Fall is in the air and that means tri-color leaves, crunchy leaves on the ground, hoodies, apple cider, and pumpkin spice. It also means a beautiful afternoon at the Warwick Valley Winery in Warwick New York. Spend the day apple picking, wine and cheese tasting and pairing, cider tasting, bourbon tasting or all four!
When you arrive, there is a $5.00 per car charge to park. Outside they have live music on the patio, the tasting tent, and a food and beverage area. Find a table on the patio or bring a comfy blanket to relax with a bottle of one of their wines or hard ciders.
The winery also has a food and beverage stand. On the right side is the food purchasing area and on the left is the beverage purchasing area. Both are cash only.
It was a big carb cheat day. We ordered the spinach and bacon pizza made with bechamel, roasted garlic, ricotta cheese and fresh mozzarella ($11.00) as well as the truffle fries ($9.00). As they were preparing our food, we both ordered a sangria. The sangria came in a large plastic cup about 21 ounces I would say. I love sangria but I do not recommend purchasing it in the outdoor area. It was way too strong. You could not taste any sweetness or the wine used because the triple sec or whatever it is they use was overpowering. The food on the other hand was delicious!
The ricotta really came through and was the first thing I tasted when biting into my slice. The crisp salty bacon, spinach and bechamel combined with ricotta provided a nice earthy flavor.
The truffle fries omg so yummy. It had been months since I had fries at that point. They were crispy like I prefer them, with hints of grated cheese and a parsley and herb garnish.
After a fun day around the winery we went inside the winery to make our purchases. I bought a bottle of Black Dirt Red and a fabulous cranberry cheese called Wensleydale & Cranberries (the first cheese above with a hint of red color).
In addition to purchasing, there is also the Pane Cafe and Black Dirt Grill. We didn’t realize we could have bought other types of food at the cafe and sat inside until after we had already had lunch. Check menus inside and outside.
The biggest surprise was the raspberry hard apple cider. I am not a cider or beer drinker at all. In fact I despise both. This specific cider was enjoyable – so tasty and enjoyable that I purchased a bottle! I have never bought any type of cider. I highly recommend this one. It has a lovely shade of red/pink. A friend and I polished this off at dinner one night.
The leaves had not begin to turn but I bet if you take a ride within the next two weeks, the scenery surrounding the winery will be even more beautiful. Check out their website for a list of events and other pertinent information.
114 Little York Road
Warwick, NY
The Food Connection 