Wine Country

Cast your mind back to last Saturday—a perfect, crystalline early fall day. Then put yourself into the picture, strolling through one of the neatly tended vineyards that dot the Connecticut landscape, learning the secrets of viticulture and ending the visit with a taste of locally produced wine made from locally grown grapes.

Connecticut, the third smallest state in the union, is making a big impression in the world of wine lovers today. It is a relatively new development for the state but a welcome addition to both the agricultural and tourism industries.

It is also rather counter intuitive. New England and wine production do not seem a natural fit and, indeed, the state’s early English colonists—although earnest imbibers in the name of health—had poor luck turning the native grapes into wine. Supplies of European wine were plentiful, inexpensive and easily imported while rum, already distilled in the New England colonies, had cornered a large share of the market for spirits. So it was not until the 19th century that eastern states, including Connecticut, began to succeed in the practice of viticulture. And it was not until 1978, when the Connecticut General Assembly passed the Farm Winery Act, that wine production began to take a significant hold on the Connecticut economy.

In the United States, each grape-growing area that earns an American Viticultural Area (AVA) designation is distinguished by geographic features and boundaries. In 2012 the U.S. boasted just over 200 AVAs and two of those were in Connecticut: The Western Connecticut Highlands includes all of Litchfield and parts of Fairfield, New Haven, and Hartford Counties and Southeastern New England which takes in parts of New Haven, New London, and Middlesex counties.

Looking at Connecticut’s rocky, thin soil and precarious climate it is hard to credit that it is one of the best areas in New England for growing grapes, using native as well as European hybrid vines to produce exceptional varieties of wine. But it is only necessary to look at the extensive list of awards won by the state’s 25 vineyards, which as of 2014 occupied more than 2 million acres, to prove the truth of that assertion. In fact Connecticut has become one of the fastest-growing wine regions in the United States, and even in its earliest years was compared to well-established vineyards in California.

The list of awards keeps growing and last year Sunset Meadow Vineyard in Goshen—already a holder of dozens of medals and awards—was named one of top 101 wineries in the entire United States by the culinary publication, The Daily Meal. The only Connecticut winery to make the list, Sunset Meadow Vineyards, was hailed as the “champion of estate-grown wines” by the more than 60 wine industry experts participating in compiling the 2017 list.

“We’re on the up-and-coming side of the wine industry,” said Chris Chichester, retail manager at the vineyard.

He said that George and Judy Motel bought the beef cattle farm in 1996 and were soon approached by the University of Connecticut agriculture department to grow grapes for other vintners. “It was going so well that in 2008 they opened up for their own tasting,” he said.

Goshen, as it turns out, “has phenomenal growing soil,” according to Chichester. “It lends itself to bright whites and fruit-forward reds. Temperatures are a problem and we have a shorter growing season so we focus on picking the right varieties and right locations.”

Asked to define the kinds of wines produced at Sunset Meadow, he said they have the acidic characteristics of wines grown in New Zealand and Australia and the “minerality” of French wines. “We have a mix of everything,” he concluded, terming them “New Age” wines crafted from grapes that can survive New England’s cold weather.

The trick of prospering in New England’s climate is to let the vines mature longer. “We let the vines grow much longer than they do in warmer climates. We want the root systems to have the best energy possible to produce crops and to make sure they have a better chance of survival,” he said.

Weather is not the only peril the vineyard has faced. Ice wine, a dessert wine made by allowing grapes to freeze and concentrate the sugars, is a niche market. Last year, in a midnight raid, bears gorged themselves on $100,000 worth of grapes destined to become Midnight Ice.

“They were all gone in one night,” Chichester reported, adding that they hope for better results this year.

The winery is located inside an 1800s German bank barn that has been used to support the property’s numerous agricultural operations over the years. The tasting room has been crafted using estate antiques and original hand-hewed beams. There, a “winemakers chat” will be held later this fall. Chichester urges patrons to watch the vineyard’s website,
(sunsetmeadowvineyards.com)http://sunsetmeadowvineyards.com) for the date.

The vineyard is open year-round for tastings, but tours are not currently available as the farm “ramps up for production.”

That a visit to a vineyard can bring benefits beyond sipping wine is attested by a Facebook five-star review of Land of Nod Vineyard in Canaan. It was posted by Michael Fisichella and lauded the wines, the reception by the owners and the “cathartic” visit to the property which is located on a Bicentennial Farm, one of the oldest in the Berkshires.

“The owners are amazing and fantastic,” she wrote. “I got to hang out with their goats and their dwarf goat, Buttons. … This farmhouse winery was the highlight of my summer. The chocolate raspberry wine was amazing. This place is a must see.”

The Land of Nod has been a farm since the mid-18th century, when Squire Samuel Forbes and his son-in-law, John Adam, made it their home and the center of their expansive iron industry. Nine generations later, the property is still family owned and still contains 200 acres of rolling farmland.

According to Rich Granger, a co-owner who is married into the family, interest in producing wine began in the mid-1990s when descendant William Adam attended a viticulture seminar. “He suggested growing grapes on the land and that’s all you had to tell (his father, Dr. William Adam). “We put in three acres in 1995 and had our first vintage in 1998. It was a way to maintain the farm. Everyone was interested in grapes and that made the change from hay and sheep easy.”

While waiting for their vines to mature, the family stumbled onto what would become their niche market: fruit wines. “We now have 12 acres of grapes and three of fruit,” Granger said. “All of the fruit is used for our four varieties of fruit wines.”
He revealed that the 1998 vintage was made from raspberries planted on the property years before. “We never spray then, so when the kids were younger, they could eat them right off the canes,” he said. “People love our fruit wines—that is probably what we are best-known for.”

Squire Forbes was an ironmaster and he based his industry in an area rich in forests, iron ore and limestone used as flux in iron production. Part of the vineyard is planted on the beds of old remnants of stone, charcoal and various artifacts from this historical time. It lies beside the scenic Blackberry River and waterfall where hiking and fishing are popular.

The limestone that underlies the existing Adam property affect wine production, according to Granger. “It is a porous topography and there is an enormous limestone quarry a mile down the road,” notes Granger. “I am sure the limestone lowers the acidity of our wines—in fact, we have to increase its acidity. Our wines are known for being soft on the palate.”

Granger said visitors are welcome to walk through one vineyard, to see the animals and to picnic. Wine tastings are offered Saturdays and Sundays in a repurposed barn that dates back to before the Revolution, 11AM to 5PM; $10 admission.

In the winter, the family turn its attention to producing maple syrup and, in the spring, the remaining sheep are shorn to provide the wool for the yarn sold on the farm. The Land of Nod offers seasonal fly-fishing instructions with Orvis by appointment. See its website, landofnodwinery.com, for more details.

These are but two of the 25 vineyards participating in the Connecticut Wine Trail, nine of which are located in Litchfield County. For comprehensive information about these sites, please visit the link below.