A dear friend of mine got married this winter and she and her husband named each of their wedding reception tables after a place that was special to them. One of them was the Nashoba Valley Winery. Ever since then I've been wanting to head up to Bolton to check it out.
Imagine my surprise and delight when a friend decided to have her 28th birthday party there! The party was set for May 5th (Cinco de Mayo) and when we woke up that morning it was dreary. It was cloudy, gray and there was a slight chill in the air.
It took us about 45 minutes to get from Brighton to Bolton. We took the Mass Pike East to 495 North and before we knew it, we were pulling into the gravel parking lot.
When we got out of the car, this was our view:
To the right of the tasting room and shop was a wide open field with picnic tables.
Several of the tables had gorgeous views of the vineyard.
I couldn't get over all the dandelions!
Our first stop was the tasting room. We headed inside via the spacious front porch.
A chalkboard sign welcomes you with times and prices for tasting and tours.
The Nashoba Valley Winery tasting room and shop has a barn-like feel.
There are rows and rows of wine for purchase.
They have an elegant liquor display as well.
They also sell wine accessories and wine themed gifts which were all merchandised in charming presentations.
On the far left side of the room there is a giant stair case that leads to a beautiful second floor balcony. I could easily see a bride walking down those steps.
The balcony over looks the shop, but is off limits to visitors.
Since it was Cinco de Mayo the winery was offering complimentary sangria, chips and salsa. Bonus! The sangria had a cinnamon taste and was a bit pulpy from the citrus fruit.
Our first order of business was a tasting. For $5 you get five drink tickets which entitles you to samples of wine, beer or liquor! I have never been to a tasting that included liquor.
The chalkboards continued behind the bar with a list of the current beers.
I couldn't help but laugh at this sign above the bar. Touche.
I started out with two white wines the Baldwin and the Vignoles. The Baldwin had apple and pear flavors, but also a smokey finish. As you swallowed the wine tasted like BBQ.
The Vignoles had flavors of pineapple, melon, honey and citrus. It was very nice!
Next I tasted the Blueberry Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm not normally into red wine, but when in Rome.
For my fifth and final taste, I decided on the May wine of the month - the Cranberry Apple.
The Cranberry Apple was my favorite wine by far. It was deliciously sweet. What can I say? I like my alcohol to taste like candy. It didn't hurt that the wine was also a fantastic shade of girly pink.
At the end of the tasting you get to keep your glass! The glass was a lovely memento from a great day.
After the tasting, we went into the shop and made our selections of wine and beer. We then took the bottles out to the picnic tables and set up a huge birthday lunch. By the time we settled in for lunch the sun was peeking through the clouds and the temperature had gone up about ten degrees.
We had a relaxing, boozy lunch and the folks at the winery never rushed us. We arrived at 1:00pm and left at 5:00pm. It was a glorious Saturday!
Have you ever been to the Nashoba Valley Winery? Do you have a favorite wine?
