Cruising the Shawangunk Wine Trail and Finding Chardonnay

This weekend I spent in New York - and in between bad weather - had a little time to explore the Shawangunk Wine Trail - about an hour northwest of the city. I selected two wineries rather close to each other and close to a mall to leave the family - Baldwin Vineyards & Brimstone Hill Winery. Both are located in Pine Bush and have been operating for over 30 years - maybe not as old as Brotherhood - but that's a long run. From visiting other wineries in the area, I've become fond of Baco Noir - yet I discovered on this trip that old reliable Chardonnay was the featured wine.  Both versions were very similar - made in the Burgundian style - fermented in oak and aged on lees with more oak aging. The result are two creamy, buttery wines with decent flavor -   although the classic Chardonnay profile gets overwhelmed. The tail is short and could use more acidity - but these are pleasant wines - and very affordable for local wine standards at a little over $10.   Pair with The Farewell Drifters.

The United Grapes of America - New York - Warwick Valley Winery's Black Dirt Red

Black Dirt Red Overlooking Greenwood Lake

New York State is the 4th largest producer of wine in the The United Grapes of America and most readers already are familiar with the popular wine regions of the Finger Lakes and Long Island. Less well known are the wineries of the Hudson Valley - specifically those on the Shawangunk Wine Trail. One of these wineries is a personal favorite, Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery, with their portfolio of wines, ciders, brandies, and Gin. On every trip to Greenwood Lake, we stock up on their Doc's Draft Ciders (Apple, Pear, and seasonal) as well as some wine - like today's feature - the Black Dirt Red.

StarChefs.com: The United Grapes of America

The wine is composed of 100% Baco Noir, a French-American hybrid grape produced by crossing Folle Blanche, a French wine grape, and an unknown variety of Vitis riparia indigenous to North America. The grape is cold tolerant so does well in the Northeast and Canada - and particularly the Hudson Valley. The wine's name refers to the agriculture area centered in Warwick, New York - the Black Dirt Region. This area is comprised of very fertile black soil,  "left over from an ancient glacial lake bottom augmented by decades of past flooding of the Wallkill River".

Doc's Draft Ciders

Warwick Valley Winery's Black Dirt Red has all the standard Baco Noir attributes: medium bodied, cherry flavors, and easy drinking - but his seems to have a more powerful flavor profile as well as a slight spicy - almost leathery - finish.  Plus, the wine fits squarely into our budget for a nice table wine, $10.99. So give Baco Noir a try and specifically, check out the wines from New York's Hudson Valley.

Note: the Doc's Draft Ciders are also highly recommended. I tried the Apple, Pear and Sour Cherry - all have great fruit - which produces a fuller flavor profile than most dry ciders.

Visiting the Shawangunk Wine Trail: Applewood Winery

Ever since our visit to Foggy Ridge Cider for the MyJoogTV Episode 9: Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band @ Foggy Ridge Cider episode, we've been on a hard cider kick. And what better way to feed that habit, but through a tour of apple country in New York's Hudson Valley and the Shawangunk Wine Trail. The trail consists of eleven wineries, with a few producing hard cider from the regions abundant apple crop. We started out intending to visit Warwick Valley Winery & Disillery, but found the roads blocked because of storm damage from Hurricane Irene. Having a limited time schedule, we reversed course to the next closest winery in Warwick, Applewood Winery. This farm winery is the oldest continually operated farm in the county and still contains a stone that bears an inscription of the first owner's initials ("SGS 1700"). The current operation began in the 1950's when the land was purchased by the Hull family and apple trees planted to create Applewood Orchards. In 1993 Jonathan Hull expanded the apple farm to include a winery and plantings of vinifera, labrusca and hybrid and grape varieties.

On our visit, we were surprised to find a packed parking lot; surprised because of the seclusion of the farm. They have gotten the word out; plus there was live music scheduled for later that afternoon. The winery offers a large selection of wines, from Chardonnay, Reisling, and Cabernet Franc to Traminette and Concord. And plenty of Apple wine and hard cider; actually sparkling hard cider, the semi-dry Stone Fence Cider made from fermented estate apples, honey, and champagne yeast. This was all we needed, purchasing one cold and two to bring home. Even though we prefer dry cider and brut sparklers, this cider was nice and refreshing -on that 90 degree day. The apple flavors bounced through the palette with the honey providing a touch of sweetness at the finish. And at $8.25, what a fair value. We didn't sample the other wines, but enjoyed the bottle of Stone Fence Cider before returning to Greenwood Lake.

On the rise back, we stopped at Friendly Beer & Soda Corporation to grab some local beer and to our surprise, found bottles Warwick Valley Winery & Disillery hard cider proudly displayed on the register counter. We took home bottles of the Doc's Draft Hard Apple Cider and the
Doc's Draft Hard Pear Cider. The pear was wonderful, dry-dry-dry; and with plenty of pear flavors. The apple was made semi-dry and had a similar flavor profile as the Stone Fence Cider minus the CO2. Despite the slight sweetness, it was clean and refreshing. The reason why we love hard cider.