The Babysitter Travels Around the World

By Chrystal Corsino -aka "The Babysitter"

Saturday June 19 was spent once again on the Shawangunk Wine Trail, I was able to share it this time around with my friend Jess from Yonkers a first time wine trailer and my mom who opted to be our DD this time after some begging.

We were able to hit 7 wineries before exhaustion and headaches set in, the heat of the day eventually got the better of us no matter how much we hydrated ourselves, and monitored our tasting carefully. The seven wineries we made it to were Warwick Valley, Applewood, Palia, Brotherhood, Benmarl, Glorie and Adair.

Warwick Valley (Germany) use to be my favorite winery but for Jess it was a little disappointing because they did not feature two of there best wines in the tasting Harvest Moon and Black Dirt Red. We did enjoy the Frambrosie cider as always and the bratwurst was a new experience for all and something we can each say we tried once. The Pinot noir had no flavor just a little smoky on the finish and the Riesling was much drier than most others I have tried.

Applewood was Tahiti and they did an amazing job of getting into the day, the best decorated overall. The employees all had on awesome aprons and you really got an island feel. They paired there Summer Fields wine with there tropical fruit cold soup and curry chicken, a perfect pairing. They had changed there International Red since the last time I had tried it but it was still the perfect sipping red and would still be great for Sangria. Jess tasted the Ruby’s Kiss and was amazed at the flavor her exact reaction “ it tastes like smuckers”. Ruby’s Kiss as mom said would be great with a piece of pound cake vanilla ice cream on top with Ruby’s poured over it….yummy.

Palia (Italy) the cold pasta dish was amazing, they could have gotten into the theme a little more but as always the wines were amazing. The 2006 Merlot should not be missed it has a chocolate cherry flavor, I normally do not like merlot but highly suggest this one. As always there Mead and joyfully pink are perfect sweeter sipping ones for the summer days ahead. They always were very kind in washing up or glasses so the bees wouldn’t chase us down. Lastly the sign on there port a potty is hysterical and def true…. They definitely have the cleanest port a potties in the Hudson Valley.

Brotherhood (Morocco), the couscous and chicken had a lot to be desired but there wines as always are good. Jess had never had to Brotherhood and tried there Riesling and absolutely loved it. This Rielsing is right down the middle not super sweet but not dry and you can taste pineapple on the finish.

Pitstop- Mary Janes Ice Cream Bar, time for a break and a much need milkshake, if you are out on the wine trail Mary Janes on 9W should not be missed.

Benmarl (Cuba), ice cream really no matter how you explain it you could have come up with something better and more creative. The wines tasted again were the same as the pasta event in April except the Riesling and Sangria were bottled the day before and very fresh. There Dechaunac wine is amazing this is the perfect red wine smooth a little dry , a little sweet on finish and perfect for sipping or with a hearty meal.

Glorie (Mexico), excellent food. Spicy, noodles and corn of some sort. I only tried the Seyval way to dry for me, Jumpin Jazz and there peach wine. The peach wine was a first for me and it was pretty good but nothing here overly excited me.

Lastly Adair (Russia), tasting alone at this one, well mom did try the Kir Rouge a blackberry and red wine blend, perfect summer red and great to sip. Mom loved this winery as she had never been. She loves old country buildings. The Peche wine here is amazing one sip is like biting into a fresh peach just picked. Sweet and smooth.

The day all in all was great, perfect weather for a drive thru the Hudson Valley Countryside. Amazing views at many of the wineries. Jess enjoyed her first wine trial experience but like me in the beginning she likes the sweeter wines much more then the drier whites and red wines. My palette for wines keeps changing and this time I noticed it even more, many of the sweeter white and dessert wines are just to sweet for me. Even the honey wine is getting to be a tad to sweet, yet I still enjoy it. I did noticed unlike last years events the Wineries did not really change up what they were presenting to taste between Pasta Primo Vino and Around the World. This is a little disappointing. It’s what made me love the wine trail events and really made me get into wine last year as over these two events I was able to taste a variety of different wines from each of the wineries.