An agricultural region better known for producing cider, fruit wines and mead than wine, Vermont is nonetheless home to a small but growing wine industry. I took advantage of a recent visit to the charming town of Burlington, on the shores of Lake Champlain, to visit two wineries and get a taste of what Vermont wines are really worth.
Geographic Situation
Located in the northeastern United States, Vermont is one of the smallest states in Uncle Sam’s country. Surrounded by Quebec to the north, New Hampshire to the east, Massachusetts to the south, and New York State to the west, this state lives essentially from agriculture and tourism. Approximately 75% of Vermont’s territory is covered by forests. The vast majority of estates are concentrated in western Vermont, near the New York State border. The establishment of wineries in Vermont began in the late 1990s. Today, there are about 15 wineries in operation.
Climate and Hybrid Grapes
Vermont is characterized by a continental climate, not very compatible with wine production. Winters are very harsh, with lots of snow and temperatures that can drop below -20C. As for the summers, they are often hot with very high humidity levels. As in neighboring Quebec, the majority of Vermont wines are made from hybrid grape varieties adapted to the harsh climate, such as Marquette, Frontenac, Vidal, Baco, Léon Millot, Baco, Petite Pearl, Seyval, Cayuga, La Crescent and Louise Swenson.
What is a hybrid grape? Vitis vinifera, native to Europe, produce very high quality grapes for winemaking, but are not resistant to cold. American vines, on the other hand, are very resistant to the cold, as well as to diseases, but produce grapes that are not suitable for making quality wines. Biologists have therefore crossed the two species in order to create hybrid grape varieties, which are both adapted to the winter cold, to the shorter maturation periods of the vine, and give grapes of satisfactory quality to be vinified.
Vermont Wineries
Snow Farm Vineyard
Established in 1996, it is the oldest operating estate in Vermont. Snow Farm is located on the small island of South Hero, on the shore of Lake Champlain. It still has 14,000 vines. Thanks to the presence of the lake, South Hero enjoys a more temperate climate than anywhere else in Vermont. This microclimate allows Snow Farm to grow vitis vinifera grapes that are not found anywhere else in Vermont, such as riesling and pinot noir. That being said, having walked through the vineyards, the Riesling and even more so the Pinot Noir vines did not look very good. The domain produces 5 white wines (seyval, vidal, riesling, traminette demi-sec and a blend of cayuga and seyval), 3 reds (léon millot, baco noir and a blend of léon millot, baco noir and frontenac), one rosé and two dessert wines (vendange tardive and vin de glace). The seyval and vidal are more successful than riesling and traminette. The rosé, much too sweet and candy for my taste… The dessert wines on the other hand were of good quality, although the quality-price ratio was not there. The quality of the wines is quite honest in general. The place is very beautiful and it is a very popular stop for cyclists. Tables are available outside to have a drink or a snack and the view on the vineyards and the lake Champlain is very nice. There is even a fifteen minute walk to the highest point of the island for an even better view of the lake. Don’t hesitate to visit the domain! snowfarm.com
Lincoln Peak Vineyard
The Granstom family moved to the small town of Middlebury in the early 1980’s to open an apple nursery and later to grow strawberries. In 2001, Chris Granstom had the crazy idea of converting his farm into a vineyard after learning about hybrid grape varieties developed by the University of Minnesota. In 2006, Lincoln Peak Vineyard released its first wines and today the annual production amounts to nearly 25,000 bottles. The winery produces 4 white wines, 2 reds, 2 rosés, a dessert wine and a black currant wine. The quality of the wines is more than honest, with a preference for the whites and the dessert wine. And a special mention for the very good blackcurrant wine! lincolnpeakvineyard.com
East Shore Vineyard
The winery has a small tasting room on the pedestrian street in Burlington. If you don’t know anything about wine or want to learn about it, you will do yourself a world of good by avoiding this place at all costs! Far from me being a snob or mean, I didn’t taste wine, but grape juice with a doubtful fermentation… Wines too sweet, chewing gum aromas, incomplete fermentations and so on… The guy in charge of the tasting was even proud to tell me that wood chips were added to the red wine and that it is much more efficient than the barrel to give the taste of wood to the wine… No comment… eastshorevineyard.com
Boyden Valley Winery
I didn’t visit this winery located near Cambridge, but I nevertheless had the opportunity to taste one of its vintages, the Big Barn Red. And this time, this red wine, made of 100% Frontenac, was pretty good with its black fruit notes. The best red I have tasted in Vermont. Note that the winery produces red, white, rosé, dessert wines, but also fruit wines (cranberry, blueberry, rhubarb), a maple wine, cider, ice cider and apple and maple liqueurs. Nothing less! boydenvalley.com
La Garagista Farm and Winery
I haven’t visited the winery or even tasted any of the wines, but I decided to tell you about them nonetheless. While in Burlington, I had the chance to eat at one of the best restaurants in town, Hen of the Wood. The restaurant had a very nice selection of wine and the wine list had only one reference from Vermont, an orange wine from La Garagista estate. This obviously piqued my curiosity. Established in 1999, La Garagista is a farm that produces fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs and spices. Their produce, which is organically grown, is used in their restaurant Osteria Pane e Salute in the town of Woodstock. Wine production began in 2010 with the release of their first vintage. The vineyard is grown according to biodynamic principles. I promised myself to visit the winery on a future visit to Vermont! lagaragista.com
Here is a list of other Vermont wineries:
Charlotte Village Winery : charlottevillagewinery.com
Fresh Tracks Farm Winery : freshtracksfarm.com
Montcalm Vineyards : montcalmvineyards.com
Neshobe River Winery : neshoberiverwinery.com
North Branch Vineyards : northbranchvineyards.com
Otter Valley Winery : ottervalleywinery.com
Shelburne Vineyard : shelburnevineyard.com
Hillis Sugarbush Farm and Vineyard : hillisfarm.com
Whaleback vineyard : whalebackvineyard.com
Honora Winery : honorawinery.com
Huntington River Vineyard : huntingtonrivervineyard.com
To learn more about Vermont wines
To plan a visit in the area, you can consult the site vermontwine.com. The Vermont Grape and Wine Council has created a passport to be stamped each time you visit a winery. The Vermont Grape and Wine Council has created a passport to be stamped at each visit to a winery. If you have the time to stop by and get the passport stamped, you will have a chance to win a gift basket filled with local products. vermontgrapeandwinecouncil.com
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