Chamard Vineyards ~ Clinton, CT

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Chamard Vineyards was established in 1983 by William Chaney, then CEO of Tiffany & Co. The first vines were planted in 1984, and Chamard became a licensed winery in 1988.  Their first vintage, the 1988 Chardonnay, was released in November 1989.  In 2006 Chaney sold the winery to Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, a renowned scientist and entrepreneur specializing in genomics, whose goal is to make Chamard a “destination for Connecticut’s best wines.”

Chamard sits on 40 acres, 20 of which are currently under cultivation: 16 acres of Chardonnay, 1.5 acres of Merlot, 1 acre each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc,  and a 1/2 acre of Pinot Noir.  They also import grapes from vineyards on Long Island.  Falling inside the Southeastern New England Viticulatural Area, Chamard’s vineyards benefit from the relatively milder winters and longer growing season created by their proximity to Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River.

The property and winery are both lovely – despite sitting just five minutes off of I-95, the winery feels completely secluded; so much so, that having approached from the north, I hadn’t realized just how close it was to the highway, until I left the winery and found it took me less than 5 minutes to get to the I-95 on-ramp.  Located behind the Clinton Crossings Outlet Mall, the winery sits about 1/4 mile back from the road at the end of a long dirt driveway which cuts through the front vineyards.  The Tasting Room is welcoming and cozy – a large U-shaped bar, which could seat a dozen comfortably, dominates the center of the room with a large stone fireplace that greets you as you enter the room.  A large wooden deck overlooking a fountain and the back vineyards is just steps outside the tasting room, and a small gift shop lines the back wall, framing a large window which overlooks the west vineyards.  In fact, the views from all sides are lovely – the bright greens of the vineyards transition to the lusher, darker greens of the trees surrounding the property.   Overall there is a quiet elegance to the setting which complements the wines.

Rothberg is committed to producing world-class wines in Connecticut.  For the past 9 years, Chamard has been voted Connecticut’s Best Wine through a reader survey conducted by Connecticut Magazine; an impressive accomplishment, and one Chamard is justifiably proud of.   The winery currently produces 12 wines: 5 whites (Stone Cold White, Chardonnay, Estate Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris), 1 Rose and 7 reds (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvingon, Cabernet Franc, Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Noir), although both the Pinot Blanc and the Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc are currently sold out.  All but one of their wines are aged in oak barrels, the Chardonnays in French Oak and the Reds in American.  The winemaker keeps the barrel in use for 15 years and ages each vintage in a combination of 5-year-old, 10-year-old and 15-year-old barrels, mixing the results together at the end to produce the final product.

The staff at Chamard are also welcoming and Mario, my host for the afternoon, was extremely knowledgeable about the winery’s history, their production methods and the individual wines themselves.  While I have yet to find a Connecticut winery that I didn’t enjoy visiting, Chamard definitely ranks up as one of my Top Three.  I strongly recommend a visit.

Tags: Chamard Vineyards

This entry was posted on July 28, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under Connecticut, Connecticut Wine Trail, Eastern Connecticut Wine Trail, local wines, Marguerite Barrett, New England. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.