Wreath & Fineries - Dec 20 & 21

The wineries are open today for the Wreath Fineries event. The event will go on as scheduled.

However, with the impending storm tomorrow, Sunday, December 21st, all Sunday tickets will be honored on Saturday, December 20th.

Happy Holidays!!

The Shawangunk Wine Trail

Wreath Fineries

This is the last weekend of Wreath Fineries. All three weekends sold out around Thanksgiving. If you weren't able to get your tickets for this years event, think early, as the tickets will go on sale the end of January.

Every time one travels the Shawangunk Wine Trail you will learn something new, try new releases and a wonderful experience tasting Hudson Valley Wine.


If you were unable attend, I hope you enjoy these videos. Our spring event Pasta Primo-Vino tickets are on sale now http://tinyurl.com/3o9hdt

Harvest Video

If you couldn't make it to the Shawangunk Wine Trail during harvest, no worries...here some video for you to enjoy.

Applewood Winery Harvest



Whitecliff Winery Harvest

Wreath Tickets

I attended a wine trail meeting last evening. Wreath tickets are selling fast. Saturday, Dec 6th is already sold out and there are only a few tickets for Saturday Dec 13. Sundays tickets are still available as are Saturday Dec. 20th.

I would suggest ordering your tickets as soon as possible to make sure you can start at the winery of your choice. If a starting winery is sold out, it doesn't mean the day is sold out, you will just have to start at a different winery.

You can order your tickets below.

Online event registration

Weekend Wine Tasting

It's a great weekend out there so no excuses. Vist the wineries on the Shawangunk Wine Trail. You might even get to see harvest and winemaking first hand.

Wreath & Fineries at the Wineries

Tickets are now available online for Wreath & Fineries at the Wineries

Online event registration

Glorie Farm Winery 2nd Annual Wine Label Contest

Glorie Farm Winery - CALLING ALL ARTISTS! We've kicked off our second annual wine label art contest! This year's winner will have his or her artwork featured on the ever popular Glorie Red Quartet, a semi-dry red blend that's perfect when you're getting together with friends.

All entry fees will be donated to the Newburgh Animal Shelter. Last year's winning artist, Brandi Budziak, will join us, Doug and MaryEllen Glorie, as a judge for this year's contest. The entry fee is just $10 ($5 for students).

The contest is open to artists who live in or attend school in a New York or New Jersey county that borders the Hudson River. The winner will receive a case of the labeled wine and two tickets to the Shawangunk Wine Trail's 2009 Bounty of the Hudson. In addition, the winner will be featured on the Glorie Farm Winery website, www.gloriewine.com, as well as in all press releases and media related to the contest.

The deadline for submissions is November 8. The winner and the newly labeled wine will be unveiled on November 22. All participating artists will be invited to attend the unveiling which includes complimentary wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres. For more information and entry forms, visit www.gloriewine.com or call 845-236-3265.

Congratulations Shawangunk Wine Trail Members

Congratulations to these Shawangunk Wine Trail Members for receiving awards at the 2008 New York Wine and Food Classic.

Whitecliff Vineyards Double Gold Medal 2007 Traminette
Whitecliff Vineyards Gold Medal 2007 Gamay Noir
Benmarl Winery Silver 2007 Traminette
Benmarl Winery Silver 2006 Baco Noir
Brotherhood Winery Silver 2007 Riesling
Brotherhood Winery Silver 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Whitecliff Vineyards Silver 2006 Sky Island Red
Whitecliff Vineyards Bronze NV Awosting White
Whitecliff Vineyards Bronze NV Redtail

Bounty of the Hudson Food and Wine Fest - THIS WEEKEND

This weekend - July 26 & 27th is the Bounty of the Hudson Food and Wine Festival. This is truly the ONLY wine festival featuring 100% Hudson Valley Wineries. Every year the Shawangunk Wine Trail hosts this event. Every year it rotates to a different trail members winery. This year it is being held at Benmarl Winery

Festival hours are 12p - 5p each day. It is going to be a wonderful weekend to come and taste award winning wines from 17 Hudson Valley Wineries. The weather is going to be good. There will be wonderful food available from local restaurants.

This is the only festival in the Hudson Valley where you find wine, food & farm produce that is 100% from the Valley.

See you there!

Bounty of the Hudson

Next weekend is the Bounty of the Hudson Food and Wine Festival at Benmarl Winery.
Festivities begin at 12 noon July 26 and 27 and run until 5pm each day. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door.

There are transfers available from the Poughkeepsie Metro North Station BUT THEY MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE.

IF YOU ARE ARRIVING BY METRO NORTH TRAIN FROM NYC TO POUGHKEEPSIE: There will be a bus service between the Train Station and the Festival on the following schedule: Will meet arriving trains at 12:37, 1:38 and 2:38 Will Depart Festival at 4 and 5PM to catch the 4:31 and 5:31 trains back to NYC.

TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE. Tickets cost is additional $10 per person.

Go to www.gunkswine.com to purchase your Bounty tickets today!

Watch video of last years Bounty.

Shawangunk Wine Trail Networking Site

The Shawangunk Wine Trail has created a site for everyone to share their experiences on the wine trail.

Please join and share you thoughts, experiences,pictures and videos with us.


View my page on Shawangunk Wine Trail

Congratulation Benmarl and Brotherhood Wineries

Congratulations go out to Benmarl and Brotherhood Winery who took home some medals from the New York State Fair Competition.

Benmarl Winery took Silver for 2007 Seneca Lake Traminette and Bronze for 2006 Hudson Valley Baco Noir and 2007 Slate Hill White

Brotherhood Winery took Silver for 2007 Riesling 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Pinot Noir Holiday Spiced Wine and Blanc de Blancs and Bronze for May Wine, Ruby Port and Cream Sherry.

If you attend the New York State Fair August 21 - September 1, 2008 you will be able to view the top award winning wines which will be on display in the "Giant Wine Bottle" in the Horticulture building during the fair. Sample of wines entered in the competition will be available to fairgoers following most of the presentations in the Demonstration Kitchen in the lower level of the Arts and Home Center.

Better than going to the New York State Fair is to spend a day on the Shawangunk Wine Trail and visit the award winning wineries.

Hudson Valley Wine Dinner

The winning wines at the Hudson Valley Wine Competition were celebrated with a dinner at the Culinary Institute of America. This is a great recap of the evening and education on Hudson Valley Wines.

Enjoy


Online Videos by Veoh.com

Pasta Pictures

I've added pictures of Pasta Primo Vino. Take a look.

Metro North Transfers for Bounty of the Hudson

The Bounty of the Hudson Food and Wine Festival is being held this year July 26 and 27th at Benmarl Winery in Marlboro NY. We just secured transportation from the Poughkeepsie Metro North Station. If you have a group of 10 or more you can contact Metro North Groups for a special discounted train ticket.

IF YOU ARE ARRIVING BY METRO NORTH TRAIN FROM NYC TO POUGHKEEPSIE: There will be a bus service between the Train Station and the Festival on the following schedule: Will meet arriving trains at 12:37, 1:38 and 2:38 Will Depart Festival at 4 and 5PM to catch the 4:31 and 5:31 trains back to NYC.

BUS TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE

Click here to order your tickets

Listen to a Bounty Podcast.

Fresh Fish in the Vineyard

This weekend don't miss the Fresh Fish in the Vineyard event at Whitecliff Vineyards Winery. It's happening on Saturday May 17th from 11:30 to 5pm.

Their winemaker and owner, Michael Migliore will be traveling to the Finger Lakes to go fishing and bring back some fresh New York trout which he will grill and serve with your choice of dipping sauces. The fish will be paired with their wonderful 2007 white wines.

Advance purchase is encouraged. Tickets are $14 in advance, and $16 at the door. To order tickets call the winery at 845-255-4613

Pasta Primo Vino

I attended Pasta Primo Vino yesterday and am getting ready to go back today.

Yesterday I started in Warwick and got to Brotherhood then the Marlboro wineries. I will be going back in about an hour to finish up with the New Paltz, Gardiner and Pine Bush wineries.

Yesterday I took my friend Gina with me. Gina likes semi-sweet to sweet wines which is in contrast to what I like...dry wines. With an open mind I did do some port tasting. I tasted the Winston's Harlequin Port at Warwick. This port was very good. I expected cough syrup but was very surprise at how light it was. (As you can see, I am not a port drinker) The port was made from Baco Noir which gave it it's smoky taste. They told me it would be good paired with stilton cheese and dark chocolate. Their Chardonnay was very good and I did purchase a bottle.

Applewood Winery wins on best pasta so far. Their Blue Cheese Baked Pasta was wonderful, runner up is the Gnocchi at Benmarl. I did taste the port at Benmarl too. It was very good. Very different from Warwick's.

At Glorie Farm Winery I had the pleasure of tasting their new released 2006 Cabernet Franc. It was very soft and delicate. There was romance in this wine!

Now to go get ready for today's tastings.....

Pasta Primo Vino - This Weekend

This weekend is the start of the Wine Tasting season and the Shawangunk Wine Trail's Pasta Primo Vino event. According to the weather, it's going to be a fantastic weekend so what better way to spend it than wine tasting on the the Shawangunk Wine Trail.

The event is April 19 & 20th. Tasting begins at 10am each day and runs until 6pm. Tickets are $20 plus tax in advance and $25 at the door. There is still time to purchase your advance tickets. Tickets include wine tasting and pasta sampling at all 10 wineries on the Shawangunk Wine Trial.

Click here to purchase your tickets.

What will you be tasting and sampling...some wonderful wine and pasta dishes.
Pasta dishes like Pasta Carbonara with Pancetta at Warwick Valley Winery, Fettuccini con Zucca e Pangrattato (with pumpkin and bread crumbs) at Whitecliff Vineyards,“Husband’s Delight” comfort food at its best at Glorie Farm Winery and Gnocci in a sage and butter sauce at Benmarl Winery.

You will be the first to taste some wonderful new releases! New releases like Warwick Valley Winery’s 2007 Pinot Gris crafted from 89% Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio) and 11% Sauvignon Blanc. This wine has a delicate floral and honey aromas are followed by good fruit and welcomed acidity. Also newly released at Warwick Valley Winery for the Pasta Primo Vino is the Harvest Moon, a semi-sweet white wine with 1% residual sugar, made from the Cayuga and Vidal grapes.

A stop at Whitecliff Vineyards will have you tasting their 2007 Estate Grown Awosting White which is their “Hudson Heritage White,” a blend of Seyval and Vignoles. This wine is lovely, soft, low acid with flavors of apricot and peaches. In addition to the Awosting White, Whitecliff will be releasing their 2007 Pinot Gris, 2007 Redtail, 2007 Mt Laurel White and 2007 Riesling.

Don't forget to get your tickets in advance!

Applewood Winery creates Wino TV

Trail member Applewood Winery has created Wino TV. Watch co-owner Michelle Hull discuss Applewood Winery's history, wine and how to pair their wines with food. Congratulations Applewood.

Whitecliff interview by Slice of New Paltz

Michael Migliore of Whitecliff Vineyards was recently interviewed by Slice of New Paltz. You can view his interview here:

http://www.sliceofnewpaltz.com/Slice_of_New_Paltz/EP.20.html

Whitecliff Awosting Revisited

Well I found myself in Gardiner today so I stopped by Whitcliff Vineyards. I re-tasted their Awosting, this time out of the bottle. WOW! What a change from tasting from the tank. I think when I tasted from the tank it was to cold. Wine does go through changes from tank to bottle and in this case it was a good change.

This wine is lovely..soft, low acid with flavors of apricot and peaches with a little zesty finish. I describe it best as similar to a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. This is a great wine to pair with fish or sit on the porch watching the sunset.

Whitecliff Futures

I had the wonderful opportunity last weekend to taste some of Whitecliff Vineyard's soon to be released wines straight from the tanks.

I tasted the Seyval which is mixed into the Awosting White. I liked the Seyval, even thought it's known as the "Plain Jane" of whites with it's suttle flavors. Some wineries blend Seyval with other whites, some have it stand alone and I know of one local winery who makes Champagne from it. It's really winemakers choice.

Next I got to taste the Awosting White which was going to be bottled sometime this week. It didn't have the strong crispness it has had in the past. It has soft citrus flavors with a soft finish. It will be a wonderful white especially for the summer months.

Then I tasted wine from a grape I have never tasted before...Traminette. Traminette is a hybrid of Gewurztraminer. This was very good and crisp. Not sure it it's going to be a stand alone wine or if it is going to be blended with another variety.

The only red I tasted was a blend that they are going to release as their first "critter wine." It's called Red Tail. This blend was very good. We took the samples out of the tanks, so after the wine warmed up a tad, the flavors that came to and it's sure to be a winner.

Pasta Primo Vino Tickets

Pasta Primo Vino tickets can now be purchased on line at:
http://www.shawangunkwinetrail.com/swtevents.html#anchor383285

The event is April 19 & 20. Event hours are 10am to 6pm. Come sample some pasta paired with wonderful wine from the wineries on the Shawangunk Wine Trail. Be the first to taste the new wines from the 2007 harvest!

I Love My NY Farmer

Congratulations to Michael Migliore, Owner and Winemaker at Whitecliff Vineyards. He won the I Love My NY Farmer contest put out by NY Farms.

NY Farms! a not for profit organization whose mission is to strengthen NY agriculture and food systems by creating public awareness of the importance of farming; promoting agriculture and food system literacy; and fostering consumer loyalty to New York farm products.

Through their land-based livelihoods, New York farmers enhance the lives of all New Yorkers in multiple ways, by: providing farm fresh food, increasing food safety and security by decreasing our dependency on food from far away, creating jobs and economic development, maintaining aesthetically pleasing rural landscapes, wildlife habitat and biological diversity, and being good neighbors, committed to community well-being.

Winners for the I Love My NY Farmer were selected based upon the notation in the entry of a farmer’s: living and selling within New York State; producing a quality product; being a good steward of the land; being a good neighbor, serving the community, and "going the extra mile". NY Farms! asked to have explained in 250 words or less, why a particular farmer deserves such an award.

Michael won in the category of Wine & Grapes.

Stoutridge Vineyards goes Solar

There is a great article in the Woodstock Times about Stoutridge Vineyards installing a Solar Electric System and the benefits it has. To read it click here.

Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery opens Distillery to Public

For the first time ever.......Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery will open their Distillery to the public on February 9th and 15th.

Join Master Distiller, Jason Grizzanti for a demonstration and tasting on Febuary 9th or the 16th at 11am.

Price is $30 and includes lunch, distillery demonstration and tasting. Seating is limited, so reserve early.

This should be a wonderful event.

Benmarl Winery host Food Pairing for Superbowl

This Sunday, January 13, from 2pm to 4pm Benmarl Winery will be hosting at food pairing for Superbowl snacks at the winery. They will explore the sweet & spicy, big & bold and alternatives to the usual snacks.

You must purchase your tickets in advance and the cost is $35.

A beautiful weekend ahead of us

The forcast for this weekend is beautiful. Weather in the 40's and 50's. Just because it's the middle of winter, don't thing business stops on the Wine Trail

Wineries that are open this weekend are:
Rivendell Winery
Stoutridge Vineyards
Benmarl Winery
Baldwin Vineyards
Brotherhood "America's Oldest" Winery
Warwick Valley Winery

See you on the trail!!