Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

I fell in love with Newport on the drive down to the waterfront.  Our plan, if you can call the itinerary we hastily constructed over brunch a mere five hours before a plan, included spending the afternoon touring local wineries and then stopping in Newport for dinner on the waterfront.  At the time all I knew of Newport was that it was seafront town with legendary mansions, the “summer cottages” built by the New York elite at the turn of the 20th century.

Newport was founded in 1639 by a group of eight men after a political falling out with Anne Hutchinson and her followers.  The town was settled on the south side of Aquidneck Island, near the mouth of Narragansett Bay, and throughout the 17th and 18th century the town and its citizens grew prosperous from both the whaling industry and the slave trade.  During the Revolutionary War, French troops under the command of General Rochambeau first landed in America at Newport, and the town served as the French base of operations for the duration of the war.  Today you’ll still see references to Rochambeau throughout the area, and at least one vineyard, Newport Vineyards, has named a wine in his honor.  By the mid-19th century the town was becoming a summer destination for wealthy Americans, including families like the Vanderbilts and the Astors who built the homes that today comprise the Newport Mansions Historic District.

As we drove in though, we weren’t thinking about the mansions, and the Newport we discovered is a charming seaside town with a shoreline shopping and restaurant district that manages to retain the flavor of its New England seaport past without being kitschy.  The downtown waterfront area comprises one of three historic districts within Newport’s boundaries and includes one of the largest concentrations of colonial-era homes left in the country, a charming shopping district which runs along Thames street, and a wide variety of restaurants lining the waterfront.

We parked in one of the lots off of Thames Street and strolled down the brick-paved street, window shopping our way over to Bowen’s Wharf and The Landing restaurant.  Dinner was excellent; we were able to snag seats on the upstairs porch with great views of the water and the “what felt like thousands of” sailboats moored in the harbor.  For the life of me, I can’t remember what Christy had for dinner, but I haven’t forgotten the Lobster Mornay I ordered – delicious! – pasta baked in a rich cheese and cream sauce with nice big chunks of fresh lobster.  Yum!  We lingered over dinner, and as we walked back up Thames street to the car, we discovered that Newport also has a very vibrant nightlife with both bars and restaurants filled to capacity throughout downtown.

Facing a 2-2.5 hour drive home we decided to skip the bars, grab the car and drive past the mansions on our way out of town.  What didn’t occur to us, but probably should have, is that they are all surrounded by tall (very tall) fences and hedges.  Thinking about it now, I realize of course they have hedges – I’m sure the last thing the Vanderbilts came to Newport for was to mingle with the locals…   What I later learned was that we would have done better if we had walked back to the car along the waterfront as that would have taken us past a large group of historic colonial-era homes.  Not as opulent as the mansions, but equally interesting.  Ah well, just another reason to go back…

What makes Newport noteworthy from a locapour-point-of-view is its location in the heart of the Southeastern New England AVA and the Coastal Wine Trail, making it the perfect base of operations for a long weekend exploring southern New England wine country by day while enjoying the town by night.  The Coastal Wine Trail includes eight wineries stretching along the Rhode Island/Southern Massachusetts coastline from the Langworthy Farms Winery at the Connecticut/Rhode Island border to the Truro Winery on Cape Cod.  But the remaining six wineries are all clustered in the general vicinity of Newport.   And if that were not enough, each Fall the Preservation Society of Newport County hosts the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, allowing you to experience everything Newport has to offer all in one place.

Newport is approximately 3.5 hours from New York, 90 minutes from Boston, and 2.5 hours from Hartford.

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Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Continued from Tuesday, October 27th

Looking back over my notes, it appears that Christy and I only selected five wines (2 whites, 2 reds and 1 dessert wine) each, rather than the six we were entitled to.  I’m trying to remember if that’s because we each chose the same wine in two cases – or if we just counted wrong.  Knowing us, it was probably the latter.

Anyway – having finished the whites, we moved on to the Reds.  First up was the

Cock of the Walk Red - Like its counterpart Cock of the Walk White, the tasting notes also describe Cock of the Walk Red as having “lots of ATTITUDE.”  And unlike the white, with the red I did get attitude.  A blend of Lemberger, Cabernet Franc and Chancellor, this is a medium-bodied, fairly complex wine.  The color is a lovely dark plum and the nose has rich notes of plum.  In the mouth the wine opens with notes of spice and a hint of cinnamon and has rich notes of plum and cherries on the finish.  There’s an interesting musty earthiness, particularly on the finish, that gives the wine some character.  It’s a more complex wine than I expected, and Christy and I were divided; I liked it much better than she did.  The one thing we did agree on is that you’re unlikely to be neutral about this wine – you’ll either like it or you won’t.

Petite Red This is a new wine for Sakonnet, released for the first time this year.  A blend of younger estate grapes (interestingly they don’t share the specific varietals), this is a decent table wine.  Red-purple in color, the nose is bright and fruity, and there are bright notes of berries and cherry on the palate.  The Petite Red could pair with a wide variety of food, and would definitely be a”utility-player” wine to keep on hand.

Cabernet Franc 2005 As my regular readers know, I’ve been preferring Cabernet Francs lately.   The grape does well in the colder, northern climes, and the wines produced are dispelling the myth that the Northeast is too cold to produce strong reds.  While I’d probably rank this in the middle of the pack of New England Cab Francs I’ve tasted to date, I did enjoy this wine.  A lovely garnet color that caught the light nicely, the wine has an interesting plum & pepper nose.  In the mouth, the wine has notes of black currants and a touch of grassiness.  The oak brings out notes of musty leather in the nose and an earthiness in the mouth that provides a sharp, dry finish.

Rhode Island Red The final wine we chose was the Rhode Island Red,  which Sakonnet calls “New England’s Signature Red.”   A blend of Cabernet Franc, Chancellor and Lemberger, this, like the Petite Red, is a nice “utility-player” table red, although this is a richer, more complex wine than the Petite Red.  The nose has soft floral notes, and in the mouth there are light notes of blueberry, a touch of grassiness, and a very light toastiness from the oak.

That finished the reds, and we had just enough time to squeeze in one dessert wine each, Christy opted for the

Port 2006 Made from estate-grown Chancellor grapes and aged for two years in American Oak before being fortified with brandy.  The result is a rich port wine, with notes of cherry and a slightly peppery finish.

My choice was a late harvest Vidal Blanc

Sirrius Christy and I both really liked this wine.  The nose was lovely (in my notes I actually underlined lovely several times) with that rich, deep sweetness that you so often get from Vidal Blanc grapes.  In the mouth, the wine is smooth and rich, with soft notes of apricot.  Definitely a nice dessert wine, the Sirrius would also be good sipped on its own as an aperitif.

Comparing notes, we both agreed that the three Vidal Blanc wines (Vidal Blanc 2008, Fume Vidal Reserve 2007 and Sirrius) are Sakonnet’s stars and really stood out from the rest of the pack.  With that, we packed up and headed back down the road to Newport and dinner on the water.

Sakonnet Vineyards is located in Little Compton, Rhode Island.  You can find their wines in local package stores and restaurants throughout Rhode Island, or purchase wine directly from the winery or their website.  They offer free shipping on cases over $150 and also offer a Rooster Rewards program in which you earn points towards discounts off future purchases.

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Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Continued from Thursday, October 22nd

Sakonnet Vineyards falls within the Southeastern New England AVA which starts just south of Boston and runs along the coasts of southeastern Massachusetts, through Rhode Island and into southeastern and central Connecticut.  The region’s climate is similar to some of the cooler wine regions around the world, most notably the Loire Valley in France, and for Rhode Island winemakers in particular, the presence of the Atlantic Ocean coupled with the warmer waters of the Narrangasset Bay provide an ideal micro-climate for grape production.

Sakonnet produces eight whites from predominately Vidal Blanc, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer grapes. The tasting menu includes all available Sakonnet wines (white, red, and dessert), and you get your choice of up to six.  Having become old hands at this, it took no time at all for Christy and me to build our joint tasting menu, beginning with the

Vidal Blanc 2008 This was my favorite of the Sakonnet whites.  Made from 100% Vidal Blanc grapes aged in stainless steel with no oak, the wine has that lovely “vidal” nose – bright and fruity, with lovely notes of grapefruit.  The wine is smooth, crisp and very refreshing, with notes of grapefruit and a slight sweetness that balances out the grapefruity tartness.  Our host suggested that in addition to pairing with foods, particularly seafood, this is a great wine for use in cooking and recommended using it when cooking scallops.   I don’t eat scallops, but I could definitely see using it in a wine sauce to accompany grilled salmon.

Cock of the Walk White A blend of Pinot Grigio, Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay, the tasting notes indicated “apple, melon and ATTITUDE.”  Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling the “attitude.”  Maybe it was the bottle we had, but I found the wine to be very light with no really strong discernible notes.  The nose was pleasant but light, and in the mouth the green apple notes were very subtle.  This is a low oak wine with a very light smokiness.  Christy also found it a bit anemic, and we both agreed the Vidal Blanc had more character and depth.

Fume Vidal Reserve 2007 Another very nice wine made again with Vidal Blanc grapes, Sakonnet’s “signature grape.”  Aged in small American and French oak barrels, the Fume Vidal is a drier and more aggressive wine than the Vidal Blanc.  The grapefruit notes in both the nose and the mouth are stronger, and the oak brings out sharper, richer fruit notes with a light toasty finish.  If forced to choose, my preference would be the Vidal Blanc 2008 for it’s crispness, but the Fume Vidal is an interesting wine, and definitely made my list of wines to watch for.

Reserve Chardonnay 2007 A pleasant wine, but overall not as interesting and distinctive as the two Vidals.  Barrel fermented and sur lie aged for one year in French Oak, the Reserve Chardonnay has lovely notes of both fruit and floral in the nose and soft notes of melon in the mouth.  The oak provides a light buttery smoothness and subtle notes of honey.  There’s a nice balance of acid to round out the wine and give it depth and interest.

Comparing notes as we rinsed our glasses in preparation for the first of the reds, both Christy and I agreed that the Vidals were definitely the stars among the whites.

The tasting continues Thursday, October 29th with the Sakonnet Reds & Dessert wines.

Sakonnet Vineyards is located in Little Compton, RI
See our 10.22.09 post for information on the winery including tasting room hours, winery tours, and contact information.

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Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

I had to laugh at myself as I reached into the pile of notes taken during my Win(e)ding Road adventures over the past few months to pick the winery I’d feature in today’s post.  When I first started on this journey, I was, at best, an occasional contributor, fearing I’d never have enough material to meet a regular posting schedule.  Silly me…  I currently have enough notes to produce posts through early December.  And I still haven’t finished the entire Connecticut Wine Trail…

But the notes – and memory – I pulled out today take me back to that beautiful Saturday afternoon in early August when Christy and I took an impulsive road trip to Newport.  We left late, having only decided on Newport over brunch, and as a result, we pulled into Sakonnet Vineyards with 30 seconds to spare before last call (the tasting room closes at 6, and the last round of tastings is at 5:30).  If truth be told, we probably just missed last call, but the young lady at the register took pity on us and sold us two tastings just under the wire, for which we were cravenly grateful.

Sakonnet Vineyards, named after nearby Sakonnet River, was the first post-prohibition Rhode Island winery.  Founded in 1975 by Jim & Lolly Mitchell, Sakonnet released their first vintage in 1976.   The Mitchells later sold the vineyards and winery to New Yorkers Earl and Susan Samson, who have developed both the wines and the winery into a destination spot for Rhode Island wine.  They currently have 50 acres under cultivation, growing Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Vidal Blanc and produce more than 30,000 cases annually.  They sell many of their wines through the winery and will ship orders providing state laws permit direct-from-winery or out of state shipments.  Sakonnet wines can also be found in package stores and on restaurant lists throughout Newport County and Rhode Island.

The winery and grounds are charming.  The path up from the parking area takes you through a large grassy yard with modern-art sculptures set amid the trees and picnic tables.  Wildflowers blanket the lawn in front of the winery, and bistro tables and chairs are set up under the trees in the front yard and on the back patio for guests who wish to relax and enjoy their wine outside.

The tasting room feels like a large, comfortable pub; a very large rectangular bar, which could easily hold 30+ people, dominates the room.  A large wooden chalkboard sign hanging on the back wall serves as the price list, and the winery staff moves easily through the center of the bar area, pouring tastings or glasses of wine, clearing up, and chatting with the guests.  In addition to tastings and wine sales, Sakonnet also conducts winery tours twice a day.

Because we arrived so late in the day - and thanks again to the staff member who took pity on us and sold us the last two tickets for that day’s tastings – we really didn’t have time to linger.   We were given the tasting menu, which includes eight whites, five reds, and three dessert wines, and asked to select up to six wines.   We’ve become old hands at coordinating selections, so it didn’t take us long to make our selections and between us we were able to sample ten of Sakonnet’s sixteen wines.

First up, the whites beginning with the 2008 Vidal Blanc…

Continues on Tuesday, October 27th.

Sakonnet Vineyards
162 West Main Road
Little Compton, Rhode Island 02387
1-800-91-wines
info@sakonnetwine.com
Hours: October – December  11:00 – 5:00, (last call 4:30) seven days a week.  January – March, 11:00 – 5:00 Thursday-Sunday.  On April 1st, they reopen seven days a week.  Winery tours are conducted each day at noon and 3pm

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Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Newport Vineyards has an extensive menu of wines, 31 in total; one of the largest selections that I’ve seen yet from a Northeastern regional winery.   The menu begins with 13 whites divided into four categories: dry, no-oak (2), dry, oaked (1), Alsatian Style (6), and the semi-dry (4), before moving into the Rosés (4), the Reds (8), the Dessert Wines, which include a Port and an Ice Wine (4), and finishing with a Brut sparkling wine and a hard apple cider.

A tasting, which runs $9, includes your choice of five wines and allows you to join one of the two daily tours of the winery (1 and 3 pm).  Unfortunately, if you elect not to take the tour or arrive after the tours have finished for the day (as we did), the price still remains $9.  Tastings of the Ice Wine and the Brut will run you an additional $1 each.  Individual glasses of wine can be purchased for $6, although a handful of the premium wines run $8 per glass.

Christy and I took our time studying the menu and selecting our wines, while listening to our hosts explain ad nauseum to a group at the other end of the bar that tastings work best if you start with the whites and move on to the reds.  I’m always amused, and often exasperated, by the people who don’t know what they’re doing – but desperately and often pretentiously pretend that they do.   The winery staff had my sympathy that day; I can only imagine how frustrating it is to watch someone select a fuller-bodied wine like a cabernet franc as their first wine, follow it up with a light-bodied white, and then have to listen to them complain about how the “white tastes funny” – all the while keeping a polite smile on your face.

But eventually the group settled down, and our host wandered over to pour our tasting.  I elected to begin with the one dry, oak-aged white, the

2007 Newport Chardonnay A nice wine, but not one that blew me away.  The color is a very pale yellow, and the nose has light grassy notes with a very light touch of citrus.  A light-bodied wine, in the mouth the flavors are light, clean and smooth with light sweet notes of pear and a touch of lemon on the finish.  The citrus is crisp and balances the smoother, deeper flavors of the pear, and the oak provides a light toastiness.   The tasting notes indicate this would pair well with grilled fish and poultry as well as light cheeses.

2008 Tranquility Next up for me was one of the Alsatian-style wines, a blend of gewurztraminer (34%), muscat ottonel (34%), pinot gris (22%), and riesling (10%).  Like the Newport Chardonnay, Tranquility is also a pale yellow color.  The nose is bright with lovely floral notes and a hint of sweetness from the muscat.  A light-bodied wine, yet fuller than the Chardonnay, Tranquility is a soft dry-style wine with floral notes, low oak, and a touch of sweetness that provides depth and character.  It’s an interesting wine and my favorite of the wines I tasted that afternoon.  Tranquility is a gold medal winner for Best Vinifera Blend at the Atlantic Wine Competition.

2006 Rochambeau Named in honor of Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, the French General who fought with George Washington and helped defeat the British at the Battle of Yorktown (1781),  Newport Vineyard’s Rochambeau is a blend  of Cabernet Sauvignon and Landot Noir.   Made in the Bordeaux-style, the wine is medium-bodied, bright and tangy.  The nose has interesting notes of pepper and berries.  In the mouth, the wine is young with a tangy “back” taste and strong berry notes, particularly on the finish.  I tend to prefer stronger, deeper reds, but I was intrigued by this wine and will definitely be giving this another try on my next visit.

2007 Cabernet Franc I have become a real fan of Cabernet Franc, finding it one of the richest most satisfying reds produced here in the Northeast, and even when not touring local wineries am finding myself gravitating towards cabernet francs and zinfandels over my former favorites pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon.  Newport Vineyards’ Cabernet Franc didn’t disappoint, but I didn’t find it as strong as the Cabernet Francs from Chamard or Gouveia.  The color is a lovely jewel-tone medium garnet that subtly sparkles in the glass.  The nose is deep and soft with light notes of earth and fruit and just a hint of spice.  A medium-bodied wine, there are soft notes of fruit in the mouth – I detected dark berries and just a hint of cherry brightness.  The finish is clean with lingering notes of pepper that give the wine an interesting character.  Perhaps I had a tasting from a recently opened bottle, but I did feel that the wine needed to breathe longer to display it’s full potential.

2006 Newport Jazz I finished out the afternoon with a dessert wine, a Sauterne-style, late harvest Sauvignon Blanc.  Despite my general fondness for dessert wines, this was my least favorite of the afternoon.  A lovely dark gold color, the nose was rich and sweet and held a lot of promise that unfortunately the wine didn’t deliver.  Surprisingly, in the mouth the wine was slightly dry with a sharp finish.  The mouth feel had that silky smoothness that one expects from a dessert wine, but the balance was somehow just “off.”  It may that I had a tasting from a bad bottle, so I will definitely give this another try before writing it off altogether.

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Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Newport was an impulse.

The first week in August had been extremely difficult at work, and by Saturday morning all I wanted to do was run away.  So, at noon, while sitting in the Wethersfield Diner scarfing down omelets with Christy, I looked across the table and announced, “we’re going to Newport.”

For some time, Newport had been on my list of places to visit, and that day it just seemed like a great place to escape to.   That there are three wineries within 45-minutes of downtown Newport made the destination even more appealing.  Of course that presupposed we would arrive in time to visit the wineries; Newport is just under 3 hours driving time from Hartford, and we didn’t even hit the road until almost 1pm.  But Bacchus was smiling on us that day – traffic was light as we sailed southeast down Route 2 through Connecticut, crossing over onto Aquidneck Island (Newport County) around 3:40 and arriving at our first stop, Newport Vineyards, just after 4:00.  We later made it to Sakonnet Vineyards just in time to catch the 5:30 last call for tastings, but that’s a story for another day.

Newport Vineyards was founded by Captain Richard Alexander, who planted the winery’s first vines in 1977 on the Hopelands Farms estate.  In 1988, Alexander began a partnership with John and Paul Nunes, and together they opened the Vinland Wine Cellars on recently acquired farmland in Middletown just north of Newport.   George Cheif, Newport’s winemaker, also joined the team at this time, pressing his first grapes in 1988.   In 1995, Alexander retired, and John and Paul Nunes, now the sole owners, changed the name to Newport Vineyards.  The team won their first Gold Medal in 1998 for Newport Vineyards’ “Great White,” which to this day remains Newport’s most popular wine, and in 1999, Newport’s Vidal Ice Wine was named one of the United States’ 50 Best.

Newport Vineyards is the largest wine-grape grower in the Northeast with 60 acres spread across three farms: Hopelands Vineyards, the original vineyards, situated on the banks of the Sakonnet River and site of the oldest vines; the Perry Farm Vineyards, acquired in 1988 and site of the winery buildings and tasting room; and Nunes Farm Vineyards, acquired in 2002.  The Nunes Farm, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been in the Nunes family since 1917.  The farm itself dates back to the early 18th century, and the original 1701 farmhouse still stands on the property.

The majority of Newport’s vineyards are located near the center of Aquidneck Island (Newport County), within a few miles of the Atlantic Ocean.  The soil is a silty loam with moderate drainage which retains enough water to help with irrigation in the summer months.  The proximity to the ocean helps mitigate the dangers of fall frosts while being far enough inland to avoid “fog and benefit from the thermal heat off the land.”

The winery buildings are located in a long, single-story building  and share space with several specialty shops including a gourmet bakery, a restaurant, and a toy shop.   The vineyards of the Perry Farm, which were first planted in 1988, surround the back and side of the property extending back to the horizon.  The tasting room is a very large space divided evenly between a gift shop in the front and the tasting room/bar in the back.  In addition to selling wine and the usual assortment of wine coolers, gadgets and t-shirts, Newport Vineyards offers gift baskets and custom wine labels for their wines.

The tasting area is dominated by a very large u-shaped bar which looked as if it could easily hold 40 people comfortably.  Wine coolers range along the back wall keeping all the wines at optimum temperature and the staff moves easily back and forth in a practiced dance pouring the various tastings.  There is also an outdoor tasting area with a second bar set up just outside the main tasting room; this may serve to hold overflow and also be used for special events.

The winery is open seven days a week, Monday thru Saturday 10-5, and Sundays 12-5.  Winery tours are hosted each afternoon at 1:00 and 3:00.

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Now that Marguerite is getting ready to check out the rest of the New England, I thought that she should have some maps to go with them….

This is obviously Rhode Island.  The smallest state with the largest name….

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Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Summer 2009 has been interesting to say the least. A cold, rainy June and July followed by a hot and muggy August. Hiccups on the career front accompanied by long hours in the office. Unfortunate cancellation of a week’s vacation plans at the end of August.

By midsummer, I was feeling like Boone in Animal House, “Otter, this is ridiculous!”  So what’s a girl to do?

ROAD TRIP!

Or to be strictly accurate, road trips.  I decided to eschew traditional stress busters such as exercise and therapy in favor of exploring the Southeastern New England and Warren Hills AVAs.  Armed only with a full tank of gas, a list of wineries, a map, and the ubiquitous debit card, I hit the open roads on random weekends with wine trail buddies Christy Sherard and Maree Prendergast, discovering new wines and new places from Newport, Rhode Island to Rieglesville, Pennsylvania.

There were good wines and great meals, as well as the occasional wrong turn, but most of all, lots of laughs and that great sense of freedom you get from impulsively saying, “let’s get out of here.”

I’ve also decided it’s time to mix things up here at Vino Verve – while reliving the adventure of hitting the road without a fully-defined plan.  So rather than organize my posts as I’ve done in the past (chronological order of wineries visited), I’m throwing them all in a soup; one day you might find me in Rhode Island, the next in New Jersey.   I suppose you could say it’s the Vino Verve version of Where’s Waldo?

So I hope you’ll join me here at Vino Verve on Tuesdays and Thursdays through October for the 2009 Win(e)ding Roads Summer Adventure!

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Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

To date, Summer ’09 has been a cool and soggy one here in New England.  Despite that, there have been moments of glorious weather, perfect for hitting the Win(e)ding Roads of Connecticut, New Jersey, and as of yesterday, Rhode Island.   But the summer’s not over, and August promises even more great days – so if you haven’t hit the trails yet, come and join us!

All pictures by Marguerite Barrett, July – August 2009

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