Hello! Life has been pretty busy so please pardon my absence from this blog. I love doing this blog and I hate being away. So for a holiday treat, I have a post from a local winery I went to in October. My friend Emily arranged it and actually paid my way which was so sweet. Thank you Emily! Cheers to you.
The winery in question is the Great Shoals Winery in Maryland. If you are in the DMV area, I highly recommend it.
Great Shoals Winery was founded in approximately 2010 and uses local ingredients for their ciders, wines, and sparkling wines. They’ve won a few awards too.
Our tasting included cheese, crackers, and a selection of wines and ciders.
Here are my thoughts and what I learned. My notes get progressively worse as the tasting goes on:
Bosc & Bartlett Hard Pear Cider:
The hard pear cider had a strong honey flavor and was slightly carbonated. It was very dry as well as very delicious.
Chambourcin:
The chambourcin is a medium body red which would be an ideal table wine. Like many wines in the area, Chambourcin was tweaked by Jefferson in Monticello.
Bayside Mist:
Another table wine which is delightfully fruity. It is composed of vidal and Chardonnay. It is very refreshing.
Spinnaker:
The spinnaker is made with the chambourcin grape and is slightly less robust. It is a very crisp rosé
Bay Fire:
While fire may denote spice, it is actually a sweet wine with a slight tartness. The Bay Fire is a lovely caramel color.
Ginger Hard Apple:
The ginger hard apple cider is very ginger forward. I am not talking about Angry Orchard Ginger, but a real ginger cider (no disrespect to Angry Orchard, but this stuff was real).
Hard Cherry:
Hard Cherry won the governor’s competition. It is very subtle and not overly sweet. I really enjoyed this but I always enjoy anything with cherry.
Spiced Apple:
The spiced apple was delicious and warm. It is made with cinnamon orange peel and clove so it tasted like pure fall.
I loved this tasting and I hope if you live in the area you can come check out Great Shoals!
Uncorked, Unwrapped 