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

December 17, 2008 by MTB

Haight-Brown Vineyard

The Whites, Blushes & Rosés

Marguerite Barrett

Contributing Writer

On a recent Sunday afternoon, my friend Christy Sherard and I wandered over to Litchfield, CT and the Haight-Brown winery. As we settled in for our tasting, we were presented with a wine list of 13 wines and tasting options that included:

$5 – your choice of 8 wines served in a plastic glass. Needless to say that option was quickly dismissed;
$7 – your choice of 8 wines served in a HBV wine glass, which you can take with you at the end of the tasting, or
$10 – a wine and cheese pairing: your choice of 8 wines served in a HBV wine glass and three cheeses specifically chosen to pair with the wines.

We decided on the wine and cheese pairing and settled in for a leisurely tasting. Haight-Brown produces wines in four categories: Whites, Blushes & Rosés (5), Reds (3), Fruits (3), and Dessert & After Dinner (2). As there were two of us each with a selection of 8 wines, and only 13 wines total, we divided up our selections so that we could cover the entire list between us.

Chardonnay The tasting begins with the Chardonnay. The tasting notes indicate it’s a light dry wine with citrus notes. While I definitely tasted the citrus notes, I found the wine to be a little too acidic for my taste.

Covertside White

Next up on the list is the Covertside White. This wine was paired with a Goat Cheese with Figs from Celebrity Cheeses in Canada. The wine is a blend of Seyval Blanc and Chardonnay grapes and has a slightly fruity taste. It’s an interesting wine on its own, but paired with the cheese which was slightly sweet and absolutely divine, the wine really came alive. The tasting notes and website indicate this is HB’s most popular white wine – and I believe it. Even without the cheese pairing, it’s a very nice wine.

Barely Blush This blush is a Seyval Blanc and Marechal Foch blend. It was paired with a Brillat Savarin cheese from France. I’m not a big fan of Blushes, but this wasn’t bad – it’s drier than many blushes I’ve tried, and I liked it because of that.

Riesling Like the Blush, this Riesling is slightly drier than one normally finds. HB is quite proud of this wine, and even though only one of us had selected the Riesling as part of our tasting (figuring we’d share a single tasting), we were treated to a second glass so we could each have our own tasting. I’ve tried this wine on a previous trip to Haight-Brown, and found I liked it more on the second tasting. I’m still not a huge fan of Rieslings overall, but I think this is a wine that could grow on me.

Pink Cadillac The Whites concluded with the Pink Cadillac, a rosé. The tasting notes indicate that this is made from Seyval Blanc grapes with a touch of California Syrah thrown in for “color and complexity.” I found it to be too light for my tastes, and it’s one of my least favorite of all the HB wines.