Oh, man. What an experience.
So here's the story. Bellview's Fiesta wine stole my soul a long time ago, and I always have one on hand for any occasion. It's such a versatile, perfected grape and cranberry-mixed wine. Well, last week I went to pick up some bottles from Wegmans, and they were all sold out! I was so bummed. And then I remembered: I can drive to the winery! I then checked their website to grab their hours and noticed that this weekend was the Winter Wine Weekend! Such great timing. Good thinking, brain.
My good vino friend and Yelper, Shannon C., and I made the trek down to Landisville in the snow, ice and low visibility, but luckily made it alive, parked, and were greeted by a "People Love Us On Yelp" sticker and a friendly man throwing salt down on the walkway. We then stepped in to the cozy, surprisingly expansive winery. It looks much smaller from the outside.
We each paid $5 for a tasting of eight wines and were attended to by Matt, who was incredibly detailed in describing each of our (often varying) choices. I had to pick wisely as their selections were vast (as in, no "trying" Fiesta.) I actually skipped over all but one wine from the fruit section, but only because I had tried them at the Jersey Fresh Wine Festival last fall and knew I loved them. I didn't get a chance to try the dry reds nor the semi-sweet wines, in favor of a couple dry whites, a sparkling, and the entire speciality box.
By the end of our adventure, I had tried the Traminette 2012, Jersey Devil White, Cranberry, Lettizzia (sparkling), Winter Spice (served piping hot from a crock pot), Cristallina (ice wine), Dandelion, and their Port. The Dandelion was beyond the normal levels of sweet -- it was almost too sweet for me -- but definitely an experience of its own. Make sure to try it -- if only to say you drank a weed. As an added bonus, they let you keep the glasses.
I purchased bottles of Fiesta (obviously), Cranberry, Jersey Blues, Lettizzia, and Winter Spice, and we later sat in the area above the tasting section and relaxed for a bit. Bellview also has a nice and clean bathroom, in case you were interested.
I'll definitely be making a trip back here, to see the grounds when they aren't blanketed by snow, and to try the semi-sweet wines. This is a top-notch operation with high quality offerings, and my only source of sadness is the fact that it's a 45-minute drive away! read more