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On New York's Shawangunk Wine Trail: Brotherhood, America's Oldest Winery

June 13, 2012 at 12:42 PM | by | Comments (0)

Within easy driving distance of NYC sits the Shanwangunk Wine Trail, a collection of 11 wineries that regularly offer tours and affordable tastings to the public. We managed to hit three in one day and, this week, will share them with you as summer means primetime for making the same road trip.

Second Stop: Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville, NY

Leaving our first stop, Applewood Orchards, we hadn't nearly reached the level of tipsiness we had hoped to accomplish by noon. Thus it was straight off to a second stop, which turns out to be America's Oldest Winery, founded in 1839. These days the stone buildings sit on the edge of a suburban subdivision, but they were there first, ya'll.

Gallery: Shawangunk Wine Trail: Brotherhood Winery

Brotherhood is best described as a winery compound, with numerous buildings for hosting events, group tours and, of course, all the wine making goings-on. Stopping here is just as affordable as other places along the trail, costing only $5 for the tasting (chose between specialty wines or varietals), $7 for the tasting plus a souvenir glass, or $10 for the tasting, the glass and a tour. We just went the $5 route since it wasn't exactly a special occasion, unlike the bachelorette group who sidled up alongside us for the presentation of the wines.

Going down the list of varietals, we touched our tongue to Brotherhood's own Chardonnay, Riesling, Dry Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Blanc de Blanc and even convinced the hostess to slip us a little of the Carroll's Mead. A note on the Riesling: apparently it is the only NY-produced wine to hold pride of place in the wine cellars of the White House, brought in during the Clinton administration. Fun!

Come for a tasting or just a browse, as the cellars' retail sales area stocks a slew of other labels, including Fabullini, aka the wine produced by Real Housewives of New Jersey "star" Teresa Giudice. Yummy?

Best time of the year to visit: Anytime! This is one of the few Shawangunk Wine Trail wineries to stay open year-round, so it's always good for whenever you just need to get outta town and sip on some wine.

Hours:
April - December: Daily 11am-5pm, Saturday 11am-6pm
January - March: Friday thru Sunday 11am-5pm

[Photos: Jaunted]

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