connecticut valley winery

Each time I visit CT Valley Winery I enjoy the wine tasting and the great flavors of their wines. I also leave with the purchase of four to six bottles of wine. In my opinion CT Valley has the best wine on the CT Wine Trail. Very family oriented, friendly and informative. Jason takes his time to explain the wines and how they are made. Keep up the great job Jason along with your Mom and Dad. The next visit will be in the Spring so I will see you then.

My wife and I just just got back from Napa Valley, and I can honestly say that we enjoyed the wines at Ct Valley better than the wines we had in Napa! After completing the entire Connecticut wine trail we have found Ct Valley wines on a different level and far superior to the other wineries.....Bought a couple of cases and will be back......

One of my favorite wineries on the CT Wine Trail. The wine is delicious I always purchase a few bottles. There are no sulfides in the wine so no headaches. The wine maker is enthusiastic and loves explaining the various wines and flavors during a tasting. A cheese pate is given when you order a glass of wine. A pretty winery to sit, relax and enjoy the afternoon. This winery is at the top of my list and I visit a number of times each year.

Quick stop, the tasting room was sizable, fire place roaring, small shopping area, easy to get too, giant size room with tables, patio overlooks parking lot and minimal view of grapes.

Connecticut Valley Winery immediately earned major points with me and mother when we arrived. There was a large bus (of 30) already there and a group of 27 had just arrived. They handled it beautifully. They moved the groups to other areas of the winery and made sure that we still had a great time. We have been to wineries before that let a group of 10 frazzle them and ruin the experience for everyone so we were immediately impressed with how they handled it. We had a great tasting. The woman took the time to really explain how the wine was made down to how long the leave certain grapes on the vines. It's a good place if you love sweet wines. After the tasting we got a glass, walked around the property, and had our lunch. It was great. The only thing that was a little weird to me was the order the tasting was done in, whites and reds all mixed together instead of whites and then reds. Overall great experience.

We were rather disappointed with this winery, as they seem to have a very high opinion of themselves and the quality of their wines, that just isn't backed up by the taste, with the exception of two of the wines. We did the tasting of 8 for $8, I believe is what it was. I will give them props for being informative and giving the background on their wines, and where they are coming from. After that is where it went downhill for us. The majority of the wines are sweet, so that is part of it, we like dry wines. But we can usually drink sweet ones as well, but in this case, most of them were just disgusting. The sweetness was from additions of other fruit, that just wasn't well blended into something that tastes like a good wine. But yet they certainly gave off the impression that it was the best thing ever. Second thing they jumped all over with the tasting, it was not the typical dry to sweet whites and then the same with the reds. It started with a semi-sweet white, to a sweet red, and then back to a drier white. There is a reason you taste wines in a certain order and they didn't seem to get that. Not to mention, my biggest beef was with the second wine, which was what they called a Chianti. They said they can still do that since they were in business before the whole regulation with the name Chianti. That's not the problem. The problem is they say our Chianti is different from others, which is very true, because it tastes nothing like Chianti! And as a lover of a good Chianti, that is a huge disappointment! It's not even close, it is a sweet concoction of a mix of grapes that does not go well together, the Italians would be beyond horrified! We felt the same about most of the wines, they were disgusting sweet and just did not taste good at all.The two exceptions were the Midnight red that we tried, which was a table red. That had a decent flavor and was drinkable, although certainly not exceptional. The best of the bunch was their Black Bear dessert wine (port). This was very well done and very smooth, so I will give them credit for that. But other than that, unless you like really sweet wines that taste like juice, you will likely be disappointed with this winery.

Decided to take an impromptu trip to the CT Valley Winery. It was definitely worth it. When we arrived, there was a wait. However, during our wait we were taken to a table in the back and had a private tasting. It was enjoyable and very informative. We wanted to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy on the premises but did not think we would have time because they were closing soon. We mentioned this to the young girl at the bar and she told us that it would not be a problem for us to stay and enjoy our wine. So glad she told us this because we bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed the evening with another couple. We were not rushed while they were cleaning up and told to take our time by the owner. Overall, it was a nice experience and we plan on going back soon!

Today we took a trip up through Northwestern Connecticut excited to visit and sample the local wines in this region. We arrive at Connecticut Valley Winery at 4:34pm excited we made it before their closing at 5 (especially since we traveled approximately two hours from home) and were turned away when we walked in. Apparently they stop serving the wine tastings at 4:30pm. Nothing in the passport notified us of this, just a tiny hand written sign on the door that was later pointed out to us. The only good thing about this stop is that we got our passports stamped. We did not find this place friendly or welcoming at all.

We took my brother and his wife on the CT Wine Trail recently and we were having an okay day. We knew it was getting close to closing time, but CT Valley Winery was our second to last stop for the day. When we first entered, we were told that they were closed for tasting which I understood since it was 4:45 and the door closes at 5:00 - not enough time to do some serious wine tasting. Maybe our disappointed faces were enough because for some reason, Jason (and owner) all of a sudden changed his mind. And boy, I can't thank him enough - his winery was the very best and highlight of our day! He had us try several wines, gave us a crash course on everything from his winery to how there are no sulfides in his wines which is why a person needs to keep them refrigerated and drink within 3 months - except the port. Hopefully I got that last part right! The point is - Jason was personable, witty, and gracious. He did not hurry us and we thoroughly enjoyed chatting with him. Needless to say, my husband and I, plus my brother and his wife made it worth his while by buying several bottles of his wine. My only regret is that we live in Massachusetts. I'd give anything for this winery to be within a 15 minute ride from my house! Thank you Jason!

This was our last stop and was well worth it. Got there about 20 minutes before closing time and Jason was about to go home. Opened back up and let us taste anyway. He was great -- informative but not pushy. Had a great sense of humor too. If you love sweet wine, this is the place to be. A little spendy but worth the investment. Will order their wine again.

This was stop #2 on our CT Wine Trail. Walked into the tasting room and were greeted to join the next session at the bar. Price was $6.00 for 5 wines with an option to purchase an etched glass. The wines were pre-selected to taste with a history of the wine. Crackers and water were provided. All the wines had a distinct taste and so much better than the commercial big bottle wines. After the tasting we asked about a tour of the facility. It is a small family owned winery, so we met with the owner himself, Tony and he gave us a private tour of the wine making process. Very informative, and very casual and family. We brought our lunch also and he set up at a table in the garden to enjoy. No pressure to purchase anything, but of course, you can't leave without a bottle of wine! Very accommodating if you want to drink the wine in the garden, as they un-cork the bottle and provide glasses. Enjoyed a nice afternoon there.

I've been to Connecticut Valley Winery many times and each time I am not disappointed. The tasting is generous - 8 wines for $8. I like being able to taste so many wines. Honestly, I love all of the wines they have you taste - red, wine, dessert. I can't find one I don't like! The wines do tend to be a bit on the sweeter, fruiter side which is exactly what I like. The dessert wines are definitely my favorite. I always leave with a couple bottles to take home. Price is reasonable for bottles from around $18 a bottle to $30 for their signature dessert wine Black Bear, which is one of my favorites.The location is convenient, it is right off Route 202. You may wonder if it's a pretty location because it's right off a major road, but once you turn into the winery, it is set back with rollings fields and set away from the busy traffic. There is a nice patio area in the back to sit with a glass of wine and have a snack while enjoying the grape fields.The winery is family owned, and each time I go, the same family members are working the tastings. The family is very passionate about their business and it shows when they do the tastings. Each time I've been (maybe a total of 5 times now) they seem just as enthusiastic to talk about the wines as the times I've been before.I highly recommend a stop to this winery.

Was our second and final stop on day 1 of our Wine Trail tour. Bright and enjoyable tasting room. Our guide was the owner's son, who clearly had a handle on each and every wine we selected. Proud of what they do and what they make. Plus, he made the experience of the wine tasting very fun and satisfying. We purchase two bottles after the tasting, and will certainly return next year.

The wines here are really sweet and although contain a lot of flavors, none of them are ones I would seek out when looking for a glass of wine. The winemaker even boasts that one of the wines is Hi-C for adults. He also goes on to boast about how the low sulfur content in the wines is great because it doesn't lead to hangovers and suggests that it's okay to drink several bottles of the stuff because it won't leave you feeling sick in the morning. Google "sulfites causes hangovers" and learn that there's no correlation between sulfur and hangovers unless you're allergic to sulfur. The tasting ultimately concludes with the winemaker touting "You'll be drunk before you leave" and finishing the tasting off with their port.Ultimately a rather poor winery experience and one that I won't be repeating.

Since writing my first review on CT Valley Winery in 2012 I have visited two to three times per year. This is one of my favorite wineries. There is a new wine Chardonel which is delicious, I have to go back to get more bottles of the Chardonel. The Black Bear wine and Sangria are great too!!!!