Jones Winery ~ Shelton, Connecticut

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

In the spirit of honesty, I must admit I don’t know what I was expecting as I headed over to Shelton, CT and the Jones Winery.  Despite the write-up in the Connecticut Wine Trail Guide, a perusal of their website left me with the impression that this was primarily a working farm, focused on berry and vegetable production, with wine as a sideline.  What I found was a delightful balance of both – good wines and even better strawberries.

One of the first things that struck me as I pulled into the winery grounds was the more than ample parking – somewhat unusual for our local wineries, particularly those on the Western Trail, which tend to be smaller than their Eastern Trail countparts such as Jonathan Edwards, Stonington, Chamard, and Gouveia.  As I walked up the slope from the parking area, I was next struck by how extensive the grounds of the winery/farm are.  The main house, winery and farm buildings are all built at the base of Pumpkinseed Hill.  The path leads you past the main house and into a large open courtyard-like setting with the farm house, sheds and a beautiful old red barn arrayed around the perimeter.  Child-sized versions of farm buildings dot the courtyard creating a play-yard for children visiting with their parents.  And weathered oak barrels line the pathway and courtyard, serving as signposts to help you find your way back to the winery and tasting room.

The winery is housed in the 100-year old dairy barn, converted to provide one of the largest Tasting Room spaces I have found to date in any winery anywhere.  The space encompasses the entire ground floor of the barn and is divided into two regions: the Tasting Bar, a large rectangular shaped bar that dominates one-half of the space, and the Winery/Farm Gift Shop.  The Tasting Bar could easily hold 30 people comfortably, and there’s plenty of space to mill around when larger crowds are present.  The staff are welcoming and friendly – and very knowledgeable about their wines.

The Jones Family has been farming in the Shelton area for more than 150 years.  Philip James “Jamie” Jones, a sixth-generation Jones, is the vineyard manager and principal winemaker.  He attended Cornell University’s Enology and Viticultural Program and has been guiding Jones Winery since he planted the first vineyards in 1999.  The winery opened five years later in 2004, and in 2008 welcomed a second winemaker, Larry McCulloch, formerly winemaker for Chamard Vineyards.

Jones Winery currently has 6 acres of grapes, primarily Cauyga, Cabernet Franc, Seyval Blanc, and Vidal Blanc, under cultivation and 25 acres of fruit.  In addition to the Connecticut vineyards, they also import grapes from California.   In addition to the grapes for wine, the farm also produces table grapes, strawberries, blueberries (primarily “pick-your-own” although they will occasionally have pints and quarts of fresh berries available in the winery gift shop), pumpkins and Christmas Trees.  On the day I stopped by they had a few quarts of freshly picked strawberries that quite literally melted in your mouth; one bite and I was transported back to childhood summers spent in Northern Michigan with my grandparents.

Other Jones Winery/Farm offerings include hands-on cooking classes through their Harvest Kitchen, a Fall Children’s Festival supporting UNICEF, and the annual Christmas Holiday Gift Shop, featuring ornaments, candles, arts & crafts and fresh baked goods.

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This entry was posted on August 13, 2009 at August 13, 2009 and is filed under Connecticut, Connecticut Wine Trail, Marguerite Barrett, Western Connecticut Wine Trail, Win(e)ding Roads, local wines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.