Tag: wine

Arrigoni Winery in Portland, CT

With the holiday season gearing up I definitely fell off the blogging wagon a bit. I usually keep all my blog ideas saved as scheduled drafts and I make sure I write them up before the schedule posting time but I felt so unmotivated that I procrastinated writing one and accidentally posted a title with no post body! Whoops! Before you go looking- yes- I deleted the post and tweet out of complete embarrassment.

I’m feeling back on track today so I’m going to write about my hands-down favorite Connecticut winery: Arrigoni Winery in Portland, CT!

fullsizeoutput_1de.jpeg
Every good winery needs to have a giant shrimp statue outside!

Not only do I really love Arrigoni’s wine but it holds a lot of sentimental value as the first Connecticut vineyard that I visited. I’ve also visited here the most and made a lot of fun memories that set it apart from the rest. Arrigoni is open year round so I’ve been in the spring as the trees start to bloom, the summer for yoga by the vines, and for fall which is complete with a fire on the back patio! They have a Christmas shop which makes them a perfect destination to sip wine and shop this holiday season!

fullsizeoutput_1e5.jpeg
My favorites are the Orchard Valley and the Sugar House (bottom left corner.)

 

To be fair the one thing I don’t love about Arrigoni and that’s their tasting set up. Arrigoni uses a set tasting list so as a repeat offender I’ve tried those five wines many times! However, I like that they allow you to add on additional pours off the extensive wine list for $1/each. Often everyone in my party will pick one more to try and then we all share a sip which makes for a cheap way to try a bunch of new wines!

During summer months Arrigoni has wine slushies available in Mango Madness, Blackberry Sangria or a swirl of both flavors (my favorite!) During the fall and winter Arrigoni Winery serves mulled wines available in an apple or red flavor.

fullsizeoutput_1e4
I thought their slushies were good but HOLY MOLY THIS MULLED WINE IS AMAZING!

My most recent visit was my first one trying the mulled wine and it was amazing. Lucky for me Arrigoni is willing to share their secret by offering the mulling mix for sale!

fullsizeoutput_1e3.jpeg
Arrigoni’s spacious grounds- during the summer they offer monthly yoga classes on the grass complete with a tasting on your yoga mat afterwards!

fullsizeoutput_1e2

If I’ve interested your enough to try Arrigoni Winery out make sure to check Groupon before you go. They offer a Groupon for first time visitors for a tasting for two or four people with a cheese plate. Exact hours and special event info can be found on their website here.

Building your travel scrapbook

Stay adventurous!

Advertisement

Rosedale Farms & Vineyard in Simsbury, CT

It’s Friday so let’s crack open some wine! Well- you can crack open some wine and I’ll tell you about another great Connecticut Vineyard worth your visit. Today I’m taking you to Rosedale Farms & Vineyard in Simsbury, CT. This is a great place to visit after you leaving nearby Lost Acres Vineyard.

I heard that Rosedale wasn’t much more than a little farm stand but as I was pulling up I realized I shouldn’t believe everything I hear! Yes, they sell produce like a farm stand but they also feature local baked goods and wine. First stop was inside where I purchased a glass of white wine in the form of a redeemable milk cap.

IMG_6095

There are options for tastings as well.

IMG_6093.JPG

Next I left the red barn and headed under the tent where they serve the wine. Our taster was nice enough to let us try a white and a red! I settled on the Summer Bouquet 2016 to sip while we sat in the shade and enjoyed the beautiful grounds.

IMG_6097

IMG_6096

Before heading out we went back in to pick up a take home bottle of the Summer Red (now sold out!)

IMG_6094

If you want to check Rosedale Farms out tomorrow and Sunday (November 3rd and 4th) are your last chance for the season!

Rosedale Farm.png

Stay adventurous, friends!

Wineries of Lake Placid, New York

It’s girl’s trip week! As I mentioned on Five Things Friday last week my mom and I are on a girl’s trip to visit upstate New York. We started our trip Saturday by driving up to Lake Placid for a few nights.

I LOVE Lake Placid- easily one of my favorite Adirondack destinations. Tucked away in the gorgeous high peaks, Lake Placid is the home to the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games with the later being known for USA hockey’s miracle on ice. The food scene is on point here but this visit I got a chance to check out the two local wineries as well.

Goose Watch Lake Placid is a quaint store front on Main Street where you can enjoy a tasting and purchase bottles. The grapes are grown in New York’s Finger Lake region as the Adirondacks doesn’t has a growing season (though certainly has a year round selling season!)

We were able to taste six wines of our choosing for $6 which included a take home glass.

I particularly enjoyed the 2016 Snow Goose and Two to Mango.

The next day we headed to Swedish Hill Winery in Lake Placid. This is about a 5 minute drive from the main village. For the most part we had the tasting room, which included a large bar, a table to sip at and outdoor seating, to ourselves this particular Sunday afternoon.

By returning with our Goose Watch glasses we were able to enjoy another six wines for $3 (half price!) as a special deal offered between these two sister locations.

Honestly, I enjoyed almost every wine I tasted here! I ended up purchasing a glass of the 2016 Reisling for $8 (which also got me a Swedish Hills glass to take home) along with buying a bottle of said Reisling and their location signature wine: Mooscato.

Made with grapes from the Finger Lakes, this wine is only available at Swedish Hill’s Lake Placid location.

Though you won’t find the same sprawling vineyards as Connecticut, Lake Placid’s wine scene was perfect was a sweet wine lover like myself. At $9 to sample 12 wines with one take home glass this is a great deal to make a relaxing afternoon (or two) on the lake!

Stay adventurous, friends!

Lost Acres Vineyard in Granby, CT

My first ‘real time’ adventure I’m going to share is my recent trip to Lost Acres Vineyard in Granby, CT. Don’t let my words fool you- I was far too busy sipping wine to actually write my post while I was there! I visited here Labor Day Weekend as part of a new journey to get out and enjoy the Connecticut Wine Trail.

Tucked on a wooded, winding road, Lost Acres gives a picturesque first impression. Tastings occur in a barn surrounded by beautiful floral landscaping and sprawling vineyard fields complete with horses in the distances.

2018-09-01_13-38-54_357
Ugh, why did I not take a picture of the actual barn?! At least I managed to grab one of this cool, locally sculpted horse that guards the door!

On this particular day they were open 12-5p and we arrived around 12:45 which worked out well because it was quiet and we were able to walk right up to the tasting bar. For $7 you can choose five wines to taste and you get to keep the glass.

2018-09-01_12-50-55_672

My reviews are always going to be a little bias towards white wines because that’s what I like best! Though my favorite wines here were the Wedge White and the Reisling, I did try their Silkey Red which was a semi-sweet wine which I enjoyed more than I thought I would.

2018-09-01_12-45-10_713

Of note, I didn’t see an option to buy wine by the glass. That was no problem for my mom and I (aka my wine-partner-in-crime) as the Reisling was so delicious we were an easy sell on a bottle. Bottle prices ran from $14.99 (Old Orchard Apple wine) to $29.99 (Ender’s Reserve- a white, dessert wine.)

We took our bottle outside to enjoy. There was ample seating on the shaded deck with plenty of patio tables on the sprawling lawn below.

2018-09-01_13-34-53_519
Off the deck were the most vibrant Zinnia bushes overlooking the grapes. I love Zinnia’s in early fall/late summer- the perfect transition flower for the weather!

I think I’d be hard pressed to call any vineyard ugly but Lost Acres really takes the cake for how beautiful their grounds were. I look forward to visiting again during their winter hours for the chance to sip my wine inside by their giant stone fireplace!

2018-09-01_12-51-08_970
Can’t wait to cozy up here!

Until then I’ll keep sipping my way around the state of Connecticut!

theadventuringemily.home.blog (2)

Stay Adventurous!