SUMMER BREEZE // CONNECTICUT WHITES

As someone who had the opportunity to help pick grapes for Sharpe Hill Vineyard, I can tell you a lot of care goes into how they make their wine. The Sharpe Hill Vineyard Ballet of Angels wine is reflective of that care.

Sharpe Hill Vineyard Ballet of Angels is a non-vintage American White Wine made from ten different grape varietals that are kept secret.
The Sharpe Hill Vineyard is located in Pomfret, Connecticut. Of all the wines made in New England, USA, Ballet of Angels is the most popular.

The wine has the distinction of winning several medals, including “Double Gold – 2006, 2008 & 2010 Florida State Fair International Wine Competition.” For more medals won, check out the Sharpe Hill Vineyard website.

Alcohol content of Ballet of Angels 12.0% per the bottle.

A good friend shared this bottle with me and helped out with this review.

In appearance, Ballet of Angels is extremely light gold in color. It’s a little bubbly upon pouring but is not a sparkling wine. Some of the bubbles suspended on the sides of our glasses. On the nose, this wine gave forth hints of light citrus.

We detected a bit of pineapple in the fragrance and also noticed just a tiny whiff of alcohol.
Taste of the Ballet of Angels was mildly sweet and tart. Both sensations were balanced. The overall flavor was complex and perhaps a little bit peppery. We again noticed non-sweet pineapple among other citrus flavors.

There was no bitterness in the mouthfeel and a slight puckering was noted on the inside of the cheeks. My friend noticed it in the middle of his tongue.
My friend “noticed a little play time” in the finish. I quantified it as medium to long.
Overall, this is a highly enjoyable white wine.

As a Connecticut native, I was pleased to finally share this review with everyone. It’s one of the best known wines in New England and I’ve never heard of anyone who didn’t love this wine.

Sharpe Hill suggests “serving it well chilled as an aperitif or as the perfect accompaniment to spicy foods.”
If you can get your hands on this wine, definitely give it a try! Sharpe Hill Vineyard Ballet of Angels price about $12.50.

Our second Connecticut wine to be reviewed is Cassidy Hill Vineyard Summer Breeze 2012, which is a white wine with strawberries added. This wine comes from Coventry, Connecticut USA. The Cassidy Hill Vineyard is rather new and is considered a jewel of the town.

According to the Cassidy Hill Vineyard website, Summer Breeze is made from Cayuga white grapes and this “sweeter wine shows wonderful strawberry aromas and citric flavors. A perfect wine for that languid summer afternoon.”

Alcohol content 11.0% by volume according to the bottle.

I was given this wine as a gift from a friend and we did the tasting together.
In appearance, this wine is light copper in color. There were no legs noted, however we did see what looked like a little effervescence. A number of bubbles were noticed on the sides of the glass.

To be clear, Cassidy Hill Vineyard Summer Breeze is not a sparkling wine.
Fragrane of Summer Breeze was fruity. I noticed grapefruit and lemon.

My friend noted strawberry. We both described the aroma as “clean.” Also, no alcohol was noted on the nose.

The wine’s taste was surprisingly complex for a white wine. It was sweet with flavors of sweet grapefruit and a hint of strawberry. My friend was able to pick up a little bitterness in the fruit taste. But, nothing that took away from the enjoyable flavor.

Mouthfeel of Cassidy Hill Vineyard Summer Breeze was silky and reminded me of a Beaujolais.
Finish was medium and enjoyable. No alcohol noted in the breathe-out.

Overall we both really enjoyed this wine. Keeping in mind it is fortified with strawberries. What was great was that the strawberry was very subtle. I didn’t know ahead of time about the strawberries, so I was surprised when my friend told me about it.

His overall comment was “Love it. I buy this regularly and felt the word needed to get out about this wine.” My comment was “Super enjoyable. A perfect silky smooth warm weather, mellow sipper.”
Recommend! Price for Summer Breeze is $15.95. For more great wine reviews be sure to check out this link: https://theplanetweekly.com/gluten-free-wines/

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