In the coming weeks I’ll be writing about quick day trips that are fabulous right in our own “backyard”.

On Saturday, February 6^th I had the pleasure of being a guest of Chamard Vineyards in Clinton, CT for a Valentine’s Day event. I had no expectations I’ve been a resident of Guilford for the past 7 years and haven’t even given it a thought to visit the Vineyard or any on the wine trail for that matter. I’ve been to the Vineyards in Long Island, the Vineyards in France and Italy, Why then haven’t I been to Chamard? I don’t know, all’s I can tell you is maybe you are like me, and you haven’t given it a thought, you should!

As you drive through a residential area Chamard presents its self, the vineyards are a bucolic pasture, where soldiers of grapevines are trained into an orderly fashion, reside. Beyond, is a pond with a fountain and a substantial facility that houses a tasting room and barrel room. The tasting room is elegantly beautiful, and has a signature large fieldstone fireplace to cozy up to on cold nights. There are double French doors that lead to a patio for warmer months that you can view the vineyard from. I had the opportunity to taste their Cabernet and was impressed; it had rich oak undertones, full body and a hint of berry.

The event I attended, was organized by True events, and The White Dress, it was “truly amazing”. The event highlighted the multiple ways that the Chamard property can be utilized. To start we had wine in the tasting room and then spilled downstairs to the barrel room and what I would call the “basement”. The barrel room was transformed into a metro fashion show, complete with lighting and sound. I thought to myself, “Am I really in Clinton?” The lighting was dim, the music thumping, and the event went fantastically. Except that being a barrel room, the temperature was a little chilly, more so for the lingerie models than for the guests.

For your next night out, “staycation”, or event, consider Chamard their versatility can meet the needs of almost any event. I’m looking forward to my next out of town guests to arrive so I can head on back. Check out their group tasting, $100 for 10 guests, you can’t beat that.

Cheers!

Nikki Rasmussen

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