September 25th, 2011 - Unionville Vineyards

It was supposed to be a rainy, dreary day, but it turned out quite different. We picked up our produce from the farm stand at the Honey Brook Organic Farm in Pennington and drove north on Route 31 through the beautiful little back roads of Ringoes. We were to meet up with a small group of food lovers for a wine tasting at Unionville Vineyards.

Unionville Vineyards | Sunday 25 September, 2011 | Nikon D40 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8

We were the first to arrive so used the time to look over the tasting "menu". Bhavana and I decided to share the first tasting and after the tasting purchased a bottle to take home. We were joined by Deboleena Dutta and here husband Ravi and their two kids. Deboleena gave us a sneak peek tasting of two new delicious condiments she has created for HerbNZest. I think these can be paired with the wines from Unionville. After tasting eight different white and red wines — and one Riesling and dessert wine — we were taken on a tour of the winery by assistant winemaker Steve "Zeke" Johnson.

Unionville Vineyards | Sunday 25 September, 2011 | Nikon D40 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8

Zeke gave us an overview of the differences production methods for white and red wines, about something called "the muck", and the difference between new oak and French oak. Unionville prefers old oak which they buy from various wineries in California. I never knew winemaking was so involved and detailed.

Steve "Zeke" Johnson | Sunday 25 September, 2011 | Nikon D40 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8

After the tour, we returned to the wine tasting room and tried another tasting with five different wines. "Zeke" was upstairs drinking his favourite and so we had a chance to talk to him some more about the wines and the vineyard.

Steve "Zeke" Johnson | Sunday 25 September, 2011 | Nikon D40 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8

Wine tasting is new for us but I could definitely do again. We took home two bottles of wines; a red called "Cam Jam" and a rose called "Fields of Fire".

Author: Khürt Williams

A human who works in information security and enjoys photography, Formula 1 and craft ale. #nobridge