It was after Labor Day, so the crowds weren't bad. The streets were busy, but not overrun, and we easily found a parking space on Water Street. We first stopped for an ice cream cone, and then headed for the good stuff! Our first stop was the Plymouth Bay Winery, which was located at the back of a parking lot behind Isaac's Restaurant. There were 3 other couples at the tasting bar who graciously made room for us. They had only tasted two of the wines on the tasting list, so they agreed to wait for us to catch up. I don't remember the name of the server, but he was a hoot. He was semi-retired, very enthusiastic about the wines, and desperate to tell stories about the wines, the winery, and his life. So enthusiastic that he frequently forgot what he had just got done pouring, so we got a double shot of several wines! That always makes for a happy wine tasting!
Plymouth Bay Winery focuses on fruit wines like cranberry, cherry, and raspberry, as well as a white grape wine and a red wine made from Concord grapes. Most wines were off-dry to sweet, with Drydock White the only dry wine. Although I am not a sweet wine fan, I thought they were well made and balanced. The Drydock White was my overall favorite. I don't remember what grape varietals made up this blend. Vidal and Chardonnel? You'll have to visit to get the real answer. They were pouring two cranberry wines--Cranberry Bay and Cranberry Blush. The Cranberry Bay was straight cranberry finished too sweet for my taste. The Cranberry Blush was a blend of cranberry and white grape wine (vidal I think), which I thought was too light on the cranberry. The Concord grape based Colonial Red missed the spot for me, but I'm not a fan of Concord grape wine. Jam and juice, yes, but I don't like my wine tasting like grapes. My biggest complaint was the use of plastic water drinking cups instead of a wine glass.
After completing our tasting, we walked by Plymouth Rock and then wandered back up Water Street to find Plymouth Winery. Although one of the largest winery in Massachusetts (10,000 gallon production), this tasting room requires a sharp eye because it's located in in Village Landing Marketplace, an artist colony-type strip mall, with only a small sign to announce its presence. Given the warm welcome we received at Plymouth Bay, we were rather taken aback by the frosty reception upon our entrance into Plymouth Winery. Yes, it was busy with tourists, and yes, it was late afternoon, but smile for pete's sake!
Another long list of sweet fruit wines, but there were four dry offerings. The Mayflower Red is made from California Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and aged in American oak barrels. Decent, but not enough body with some off acrid tastes in the finish. I can't give you full tasting report because we quickly tired of the pushy tourists at the bar, the very small plastic pee cups, and the surly server. After a couple of tastes, we left to explore the rest of the town.
I look forward to going back to Plymouth Bay Winery to see how the new vintages taste. I will think twice about going to Plymouth Winery again. The names are confusing, especially with Plymouth Colony Winery west of town!
Salute!
a Wine Student
