Thursday, January 14, 2016

New Hampshire - Lee - Flag Hill Winery and Distillery

Flag Hill Winery and Distillery - (August 2015) One thing we are noticing is that many of the northern wineries have a distillery as part of the operation. The difference here is they are a larger operation. We were able to try six of the wines or spirits on their tasting list. Since we were there predominately for the wines, we chose ten of them and one spirit each.

My wife chose her five wines: raspberry, which had the chambord flavor and sweetness; la Crescent, a semi-sweet pinot grigio, which we felt would go good with a flavorful fish, the niagara, which I felt was not as sweet as some I have tasted before, was more refreshing than the la Crescent and their Maiden's Blush, a blend of cayuga, niagara and de chaunac, is like a moscato but with the niagara grape being the dominant of the three.

I chose their Flag Hill white, a lightly oaked chardonnay, vignoles, which was smooth and had a hint of melon, and their cayuga, which I felt was better than the niagara. For the reds, I tried the marechal foch and the Flag Hill red, a blend of 15% de chaunac and 85% marechal foch. Both were good bodied, but I liked the marechal foch best with its balanced tannins.

For the spirits, we tried Karner Blue gin and sugar maple liquer. The gin rivals good gin on the shelf, but it was the liquer that stole the show. A little bit of this with your pancakes or waffles and it is definitely a morning treat. As an added surprise, we tried the North River Port, which was a bit too fortified; definitely one (small) glass and you might be done for the evening, and the Sparkling Cayuga, which with the fizz tasted similar to a moscato.




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