Somewhere, beyond the Sea
I am happy to present you with a second article by Anatoli Levine of Talk-a-Vino for my summer guest blogging series “Somewhere, Beyond the Sea”. Anatoli, as most of you might have noticed, has been a source of knowledge and has been very generous over the last year by sharing and encouraging me. It has been a special pleasure when he volunteered a second article which literally takes place between the seas. Thank you, Anatoli!
Surrounded By the Ocean – Truro Vineyards
Ocean to the left, and ocean to the right. Vines in the middle. Almost precisely half a mile in each direction. Ocean is Atlantic, to be precise. And the vines? Truro Vineyards.
Truro Vineyards is one of the only two vineyards and wineries which are located on Cape Cod. While Truro Vineyard came into existence only in 1992, the same land was successfully farmed for almost 200 years, producing grains and feeding cows. Sandy soils and maritime climate came in handy when the time came to produce grapes.
As many other wineries on the East Coast (both New York and New England), Truro winery takes an interesting approach to the wine making. Well, I don’t mean here specifically how the wine is made, but rather how the grapes are sourced. The grapes which are growing well locally of course are sourced locally. Truro vineyards include 5 acres of Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The grapes which are not doing well locally, are brought from the other regions, where they are actually doing well – like Zinfandel and Pinot Grigio from California, or Vignoles from Finger Lakes. The rest is in winemaker hands…
The winery is definitely fun to visit, starting from the little signs telling you in which direction and how you need to go to reach Napa (3,100 miles) and Loire (3,561miles) – the last number makes me curious – with such a precision of 1 mile, where exactly in Loire are we supposed to be? Well, no matter, as guess what – it will be hard to prove them wrong…
There will be grapes…
I love seeing the vines in all different stages – last year I took my first pictures of the vineyards in the Fall, with the beautiful range of colors. This year – it is vineyards in the Spring, when you know that the grapes are coming… it will just take a bit of TLC and time… (yep, going fancy here – Tender Love and Care, in case you are wondering).
Fun outside continues with the fun inside – there are so many little things, like printed napkins, which help you not to take the wine too seriously:
And of course, there were wines, some of which we tasted, and some of them we did not (there was no open bottle of Sparkling wine, so I only have a picture, but no taste).
The tasting was organized and run every 30 minutes (there were a few of the winery tours throughout the day, but for the most of the cases I’m skipping those). The tasting consists of 5 different wines for $10, so it is good to spilt the tastes with the companion, as the whole tasting flight consists of 10 wines. This is what we did, so I managed to taste all 10 wines. Without further ado, here are my notes.
2012 Pinot Grigio (California fruit) – kind of okay, some green notes, but if I don’t have to be politically correct – meh. NR
2010 Estate Chardonnay – 100% local grapes, barrel fermented and aged for 9 month – well, yeah, it was Chardonnay, I presume – some butter notes, but all over the place, very disorganized, lots of acidity and no fruit support. NR
2012 Vignoles (Finger Lakes fruit) – very nice, refreshing, sweet start, hint of tropical fruit and peaches. Drinkability: 7+
Cape Blush Lighthouse – a blend of Cayuga (Finger Lakes region) and Cabernet Franc – too sweet, needs acidity. Good strawberries, a bit flat overall. But the shape and form of the bottle easily compensates for all the shortcomings. NR
Yep, we are on Cape Cod
2011 Cabernet Franc – 100% local fruit. Outstanding. Classic Cabernet Franc nose, same on the palate – green bell peppers, red fruit, very clean and balanced. Drinkability: 8
2011 Zinfandel – California fruit (typically arrives in mid-September). Excellent wine. Very un-Californian, clean raspberries profile, pretty light for the typical Zinfandel , easy to drink. Drinkability: 8-
2011 Merlot – local fruit. Nice structure, good red and black fruit on the palate, good balance. Drinkability: 7.
2011 Triumph – Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Again, very classic Bordeaux in style, with red fruit on the palate, some dry herbs and touch of dark chocolate, medium body. Drinkability: 7.
Cranberry Red – another lighthouse-shaped bottle. Blend of Rougeon and Syrah grapes with infused cranberries. I had high expectations based on the appearance, and it didn’t work for me at all. Not good. NR.
Diamond White – one more bottle in the lighthouse series. 100% Moore’s Diamond grape. Excellent overall – lychees, tropical fruit, pineapple and honeydew are clearly distinguishable, but all well balanced with underlying acidity. This can be considered a light dessert wine – it doesn’t come through as heavy.
Well, friends, your virtual visit is over. If you are visiting Cape Cod, Truro Vineyards definitely worth your time, an oasis of vines and wines almost in a middle of the ocean.
Until the next time – cheers!
the winegetter 