This week we decided to take a break from the Connecticut Wine Trail and head to NY to the Hudson Valley Wine Trail…more specifically the Dutchess County Wine Trail.  There are only 2 wineries on this trail, Clinton Vineyards in Clinton Corners, NY and Millbrook Winery and Vineyard in Millbrook, NY.  These wineries are very different from the many we have visited and very different from each other.

Clinton Vineyard in Clinton Corners, NY

Clinton Vineyards is a very small winery that only grows Seyval grapes.  They offer a tasting for $10 for 5 different wines.  They had 2 still wines, both Seyval Blanc from different vintages, 3 sparkling wines…a Seyval Blanc, a peach flavored and a raspberry flavored.  They also had dessert wines that were made from local fruit, but no grape.  My favorite was the Casis which I bought because it went well with sparkling wine and I thought it would be good over vanilla ice cream.  The cost was $35 for the bottle.  Their products were good, but very pricey.

Our next winery was Millbrook Vineyards and Winery.  Their tasting was also $10, and included a tour of the vineyard which we chose not to do.  It was a long drive from Connecticut and after doing Clinton Vineyards we were hungry.  Millbrook has an outdoor grill called Vineyard Grille & Café.  It is open from 12-3 on weekends Memorial Day through October.  They sell burgers, chicken and fish sandwiches, dessert as well as wine by the glass.  They had two kinds of wine for $6 and four kinds for $8.  The food is good grill food and the view of their property from the picnic tables is very pretty.

Unlike other wineries we have visited, this tasting was very rushed and impersonal.   There were 6 wines in total, 3 white and 3 red.  My favorite of the whites was the Tocai Fruilano whose grapes come from the Hudson Valley Region and is estate bottled.  I had this wine with lunch.  The cost is $19.00 per bottle.  They also had 2 Chardonnays, the first one was called 2010 Chardonnay and consists of grapes from the Finger Lakes, Long Island and Hudson Valley.  That one was crisp and very good and was $16 per bottle.  The second Chardonnay was the 2009 Chardonnay Proprietor’s Special Reserve and was barrel fermented, had a buttery taste and is $20 per bottle.  I preferred the 2010 Chardonnay.  I liked the crisp citrus taste.

The red wines consisted of 2010 Pinot Noir and had a scent of Black Currant.  It was pretty good and cost $18 per bottle.  The 2010 Sangiovese was a California wine.  It was our favorite red.  My hubby had it with lunch and it cost $19 per bottle.  The last one was the Hunt Country Red which was a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was smooth and very good.  The best part was that it was $13.95 per bottle.  There were other wines for sale, but they were not available for tasting.

Although we enjoyed our visit to the winery, we were disappointed with the cost and the fact that we felt that we were being moved in and out.  I prefer wineries where I have the opportunity to enjoy the wine tasting and not feel so rushed.

Since we were making a weekend in NY, we decided to stay at the Millbrook Inn.  It’s new and managed by a gentleman named Don.  The inn is very nice, clean and well decorated.  Some of the rooms don’t have televisions although there is a big screen TV in the common living room.  If it’s important to you, ask before booking.   Breakfast was included and was very good.  There were numerous choices as well as bacon and eggs.  The town itself has a few nice restaurants.