Haight Vineyards
Litchfield Connecticut

Haight Vineyards was the very first winery in Connecticut, founded in 1975 with Chardonnay and Riesling grapes. Located in gorgeous northwestern Connecticut, it was a lovely drive to get to the grounds, and even more fun once there.

Haight's wine list offers something for everyone - from light picnic wines to full whites to rich reds. We began with the Chardonnay - this was a medium wine, with oak and fruit flavors. The Recolte was 85% Seyval and 15% Chardonnay, having a light, fruity flavor. The Covertside White was sharper and more earthy - this is a 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Seyval.

The Riesling is fruity, with a light apple flavor to it. The Honey Nut Apple is, as you would imagine, flavored like apple and honey, with a light nutty flavor. Now, on to the reds.

The Merlot was in its first year, and was very tannic and acidic. You might wait until next year for this one. The Morning Harvest Red is an oaked flavor with Marechal Foch, a nice earthy flavor to it. The Picnic Red is also marechal foch, with that rich, fruity, earthy flavor. The Wine Train wine is an aged version of this, which is creameier and mellower, with the fruit flavor truly emerging.

Alice Trella came out to speak with us at this point, filling us in on the history of the winery. Apparently they used to breed fox hounds here, but when the winery was put in, focus turned to promoting wildlife and raising grapes. Now fox families play in the vineyards, much to the delight of staff and visitors.

There's even a wine train which runs 4 1/2 hours to and from the vineyard from the Thomaston station. Pretty in the fall and gorgeous in the winter, the train gives you the opprtunity to sample wines and watch scenery scroll by your windows. If you're up in this area of Connecticut, be sure to stop by!

Visited in August 2000

Connecticut Winery Review Listing