First of all, a little about me. In addition to my love for NKOTB I am also a wine lover. Wine tastings had always been something I wanted to do and I finally got a chance to hit the local wineries in CT last year. I learned a ton as well as finding some new favorite wines. This year due to circumstances, I did not have anyone to share the experience with me. Well that hasn't stopped me. I started my 2011 adventure on Saturday, May 29th.
I also want to express that the views in this blog are my own and should not be taken as a professional view.
A little background on the CT Wine Trail. Every summer they run a passport program. If you visit so many of the 30 wineries (well 29 & the wine festival) then your name gets put into a drawing for some fabulous trips. The 1st and 2nd prizes are 2 weeks in Spain. I was really curious to see how the wines this year differed from last year as last summer was supposedly a great year in CT for grape growing.
My adventure started out this year at Connecticut Valley Winery. They were my absolute favorite last year and did not disappoint again this year. Mostly Italian wines, it is a family owned winery and very personable. I met a few people there. From there I continued my journey on to Jerram Winery, where I was pleasantly surprised. Mostly French wines, this is also a small family owned winery. Last year, I was not impressed with their wines at all. This year, I was very impressed. It seems that they were better. Looking back at my tasting list from last year, some of the wines that were available for tasting were different than last year. The true gem of this winery is not on the tasting menu and is available for purchase only. It is a wine called Vespers. I was lucky enough to taste this, as some of the people I had met at CT Valley Winery bought a bottle and invited me to sit out on the grounds and have a glass. I ended up buying a bottle after having a few sips. We were then joined by 3 others after completing their tastings. The 6 of us spent about an hour sitting on the grounds, eating snacks, sharing wine, and talking. It was a great end to a beautiful day.
I shared my opinion with the couple who invited me to share a glass of the Vespers on the fact that I thought Jerram's wines were better than last year and they agreed. The young man told me that this was his third year coming to this winery and every year the wines have gotten better and better.
I am looking forward to my next winery trip.
