We celebrated our son’s move to college and our first weekend as empty nesters with a trip to the Sweet Corn Festival and visits to two nearby wineries.
Brandeberry Winery was our first stop. I had been there a couple years ago with my daughter and her friends when she was living close by during an internship.
As we walked toward the tasting room, we couldn’t help but be amused by their signage.
And any winery that has a dog is already a hit with Bushmaster. Mingo took to Bushmaster right away.
We decided to forgo the whites. I concentrated on the reds while Bushmaster concentrated on the sweets.
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Syrah
- Chambourcin
- Noiret 2010
- Not Your Mother’s Red – Merlot blended with 2% of Blackberry wine
- Mad River Red – a sweet red blend
- Party Girl – a blend of Riesling and Red Raspberry
- Black Dog – a blend of Cayuga and Red Raspberry
- Sweet Mingo – a blend of Vidal Blanc and Peach
- Raspberry Storm – 100% Red Raspberry
- Berry Monster – a blend of Red Raspberry and Blackberry
- Cranberry – 100% Cranberry
- Pink Passion – a blend of Cayuga and Cherry
- Cherry Truffle – a blend of Cherry and Grape with Chocolate flavor
- Polar Crush – Vidal Blanc ice wine
Brandeberry does not have their own vineyards, having lost their vines to the Polar Vortex two winters ago. They source their juices and fruits from New York, Lake Erie, and California. The fruit flavors were very intense, almost seeming fortified, in their 100% fruit wines and fruit wine blends. All were very true to their names and the flavors were consistent with what you would expect from the fruit. The chocolate infused Cherry Truffle was the only exception. Not enough cherry for me and I am typically not a fan of most chocolate infused wines. This one tasted a lot like a Tootsie Roll.
Of the reds, the Syrah was my favorite. Bushmaster and I detected a chemical flavor to the Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chambourcin was a miss for me as it didn’t have the qualities I like in a Chambourcin. The Noiret, with its unusal flavor, had been my pick two years earlier but not this day. We laughed about name Not Your Mother’s Red when I didn’t care for it as it truly was “Not Aary’s and Abree’s Mother’s Red”.
Bushmaster’s preference was for any of the Red Raspberry blends, Sweet Mingo, and Polar Crush. Actually we both very much enjoyed Polar Crush. It was a very nicely done ice wine.