Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Memorial Day weekend couldn’t have been more perfect here in New England: gorgeously sunny, warm and almost no clouds to mar the picture-postcard-perfect blue skies.  I woke up Sunday morning to a fresh breeze, birds singing and a siren’s call beckoning me to hit the open road.   However, I also knew from past experience that the siren’s call goes out far and wide, particularly on a lovely holiday weekend, and if I didn’t plan well, I’d be stuck in the middle of large jostling crowds of people; not the way I like to experience new wineries.

I’m nearing the end of my quest to visit all of Connecticut’s wineries, having only 8 of the state’s 30 wineries left to go.   As I looked over the list of remaining wineries, I decided to combine win(e)ding roads with winding roads and selected wineries at either end of Route 169, one of the longest designated scenic roads in the state, meandering through farmlands, forests and some of the most quintessentially New England small towns you will find anywhere.

First stop: Maugle Sierra Vineyards in Ledyard, Connecticut, located in the Southeast New England AVA.  Established in 2002 by Paul and Betty Maugle, Maugle Sierra has 11 acres under cultivation growing St. Croix, Traminette and Cayuga grapes.  They also bring in Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Vidal from Long Island and Massachusetts, and produce a total of 7 wines: 2 whites, a rosé, 3 reds and a dessert wine.

Maugle Sierra’s signature grape is the St. Croix, a grape grown extensively throughout Connecticut and New England, but one that’s often used as a blending grape, usually in combination with Cab Franc or Merlot.   Maugle Sierra was the first vineyard I found with a 100% St. Croix wine, which they produce both as a table wine and a dessert wine.  St. Croix also serves as the base for their rosé.  Since then, I’ve found a couple other St. Croix wines, including one at my second stop of the day, Taylor Brooke Winery, but it’s still unusual enough of a find that I take special notice when I come across them.

The winery is located in the southeast corner of the state, very close to both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun Casinos and not far from Mystic, making it an easy side trip for anyone who may be coming in to spend the weekend.  Meandering down the hilly and heavily tree and brush-lined Route 117 and into the gravel-lined yard shaded by tall oak trees, it’s hard to imagine there’s enough open land for vineyards.   However,  park your car, head back along the path leading to the winery entrance and you’ll see the vineyards and farmlands open up in front of you, cascading down gently sloping hills.

The entrance to the winery is around back set into the basement of the larger house and winery buildings. The approach takes you through a large grassy patio area with patio tables and chairs scattered across the lawn.  Once you finish your tasting inside the tasting room, Paul and Betty will actively encourage you to bring a picnic and settle in for a few hours – or an afternoon.   The tasting room itself is small with an old-world European charm, and a very different feel than any other Connecticut winery I’d visited.  Overall, Connecticut wineries and tasting rooms reflect Connecticut – often housed in large barns or old farmhouses, the tasting rooms are usually light and airy with nods to New England history and/or farm life.

Maugle Sierra is like stepping into another world – a heavy dark wooden door opens into a small, but charming room that has a bit of an italian flair.  Low ceilings and dim lighting contribute to the intimate feel of the space.  The tasting bar runs the length of the back wall and could hold 6-8 comfortably and 10-12 closely.  Four wrought iron bar tables are arranged in center of the room, seating an additional 16.  On busy days, I imagine the tasting room gets pretty crowded with people lined up several deep at the bar.  This day, however, there were only 7 of us – myself, a young couple in from New York, and a family of four from Pennsylvania.  Several other couples came in as we were finishing, but for most of the hour I was there, it was just the seven of us with host Paul Maugle, making for a very relaxing way to start the day.

This coming weekend, June 19th and 20th 11-5, Maugle Sierra will be hosting their Summer Wine Festival on the winery grounds.  Maugle Sierra is also a sponsor of The Tasting Room with Bruce Newbury, a weekly talk show on 104.7 WXLM radio which features local wines and wineries.  On Sunday the 20th, Newbury will be broadcasting live from the Maugle Sierra Tasting Room.

Coming Thursday, June 17th: The Wines of Maugle Sierra

Maugle Sierra Vineyards
825 Colonel Ledyard Highway (on CT Route 117)
Ledyard, CT 06339
860-464-2987
The Tasting Room is open year-round.  Summer hours: Thursday and Friday, 12-6; Saturday and Sunday, 11-5.  Check the website for winter hours.

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

For my next installment of Lists for Locapours I am going to tell you about a Chicago restaurant that includes local wines on their list. Naturally, you would assume that this restaurant is of a lower quality.

You would be wrong.

Charlie Trotter’s even has a page on his website dedicated to American wines, stating:

“….By 2001, there were licensed wineries in all 50 states. All these producers have great pride in what they’re cultivating. Thus far, the results are good, with incredible potential in the years to come…..we invite you to enjoy our ongoing search for the quintessential wine produced in each of the 50 states, either from European and native North American grape varieties, or from other fruits. They may be red or white, dry or sweet. This chapter, like winemaking in North America , is a work in progress, and evolution. The search will continue as we cross borders and venture into Canada and Mexico .”

Some of the wines that are included on this list are:

1994 Lynfred Cabernet Sauvignon, from Roselle, Illinois… We have been there!
Hopkins Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Western Connecticut Highlands (VinoVerve has been there!)
Cedar Creek “Semidry” Vidal, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin (VV has been there but I forgot to post it… ugh! But I will soon)
2003 Sakonnet Vidal Blanc, Southeastern New England (from Rhode Island, and yes… we’ve been there!)

So, remember, the next time someone tells you that there are no decent local wines, and they certainly don’t pair in a fine dining environment remind them that Charlie Trotter disagrees.

Viva the Locapour, Charlie!

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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

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

Have you been thinking about trying some Connecticut wines, but are not sure where to start?

Are you interested in being more of a locavore, or rather, locapour?

Or are you simply a fan of Connecticut wines?

If you can answer yes to any – or all – of these, then the

is the place for you!

Saturday, August 1st 12-7 and Sunday, August 2nd 12-6, more than 20 Connecticut Wineries will be gathering at the Goshen Fairgrounds.  In addition to the wineries, there will be booths featuring local arts & crafts as well as specialty foods, and local musicians will be performing throughout the day.   This year, the festival also allows purchases of bottles and cases of wine directly from the wineries.

General Admission is $20 in advance and $25 at the door.  You can also purchase a 2-day pass for $40.   Admission is only $10 for designated drivers and those under 21.  Advance tickets may be purchased onsite at any of the following wineries:

Jones Winery, Shelton, CT
White Silo Winery, Sherman, CT
Hopkins Vineyard, Warren, CT
Sunset Meadow Vineyards, Goshen, CT
Miranda Vineyard, Goshen, CT
Land of Nod, Canaan, CT
Rosedale Farms & Vineyard, Simsbury, CT
Gouveia Vineyards, Wallingford, CT
Priam Vineyards, Colchester, CT
Sharpe Hill Vineyard, Pomfret, CT
Jonathan Edwards Winery, North Stonington, CT
Chamard Vineyards, Clinton, CT
Bishop’s Orchards Winery, Guilford, CT

or by calling 860-677-5467 between 9 and 3 Monday-Friday (a 50 cent handling fee will be applied to all phone orders, and phone orders will be accepted until 7.24.09 only.  American Express is not accepted for phone orders).

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