Red, Red Wine

A visit to a winery on a beautiful picturesque day in July was in store for us this past Saturday. Jones Winery in Shelton, Connecticut has won consecutive Best Of Connecticut awards for wine as well as wineries. When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised. The place was packed! I guess I would have assumed everyone would be at the beach on a sunny day.  Light, upbeat music played and patrons were sitting on the terrace, taking advantage of wine tastings, buying bottles and enjoying family time with little ones tuckered out from picking blueberries. 

Photo credit Charged

Photo credit Charged

 As we entered the Winery and looked at the menu, we found a nice red bottle to purchase. We were surprised to find out that this winery does not allow you to open the bottles for consumption or to bring outside food of any kind. Oops!Only light fare that is sold at the winery and what is made in the kitchen is allowed. Note to self. This was not my experience at other wineries and it put a bit of a damper on what we were thinking of for our day having packed a picnic.  However, we were able to return the bottle and opted then for 2 glasses of their Ripton Red and enjoyed the view. 

The winery also has a a farm to table cooking studio called the Harvest Kitchen where you can learn how to prepare easy meals from farm to table and learn the wine and food pairings for what you are making. Definitely something to 
consider next time!

Photo credit  Charged

After our wine, we took a short walk around the grape vines and checked out the views of the farm. Jones Family Farm is host to all kinds of seasonal fruit picking and vegetables. Most popular is pumpkin, blueberry and strawberry to name a few. They also have a large selection of Christmas trees during the holiday season to choose from. All in all, this place is quaint, family friendly and the staff was very warm and helpful and I love to support local businesses and especially our farms. 

If you are ever stumbling across Shelton, Connecticut and need to recharge your battery and kick back, check it out!