of people going through the motions of wine-tasting. They don't really care about the wine, they just care about the appearance that this is what people with money are seen doing. Thus, they need to be seen emulating the behavior of the rich. I'm sorry to say, most millionaires are never identified as millionaires. Mainly because they don't go mouthing off about the 1.25 carat ring they bought their wife.

The wines here reflect the crowd in the wine-tasting bar: one-dimensional and over-priced. The one redeeming wine was their Blackberry Port. At $40 a bottle, the most expensive wine, but the only one worth purchasing in my opinion. Try to get there on a week day if you can. The cloying stink of nouveau riche is not one you can wash off or forget easily.

7/23 - A lovely afternoon @ Sharpe Hill Vineyards

2006-07-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

After being bummed out that my weekend looked like a total wash out, I motivated myself out of the house to go check out a symposium luncheon at UConn in Storrs.

Since I was already half way to Sharpe Hill in Pomfret right off Rte 44, I decided I should go get my book stamped. I also hoped the rain would hold off.

By the time I got out to Pomfret, I had one of those lovely unplanned Sunday afternoon drives. I do have to say, I'm very blessed to live in such a pretty state. I now know why my old college friend loved motorcycling through the northeast hills. The roads are just made for a drive.

I got to Pomfret and it was a bit busy. One of the things I like about Sharpe Hill is that they have a large lovely deck with large lovely iron tables and chairs. I did my tasting, and although I would have loved to take home almost every bottle, I decided to get my old friend, Ballet of Angels. Ballet and I retreated to the deck where I hung out reading, sipping a light tinkly white and watching the now clear blue sky with puffy clouds skid across on a cool wind. What a lovely afternoon it had turned out to be.

After retreating from the deck, I meandered my way to the Vanilla Bean cafe. Had their chili (not too shabby) and their chicken salad sandwich (to die for). I finished it off with their ginger lemonade and seven layer bar. Read some more on their deck.

The drive home was in the last hour when you have that Maxfield Parrish light. The most beautiful light ever. Love it!

7/9 - CT Valley/Jerram/Haight Vineyards

2006-07-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

I'm planning an ambitious afternoon of wine trail blazing. It's even more ambitious because I'm inviting my mother to come with me.

The vineyards on today's list: Land of Nod (East Canaan), CT Valley Winery (New Hartford) and Jerram Vineyard (New Hartford).

If we're really lucky...we might hit up Hopkins or Haight.

My mother and father are out practicing their golf swing this morning. My mother says she's coming...but she's not only known for her love of wine, but having an OCD about staying home and cleaning.

Let's see if we can budge Mom out of her routine. It will be fun to see her giggling the afternoon away...cause she's the ultimate lightweight. One glass of wine and she's a goner!

Connecticut Wine Trail web site

2006-06-28T05:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.ctwine.com/

6/26 - Haight Vineyard in Litchfield, CT

2006-06-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

Haight Vineyard
Chestnut Hill, Litchfield, CT 06759
Phone:(860)567-4045
Web site: http://www.ctwine.com/haight.html

On a drizzly Monday afternoon in late June, I found myself out in the Litchfield Hills. This part of Connecticut boasts eight different vineyards that make up part of the "Western Wine Trail". I went to the CT wine trail web site (www.ctwine.com) to see what vineyards would be open on a Monday.

My search culminated in one place: Haight Vineyard. Opened in 1975, it has the distinction of being the first and thus oldest CT vineyard.

Take Route 8 to Exit 42/Route 118. Left onto Chestnut Hill Road (comes up quickly, sneaky little devil). Haight is up on your left.

As I pulled into the vineyard driveway, I saw that they were breaking down big white tents. Wedding? Big event? Inside on the first floor, there was a flyer announcing the Taste of Litchfield Hills. I had missed it by one day. The mystery of the big white tents solved, I vowed to get myself up on the mailing list to be notified for the next big event.

The second floor of the winery is one big open room, combination tasting room and gift shop. The complimentary wine tasting is free. If you want a wineglass with the Haight Vineyard named etched on it, you'll pay $3.95.

One thing I was really surprised at was the large variety of wine they had available for tasting. There are a lot more whites than reds. All the wines I tasted are 2005 vintage. According to the wine maker, Sal Cimono, one of the best years for CT wine because of the hot and dry summer.

The Wines (in the order they were tasted)

Chardonnay - $11.98
First up was the Chardonnay. Very nice, dry and crisp. I found it a bit anemic and a bit on the "thin" side.

Covertside White - $9.98
Seyval Blanc grapes. An playful little off-dry white. The wine pourer was proud to announce this was their signature bottle (the wine that Haight is most recognized for) and that many Litchfield Inns and restaurants carry this bottle. I liked it enough to buy this bottle, knowing that my family would enjoy it.

Barely Blush - $9.98
Nice little wine, but didn't stand up to the previous two wines. My mom would love it. But then again, my mom gets drunk off of one glass. It didn't make my purchase list.

After the first three whites, we moved onto Haight's red wines. They only make two. I wasn't ready for what came next...

Picnic Red - $10.98
Marechal Foch grapes. HELLO! What have we here? My palate really likes reds. And this one was not only big, complex but so seductive I'd give it an NC-17 rating if wines got rated this way. I would have to say that for an light off-dry red, my favorite was a tie between a really good French Beaujoulais Village or Hopkins Vineyard's Sachem's Picnic. (Hopkins Vineyard is a hop-skip-and jump from Haight.)

Needless to say, I went home with the Picnic Red and I am not ashamed to admit it!

Merlot - $11.98
Very nice bottle. Gourgeous bouquet, dry, complex with a good finish. This bottle also made it onto the purchase list.

Reisling - $11.98
This wine really needs to be changed in the sequence of the tasting. Haight would be smart to move this to before or after the Blush. I was suffering from palate fatique from the big reds at this point in the tasting. I did think it was light and tickles the tastebuds in a sweetly flirtatious manner, it left a flat impression on me.

Honey Nut Apple - $9.98
An unusual wine with a unique nutty flavor. I still haven't identified which nut yet. This would be especially good in the fall with a warm apple pie or a good bread pudding.

Golden Delight
Light, sweet with a slight lemony finish. Excellent partner for shrimp cocktail, light seafood or as an after dinner apperatif similar to the Lemoncello.

One piece of advice I would give newbie wine connoiseurs: Get thee to the vineyards early or on a Monday!

Thanks to the quiet Monday afternoon, I not only had the opportunity to meet the owner, Mr. Sherman Haight, Jr, but also the winemaker, Sal Cimono, and his lovely wife Jenny. No one was around, and they had the time to actually converse with me.

After I bought my three bottles (Covertside White, Picnic Red and 2005 Merlot), I introduced myself to Sal and was invited to sit down for a glass of wine with him and his wife.

He poured me a glass of the Picnic Red and I asked him to tell me about the wines I had purchased. This launched us into an impromptu half-hour class! How many times do you get to sit down one-on-one with a commercial wine maker and ask them questions and learn so many things? Don't people pay hundreds of dollars for this type of experience? Well, not only did I get a lot of knowledge, I got to sip a glass of Picnic Red while doing it.

So he told me about their process of wine making, the amount of sugar/alcohol he looks for, how long a white vs. red wine takes to ferment. It was all very intriguing. Surprisingly enough, Sal is a white wine man. I told him that for a white wine man, I was impressed with his reds. Seems that Sal comes from a long line of Italian wine makers. Ciao bello!

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by Haight Vineyards. The staff are friendly. The winemaker is a font of knowledge. The baseline of quality of the wine is pretty solid, meaning there was not one wine that I thought was "bad". Some just shone more than others. Always a good thing to look for in a vineyard experience.

6/18/06 - Jones Vineyard and Bishops Vineyard

2006-06-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm no wine expert by any means. But I'm aiming at at least becoming a reputable wine connoiseur.

Luckily, in my beloved home state of Connecticut, there are 18 vineyards. Yes, 18!

Surprisingly enough, my fall into viticulture commenced uneventfully. Take a bunch of people who like to sit around and imbibe large quantities of vino and stuff themselves on chicken wings, slap a name like "Salon Night" on it to make is sound hoighty toighty and you've got the beginnings of bunch of wannabe wine snobs.

Ad into the mix that I quickly became aware that we have some good vineyards right here in CT. I bought my first bottles of CT wine as Christmas presents about 2.5 years ago. Nowadays, I give wine as gifts often and in my immediate family, it is now standard for my sibling or parent to ask "What did you bring?" if we are gathered for a family dinner.

Wine trailblazing is fun, but it always more fun when you have company. I am on the mailing list for Hopkins Vineyard in New Preston, CT. I have visited this lovely place for wine events and barrel openings easily a half-dozen times. I would say that the place has impressed me so much that I could see myself having my wedding there, it is so verdantly magnificent.

Okay, but back to the wine. As I said, it is more fun to bring a friend along so I invited my friend Jaime to come winetasting with me. She claimed she knew nothing. I think she had fears that it was going to be all wine snobs and she was going to look like a dunce. I admitted that I knew next to nothing and this was a learning expedition. We mapped out our strategy and hit up two vineyards in central southeastern part of CT: Priam Vineyard in Colchester and Heritage Trails in Lisbon, CT.

But that was a few weekends ago. This past Sunday we visited Jones Vineyard in Shelton Bishops in Guilford.

I have to first start off by stating that we were spoiled by our first wine visit to Priam. We arrived and the husband co-owner was sitting there with no one else in the tasting room. We sat there for almost an hour, just the three of us having what was pretty much a private wine tasting. It was a superb way to initiate Jaime into the process.