Walker Road Vineyard Winery Review
Nestled on a small side street just beyond Nonnewaug High School sits Woodbury's only winery, Walker Road Vineyard, which welcomes visitors with its cozy and quaint barnwood building.
A look around the premises reveals an extensive collection of vineyard rows, and a grassy knoll, one that we previously enjoyed during the warm summer months.
Upon entering the building, the high ceilings, exposed rafters, and barnwood, gives off a warm cabin feel. Jim and his wife Bruce Elizabeth can be found here on the weekends serving and entertaining guests.
The gallery room is another cozy room to sit and sip wine.
One of the first things you might notice is that the owners were very selective with which fine art they chose to display on their walls. Nevertheless, it can make guests feel like they stepped back in time so-to-speak, and it is yet another curiosity that is worth investigating.
Walker Road Vineyard's wall of awards can be found near their counter.
Their wine selection is five wines: three reds, a white, and a rosé, and Jim was kind enough to give us a description of these blends as well as a tour down in their wine cellar and mixing rooms.
Their back deck during summer months is a scenic spot to enjoy.
Below, Jim explained to us their harvesting, blending, and mixing processes before their estate grown wine becomes bottled and aged. Each new blend becomes the next one in a series. This year's blend is number 32, while next year's blend will be number 33.
The bottles on the far right have been aged for 18 years! Wow, that is a long time.
A staple of their winery is their classically trained guitarist, who specializes in adding some beautiful ambiance to the scenery.
Our Wine Tasting
For our tasting, we decided to go with the flight of reds and one white, omitting the rosé for this visit. As we went down the line, we noticed that there was a specific dryness to most reds, while some lingered afterward and left an interesting impression. The Gertrude's Garden White that we had felt like the most refreshing of the lineup, but I must admit we weren't feeling as enthusiastic to taste no sweetness or subtlety in the Walker Road, Marquette, or St. Croix.
Perplexing as it may seem, Walker Road doesn't offer any sweet reds besides its rosé. This seemed like an odd choice to my wife and I, because while we understand that a rosé may satisfy that desire, the exclusion of sweetness in the wines effectively cuts out a large portion of the wine drinking community. Their white we thought was refreshing and tasty, and our opinions differed slightly with some of the reds, but I can personally see people enjoying their red wines just as much as I can see guests feeling slightly disappointed by the lack of sweetness to any of them. Below is a detailed description of each of their five wines that are offered.
One final note is Walker Road's own theme song. You better be ready to sing, because they want everyone to join in. Hopefully after a couple drinks, you wouldn't mind belting out a chorus or two. This song which usually comes around the last half hour of the day is the melody of John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Road, except the lyrics are for Walker Road Winery.
Final Thoughts
Walker Road Vineyard is another beautiful spot in the Connecticut wine valley. It's ambiance and classical scenery really help to elevate it. As for their wine selection, we would recommend it to wine drinkers who specifically enjoy drinking a dry table wine or a light white wine. If you only enjoy more full-bodied wines with sweet notes, then this may not be the place for you. Nevertheless, Walker Road Vineyard offers a great experience for those who want the taste of a classical and fanciful lifestyle. Their website can be found here, so give them a try and pay Walker Road Vineyard a visit!
Above and below are some summer panorama shots I was able to capture from our seating on the grassy knoll. Truly, it is a setting to be enjoyed.
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