Wine Tasting in the Hudson Valley

Yesterday was an awesome day! Chris and I drove downstate to the Hudson Valley area to check out some wineries. I bought a few Groupons for wine tastings and we decided to use them up!

On the way to the first winery we actually ended up making a quick stop at Harvest Spirits Distillery in Valatie. They make their own vodka and other hard liquors right at the farm, with Hudson Valley Apples.

I picked up a bottle of the peach jack! Tastings were $1, but free if you bought something. Chris had the applejack at home, so he didn’t get anything. I can’t wait to make a drink with the peach jack! Its delicious.

After our quick stop at Harvest Spirits, it was time to head down to Millbrook Winery in the town of Washington!

Millbrook was huge. They had so many grape vines! We got there and a tour was just starting so we got on it for a tour of the winery.

It was so beautiful there! We got to see how they age the wines in barrels. Did you know the barrels are actually “toatsted” inside — most wine barrels are medium toasted — that’s how they get the flavor of the wines how they want them. I didn’t know that.

And I found out the corks they use are made from tree bark. Another thing I didn’t know.

Then it was time to taste the wine!

We tasted some whites, a rose and some reds!

This was one of my favorite whites, the Chardonnay Proprietor’s Special Reserve –Hudson River Region.

I liked them all, actually!

We also got to sample some wine crackers, which were really good and tasted more like shortbread cookies.

We had a great experience at Millbrook! Such good wine!

The next winery on our list was Robibero Family Vineyards in New Paltz. When we were leaving Millbrook, we saw signs for another winery. We didn’t stop, but we were tempted. Little did I know there are TONS of wineries in the Hudson Valley region. I want to go to them all!

We were actually meeting our friends Krista and Patrick who live in Accord, which isn’t far from New Paltz.

It was my first time in New Paltz in SO long, it’s a cute town!

The winery here was set up differently. It is also a restaurant with live music, so there was a lot going on. The tasting area was pretty crowded so we sat down and waited for room to we could taste the wines together.

The tasting here included your choice of five wines from a list. I tried a few whites, including a delicious Reisling, and some reds, and a bubbly pink wine called Happy Bitch.

It was very tasty and easy to drink! It seems like a good wine for a girl’s night party! This one also had a lot of wines, but not as many to choose from as the first.

View from the parking lot of the winery.

After our tasting, it was time for FOOD! We went to the Gilded Otter on Main Street in New Paltz for food and brews!

Of course, I chose the Back Porch Summer Lager, a blueberry beer! It was REALLY good, I could definitely taste the fruit, and there were even blueberries floating in it. Krista ordered the same one!

We all shared some cheese curds as appetizer. They came with a delicious spicy dipping sauce. I was a fan.

And for my meal I got the salmon burger, which was served on a roll with ginger and wasabi sauce.

It was delicious! The fries were also amazing.

We were stuffed from this meal! Next it was time to head to Accord to see Krista & Patrick’s new house! Last december they moved from New York City and bought an old farmhouse where they have chickens and pigs.. I couldn’t wait to see them!

The grey one is Cosmo–he will eat from your hand and let you pet him. So cute!

The piggies are Honey and Maple. They were adorable, too.

After hanging out at the farm for a while, Krista & Patrick took us to a bar where her mom works called the Country Inn. From the outside you would never know what’s inside. It looks like a plain old farmhouse, but it’s pretty neat in there.

They had gigantic beer selection, too, which you would NEVER know. I just stuck with water, but Krista and I split the Pot of Chocolate and a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

It was delicious! You can’t go wrong with something called a pot of chocolate.

We had such a great time hanging out with Krista and Patrick! It was a long day, but so worth it. So much good food and drinks. 🙂