At the last minute I took off the two days after the 4th of July - we had a ton of family coming into town from Michigan, Florida and beyond for the holiday and I was SO excited to spend some time with them. Chris and I are unbelievable lucky in the sense that we have family that really does feel more like friends than family and we were super pumped to be able to finally share the hosting responsibilities with his parents! We had a huge family reunion on Sunday and then had our close family over to our house for a 4th of July pool party all day on Monday.
By Tuesday there were only a few of us left in town so I asked my close friend + CT expert Eddie where we could go for a quick day trip. He recommend Gouveia Vineyard in Wallingford, Conn - a close 25 minute drive from our home and the perfect place to spend a sunny day! Because it was a weekend we had the place almost to ourselves and the view was stunning. I can't wait to go back in the fall!
A few quick tips if you go for a visit:
1) There is no food and you are encouraged to pack a picnic (we stopped at Kensington Market for delicious sandwiches!). They are extremely strict on absolutely NO outside beverages (including water!!) so be prepared to just buy it there. They do offer free juice and water for the kiddos.
2) It is HOT in the summer - the tables outside do not have umbrellas! Either get there early to get a spot under the pagoda or a table inside (but then you don't get quite the same experience) or wait until later in the day when the sun isn't so high. We were roasting!
3) My wine recommendations are the steel-aged Chardonnay and the Red Blend. Both are under $20 a bottle and really easy to drink, simple wines. I normally hate Chardonnay as it has too much oak or butter to it but because this one is steel-aged it's super crisp and light! If you have any other recommendations for other New England road trips I'd it if you left them in the comments - we're always looking for fun things to do within a 2-3 hour drive!
Gouveia Vineyard
1339 Whirlwind Hill Rd.
Wallingford, Conn. 06492
(203) 265-5526