We are in New York heading to the Wine Bloggers Conference in Corning. Our first stop is the very beautiful Hudson Valley. We decided to stay in Hyde Park, New York, where FDR was raised, and where he eventually started the first Presidential Library. A visit to the FDR House is amazing and highly recommended. We also recommend a tour of the Vanderbilt House and Gardens in Hyde Park. The town of Hyde Park has little to offer other than tours of these historic treasures. Just 20 minutes north is Rhinebeck, the picturesque town where Chelsea Clinton was married. There is so much going on in Rhinebeck, we wished we had lodged there. In Rhinebeck, there are many fine restaurants, boutique shops, and more. In short, it’s a happening place, just the opposite of Hyde Park.
A visit to Millbrook Vineyards & Winery on Dutchess Wine Trail
We are surprised at the number of wineries in the Hudson Valley. The best-known of the Hudson Valley wineries is Millbrook Vineyards & Winery. Millbrook has impressive recommendations from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Wine Spectator as one the best wineries to visit in the Hudson Valley. We traveled on some beautiful tree-lined backroads to the winery on the Dutchess County Wine Trail. The Millbrook Vineyards & Winery are in a beautiful setting. The winery has a peaceful picnic area that faces an irrigation pond and hillside vineyards. For walkers, there is a short vineyard hike that makes a loop around some very pretty vineyards and views.
The tasting room for us was a disappointment. Our server thought he was a comedian and joked about the wine snobs out in California. He told us (about ten visitors in the tasting room) that all California Chardonnays were over-oaked. He did give California one nice compliment. It was about its delicious Russian River Pinot Noir, telling us it was the best. It turns out that John Dyson, who owns the Millbrook winery, is also the owner of Willams Seylem in the Russian River Valley. Williams Seylem is a winery that we recently visited and reviewed. We tasted through 8 Millbrook wines; 6 were included in the tasting fee of $11 a person, but our server had a couple of bonus wines to try. My favorite wine was the Millbrook Tocai Friulano. This is a grape from Italy grafted over at Millbrook some 25 years ago. It is a nice aromatic wine with just a tad of sweetness. In the reds, I found them to be much different in style than what we are used to in California. We did end our stay in a nice touch. We enjoyed a picnic lunch with some of the tasty Tocai Friulano and then took the vineyard walk. The weather added a different wine country feel. Cumulus clouds turned to dark ominous clouds. It certainly gives the vineyards a different look, and a very pretty one indeed.
During the summer months, Millbrook is open from 11 am to 6 pm. On the weekends, there is a grill cafe providing snacks for visitors. Millbrook also has a schedule of summer jazz concerts on Saturdays. Check the Website for complete visiting details.
