My wife and I planned to visit Willow Creek on Sunday, as we had not been there in a long time. Willow Creek is located in West Cape May. As often as we visit, we still need our GPS once we are nearby. We enjoyed our weekend, between Open Local Wine Night on Saturday, our Willow Creek Winery visit on Sunday, and a stop at Turdo to pick up some of our favorite reds, before they close for the year. I’ll start with Sunday afternoon at Willow Creek and work backwards.
The Winery
The photo at the top of the post shows the expansive, rustic, yet elegant setting with huge chandeliers and room to seat a large wedding party. We chose to sit at the far end, where there were very few others sitting nearby, near the fireplace along the outer wall. Willow Creek is a beautiful winery with gorgeous spaces inside and out. We took advantage of a sparsely crowded Sunday afternoon to enjoy the beautiful indoor venue for lunch and a couple of flights of wine. The winery was established in 2012. It’s hard to believe they’ve been open for 12 years! While their best dry wines are a little expensive, they are very good and one of them is a gem and a bit of a rarity. They also offer three different sangrias which are significantly less expensive. But we came for the food and the dry wines.
For our lunch we both chose their fish sandwiches-large lightly breaded and fried fillets on a roll with lettuce, tomato and paired with fries and Cole slaw. Delish!
The Wine
Dry White Flight
- 2022 Malvasia Bianca-This wine has not received enough attention. Malvasia is a wonderful grape, that many people are unfamiliar with. The grapes here are estate grown and made into a delicious, unique full-bodied wine with luscious tropical fruit notes. This winery is one of only three in the country that grow this unique grape and produce this wine.
- Wilde Cock White-A light Gewurtztraminer with lively acidity.
- 2020 Malvasia Reserve-This is described as an off-dry version, though we did not perceive it as off-dry. Apparently the wine tends to develop somewhat sweeter notes as it develops in the barrel. While I prefer the 2022, this wine was also quite good and also unique.
Dry Red Flight
- Wilde Cock Prestige Gold-a good full-bodied Syrah.
- Estate Cabernet Sauvignon-A very good, full-bodied Cab with robust dark fruit notes and a smooth finish.
- Wilde Cock Red-A full-bodied Malbec with plum, blackberry, and vanilla notes.
We enjoyed our visit very much and decided we definitely wanted to take home our favorite Willow Creek wine: Malvasia Bianca.
Stop at Turdo Vineyards
We planned to pick up an order I had placed at Turdo, knowing they would only be open another couple of weeks and they were selling out of several of their wines. While we missed the last of the amazing Sangiovese, we grabbed some Cabernet, Persara, Pinot Noir, and Barbera. We were also very thankful to be able to have a nice chat with Sara and Sal. Since they were not crowded yet (we arrived shortly after they opened on Sunday), we even had a glass of wine with Sal, while Sara took care of a few of the early patrons. I can’t say enough how special this family is to us and how much we love their wine. If this is the last vintage they will produce, we will miss their wines, but we will miss them even more and wish them a happy, well-deserved retirement.
Open Local Wine Night
For Open Local Wine Night on Saturday, I chose a Rose wine. I know I sometimes don’t give Rose wines enough love, especially in colder weather. But I grilled a thick ham streak for dinner, with yams and broccoli and I love this pairing. The wine is pictured below:
Hawk Haven Vineyards 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Rose-Surprisingly light pink in color, this gorgeous Rose had a little more body than many Rose wines, added to a balanced acidity and tasty notes of strawberry and paired very well with the ham and the rest of our dinner.
Coming Attractions
- Working Dog Winery
- Laurita Winery
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