Adair Vineyards

We travel just a few miles to Adair Vineyards, in New Paltz, NY. This is another favorite of ours and I bestow the Most Original Pasta award upon them this year.

They served a delicious orzo almond torte dessert pasta. They also generously provided the recipe on a card for those of us aspiring chefs to try at home. The winery is located in a 200 year old barn. The vineyard is located in back of the barn, so visitors are invited to meander among the vines and enjoy the sound of the streams and the view of the mountains. It is very picturesque. Their wines are a combination of their own grapes and another farm’s grapes, also grown locally. The 10 acres that compose the vineyard grow 2 white varietals…..Seyval Blanc and Vignoles, and 2 red varietals…..Foch and Millot.

The winery produces more than 20,000 bottles annually. I appreciate the quality of their wines and the intimate tasting room, which is on the second level of the barn. The lighting is dim and the decor is rustic. This visit the tasting featured 2005 Vidal, 2006 Cayuga White, 2005 Blackberry Kir, 2004 Rosalais and finally the 2006 Peche. The Cayuga and the Peche are both Gold Medal Winners and the Rosalais is a Silver Medal Winner! All were delicious.

I especially enjoyed the Rosalais, which is a Loire Valley style rose. But the pièce de résistance was the Peche! This was like drinking pure peach nectar… only not as heavy and with that welcome little kick!

This is a perfect dessert wine. It would be great mixed with Champagne or drizzled over vanilla ice cream or fruit salad. The 13 varieties range from $6.25 to $21.95 per bottle. A 5% discount is offered on 6 bottles and a generous 10% on a case. You can even mix and match. Their wines are so popular, that many sell out very early in the season. I am dying to get my hands on a Baco Noir! This is one spot not to miss. Being a Francophile and a wine lover, this place is perfect forme. Their grapes and wines are so…French.

Adair Vineyards
52 Allhusen RoadNew Paltz, NY 12561
845.225.1377
May, November, December
Fri, Sat, Sun 11-5
June – October
Daily 11-6

Stoutridge Winery

The next stop on our wine tour was a brand new addition, called Stoutridge, also located in Marlboro, NY. Since this winery is brand new, there is not much to speak of in terms of their wine…yet. They mostly sell and were offering tastings from an affiliated winery in the Finger Lakes region. They served a spicy Asian pasta with a peanut sauce. The most interesting part of this winery is it’s history. The farmhouse on the property dates back to Italian immigrants who built it in the 1800′s. It has changed hands at least half dozen times since then.

Most recently, in 1988, the farmhouse was burned down by vandals, but the foundation remained. The current owners have restored it into a wonderful, large European looking tasting room, complete with a patio,wrought iron lamposts and green shutters on the windows. You can read more about the history and see the amazing before and after pictures here. They have planted 3 different vineyard sites. One is for Reisling and French Alsace clone of Pinot Blanc, another with Pinot Noir and Teroldego and the last with Sangiovese and Refesco. Their vines are so new and tiny, that they are wrapped in a protective blue ‘sleeve’, so that the little critters in the area won’t devour them. This way they have a better shot at taking hold. I am very excited to go back for a tasting when their own wines make an appearence. If their wines are anything like the land and farmhouse ……they will stand the (taste) test of time!

Stroutridge Winery
10 Ann Kaley Lane
Marlboro, NY 12542
845.236.7620
Open Friday – Sunday
11am – 6pm

Glorie Farms Winery

Next stop on our tour is Glorie Farms Winery. Glorie is named for the owners, Doug and Mary Ellen Glorie. They are a relatively new winery in the area. We visited last year, the first year they were part of the Shawangunk WineTrail. We enjoyed the very small winery and the tasting happens in the barn. Really not much to look at in terms of a tasting or tours. Not nearly as impressive as Benmarl, but they are relatively new and the simplicity is refelcted in the price of the wines. This year, they served stuffed shells, which were excellent and meat-less, which was a bonus for Chris. We tasted Pear Wine, Roseannadana Rose, De Chaunac, Red Monkey, and another one that leaves me at the moment…..all that wine must have taken effect! For such a new winery, they have some awards to tout.

Their Apple Wine was a Bronze Medal Winner at the 2005 Hudson Valley Wine and Grape Growers Association Competition and their Red Monkey was a Silver Medal Winner, in the same competition. Considering the wineries young age, they have acheived so much in so little time. My favorites here should come as no surprise, Red Monkey and Cabernet Franc. My least favorite… the Pear Wine. I couldn’t even finish it. All bottles are more than reasonable at $10 – $18. The views here are as good as the wine. Tasting room is open only on Weekends from Memorial Day through December,or by appointment.

Glorie Farms Winery
40 Mountain Road
Marlboro, NY 12542
845.236.3265

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