So Mill River Winery was a revelation. I found a few bottles in a liquor store when I went to visit my sister in Amherst, Massachusetts. The store had a decent selection of local wines, which was a nice surprise. I asked for some advice from the several people who were working, and all said the same thing - try the Mill River wines. And so I did.
But who in the hell was Mill River Winery. I'd never heard of it. And so I did a little digging.
Rick & Donna’s story is about friendship, chemistry and hard work. Donna was (and remains) a Ph.D. chemist and Rick was an accomplished amateur wine maker. They did a year's worth of renovations at Dodge’s Cider Mill, and created a dedicated team of employees, and founded Mill River Winery.
Located on 3.3 acres of the picturesque North Shore of Massachusetts, they hope that their winery reflects the history and charm of this area that they call home. Apparently they opened in July 2011, with a mission of producing handcrafted wines using the finest grapes from Massachusetts and other notable wine regions.
Who knew?! Not me. Until
Mill River Winery’s Plantation red wine honors Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, who organized a company of twenty English families to sail to the New World on the “John of London”. In 1639, “Ezekiel Roger’s Plantation” was settled as the town of Rowley, MA. According to the owners, this wine celebrates the brave start of Colonial America. This is a lovely, dry, red blend, with ripe raspberry jam the come across the nose and on the palate. Hints of vanilla and spice. A nice, light touch of oak.
The Suisun Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Solano County, California, located just east of the Napa Valley wine region in the Coast Range. It was established as a wine appellation on December 27, 1982, making it the second oldest AVA in California (Napa Valley being the first).
Lots of dark fruit (black cherry, blackberries, cassis) with hints of oak and lots of tannin and spice. A beautiful wine.
Though I'm hoping we'll see more fruit from the north east sneak into the portfolio, what is there is lovely!