I assumed all the "good" vineyards were located in California, Italy, Germany and France. Who knew they existed in New England? Not this girl. This past week I had a girl's outing with some friends and stopped by a few local vineyards.
I'm not generally too picky when it comes to my wine. I like red, white, fruity; if it's dry, I must nibble while sipping, if it's fruity I can drink while babbling away.
The first winery we visited is in a small town in New Hampshire. The owner was an entertaining grandfatherly type who flirted with us young ladies. The other workers were super nice and hospitable as well. They taught us what to look for while swirling and to smell. Oh the smell! After sampling eight delicious wines, we got to see how they crushed, bottled and labeled the wines. They even offered us another sample after watching the men in the warehouse bottle maple apple wine. Doesn't that sound delicious? Oh, it was. And we each bought a bottle.
Ever had pumpkin wine? Sound weird? Oh my heavens...so delightful. We bought a case of wine choosing the flavors we've never had before: Cranberry, Pumpkin, Maple Apple, Pear, Blackberry. It was hard to settle on twelve and I'm wishing I got more. And get this...the bottles weren't the $30 or $40 we were expecting. They ranged from $10-$15.
After consuming samples and touring the adorable vineyard, we went to another winery and discovered we'd instantly become wine snobs. Maybe it was the amazing perfectness of our first stop, but the second winery couldn't compare. In fact, we didn't even have all six samples offered us. My girlfriends and I found ourselves discussing visual appeal,crispness, color, tang, aftertaste, the "oak" factor. Mind you, we typically buy the $7.99 bottles at the grocery store so we're not really wine snobs and before this trip, had no idea what to even look for--or smell--in a wine.
Our third vineyard was much better than the second and we didn't let our samples go to waste, each leaving with a bottle of wine. It was the perfect girl's outing and I can't wait to visit more local vineyards who use fresh fruits and vegetables (yes, there was wine with tomatoes and one with beets) from local growers. Not only was the wine delicious, the company perfect, but we got our dose of fruits and vegetables as well, all while supporting our local communities.
I discovered I favor a semi-sweet, fruity wine. What's your wine preference?
I'm not generally too picky when it comes to my wine. I like red, white, fruity; if it's dry, I must nibble while sipping, if it's fruity I can drink while babbling away.
The first winery we visited is in a small town in New Hampshire. The owner was an entertaining grandfatherly type who flirted with us young ladies. The other workers were super nice and hospitable as well. They taught us what to look for while swirling and to smell. Oh the smell! After sampling eight delicious wines, we got to see how they crushed, bottled and labeled the wines. They even offered us another sample after watching the men in the warehouse bottle maple apple wine. Doesn't that sound delicious? Oh, it was. And we each bought a bottle.
Ever had pumpkin wine? Sound weird? Oh my heavens...so delightful. We bought a case of wine choosing the flavors we've never had before: Cranberry, Pumpkin, Maple Apple, Pear, Blackberry. It was hard to settle on twelve and I'm wishing I got more. And get this...the bottles weren't the $30 or $40 we were expecting. They ranged from $10-$15.
After consuming samples and touring the adorable vineyard, we went to another winery and discovered we'd instantly become wine snobs. Maybe it was the amazing perfectness of our first stop, but the second winery couldn't compare. In fact, we didn't even have all six samples offered us. My girlfriends and I found ourselves discussing visual appeal,crispness, color, tang, aftertaste, the "oak" factor. Mind you, we typically buy the $7.99 bottles at the grocery store so we're not really wine snobs and before this trip, had no idea what to even look for--or smell--in a wine.
Our third vineyard was much better than the second and we didn't let our samples go to waste, each leaving with a bottle of wine. It was the perfect girl's outing and I can't wait to visit more local vineyards who use fresh fruits and vegetables (yes, there was wine with tomatoes and one with beets) from local growers. Not only was the wine delicious, the company perfect, but we got our dose of fruits and vegetables as well, all while supporting our local communities.
I discovered I favor a semi-sweet, fruity wine. What's your wine preference?
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