Baldwin Vineyards located in Pine Bush, NY, is our last and final stop onthe Shawangunk Wine Trail. I wish I could tell you that I had saved the best for last, but alas…..Granted, we snuck in right at the end of the event and we were really not welcomed with open arms. The person dishing out the pasta seemed really bothered that now she had to scoop out the Shrimp, Bean and Pasta salad that she had just covered with foil. The tasting area is in an outbuilding in back of a house. I think it was once a garage. It has wood paneling, dirty carpeting that has seen better days and popcorn ceiling tiles. It looks like a throwback from the 70’s. It doesn’t ooze charm. It even smelled a bit musty, but not in a ‘the wine is fermenting in our cellar’ kinda musty. They definitely need to renovate the tasting area. It needs some help!
The tastings are generous, but you pay an additional .50 cents to taste a Limited Edition. The wines we tasted like Chardonnay, Claret, Merlot, Embersand Blush did not really impress me. They also make sweet dessert wines, whichin my opinion is what they should stick too. The Raspberry was good, but the Strawberry was devine, albeit a little too sweet. This wine is made from 100% strawberries and has won 5 Gold Medals and has been voted best fruit wine,2 years in a row. It is almost a bit too thick and syrupy to drink on it’s own, but it’s perfect splashed in a glass of dry champagne, over the top of fruit or drizzled over vanilla chocolate ice cream! The winery even has a top ten list of ways to enjoy their dessert wine. It is available in both a full bottle ($17.50) and a half-bottle ($9.50). We purchased the small bottle and have been enjoying it ever since. The 16 varieties here range from $9 – $17.50. They offer custom labels free with a case (in case you want to give them as a gift or have them as your wedding favour). They have monthly events. All weekends in May happen to be the Strawberry, Chocolate and Wine Festival.
Tastings
July – October
Daily 11:30 – 5:30
April, May, June, November, December
Friday – Monday 11:30 – 5:00
January, February, March
Weekends 11:30 – 4:30
Baldwin Vineyards
176 Hardenburgh RoadPine Bush, NY 12566
845.744.2226