Connecticut Wine Trail

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Hats off to Gretchen for covering for me this week.  I usually try to stay ahead of my posting – writing at least one or two posts a weekend.  If I’m really good, I can often be 3 or 4 weeks ahead, taking the pressure off if I don’t have time to sit down on a particular weekend.

Unfortunately, I skipped too many weekends recently, and the posts caught up with me.  And of course it would happen on a week when I was scheduled to be out of town at a conference.  Oh well…  I’ll get back on track for next week.

So if I wasn’t writing posts – what was I doing last weekend you ask?  Well, as it was Halloween and quite chilly here in New England, I built a fire in the fireplace, roasted a pork loin, opened a bottle of McLaughlin’s Coyote Blue wine and waited for the trick-or-treaters.

McLaughlin Vineyards was one of the first wineries I visited when I began my Connecticut Win(e)ding Road adventures just about 2 years ago.  I like their wines, the coziness of the winery and tasting room, and most importantly love hanging out with Dee, the winery host.  I find myself returning fairly regularly and often dragging friends and relatives along with me.  I’ve been back a number of times since that first trip, including attending one of their Blind Tasting events at which great fun was had by all.

On one of my earliest jaunts, I picked up a bottle of McLaughin’s most popular white, the Coyote Blue, a blend of Aurore (add another grape to the wine century list!) and Vidal Blanc grapes.  At the time of the tasting I found myself really drawn to the hint of  green apple in this semi-sweet wine.  The balance of the green apple tartness of the Aurore with the sweet Vidal grapes made for a rather appealing wine; certainly one I wanted to get to know a bit better.

I recently pulled that bottle out of the cellar where it had been for probably a good 18 months.  I’m not sure why I waited so long to open it, but now am glad I did.  The additional bottle aging softened the wine a bit; it’s lost some of the tart crispness I noted during my initial tasting, but the apple feels more integrated with the wine overall.   Keeping to my “spending time with…” protocols, the first glass was drunk on its own, not paired with food.  The nose was a bit musty with earthy notes, making me worry that perhaps I had left the wine too long before drinking.  But my fears were for naught.   The wine retains much of the sweet richness of the vidal blanc grapes which provide a nice context for the apple notes.  There’s still a touch of tartness on the finish which balances the sweetness and results in a more satisfying wine.

My second glass I paired a roast pork loin with rosemary potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts.  I deliberately chose the wine because of the apple notes which, as to be expected, paired well with the pork.  Together the two were a really nice complement.  The pork and rosemary softened some of the green apple tartness of the wine, while the apple, not surprisingly, really brought out the richness of the pork.  I’ve often paired hard cider with pork, but found myself really liking the softer, yet still crisp, notes of the apple in the wine.  It’s a more delicate balance and worked well with this meal.

As that was the only bottle of Coyote Blue in the cellar, I expect next weekend will find me back on the road heading west to Newtown for yet another stop at McLaughlin.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Whenever I hit the wine trail, I head out armed with my trusty GPS, a list of wineries, and a cooler with ice packs for the wine I know I’ll be bringing home.   I try to be judicious, don’t want to bankrupt my retirement after all, but there’s only so much you can tell about a wine from a 1oz sip – particularly when it’s tasted in the midst of a number of other 1oz sips that day.  So whenver I find a wine that catches my attention – sometimes it wows me, sometimes I can see potential, and sometimes it’s just different enough from anything else I’ve ever tried – I take a bottle home.  This provides the opportunity to sample the wine in larger portions, pair it with food, and see how it stands up after a day (unless I have guests, it’s usually 2-3 days per bottle of wine).

And though this has been my practice since I started on the wine trail, I’ve never bothered to put my new impressions to paper.  Hence the launch of a new occasional series, “Spending Time With…”, follow-up posts on my impressions of a wine after spending some time with it.  Keeping with the theme and focus of Vino Verve, these will primarily be “local” wines, wines I’ve picked up on my various travels.  That’s not to say that there might not be the occasional post about a wine I picked up in a package store, but here at Vino Verve we like to focus on celebrating local wines, rather than just a running commentary of “what I drank last night.”

I launch the series with Jerram Winery’s Marechal Foch.

I’ve had this bottle about 18 months, having picked it up during my first visit to Jerram just after Christmas 2008.  At the time I was still a newcomer to the  Marechal Foch grape and  wasn’t really sure I was a fan, finding the grape often tart and the wines “young.”  My prior encounters had not left me with an overall great impression of the grape.  However, Jerram’s Marechal Foch caught my attention; it felt more complex than some of the other wines I’d tried, and the cherry notes, while still bright and slightly sour, seemed to make more sense in Jerram’s wine than they had in previous Marechal Foch wines I had tried.  I remember liking all of Jerram’s wines and actually going home with a bottle of each, but the Marechal Foch was one that stood out for me that day.

18 months later, I continue to be impressed.  The wine held up well, smoothing out just a bit.  The fruit notes are a bit stronger than I had noted during my original tasting, but they’re richer as well.  The nose is dusky and earthy and there’s very little hint of the tangy cherry I found in the mouth.  The wine starts out dry and slightly earthy, dusty almost, and then opens up into the bright notes of slightly sour cherries that are so characteristic of Marechal Foch.  The finish is definitely smoother than my first tasting, mellower – the cherry tartness hits the roof of your mouth towards the front, and then the wine mellows as it moves back through the mouth.

I let the wine breathe for about 15 minutes before pouring the first glass, which I had on it’s own.  I then paired a second glass with a grilled steak and beefsteak tomato salad.  The wine held it’s own against the steak, but I don’t know that it was the right pairing, neither seemed to add anything to the other.

I finished the bottle on the second evening, when I paired it with a Greek casserole dish made of beef sauteed in onions, garlic, tomatoes, oregeno and basil pasta, and feta cheese.  The heartier, spicier food was a much better pairing – the cherry notes in the wine became more juicy, and while there’s still that sour tart “bite” that is one of the grape’s hallmarks, it worked really well against the salty brine of the feta cheese.

Overall, a strong Marechal Foch, one I’ll definitely be adding back to my “cellar.”

Jerram Winery is located in New Hartford, Connecticut.  They are open Thursdays through Sundays, 11:00 – 5:00 from May 1st to December 31st.  Their website has a list of locations that sell Jerram’s wines, all local to Central Connecticut.  You may also want to contact the winery to see if they will ship directly.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

I first visited Savino Vineyards in Woodbridge, Connecticut late in the season last year by which time they had already sold out of the Cabernet Franc and the Frontenac.  I made a mental note to return in 2010 to sample the latest vintages of the two wines I missed in 2009.

So, as I left Northwinds Winery, I decided to detour south and stop by Savino to see what they had on the menu this season.  Unfortunately, neither Cabernet Franc or Frontenac are included in this season’s wine list, but I did have the chance to revisit the 2008 Seyval Blanc and the 2007 Merlot as well as sample two new wines, the 2008 St. Croix and the 2008 Merlot.

I also was lucky enough to meet owner and winemaker, Gennaio Savino.  Savino grew up in Italy making wine and returned to the business after he retired.  He planted his first vines about 10 years ago, and today his vineyard encompasses 8 acres and includes Seyval Blanc, St. Croix, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes.  All of his wines are produced from estate-grown grapes, although he does bring in a small amount of Merlot from California to blend with his locally-grown Merlot.

2008 Seyval Blanc I first tried the 2008 Seyval Blanc, the only white Savino produces, on my visit last Fall.  At the time I noted that the predominant notes were citrus, particularly grapefruit and were a bit strong.  Over the ensuing 8 months, the wine has mellowed.  Still crisp and tangy with a nice burst of acid on the finish, the citrus notes are softer and a bit lighter.  I still picked up the grapefruit, but it wasn’t as pronounced as before.   On second tasting, I found myself taking to the wine even more than I had previously, and I had enjoyed it on first tasting.   It’s not that often that I take the chance to go back and try the same wine, same vintage, only months later.   Often when I return to a winery, I either want to sample wines I wasn’t able to taste during my previous visit, or try the new vintages.  However, now I’m rethinking that strategy, and will definitely peruse the wine lists with an eye for the chance to revisit a wine I’ve previously tried.

2008 St. Croix The 2007 St. Croix was my favorite of the Savino wines on my first visit.  At the time I had bought a bottle and drank it a few months later, finding it to be a lovely, complex wine that paired very well with the beef I had for dinner that evening.   The 2008, while it didn’t disappoint, didn’t quite live up to my memories of the 2007.  Dark purple in color, with a tangy, fruity nose, the wine is lighter-bodied with an earthy fruitiness and notes of cherry that linger on the lips.    In my notes I likened it to eating just-ripe, just picked cherries.   What made the wine interesting though were the earthy notes, up front I detected notes of soil and grass, and it wasn’t until the finish that I got the cherries.  Again, not a bad wine, but not as strong as the 2007.

2007 Merlot The tasting concluded with back-to-back Merlots, 2007 vs. 2008.  I had sampled the 2007 Merlot on my previous visit, and given my reaction to the Seyval Blanc was very interested to see if I found a similar change in the 2007 Merlot.  Unfortunately not.  The nose is a bit richer, more jammier than I remembered, but in the mouth the strong peppery, slightly bitter notes that I picked up on my previous visit were still present.   It’s not bad for a Connecticut Merlot, which tend to be lighter-bodied and not as smooth as their California or Oregon counterparts, but it still didn’t win me over.

2008 Merlot The 2008, however, was a completely different story.  The difference between the two begins on sight: the color, which in the 2007 is a dark purple, is more of a bright ruby in the 2008.  The nose is much more subtle, duskier and while there are still notes of cherry, it is less jammy than the 2007.  In the mouth the wine is stronger bodied, richer, more lush, with soft deep notes of cherry, warm soft spice rather than the sharp bite of pepper, and a nice light smoke from the oaking.  It’s smooth and opens up nicely in the mouth.  This one could, just possibly, win me over to Connecticut Merlots.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

The tasting kicked off that afternoon with the Traminette, altogether a very lovely wine and my favorite of the afternoon.  The nose is very aromatic, with strong floral notes – very pretty.   The wine is crisp and refreshing, with very light notes of sweetness from subtle fruit flavors, maybe a hint of peach, that blend well with the floral notes in the nose.  The finish is crisp with a nice balance of acid.  This is a great sipping wine as well as a wine that should pair well with a wide range of foods.  I liked it so much I actually went home with two bottles – unusual for me.

Next up was the Zephyr.  Because this is the one Northwinds wine that uses non-estate grown grapes, this wine must be labeled differently from the others.  What I loved about Northwinds is that they really embraced that regulation, producing a bottle and label that was not only distinct from their other wines, but distinctive in and of itself.  The wine is a blend of their estate-grown Traminette and Sauvignon Blanc brought in from off-site.  The nose still has the pretty, floral characteristics of the Traminette, but it’s tempered by the Sauvignon Blanc, and as a result is not quite as aromatic as the Traminette.  In the mouth the wine is smooth and refreshing, although not as crisp as the Traminette.  There are also some grassy notes in this one which temper the floral notes.  It’s not a bad wine, and a lot of people, including many around me that afternoon who will like this wine very much.  But I found myself definitely preferring the crisper, more aromatic Traminette.

Last up for the whites was the Vidal Blanc.  Darker in color than the previous two which were more of a pale yellow, the Vidal Blanc is more of a light gold color.  The nose is lovely with sweet floral notes of orange blossom and peach.  In the mouth, the Vidal Blanc, like the previous two, tends more towards the floral rather than the fruity, although the flavors are more subtle in the mouth than in the nose.  I definitely picked up the orange of the orange blossom as well as some light grassiness which provided a bit of depth and kept the wine from being sweet.  The finish is fairly smooth with just a light touch of acid.  Not as crisp as the Traminette, I’d be more likely to drink this wine with food rather than on it’s own.  Still, overall a nice wine, and for those who like their whites tending toward the sweet rather than the dry, this is a nice find.

With that we moved on to the single Rosé.  The most distinctive thing about the Rosé is its color, a beautiful amber gold color.  A color one associates more often with late harvest dessert wines, not Rosés, a comment which I blurted out as soon as I saw the wine.  The Rosé is a blend of three table grapes, the Himrod, Vanessa and Jupiter grapes.  The result is not your typical Rosé, and for those, like me, who often shy away from Rosés finding them too light-bodied and, often, too sweet, this one is definitely worth a try.  the nose is soft and fruity, almost like a late harvest nose.   That combined with the unconsciously led me to expect a much sweeter wine than the one I found.  In the mouth, the wine is much drier than I expected, although until I noted my surprise I hadn’t realized the extent to which I was expecting a sweet wine.  There is a light sweetness, but as with the other Northwinds wines, the overall notes are floral rather than fruity, including a hint of peach blossom.  The finish has a pleasant bite of acid, although overall the wine is smooth and rich in the mouth.  Definitely not what I was expecting from a Rosé.

From the Rosê the tasting proceeded to the first of Northwinds two reds, Boreas a blend of Cabernet Franc (85%) and St. Croix (15%), both estate-grown.   Garnet colored, with a dry, dusky nose with subtle notes of black cherry.  In the mouth, the wine echoes the subtle notes of black cherry found in the nose, with a slight smoke from the Hungarian and American oak barrels.  On the lighter side of medium-bodied, I found the wine didn’t really open up in the mouth, although subsequent sips did provide some layering of flavors and smoke.  The wine should pair well with chicken and lighter meats, such as grilled pork, but I don’t feel it’s robust enough to stand up to the heavier meats such as beef, lamb or veal.  I was somewhat disappointed with this wine, really wanting it to open up more in the mouth.

And last, but not least, the tasting concluded with the St. Croix. Dark garnet, with a really nice soft, rich dusky nose with the faintest hints of fruit.  The wine is medium-bodied, smooth and richer than the Boreas, with interesting notes of grass and earth as well as leather from the oaking.  As with the nose, there are  faint notes of dar berries, but the predominant notes are grass and earth.  I definitely preferred this over the Boreas.  This should pair well with a variety of foods.

I went home that afternoon with two bottles of the Traminette – unusual for me to go home only with whites, and with two bottles of anything.  A 1oz sip, while giving you a sense of the wine, isn’t really enough to truly understand the wine.   I really don’t know if I am going to love something until I have the opportunity to linger over a whole glass as well as pair the wine with food.   Therefore, my standard practice is to bring home a single bottle of wines that intrigued me during the tasting.  Depending on the wine, I’ll either put in the cellar (makes that dark back corner of my basement sound so grand to call it a cellar) to sit for a few months up to a year, or put it in the rack to be opened soon.   This gives me the opportunity to better explore the wine before deciding it’s something I want to invest in having on hand.  It’s this practice that turned me into a Cabernet Franc lover.  The first couple times I tried Cab Franc here in Connecticut, I really wasn’t sure, often feeling upon first sip that the wines were pale versions of their more robust Cabernet Sauvignon cousins.   But there was something there that intrigued me, so I brought home a bottle from one or two wineries.  Let them breathe for a good 20-30 minutes after opening, paired them with food, and found a whole new wine to love.  So to go home with two bottles was a definite departure from routine for me, but I really liked that Traminette.

I’ll have to make a mental note to head back in late September to try the Riesling.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

This past Saturday marked the start of a week-long vacation.  As I had gone to Quebec over the Fourth of July weekend and as I wasn’t in the mood to think about packing or, worse, getting on a plane, I decided to make this week’s vacation a Win(e)ding Roads adventure.  I have just a few wineries left on the Connecticut Wine Trail, have the pass I purchased for the Hudson Valley wine trail, and have been wanting to move a bit further afield – maybe Cape Cod or Maine – just to see a bit more of New England.  A week’s worth of wineries sounded very appealing.

I kicked off the week in leisurely fashion, sleeping in, meeting my friend Christy (who’s staying off the wine trail for a while) for lunch, and then heading to Watertown and Northwinds Vineyard, one of the last four Connecticut wineries on my list.

Northwinds is a charming winery in the hills just above Lake Winnemaug, not to be confused with Lake Warramaug (as I did), the home of Hopkins Vineyards, further west.  No wonder my GPS had so much trouble finding the place, probably would have helped if I had typed in the right name…   The main house and winery is a large newer-construction home with a charming front brick entrance-cum-porch.  The garage appears to have been converted into the winery, and signs direct you around the house to the Tasting Room in the back, a large open-air patio with a gazebo roof and canvas “walls” that roll down during inclement weather.   The staff is welcoming and, despite the steady influx of newcomers, well able to keep the tastings moving along so no one was forced to wait long to begin their tasting.

Only a few years old, Northwinds has approximately 3,600 vines, St. Croix, Cabernet Franc, Vignoles, Riesling, Vidal Blanc and Traminette, on five acres of prime Connecticut farmland soil.  Prior to planting grapes, the farm had produced corn and hay for more than 50 years, which left the soil rich in minerals particularly suited for the grapes.   Northwinds also takes a sustainable, organic approach with the cultivation and maintenance of their vineyards, and their pest control process utilizes only materials listed with the Organic Materials Register Institute.

Almost all of their wines are estate grown, the one exception being their Zephyr wine, which blends their locally-grown Traminette with Seyval Blanc brought in from off-site.   For $5, the tasting menu includes six of their eight wines: three whites, the Traminette, Zephyr, and Vidal Blanc, Northwinds’ Rosé, and two reds, the Boreas and the St. Croix.  As you find in many wineries, the dessert wine, the Late Harvest Vignoles is not available for tasting, and the final wine, the Riesling, is available in the Fall.  Northwinds swaps out the Riesling and the Rosé on the tasting menu, featuring the Rosé in the Spring and the Riesling in the late Summer/early Fall.

The winery is open for tastings on Saturdays only from 11:00 – 5:00 between June and just before Thanksgiving.  In addition to their wines, Northwinds also has gift baskets which can be ordered by calling or stopping by the winery.  They also are open to the public the Saturday before Christmas for wine sales and gift basket pick-ups only.

Northwinds Vineyard
471 Lake Winnemaug Road
Watertown, CT 06795
203-233-3941

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

There were probably a good 20-30 people already there when I arrived, hence the lack of available parking.  The wine bar was full with roughly 15 people across, and there were several groups ranged around the wine barrels serving as bar tables scattered throughout the loft area.  Rather than fight my way to the bar, I wandered out onto the deck and enjoyed the views and wait for a space to clear at the bar.   As Saltwater only produces five wines, the wait was less than ten minutes.

Saltwater Farm sits on farmland that dates back to 1653 when Walter Palmer, originally a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, established a 230-acre farm in what is now southeast Connecticut.  Portions of the original farm, including the land encompassing the vineyards, continued to be farmed into the 20th century, until the 1930s when a small airport was opened on the site.  By the early 1950s the airport had closed and the land sat unused until it was purchased in 2001 by Michael Connery, a former partner in Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.  Connery restored the airport hangar turning it into the winery and tasting room, and planted 6 varieties of grape, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, on 15 of the farm’s 108 acres.  The winery produces about 20,000 bottles or 1,600 cases a year  split between Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

On the afternoon of my visit, there were five wines available on the tasting menu:

Sauvignon Blanc This is a light, crisp, fruity wine, perfect for a warm summer evening or paired with salads or light pasta dishes.  Straw-colored with a lightly fruit, citrusy nose, the wine is very smooth in the mouth with a nice bit of acid on the finish.  Fruity, but not sweet, the predominant notes are citrus, a hint of grapefruit and lemon, but nothing overpowering.

2006 Chardonnay The tasting menu featured back-to-back tastings of both the 2006 and the 2007 Chardonnay.  The 2006 is a nice wine, more floral than fruity.   Also straw colored, although a bit deeper in color than the Sauvignon Blanc, the nose on the Chardonnay is bright and clean, with floral notes that evoked Spring.  In the mouth, the wine has notes of grass and green pepper.  The descriptor I kept coming back to as I sipped the wine was “clean.”  The earthy notes of grass and green pepper are light and bordering on the floral rather than on the stronger dusky earthiness one sometimes finds.  Also, if the wine is oaked, a question that for some reason either wasn’t answered or I didn’t jot down in my notes, the oak is extremely faint.  The finish is very smooth, with very low acid.

2007 Chardonnay Of the two Chardonnays, my preference was very definitely the 2007.  Similar in color to the 2006, the nose is brighter, earthier, and more interesting.  In the mouth, rather than the grassy, green pepper notes of the 2006, the wine is more citrusy, with bright notes of lemon, and a soft, subtle tartness of grapefruit.  The citrus is not overpowering, and there is still an element of the grass I found in the 2006.   Also “clean” with no, or very low oaking, the 2007 also has a bit more body, which I found I preferred.

Cabernet Franc 100% Cabernet Franc grapes, this is a very nice member of the Connecticut Cabernet Franc family, and my favorite wine of that visit.  A medium garnet color with a lovely, rich, jammy nose, the wine is smooth and earthy.  Despite the jamminess of the nose, the predominant notes on the palate are earthy, although I found myself struggling to identify particular notes.   Underneath the earthiness, however, are very subtle notes of soft dark berries, the presence of which gives the wine depth and richness.   The wine is medium-bodied and while it never really opens in the mouth, it does layer with each subsequent sip and should become a rather interesting wine if one takes the opportunity to drink more than the standard 1oz tasting.  This would pair well with lamb and veal.

Merlot The tasting concluded with the Merlot.  I’ve never been won over by any Northeast Merlot I’ve found.  Even when the vintner is bringing in grapes from California or Oregon, I find the Merlots to be “thinner” and less complex than their Western US or European counterparts.  Saltwater Farm’s Merlot is pretty good for a Northeastern Merlot, but it didn’t win me over either.  A medium purple color with another “jammy” nose, the wine is both earthy and fruity.  The earthiness comes through in an almost dusty way, tempered by notes of black cherry that linger on the roof of the mouth.  Medium-bodied with nice tannins, the wine feels a little sharp, or young, in the mouth.  I suspect some of that will soften with age, and perhaps with extended breathing, but even with that, my preference remains the Cabernet Franc, a much more interesting wine overall.

That concluded the tasting for the afternoon.  I spent a few minutes enjoying the peace of the Zen garden before calling it a day and heading home.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

I left Langworthy Farm Winery around 12:30 and decided to stop for lunch in Westerly before heading back across the border to Stonington and Saltwater Farm Vineyard.  In hindsight that probably wasn’t the best decision.  I made the mistake of sitting in the sun on the deck at Langworthy, and while not a really hot day, the sun was stronger than I had counted on.  Combine that with a not-so-great sandwich for lunch and the end result is I was feeling a bit off by the time I headed into Stonington.

Stonington is as far southeast as you can get in Connecticut, sitting pretty much right on the border of Rhode Island.  There are 6 Connecticut wineries all within 20 minutes of Stonington, and as I mentioned last week, Westerley and Langworthy Farms is just 10-15 minutes down the road.  Last summer I made it to what I thought were all the wineries in the area, including the newest winery, Dalice Elizabeth, but somehow had missed Saltwater Farms.  For those looking for a great day-long itinerary, you can’t beat this area.  You can easily stop at between 3 and 5 wineries in a single afternoon depending on how early you start and how long you stay at each winery, and finish the day with dinner in either Mystic or Stonington.

But this is about my itinerary that day, which originally was designed to start at Langworthy Farm and then pick up Saltwater Farm Vineyard and then Holmberg Orchards on my way back to central Connecticut.  Unfortunately, by the time I left Saltwater, I was really feeling off, and so left Holmberg Orchards for another day.

The best advice I can given anyone heading out to Saltwater Farms is believe your directions (or your GPS).  When the directions say “take a sharp right onto Elm Street, and you will arrive at your destination,” they aren’t kidding.   The entrance is immediately, and I mean immediately, on your left after you make that turn.  It doesn’t help that the winery’s sign is set back from the road among trees and brush and faces away from the direction most people will be coming.  Needless to say I drove right past it, and even when I turned around and drove slowly back, almost missed it again.

Once you find the entrance, you’ll proceed down a narrow, gravel lane about 1/3 of a mile.  As you travel down the road, the area opens up into a large open area of farmland replete with grapevines and a long rectangular aluminum structure dominating the vista.  Park in front, and if there are no open spots, don’t make the mistake I did and drive around back.  Despite the signage and landscaping which makes it seem like there might be parking available in the back, the back is reserved for winery and catering equipment.  As soon as I pulled into the back area, someone came out and told me to move my car and go back and park up front.    I’m still not sure where they put their overflow parking, but I did luck out and didn’t have to wait too long for someone to leave so I could take their spot.  That being said, there is quite a bit of parking, and if you are visiting early in the day or on a weekday, you shouldn’t have any problems parking.  I, however, arrived about 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon.  I was also starting to feel the effects of too much sun and lunch, and so wasn’t in the best of humors when the guy told me to turn around and go back to the front.

My general irritation was quickly eased by the the zen garden Saltwater has set up immediately outside the winery’s main entrance.  It’s lovely, and completely unexpected.  But it’s also a perfect counterpoint to the very spare, industrial look of the winery itself.  The building is really intriguing – aluminum, rather than wood or wood-clad as is typical of New England barns, with a low curved room, rather than the normal pointed roofs, and much larger than a typical barn. I found myself wondering if Saltwater Farms owners had built it expressly for the winery, as I just couldn’t imagine anyone would build a barn this way.  It wasn’t until I was well into my tasting that I learned originally it was an airplane hangar.  Taking a look again as I was leaving, and looking at the pictures I took that afternoon, I can’t imagine how I didn’t see it when I first drove up, or at the very least why I struggled so hard to figure out what kind of a barn it might have been.  Personally, I’m putting it down to the effects of the sun and just going with “I was off my game” that afternoon.

Inside the space is airy and has a loft-like feel.   The interior is pretty much all wood and very modern in design.  The dark wood provides a cozy, yet cool feel, and as most of the space has been left open with little ornamentation or clutter, the result is a serene, almost meditative space.  Wine racks flank either side of the entrance way displaying Saltwater Farm’s wines, and a rectangular bar housing gifts and t-shirts, sits just underneath the stairs.  The stairs are a perfect example of the overall aesthetic of the space – made of the same dark wood that lines the walls and is used in the wine racks and the bars, they are designed as open and floating, curving around and up, leading to the upper deck which houses the Tasting Room.   Throughout the space, the wood provides a rustic feeling while the clean lines and open airy  floorplans give the space a modern, almost Zen feel.  And suddenly the garden seems much less anachronistic.

The Tasting Room loft area is laid out very nicely.  A long bar made of wood sits at one end of the space facing a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows.  Wine barrels are used as tables throughout the room, and doors lead out onto an outside deck which is a seamless extension of the inside space.  The views from the deck, and the windows, is gorgeous, overlooking a large flat expanse full of rows upon rows of grapevines.  As the day was not too hot, many people had taken their wine out to the deck to enjoy the views and the breeze, however inside was still hopping, and I had a 5-10 minute wait before a space at the bar opened up.

Despite the level of activity that afternoon, the staff behind the bar was more than willing to stop briefly from time-to-time to give all of us a bit of the history of the winery.   Beginning with the building itself which, it turns out, is not a renovated barn at all but a WWII-vintage airplane hangar.  The vineyards, which encompass about 15 acres, are planted on the original air strip – explaining the almost perfect flat-ness of the space, something which, when I first saw it, felt more Midwestern than New England to me.   As you stand on the outside terrace overlooking the vineyards, you can see faint echoes of the original airstrip running left to right parallel to the building.  The building has been beautifully restored and the original wood trusses and features have not only been preserved, but were obviously used as inspiration for the overall interior.  The result is one of the most striking wineries I’ve visited to date, whether here in Connecticut or elsewhere.

Saltwater Farms has been operating as a winery only for a few years.  All of their wines are estate-grown, and they produce about 20,000 bottles a year.  They currently produce five wines: 3 whites and 2 reds, and all five are included on the tasting menu.  In addition to wine tastings, the winery also hosts events, including “Sunday Music in the Tasting Room” featuring live music from 3:00 – 5:00 on most Sundays in July and August.

The winery is also available for private events, and they’ve adjusted their Tasting Room hours to accomodate that, closing at 3:00 on Fridays and Saturdays in the summer.

Saltwater Farm Vineyard
349 Elm Street
Stonington, CT 06378
860-415-9072
www.saltwaterfarmvineyard.com
Open April – December: Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday 11:00 – 5:00; Friday & Saturday 11:00 – 3:00.
Times may vary depending on holidays or private events, so check the website or call ahead to confirm tasting room hours.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

If you’re a fan of Cabernet Franc, as I have become, or just interested in exploring a bit, and you’re in the southern New England area this season, I recommend making a trek over to Taylor Brooke Winery to check out their last vintage of Cabernet Franc.   After doing a full evaluation of their vineyards, they decided to take out the Cabernet Franc and replace it with Corot Noir, making this the last vintage they will be producing.

The reds section of the tasting menu kicks off with the Cabernet Franc.  Taylor Brooke produces their Cab Franc in the Pinot Noir style, medium bodied and fruity.   The color is a medium ruby.  The nose is lightly earthy with notes of plum.  In the mouth the wine has light cherry notes and a peppery finish.  Upon first taste, the wine feels both young and light, however it does open up with subsequent sips.  It’s not as robust as the Gouveia and Chamard Cabernet Francs, and fans of the more full-bodied reds of California and Oregon will likely not be won over to Connecticut Cabernet Francs here.  However, it’s a nice wine when given a chance, and I anticipate it will improve with a few years of cellaring.

I’m looking forward to Taylor Brooke’s Corot Noir, which they’ll begin producing once they finish the last of the Cabernet Franc.  I’ve not found many Corot Noir wines; Land of Nod is the only other winery that comes to mind that produces a Corot Noir wine; other wineries, I suspect use it primarily for blending.  It’s not a grape I know much about, and it will be interesting to see what Richard Augur does with it.  But more on that in a year or two.

Roseland Red After the Cabernet Franc we moved on to the Roseland Red, a meritage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.   The Cabernet Franc is from the Taylor Brooke vineyards, and they bring in the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot as juice from California and Oregon.  Made in the Bordeaux-style and aged in Hungarian Oak, this is a really nice wine and my favorite among the Taylor Brooke reds.   Also a medium ruby color, the nose is delicate and lightly fruity – an interesting change from the earthy/floral noses of the whites.   A light/medium bodied wine with both spice and cherry throughout.  The finish is peppery with a hint of smoke and leather from the oak.  The wine opens up over multiple tastings and would pair very well with grilled meats and heavier pasta dishes.

Woostock Valley Red The reds finish with Taylor Brooke’s 100% St. Croix wine.  While St. Croix is grown all over southern New England and is used by many vineyards in blending, this is only the second 100% St. Croix wine that I’ve found in Connecticut, the other being Maugle Sierra’s which I had tried earlier that morning.   If there are other predominately St. Croix wines, they were not called out as such during my tastings.   While fruity, Taylor Brooke’s St. Croix is not as fruity as Maugle Sierra’s; like many of their other wines, there are earthy notes that come through the fruit, possibly the differences in terroir between the northeastern hills and the southeastern shoreline.   The Woodstock Valley Red is garnet colored with a light nose with pleasantly earthy, grassy notes.  In the mouth the wine has bright notes of cherry, although it is not the rich “jammyness” that I found with Maugle Sierra’s.  The finish is slightly spicy; I found it hard to pinpoint what I was picking up.  It’s not pepper, although it has some of the sharpness of pepper.  Indian spices came to mind – perhaps a bit of curry?  Still not sure…  Also aged in Hungarian Oak, the finish is lightly smoky.

With the reds concluded, I rinsed my glass and prepared for the dessert wines.  As regular readers of Vino Verve know, I have a particular weakness for dessert wines.  I love that rich silkiness of a good late harvest or ice wine, and am always on the lookout for new wines to add to my collection.

First up was Taylor Brooke’s Late Harvest Riesling. A pale gold color, the nose is delicate with very discernible notes of apricot.  The mouth feel is silky and lush, and on the palate the wine is smooth and rich with notes of apricot with a honey finish.  There’s a touch of acid on the end which is interesting if unexpected.   During the tasting, Linda Augur serves this with chocolate, and the chocolate definitely smooths out that touch of acid, producing a more satisfying experience.

Chocolate Essence One of Taylor Brooke’s most popular wines, if not the most popular wine, they can’t keep this on the shelves.  From start to finish it takes a minimum of one year to produce Chocolate Essence, which given its popularity means Richard Augur always has this in production.  The wine is a chocolate-infused, port-style wine made from Merlot, which is brought in from Long Island.  They add 20 gallons of brandy to 100 gallons of Merlot and then add cocoa bean essence.  The result is heavenly…  A lovely ruby color which sparkles in the light, the nose has deep rich notes of chocolate, lighter notes of berries and a slight smokiness from the oaking.  In the mouth, the wine has bright cherry notes on the front and soft notes of chocolate throughout.  The chocolate deepens and is stronger on the finish leaving you with the sensation of just having eaten a really good chocolate covered cherry.   It would be excellent on its own, it would pair well with a variety of desserts: fruit and cheese or cheesecake immediately came to mind.  Linda Augur also recommends drizzling it over ice cream in place of chocolate sauce.  Yum!  Once opened it is good for 4-6 months, so you can savor a bottle all summer long.

That concluded the afternoon’s tasting.  I will be heading back soon, though, as the second of their seasonal wines was released last week: the St. Croix Rosé.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

One of the great things about writing for Vino Verve, other than hitting the road and exploring new wineries, is that I find I’m inspiring others to do the same.  Often it starts with friends joining me on the wine trail and enjoying it so much that they then take others.  Less often, I’ll hear from someone who read one of the posts and said, “you know, I thought I’d give it a try.”  One of my SOTS (Sisters of the Connecticut Wine Trail) buddies, Jean Levesque, dragged her husband out on Memorial Day weekend as well, spending the afternoon at Sharpe Hill.  Tom, her husband, enjoyed himself so much that Jean should have no trouble dragging him out again – in between SOTS excursions, of course.

Taylor Brooke was first discovered by another wine trail buddy, Christy Mangle (formerly Christy Sherard), who with her husband, Jeff, headed over there late last Fall. Their reviews were so glowing that I immediately moved Taylor Brooke to the top of the list of remaining wineries.  Unfortunately, by the time I was able to get there (New Year’s weekend), they were closing down for the season and were really open only for wine sales.  Upon hearing that I had driven over from Hartford, in the snow no less, Linda Augur kindly offered to pour an abbreviated tasting menu for me that afternoon, and I promised to come back for the full experience once they opened again in the Spring.

Which is where I found myself on that beautiful Sunday afternoon over Memorial Day weekend.   Taylor Brooke produces 10 table and dessert wines and five seasonal wines.    The table wines include 4 whites, including one of their fruit-infused Rieslings; 3 reds, and 3 dessert wines.  Guests are invited to taste two wines on the house, and then can select either another six wines (for a total of 8 ) for $4 or the entire menu, including any of the available seasonal wines, for $6.  A logo glass may be purchased for an additional $3.  Never one to pass up an opportunity to sample new wines, I immediately opted for the full tasting menu for $6.

Woodstock Hill White The tasting kicks off with a lovely blend of estate grown Vignoles and Riesling and Connecticut-grown Cayuga White.  Although the Augurs have recently planted Cayuga White themselves, it will be another few years before those grapes are ready for production.  In the meantime, they partner with a nearby vineyard to obtain their Cayuga White grapes.  A pale straw color, the wine has a delicate floral nose with notes of orange blossom.  In the mouth, the wine is crisp but delicate, lightly sweet with floral notes, and just a touch of acid on the finish to provide balance.    This would pair nicely with seafood and summer pasta dishes.

Riesling Next up was the Riesling.  One of Taylor Brooke’s specialties is their Rieslings, producing a number that are infused with fruit essences.  This is a dry Riesling, and one of my favorites among the Taylor Brooke whites, second only to the Green Apple Riesling.  The color is a very light yellow. The nose is light and delicate with notes of grass, in particular that light, fresh early spring grassy smell when the grass is really starting to come up again after the winter.  In the mouth, the wine is soft and smooth with light notes of grass and maybe green pepper.  There’s a slight buttery finish, nothing overwhelming just enough to provide a touch of sweetness and a soft lingering finish.  Overall a very nice wine, and a nice change from the fruitier wines found elsewhere throughout Connecticut.

Traminette Taylor Brooke led by owner and winemaker Richard Augur were among the first to grow Traminette in Connecticut.  The grape is a hybrid of Gewurztraminer and Seyval Blanc, created by Cornell University in 1996.  While it has many of the characteristics of a Gewurztraminer, the Traminette is particularly suited for the shorter growing seasons and colder climates of the northeast and upper Midwest, and you’ll find Traminette grown in New York, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, as well as New England.   Taylor Brooke’s Traminette is 100% estate grown.  A pale straw color, with a lovely, slightly earthy nose, the wine is very similar to a Gewurztraminer.  Sweeter than the previous two wines, with floral notes on the palate as well as light touches of peach and honey.  The peach notes really come through at the end and the wine finishes beautifully.  This would pair well with spicier, but not overly heavy food: Thai, for example, or even sushi.

Green Apple Riesling My favorite of the Taylor Brooke whites, this is one of their fruit-infused Rieslings.   Not a blend, the fruit-infused Rieslings are the result of incorporating natural fruit essence (similar in concept to vanilla extract) into 100% Riesling.  The results are very impressive producing wines with deeper, more distinctive fruit notes without creating overly sweet fruit wines.   The notes of Green Apple are distinct in the nose, but gentle – I expected the green apple to be much stronger than it actually was.  The earthy, slightly grassy notes of the Riesling were still present and blended beautifully with the slightly floral tart smell of green apple blossoms.  In the mouth, the wine has many of the hallmarks of the Riesling, drier with lightly grassy notes.  As with the nose, the green apple is distinct but not overwhelming, providing both a light sweetness and a crisp tartness reminiscent of that first bite into a crisp green apple.  The mouth feel is soft and silky and the wine has just enough acid on the finish to provide a nice balance and contrast.  Overall, a very nice wine.

Summer Peach The whites concluded with the first of Taylor Brooke’s seasonal wines, the Summer Peach.  Available May 1st each year, the Summer Peach is one of their more popular wines.  Like all the Rieslings, the color is a pale straw.  The nose is stronger than either the Riesling or the Green Apple Riesling, with very distinct notes of peach.  In the mouth the peach notes are strong, but not too sweet.  Like the Green Apple Riesling, the mouth feel is soft and silky, with a satisfying finish.  The acid provides a very slightly bitter finish which I found to be a bit off-putting; it’s almost as if the strength of the peach notes were leading me to expect more of a dessert wine with a smoother, richer finish.   Still, overall a very nice wine and one that will pair well with a wide variety of late spring/summer dishes, particularly grilled food, seafood and summer pastas.

As that finished the whites, I took a short break, rinsed my glass and prepared for the Reds…

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

For those of you following in my footsteps, or more accurately my tire treads, the best advice I can give you is to turn off the GPS when you start heading north.  The GPS directions will inevitably lead you to I-395 as the fastest route to the northeast corner of the state.  And while a lovely tree-lined drive that will save you approximately 12 minutes of travel time, as with all interstates you’ll bypass the most interesting parts of the journey.  Instead, head north on Route 169, one of the first designated National Scenic Byways in the United States.

32 miles long, running from Lisbon, Connecticut (just north of Maugle Sierra) to Woodstock, Route 169 dates back to the early 19th century, when it was established as the Norwich/Woodstock turnpike.  The whole area is teeming with history.  One of the things I love best is the historic architecture – there are almost 200 pre-1855 houses throughout the area, many of them colonial/early Republic farmhouses set behind stone fences.  Historic churches stand at the center of the various small towns you’ll pass through, and many of the towns have historic homes-cum-museums open to the public.   Even without stopping, it’s a gorgeous drive that rivals those of the Litchfield Hills on the western side of the state.

So, after a very pleasant hour at Maugle Sierra, I headed north to Woodstock and Taylor Brooke Winery, passing Heritage Trail in Lisbon, Connecticut which I’ve already visited twice and therefore decided to skip that afternoon.  For those newer to this part of the wine trail, Heritage Trail is a great mid-point stop along Route 169.  In addition to the winery they have a small restaurant serving both lunch and dinner and featuring dishes made from local produce and cheeses.  A perfect day’s itinerary could include kicking off the day at Maugle Sierra, a stop at Heritage Trail for wine and lunch, a mid-afternoon stop at Taylor Brooke and then wine and dinner at Sharpe Hill.  I’m trying to talk Kevin and Gretchen into leaving the kids in Sag Harbor with Kevin’s father later this summer and come to Connecticut for a long weekend.  If it works out, this will definitely be one of our itineraries.

I arrived at Taylor Brooke just after 1:00 that afternoon.  The winery sits atop a small but steep hill overlooking the main road, and a very sharply curved driveway leads you up the incline.  The drive only accommodates one car at a time, so check carefully before starting up – or down.  Backing up on that drive is not for the faint of heart.

Once you reach the top though, it’s all worth it.  The tasting room, a one-and-a-half-story gray-clapboard building awaits you at the top of the drive.  Outside, the building is reminiscent of a small country store or cottage; inside, the space is open and inviting, and the staff welcome you in warmly.  The main room is a long rectangular space, probably a good 25-30 feet end-to-end, and the tasting bar runs along much of the back wall.  Shelves with t-shirts, coaster, wine corks, and other gift items as well as local area brochures line the walls opposite the bar.  The rest of the space is left open, and as a result, even when busy, the room doesn’t feel claustrophobic.  An archway on the right leads to a smaller room with bar height tables and chairs for those who may want to relax and linger.

Taylor Brooke is owned by Richard and Linda Auger, who have been making wines for about 15 years.  They have 2.5 acres under cultivation, growing Vignoles, Riesling, Cayuga White, Corot Noir, Traminette, and St. Croix.  The Cayuga White is new this year, replacing St. Pepin, as is the Corot Noir, which is replacing their underperforming Cabernet Franc vines.  While it will be another 2-3 years before the Cayuga and Corot Noir grapes are ready for pressing, these hybrids should do better in the colder winters and shorter growing seasons of New England.  The Augers and Taylor Brooke were also the first in the state of Connecticut to plant Traminette, which continues to do well for them.  Other grapes used in their wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, are brought in from Massachusetts or Long Island.

In 2008, the Augurs established the Taylor Brooke Scholarship Program, an annual $500 scholarship awarded to a graduating senior of the Woodstock Academy who plans to focus on a career in Agriculture.  They have also established an Adopt-A-Vine program.  For $55, program participants receive a certificate of “adoption” for one of the grape vines grown in Taylor Brooke’s vineyards, are eligible to participate in the Fall Harvest and will receive one complimentary bottle of wine each year for three years.  This is the first program of it’s kind that I’ve seen in Connecticut, and it’s quite interesting. I didn’t have a chance to ask Linda Augur how many vines they have available for adoption, but I do know they sell out quickly.  I’d love to see the idea catch on at other vineyards as a great way to get people more involved in and aware of local wine production.

Taylor Brooke is open from May 1st through December, Friday’s 11-6 and Saturday & Sunday 11-5.  They are also open select holidays; check their website for details.

Taylor Brooke Winery
848 Route 171
Woodstock, CT 06281
Phone: (860) 974-1263
LindaAuger@TaylorBrookeWinery.com
Twitter:  woodstockctwine
Facebook: Taylor Brooke Winery

Powered by Bookmarkify™