Savino Vineyards – Woodridge, Connecticut

January 12, 2010 by MTB

Marguerite Barrett Savino Vineyards, Woodridge, CT / Photo: Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Tucked away in the farmlands and hills northwest of New Haven, Connecticut sits Savino Vineyards, one of Connecticut’s newest – and smallest – wineries. Open for just over two years, Savino Vineyards is family-owned and operated and, like many of their sister wineries throughout Connecticut and the Northeast, specializes in wines made from American Hybrids such as Seyval Blanc, Frontenac, Cabernet Franc and St. Croix.

Despite being situated so close to New Haven, one of Connecticut’s largest cities and home to Yale University, the area surrounding Savino Vineyards is very rural with small farms and orchards lining the roads as you make your way into Woodridge from either Route 8 or the Merritt Parkway. The terrain is not as hilly or wooded as the Litchfield Hills or the Northeast corner of the state, and also not as open as the farmland of the Southeast. This is actually one of the things I love about Connecticut, the diversity in terrain. There’s a “flavor” that’s all Connecticut, but there’s enough difference between different areas of the state that you feel as if you are discovering something new each time you head out.

Savino Vineyards, Woodridge, CT / Photo: Marguerite Barrett Be careful as you head up to the winery – blink and you’ll miss it – I almost did. Following the instructions from my GPS (which my wine trail buddies Deb Shaw-Esteves and Cheryl Grayson for some inexplicable reason call Shirley), you quickly come upon the house and the vineyards just beyond, which run right up to the large New England stone fence that lines the roadway. The GPS was informing me that I was at the right location, but I couldn’t see any signs, and the house, while charming, certainly didn’t have the look of a winery tasting room open to visitors.

I had made up my mind that I must have missed something and decided to pull into the next driveway and turn around when I found the tasting room – in fact, it WAS the next driveway! Just past the house and vineyards, set back from the road in a small cleared field, sits Savino’s Tasting Room. There’s a Tasting Room sign at the end of the driveway, but it’s easy to miss if you’re looking, as I was, for the “Open” flags and large winery signs of the bigger wineries elsewhere throughout the state.

The Tasting Room is a small shed-like structure set back several hundred feet from the road. Painted barn red on the outside and a warm and inviting creamy yellow on the inside, the room is probably 20′x30′ total. As you enter, the Tasting Bar is on your left, starting just inside the door and running the width of the Tasting Room. Altogether, the bar could probably hold 5-6 people. The rest of the space is open, with space for small groups of people to stand as they complete their tasting. As one of the newer and smaller wineries, Savino is not set up for visitors who want to come and spend a leisurely afternoon, but they are welcoming and inviting, and on the day I stopped by in early November one of the neighbors had stopped by to hang out with the staff for awhile and regaled us with stories of her dogs, her ex-husband and general neighborhood chatter.

Savino Vineyards produces five wines, a Seyval Blanc, a Frontenac, a Cabernet Franc, a St. Croix and a Merlot; all of the grapes, with the exception of the Merlot which are brought in from California, are grown locally. Because I stopped by so late in the season, I missed the Frontenac and Cabernet Franc, which had already sold out, but was able to taste the other three.

2008 Seyval Blanc The only white Savino produces, the Seyval Blanc is a very pale straw color, with a lovely citrus nose with strong notes of grapefruit. In the mouth the wine is crisp and dry, with grapefruit again being the predominant note.

2007 St. Croix This was my favorite of the three Savino wines, although it was a tough call between this and the Seyval Blanc. A deep plum color, the nose is soft and fruity, and in the mouth the wine is more complex than I anticipated. I tasted notes of both plum and cherry, and while a drier wine, there’s a light touch of sweetness which gives the wine sweetness. The finish is smooth, and this wine would pair well with meat dishes such a s beef, pork, lamb or veal.

In 2009, Savino won their first medal, a bronze, for the 2007 St. Croix in the Amenti Del Vino International Wine Competition. Congratulations!

2007 Merlot Produced from grapes that are brought in from California, the Merlot is both spicy and earthy. A medium garnet color, the nose is sharp, with notes of spice, including pepper, and earthy. In the mouth, there are notes of cherry combined with spices, again I tasted pepper, and a smoky earthiness. The finish had slightly bitter notes, which when tasted on it’s own is a bit off-putting, but when paired with food may smooth out and add a depth and complexity that could be very interesting.

Despite it’s size, Savino Vineyards produces some very nice, very interesting wines. I will definitely be returning early in the Season in 2010 (the winery opens to the public again in May) to sample the Frontenac and Cabernet Franc. Don’t be deterred by the fact that the tasting room isn’t large enough to settle in and hang out all day, it’s definitely worth a stop.

Savino Vineyards
125 Ford Road
Woodridge, Connecticut 06525
203-387-1573
savinovineyards@sbcglobalnet
Savino Vineyards does not yet have a website