Happy Holidays and Welcome 2019. To conclude 2018, ten New Hampshire Wineries Coordinated a fun Holiday Event by hosting special wine tastings during the month of December. We were able to visit six locations over two weekends. It was a unique way to see different parts of the state. The following is a description of the family-owned vineyards we visited.
This vineyard was established in 2004, and currently has about 2000 vines on 80 acres. It was the largest vineyard that we visited. Zorvino's has a large tasting room and gift shop that offers a wide
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| Entrance to Zorvino Vineyards |
variety of wines, including fruit and vegetable blends. Even if you aren't a wine connoisseur, you most likely will find a wine to enjoy. They also has a large post and beam barn which they use for hosting weddings and other functions. It was a great place to start our tour.
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| Products Sourced by Flag Hill Winery |
This 110 permanently conserved property was converted from a dairy farm to a vineyard in 1987, making it the oldest vineyard that we visited. In 2004 they expanded their operation to include spirits. The owners, Brian and Maddie Ferguson grow grapes, grain and vegetables on the property which are are all used to make into their wines, spirits and culinary dishes. The tasting included a sampling of wines and spirits as well as three of their delicious made meatballs. All their ingredients are either grown on site, or are sourced locally in New England.
Sweet Baby Vineyard began operations in 2008, and moved to its current location in 2016, where they aspire to plant 1500 vines. They clearly have a love for the business. They have a spacious wine tasting facility, which had plenty of room for our baby granddaughter to stretch her legs. We were pleasantly pleased when they brought out brownie sundaes as part of the Jingle Bell Tour.
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| Entering the Tasting Room at Sweet Baby Vineyard |
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| Entrance to Averill House Vineyard |
Just as the sun was setting we made it to our last stop of the first day - Averill House Vineyard, the newest winery on the tour which has only been in operation for a few years. Although they currently offer a limited selection, the wines we tried were good and unique, including their cherry and coffee flavored wine. In addition to participating in the Jingle Bell Tour, they also hosted dinner and crafting events in 2018. I predict a bright future for this small family run operation.
This past weekend, my son, who was visiting for the Christmas Holiday, and I decided to check out two more wineries. The first was in Danbury, about an hour drive north of Concord. It was nice to see a little snow on the ground, since December has been mostly wet instead of white.
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| View from Haunting Whisper Vineyard |
Haunting Whisper opened to the public in 2009. They are located on a hill which have beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. Inside the tasting room, you can see where the wine and spirits are made. If you are looking for a picturesque place to visit in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, I recommend checking out Haunting Whisper which will reopen in May.
Our last stop was to Appolo Vineyards which was established in 2004. Although not as large as some of the other vineyards we visited, they had an intimate tasting room next to the colonial style farmhouse. We appreciated the fact that they offered an organic wine from Brianna grapes grown on their own property. In the summer you can watch the grapes being crushed on their outdoor crushing pad.
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| Appolo Vineyards Entrance |
And since we were in Derry, we decided to take a walk around the Robert Frost Farm, which I have wanted to visit for some time. The house was not open, but there is a nice trail that surrounds the property. You can read some of Frost's poems and a little of the history of the property, from markers located along the trail. It was a very nice way to end the day and the year.
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| View of the Robert Frost farmhouse from a woods trail behind a field. |
