I waited until the event was over before I posted my experience. I traveled the Shawangunk Wine Trail on December 5th. That day they were calling for snow. Boy, I thought, that will really put everyone into into the Christmas Spirit and it did.
I began the day at Palaia then went to Warwick and worked myself North. I wanted to end at Whitecliff because my kids were working there and I was worried about them driving home. Not that they would drive with me and leave their car there, but at least I could follow them if it did begin to snow.
When I arrived at Palaia all was calm. Jan was checking people in. They were serving Chocolate Mousse which was very good. I wish I would have gotten the mousse and took it to taste the reds. Being the sweet tooth person I am, it didn’t make it to the tasting bar.
I arrived at Warwick Valley Winery and there was nobody at the check-in. What was with that. HELLO… I waited, and waited. I finally helped myself to the ornament and took a peek at the food which was pork and potatoes. I can’t carry, ornament, glass, camera and serve myself, so I opted out on the food and went on to taste the wines.
On to Applewood Winery. They have wonderful food and wine pairings. They had Blue Cheese Potato Gratin paired with their Merlot. Fantastic pairing. The recipe is available on their website and I am going to try my hand at it Christmas Eve serving it with Filet Mignon and a Cab.
Next stop was Brotherhood. They outdid themselves on this one. They had chicken, rice and cheese. Their tasting is done in the church and they pair the wines with the food. Very nice. I then made my way to Marlboro. It had begun to snow. I stopped at Benmarl. They were pairing pork, homemade applesauce and spice cake with their wines. Then Stoutridge and Glorie Farm Winery.
At Glorie Farm Winery, I tasted their Leon Millot. I am not much on hybrid reds, but I have to say this was very nice. It had nice balance and wasn’t to acidic. I was pleasantly surprised.
I left Glorie and headed to Adair. This is what I drove in. In the spirit of the season, I had Christmas music playing in the car and it put me in the Holiday mood.
At Adair I got to taste the Nectarine Wine. I was there when they were crushing the nectarines. I am going to save that review for another post. Lori and Marc also have nice wine pairings. They had a quiche and homemade chocolate brownie.
Next on to Whitecliff to see how my kids were doing and to see when they would be released. I was getting worried about them driving home. As you can see, my daughter was thrilled to see me. She was serving potato and corn soup. By this time, the roads weren’t to good and I opted not to taste any wine. I was by myself, and wanted to get home without incident.
I live 35 minutes from Whitecliff. My son followed me home that evening. It took me an hour and a half to get home. Nobody can plan on the weather. Event tickets are non refundable, no different than that NFL game or concert. The snowy weather made it so festive. The snow really brings the Holiday element into the event. What’s Christmas without snow.
If you are wondering. Here is my completed wreath.
