Win(e)ding Trails: Continuing Adventures on the Connecticut Wine Trail

Miranda Vineyard

Marguerite Barrett

Contributing Writer

A scant 2 1/2 miles from Sunset Meadow Vineyard you’ll find the Miranda Vineyard. Leaving Sunset Meadow head South on Route 63 for a 1/4 mile and then turn off and head down backroads to reach Miranda. The Tasting Room is a large renovated 2-story Connecticut Farmhouse, and is fronted by a modern-day version of a classic New England stone fence. The inside is open and airy, with a large bar along the right-hand side of the back wall, and tables and chairs set out on the left side, which also has doors leading out onto a large deck with additional seating for the warmer months.

Tastings at Miranda are $5 and include the glass. When I stopped by about 10 days ago, I was joined at the tasting bar by a party of three couples spending the afternoon touring local wineries and picking up wines for the holidays. The hosts were charming and chatted with us as we worked our way through the tasting. There were five wines on the tasting menu that day:

Woodridge White: This is a blend of Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc that is crisp and quite refreshing. It would be a good sipping wine on a summer evening, and would also be nice paired with chicken, fish or a light pasta. The Woodridge White is a 2008 Big E Northeast Gold Medal Award Winner.

Chardonnay: This is a fuller-bodied wine than the Woodridge White. My preference, though, was for the Woodridge White which I found a more interesting wine.

Woodridge Red: This is a nice red table wine; medium-bodied and able to stand up to heavier pasta and light meat dishes. This and the Woodridge White were my two favorites at Miranda. And like the Woodridge White, the Woodridge Red is also a 2008 Big E Northeast Gold Medal Award Winner.

Merlot: For Connecticut this is not a bad Merlot, but it doesn’t have the mellowness of the coastal or Long Island Merlots. I detected hints of licorice which were quite interesting. The tasting includes a dark chocolate truffle, and I must say the chocolate made a difference.

Rose: The tasting ended with a Rose. This is a very nice light Rose, which would be a perfect “sit on the back porch in the heat of the summer” sipping wine. I wasn’t overly impressed with this wine, but then I’m not usually a fan of Rose wines – often finding them sweeter and lighter than I normally like.

My tasting “companions” definitely preferred sweeter wines overall, and all really liked the Rose and the Chardonnay. They were less impressed with the Woodbridge Red and the Merlot, but did admit that they lean towards whites in general.

The first time I visited Miranda Vineyard was this past summer, and it was a very busy Sunday afternoon. There were about 20 people lined up at the bar for tastings, and it got a bit chaotic at times. However, that shouldn’t deter anyone from stopping – if the tasting bar is crowded when you arrive, I recommend grabbing a bottle of either the Woodbridge White or the Woodbridge Red and heading out to the patio to relax and enjoy the sunshine, the views and the wine.

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Tags: Miranda Vineyard

This entry was posted on November 29, 2008 at November 29, 2008 and is filed under Connecticut, Connecticut Wine Trail, New England, Win(e)ding Roads, local wines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

2 Responses to “ Win(e)ding Trails: Continuing Adventures on the Connecticut Wine Trail ”

1. Maman
   November 30, 2008 at 2:02 pm

   That sounds like it was fun!

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2. Aunt Maggie
   November 30, 2008 at 8:38 pm

   It was – you need to plan a long weekend in CT Wine Country!

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