Saltwater Farm Vineyard’s Unoaked Chardonnay Hits Its Sweet Spot
Saltwater Farm Vineyard
By Rhonda Spaziani
I recently visited Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Stonington, Connecticut with the Eastern Connecticut Chapter of the American Wine Society. It’s a cool old WWII private airport right outside of the elegant coastal village of Stonington Borough. You can still fly a private plane right to the vineyard—just call ahead to make arrangements.
Our tasting room attendant, Gregory Post, was an amazing host. Be sure to ask for him when you book your tasting—he’s one of the best parts of the experience! Saltwater Farm offers tastings until mid-December from Wednesday through Sunday, so start your holiday celebrations with a fun weekend afternoon at the vineyard and follow it up with a picturesque stroll and dinner in the village. You’ll be happy you did!
The atmosphere at SFV was delightful: rustic-industrial in a bucolic shoreline setting. What’s better than that on a crisp fall day? The group of people who attended the event with us are wine lovers and epicureans, so there was a banquet of gourmet treats to share along with the chardonnay, rosé, and cabernet franc wines provided in the Signature Tasting ($10 for four wines and an additional $3 for a commemorative Saltwater Farm Vineyard glass). Saltwater Farm also produces a merlot, a reserve cabernet franc/merlot blend, and a young red blend, Runway Red, all offered in the Reserve ‘Red’ Tasting. We didn’t taste those wines on this trip, but my husband and his posse bought and shared several bottles of the Runway Red. At $28 a bottle, it’s not a super inexpensive option, but is right in line with many other Connecticut vineyards’ wine pricing. Saltwater Farm’s wines range from $25 to $37 a bottle, with the rosé and chardonnay wines being the least expensive and the cabernet franc/merlot blend and the merlot being the most expensive, respectively.
On that particular bright fall day, Saltwater Farm Vineyard provided an onsite oyster bar and many of the event attendees loaded up on ice-cold, plump, fresh, local oysters to pair with the chardonnay and rosé wines provided. SVF also had live entertainment at 3 pm (as they do on most Sundays), and the vocalist had some of the women swooning (and not from too much wine, I don’t think). We had a large group, with almost 30 attendees. It really was a great day for all, with old and new friends and even strangers sharing in the hospitality of Saltwater Farm Vineyard, Gregory, and our AWS group.
Spaz on Wine, Uncorked Goes Live!
I did my first-ever Spaz on Wine, Uncorked live podcast broadcast from SVF. Note to self: Never, ever do a show after doing a wine tasting! My mistake regarding the rapid swigging, not Saltwater Farm. My husband and co-chair of AWS, Gary, believes hosting entails role modeling having a seriously great time for oneself. So, I was alone on an island actually doing the work of hosting the event. And, in order to keep up with the wine tasting offerings, each time I returned to the table after passing around shared culinary delights, I had to do a hefty shot of the previously poured wine in order to make my glass available for the next offering. And then—brilliant plan of action—I did a live recording immediately following! As I flubbed my intro and forgot I couldn’t edit (all while live on air)—my only consolation was that my listener-base is small and, therefore, so too should be my humiliation. Ahhh…why, why, why does life never work that way? As I re-entered the huge tasting hall a massive cheer erupted. They had all been listening LIVE inside! Eeeeek! Fortunately, Gregory, who could seriously work in television, radio, or on Wall Street, provided a seamlessly polished performance (unlike mine) and carried the episode.
Here’s the thing—I am not a natural podcaster. I am insecure and self-conscious. I try all types of different approaches and am never as smooth or charismatic or charming as I imagine that I will be. But I keep plugging along, knowing that someday I’ll hit the sweet spot, and become exactly what I am supposed to be. I owe thanks for this in large part to Nate Caron, host of A Veracious Self on Green Ink Radio, who has been patiently working with me to help me find my authentic voice.
SVF Estate Chardonnay Hits Its Sweet Spot
Hang on, that line of thought actually does loop back to the unoaked chardonnay at Saltwater Farms: I believe that the SVF Estate Chardonnay has definitely hit its sweet spot (and with no help from Nate!). At $25 a bottle, it’s not your everyday bargain brand, but it’s also not cost prohibitive, either. Saltwater Farm Vineyard describes it as, “Clean, firm, and vibrant with notes of citrus and Granny Smith apple. Untethered from oak, it is the essence of Stonington’s terroir: minerals, wet rocks and seashells.” I don’t know about you, but I suck at sussing out the flavors of terroir. Wet rocks? Seashells? I tasted nary a shell or a wet rock, but I did love the lingering, dry, minerally balance. Admittedly, I also didn’t actually miss that I didn’t notice any eau de conch on my palate.
The 2017 Salt Water Farm Estate Chardonnay was the belle of the ball at our Signature Tasting. And my father, renowned wine connoisseur and author, Gene Spaziani, agreed. When I asked him to share his tasting notes, he said it was “Crisp and sharp, fruity, and nicely balanced with a lingering finish.” Pour me another, baby!
Cin cin!*
*Cin Cin (pronounced chin chin) means cheers in Italian.