Gewurztraminer Examiner Jonathan Edwards Winery, Stonington October 24, 2009 I was recently asked by a reporter which Connecticut winery was my favorite. I said that I had no idea. So the question was rephrased to, which one is the prettiest? Hm. I hadn’t ever thought about that even though almost every time … [Read more...]
Read this first
Taylor Brooke Winery
Taylor Made Wine Taylor Brooke Winery, Woodstock November 2009 A couple years ago, early on in the evolution of CTMQ, I decided to branch out from just museums and start exploring some of the other attractions around the state. Of course, I’ve gone completely off my rocker in the intervening time, but that’s not … [Read more...]
Bishop’s Orchards Winery
I Feel a Little Fruity. Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That Bishop's Orchards, Guilford August 2009 Bishop's opened a homemade ice cream place on site as well. Color me shocked. Color me as shocked as when I met Peter Murphy at UConn. Of course you remember him… Right? He was known as “Bishop’s Son” … [Read more...]
Maugle Sierra Vineyards
I Straugle with the Name Maugle Maugle Sierra Vineyards, Ledyard July 11, 2009 "Maugle." I've tried and tried to find the derivation of the word and have come up with nothing. Perhaps it's a family name? A rather non-Spanish sounding Spanish word of some sort? I don't know. All I could find was this … [Read more...]
Holmberg Orchards
What's Up, Holms Holmberg Orchards, Gales Ferry July 11, 2009 This place is in Gales Ferry. Gales Ferry? Ah yes, another of Connecticut's weird naming conventions; Gales Ferry refers both to a village within the town of Ledyard, Connecticut, and to a complex of buildings within that village at the site of the … [Read more...]
Cassidy Hill Vineyard
...NOT Cassidy Swill Cassidy Hill Vineyard, Coventry May 24, 2009 There we were, driving up Route 44 out to the Quiet Corner and the Pomfret Audubon Society. We also made a side trip down to Sharpe Hill Vineyard (Old visit here) to begin our 2009 Wine Tour - hitting 14 vineyards and getting our passport stamped … [Read more...]
Haight-Brown Vineyard (Closed)
Haight-Asbury had LSD, Haight-Brown has Wine Haight-Brown Vineyards, Litchfield November 2, 2008 The winery, Connecticut's first, closed in August 2023. Our fourth wine tour stop in one day - not a particularly impressive feat, if not for the fact that we had our little Damian with us. This would be our last … [Read more...]
Hopkins Vineyard
Just a Hopkins, Skipkins, and a Jumpkins Hopkins Vineyard, Warren November 2, 2008 A funny thing about these Connecticut vineyards... they just keep getting prettier and prettier. Hopkins Vineyard is, perhaps, set in the most attractive setting of them all - just north of Lake Waramaug in Warren. Since you don't … [Read more...]
DiGrazia Vineyards (Closed)
Grazie mille! DiGrazia Vineyards, Brookfield November 2008 DiGrazia closed in March of 2022. Our day of visiting four western wineries was still going along swimmingly. We had to knock out four of them on this day, as we “had” to visit the required 14 to fulfill the Passport Program to be prize-eligible. … [Read more...]
McLaughlin Vineyards (Closed)
"Next issue... Wine! Mort! Pat! Eleanor!" McLaughlin Vineyards, Newtown November 2, 2008 While editing my winery pages, it came to my attention that this place closed in 2016. Yelp reviews towards the end were not kind. Our 2008 visit wasn't too bad, but we were young and naive. I'm writing this on the … [Read more...]