Truro Vineyards Winery in Cape Cod
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One gorgeous summer day this year, I entered a small winery called Truro
Vineyards located on beautiful Cape Cod. Upon entering the winery
grounds, I noticed that the driveway is made up of white seashells that lead
up to an 1836 Federal Style farmhouse with a barn off to the left. Large oak
wine barrels dot the landscape and a giant oak tree stands in front of the
house, sheltering it from the ocean winds while covering the front porch in
shade. Taking the queue from a small sign at the front walk that read “tour
this way”, I entered through the house, pass the gift shop area, to where a
friendly staff member let me know the wine tasting was out back.
The backyard view to the winery looks out on to the vineyard and has
several small white tents with picnic tables. Truro Vineyards is one of the
last working farms on Cape Cod. It has several acres of rolling hills with
endless large rows of grapevines. Just taking in the scenery at Truro, the
outside world seems to melt away as you walk and smell the sweet salty air.
The grapes were just starting to ripen and I could imagine the wine and
dream of the tastes that they would unfold.
I went back to the picnic tables early, where the wine tasting began, because
they started filling up quickly. Jackie Fien-Zachary, who is the wine
hostess, informs us that Massachusetts state law only permits four wines to
be tasted at any one wine tasting. This poses an obvious problem in that
there are seven wines on the table. She says she will describe each wine to
us, then walk around and pour a little in each glass of the four we pick.
“Choose carefully,” she said! I thought to myself “ I choose all seven!” The
tasting started with a semi-dry wine, then moved on to the dry reds and
finished up with the sweet wines.
The Sauvignon Blanc 2002 was the first wine we sampled. It had a slight
floral scent. The body had a grassy, fresh flavor with a smooth finish. The
Chardonnay was next and it had a slight woody flavor from the time it spent
aged in oak. The scent was fruity with a slight melon accent, but other than
that, it was rather unimpressive.
Next we moved on to the red wines starting with a Cabernet Franc that was
wholly grown on the property. It spent 18 months in oak and had a light rosy
aroma with a slightly dry finish. The Cab Franc possessed a full body with
black pepper accents. The next red was Truro’s Maritime Red, which is the
winery’s red table wine. This wine was cranberry red in color with a full body
and a raspberry taste that lingers on your lips. The dry finish is quite
enjoyable and refreshing.
The last three wines were their sweet wines. The Cape blush has a sweet
rhubarb flavor, but was very mild. The Vinole wine, made in its first year of
production at the winery, had a pineapple and peach flavor with a slight
bitter aftertaste. The last wine was also new to the winery this year and in
my opinion, it was the biggest let down. It was the Cranberry Blush and it is
a white wine infused with cranberries. I was very disappointed with the
results of the combination. Cape Cod is known for great cranberries, but not
with wine!
This is my second visit to this winery and with my first visit, I had the
impression that they were working hard to produce the best wines possible
from their own property. I was impressed with Truro Vineyards dedication to
the process of great wine making. However, on this visit I felt that with the
addition of their Cape Blush, which is what the tourists want, Truro lost a
little focus on the wines that have the most potential, putting them at that all
important crossroads that eventually all wineries face, “Wine quality or
profitability?”
Truro Vineyards is located on Route 6A #A, North Truro, MA 02652
Phone: (508) 487-6200 Fax: (508) 487-4248.
Sauvignon Blanc 83
Chardonnay 82
Cabernet Franc 87
Maritime Red 84
Cape Blush 81
Vinole 83
Cranberry Infusion 50