Taylor Brooke Winery

Today's adventures sent me down Route 6 again and then off to Woodstock, CT on Rte 171 to the Taylor Brooke Winery. I'm on the board for a food coop, Urban Greens, and we were having a strategic planning session at the vineyard as Corey, one of our other board members, is the son of the owners. After a daylong retreat we planned to tour the vineyard and have a tasting. Well our session went long and it was dusk by the time we finished so we didn't get to stroll the beautiful vineyard but we did get to enjoy a tasting.

The Taylor Brooke Winery is part of the Connecticut Wine Trail. It is a 40 minute drive from Providence and 35 minutes from Worcester. Dick and Linda Auger, the owners, have created a beautiful vineyard and winery with a lovely selection of wine related gifts and some unique and delicious wines!

There are 12 wines currently available for tasting with a 13th coming out on Dec 4th. I tried the Traminette first and this is a full fruit and floral white that tastes like you are drinking sweet summer roses. Delightful on the palette , I will definitely be back for this one in the summer. It reminded me a little of Indian rose jam and while the wine menu says to pair it with Thai food I think it might be interesting to try with Indian food as well.

Next up were the Rieslings: the winery makes a plain Riesling with peach and apricot notes and a high acidity. It was a bit too much for me, but the Cranberry Riesling was fabulous. Yes that's right, Cranberry Riesling. The winery takes cranberries and ferments them into wine and blends it with the Riesling. It is a divine combination and just perfect for the holidays! There are both delicate rose and cranberry notes to this Riesling and it is yummy. If you want to get some call ahead it sells out fast!

Taylor Brooke makes three reds: a Cabernet Franc, Roseland Red, and Woodstock Valley Red. The Cabernet Franc is a milder red similar to a Pinot Noir. The Woodstock Valley Red is a strong red with plum notes from St. Croix grapes grown completely on the vineyard. I opted for the Roseland and fell in love! This wine is a blend of the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and the Cabernet Franc. The Roseland has fruit, smoke and leather notes and Hungarian oak. The oak gives a smooth mellow tone to the smoky notes so all the flavors float on your tongue in harmony. This is a beautiful wine!

Dessert Wines are a specialty at Taylor Brooke and currently include a Late Harvest Riesling, Chocolate Essence, and Rasberry Rendevous. The Riesling is like drinking apricot- honey nectar and is extremely sweet, almost like having syrup. The Chocolate Essence combined two of my favorite things , wine and chocolate. This dessert wine is a chocolate -infused merlot port. The perfect liquid dessert! A little goes a long way, but it is truly decadence in a glass. The Rasberry Rendevous had a sweet musk flavor and is a port-style dessert wine but it paled in comparison to the Chocolate Essence.

I went home with a bottle of the Roseland Red and the Chocolate Essence. The Chocolate Essence is going to be the perfect treat to savor after the first real snow fall hits this winter! Taylor Brooke's newest wine, the Winter Pomegranate is available Dec 4. and I can't wait to try it. If you plan to visit the winery check out their website for details as they close after December and are open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. www.taylorbrookewinery.com