Fall 2018 New England Road Trip Guide: The Coastal Wine Trail
Three days, 14 New England wineries: Are you up for the challenge?
Photo courtesy of Newport Vineyards
Total Mileage: 444
Day One
Three days, 14 wineries: Are you up for the challenge? It turns out coastal New England has ideal growing conditions for grapes, which translates to an epic wine crawl for oenophiles. The first leg of your journey begins in Preston, Connecticut, where Preston Ridge Vineyard offers stunning vistas as well as estate-grown Riesling and cabernet franc in its tasting room. There are five other wineries in the vicinity—including Stonington, one of the state’s oldest, and Saltwater Farm, bordered by tidal marshes—so make sure you have a designated driver as you hop from tasting room to tasting room. After a pit stop at nearby Foxwoods Resort Casino to pad your stomach at David Burke Prime steakhouse or the new Caputo Trattoria , it’s time to continue on to Newport, Rhode Island. Settle into an ocean villa at the Chanler at Cliff Walk and let the sound of the waves crashing below lull you to sleep.
Miles Traveled: 171
Day Two
Start the day right with a stroll along the Cliff Walk followed by a cream cheese biscuit and a hearty quinoa-Gruyère scramble at Cru Café. Then it’s off to the picturesque Newport Vineyards, where you can enjoy a step-by-step tour of the winemaking process before settling in for a tasting or sipping your favorite varietal al fresco to live music. Check out the last two spots in Rhode Island—including Carolyn’s Sakonnet Vineyard, where a satisfying lunch of prosciutto-and-goat-cheese flatbread and steamed edamame dumplings awaits—then head back to the Bay State to end the day. The lush vineyards dotting the South Coast are the perfect pit stop en route to the Outer Cape, where fish and chips and pulled-pork tacos at the Canteen, in P-town, await. Just be sure to check into AWOL, a new inn surrounded by dunes at the very tip of the West End, in time for a nightcap by the fire pit.
Miles Traveled: 156
Day Three
A hot black coffee is in order, and Kohi Coffee Company is the spot for a pour-over or Americano. There’s only one more winery on your crawl, so take an a.m. culture break at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, which is showcasing the work of the late abstract expressionist artist Adolph Gottlieb through October 21. Then it’s off to Truro Vineyards to while away the afternoon with a lobster roll on brioche from the Crush Pad Food Truck and a glass of dry rosé—or something a little stronger at the South Hollow Spirits distillery next door. Of course, nothing pairs better with wine than bivalves, and if you’re traveling the weekend of October 13 and 14, you’re in luck: The Wellfleet OysterFest is in town, and it’s a shucking good time. Congratulations: You’ve reached the end of the coastal wine crawl. If all you have to show for it is a hangover and a mild sunburn, consider your long weekend a success.
Miles Traveled: 117
