Hopkins Vineyard, III
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This post describes events that were part of our larger day trip excursions where we went to one other vineyard. See also, Hawk Ridge, III.
2:30 PM, Thursday, 1 Sugust 2024WEATHER: 86°F WITH A 'REAL-FEEL' OF 96°F; HUMIDITY 55%; PRESSURE 29.99 IN; WIND SPEED WSW-3MPH; CLOUD COVER 11%; VISIBILITY 21 MI.
This was a great choice of a vineyard to Hopkins Vineyard. They are completely different than a winery like Hawk Ridge and seem to cater to a specific type of clientele, i.e., ‘New York antique collectors.’ Their seating areas are dominated, in a nice way, by the craft goods you might find a farmers’ market and include things such as candles, pots, soaps [?], and the like.
They definitely don’t cater to the riff-raff; no slushies to be found here.
“In 1979, Bill and Judith Hopkins transformed their dairy farm into a vineyard, one of the first in what has become a thriving Connecticut industry. Since then, it has consistently produced award-winning whites, reds, and sparkling wines. Hopkins Vineyard grows 12 varieties of grapes in a spectacular setting overlooking Lake Waramaug.”
We were unaware of the seating area upstairs and having heard that there was a view of the lake, something we didn’t think was visible, we went up. Since it was a Thursday, there was only one other couple allowing us to sit at a beautiful table next to the window. It is not the window in the second picture below but one directly above it on the second floor, of course.
Our initial intent was to sit outside as we had not done so during either of our prior two visits, but even though we didn’t, we briefly walked the grounds.
In 2017, I posted a picture of the main barn/building to Google Maps and it has over 45,000 views as of the writing of this post. I embedded a picture of that picture below, but it doesn’t appear to be showing. It should be able to be opened by clicking here.
This embedded YouTube video by WSFB, Channel 3, is part of the “Wine Wednesday” series. It explains more than we could ever… and they were even sampling the wine we chose on our visit! The volume is extremely low when I try to play it; hopefully that not the case for everyone.
Driving times are approximate:
Torrington = 0h, 30 m.
Hartford = 1h, 15m.
New Haven = 1h, 20m.
Tolland = 1h, 30m.
New London = 1h, 50 m.
NYC = 2h, 10m.
Boston = 2h, 55m.
The tags below are hyperlinks that open the pages with all other instances of that tag: