A review by wineryadventures.com
5/26/2007
When we first drove up to this Cabot, Pennsylvania winery, we felt more like we were approaching someone's house than a winery. The small parking area was around back and by the looks of things the winemaker had added a tasting room on to his own home. I'm always curious as to what we will find at these newer wineries....usually some mediocre wines. I'm happy to say that I was surprised and delighted with the wines that Winfield Winery offers. They had only been in business for 10 months when we visited - but they certainly know how to make some exceptional wine.
The tasting room was bright and cheery. The room was small, but well laid-out with plenty of room to move about. One wall had tall shelving stacked with bottles of wine. Along two other walls were wine-related gift items...and along the last wall was the tasting counter. I thought it was wonderful that the winery provided plenty of nibblers for the wine tasters. Crackers, cheese spread and salsas were available to those sampling wine.
We were invited up to the counter to do some sampling. We were hosted by the winemaker and his wife. They were the friendliest people and were proud and eager to share their wares. There were 15 wines on the tasting sheet - and I sampled them all. I even sampled a few that were not on the list, which the winemaker didn't have bottled yet but retrieved a sample for me from his cellar. I was so impressed by every wine they produce. The quality of the wines are top-notch and I was surprised when they told me they had only opened 10 months ago. I have to believe that there were years of amateur winemaking going on before going into business...because Winfield's wines are incredible.
Although I thought all of their wines were excellent, there are seven that I would like to single-out and give my thoughts on. 1. Fredonia: Winfield Winery makes their Fredonia in a semi-dry style which I found to be a refreshing change of pace from some of the syrupy-sweet Fredonia wines I have sampled in Pennsylvania. This is a truly great slightly-dry wine. 2. Winfield Country Red: A wonderful off-dry wine great for serving with pizza, pasta...or perfectly pleasant on its own. A nice, crisp flavor. 3. Seyval: I've never been a big fan of dry whites - but this wine was surprisingly good. Great balanced, citrus flavor. 4. Riesling: Gary is the Riesling lover...but I really enjoyed this one. I found it wonderfully crisp and refreshing with a smooth finish. 5. Winfield Blush: An excellent semi-dry blush with nice fruity flavor. 6. Yellow Raspberry: We were excited to try this Yellow Raspberry wine because it sounded so unique and were disappointed when we were told it was sold out. Not to worry - the winemaker had a bottle with a medal hanging around it and opened it for us to sample. (He said he would replace the wine with colored liquid later - it didn't actually need to be real wine in a display bottle). I'm so glad we were able to try it. I could taste the berries, the leaves and the sunshine. Although a very sweet wine, it had a nice, light finish. 7. Noriet: This delightful wine wasn't on the wine list and wasn't even bottled yet, but the winemaker went to his cellar to get me a barrel sample. This dry red was exquisite, well-balanced and not overpowering. I was so pleased to be able to sample it - but so disappointed that I could not purchase any to take home with me.
This new winery is going to go places...and fast. Our hosts spoke of plans to add some outdoor seating (which we would have taken advantage of had it been available), but I predict that Winfield Winery is going to grow out of its add-on tasting room. When word starts getting around about the incredible wines they are producing, their parking area and tasting counter won't be able to accommodate all the visitors they will have. The winemaker at Winfield has a special gift that I believe will lead to great success in the wine business. If you haven't tried Winfield's wines yet, please take my advice and stop by soon. I guarantee you will be very, very pleased. Favorites: Winfield Country Red, Fredonia and Noiret.
