Pleasantly surprised and blown away by Backyard Vineyards. We came here for a relaxing afternoon away from the city, and loved it! Walking into the Vineyard, the tasting room is set up to the right, and you're able to taste 4 wines for $4 - so naturally we decided to taste 8 wines amongst the 2 of us.
After the tasting, we opted to share a bottle of Gerwurztraminer and a cheese + charcuterie plate to enjoy outside on the picnic tables. They deducted our tastings from our total price, which was nice! The cheese plate had 4 different cheeses and 4 different meats, delicious!
Coming from NJ, we're avid winery go-ers, (though, usually low expectation-NJ-wine-drinkers), and we loved Backyard Vineyards! This would be an amazing spot to have in our neck of the woods. The place was fun, low key, and delicious wine.
We ended up tasting 4 reds, 4 whites, and then bonus tasted the brut! Below are my thoughts.
Whites
:: Blanc de Noir Brut - Handmade the hard way ('methode traditionnelle') from 100% Estate grown Pinot Noir with notes of brioche, biscuit and apples. Pacific Rim Wine Competition - SILVER. Light and clean, very drinkable bubbly.
:: Nosey Neighbor White - Lemon gold wine offers aromas of lemon, lime, tangerine zest, melon, apple, cantaloupe, and honeycomb. On the palate, the 2017 blend is a medium-plus bodied with wonderful balance, persistent acidity and flavor profile of candied apple, lychee nut, orange rind, pear, and apricot. Clean, crisp, delicious.
:: Reisling - Light gold wine with hues of lemon, the 2016 vintage is characterized by high-toned aromatics of nectarines, apricots, Meyer lemon, and a beautiful bouquet of white flowers. On the palate, the wine shows strong notes of lemon, pear, mandarin oranges, and honeycomb. The nectarine was the first thing we tasted - it was clean, crisp, and super yummy. Second favorite wine!
:: Rose - Made with 100% Pinot Noir. A light pink appearance leads into a bouquet of orange rind, watermelon, strawberry, and pomegranate. Ripe raspberry, figs, marzipan, plum, and blueberry dominate the mouth. GREAT rose - drinkable, almost dry - not too sweet.
:: Gerwurztraminer - Pale yellow wine carries the classic aromas of rose petal, lychee nuts, Ruby Red grapefruit, as well as mango and citrus notes. This vintage greets the palate with notes of allspice, honey, orange, apricot, pineapple, and cantaloupe. We tasted the lychee, pineapple, and cantaloupe. This was our favorite wine - we grabbed a bottle to enjoy outside!
Reds:
:: Nosey Neighbor Red - Deep ruby red shows characteristics of strawberry, ripe red cherry, plums, cedar, tobacco leaf, and a dried herbal life on the nose.
:: Merlot - Nuanced nose of cedar, cinnamon, cloves, red plum, raspberry, cherry pie, leather, and espresso with a plush palate of crushed raspberry, black cherry, smoky vanilla, pomegranate, and cocoa.
:: Cabernet Franc - A deep ruby Cabernet Franc with intense aromas of ripe plum, blackberries, cedar, cloves, tobacco leave, and black tea. On the palate, it's profound structure lends itself to rich and vivid flavors of raspberry, blueberries, black cherry, black licorice, and dark chocolate.
:: Reserve Cabernet Franc - Decanter World Wine Award - BRONZE
Nose: Inky purple opaque, strawberry, roasted red pepper, cloves, black licorice.
Palate: Ripe black fruit, such as blackberry, black cherries, plums, and herbs. read more