I always look forward to visiting Auburn Road. I love the setting, the ambiance, and the wines. We hadn’t visited since September of last year so my wife and I decided to make a dreary day a lot brighter with a visit on Thursday. We hadn’t had lunch, but knew a plate of charcuterie would do nicely, accompanying our flights of wine. We chose what used to be called their “Buddha Basket”, but is now their Gourmet Tasting Plate.
The Food
Their Gourmet Tasting Plate consists of a selection of two artisan cheeses, woodfire house-baked flatbread, imported soppressata, hummus, olives, dried apricots, jam, and honey. See photo below. Note: The plate is missing a few items that were already put on a plate not in the picture.
Wine Flights
White Flight
- Open Source Pinot Blend-A nice version that is part of the Winemakers Co-Op project, sharing grapes from all six members and producing their version of the common grapes: Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Pinot Blanc. It is styled after Italy’s Ramato, with 10 hours of skin contact and cold fermented in stainless steel.
- NuBlanc-Their unoaked Chardonnay is crisp with lively acidity.
- Featherbed Chardonnay-Single vineyard Chardonnay that is barrel aged with a creamy, soft mouthfeel.
- Dry Rose-Produced primarily from the juice of their Merlot, Cab Franc, and Sangiovese grapes, this Provence style Rose is light pink in color, with citrus and strawberry notes.
Red Flight
- 2023 Good Karma- a light, easy drinking wine, that is fruit forward, yet dry, with cherry and raspberry notes on the palate.
- Peaceful Warrior-Dry medium-bodied wine, primarily Chambourcin, with a bit of Cab, Merlot, and Petit Verdot.
- 2022 Gaia-An excellent blend of Cab Franc, Cab, and Petit Verdot. It is medium to full bodied with a silky smooth finish.
- 2022 Eidolon-Their C’oeur d’Est is made with Merlot and Chambourcin. It is named after a poem by the great American Poet from Camden, New Jersey, Walt Whitman. The wine is full-bodied and silky smooth with notes of cherry and vanilla. Twenty-Five cents from every bottle sold goes to the Walt Whitman Association in Camden. Probably my favorite red produced here and I love the poetic connection and the donation to a good cause.
We really enjoyed our visit. In a time when prices are rising everywhere, it is appreciated that the prices at Auburn Road remain very reasonable, despite their growing reputation as one of the best wineries in the state. Take advantage of their email membership discount of 15% off of your purchase of six or more bottles. There is no commitment. See our take aways below.
Our Take Aways
From left to right below: Barrel Reserve Chardonnay, Chardonnay Featherbed Vineyard, Dry Rose, Eidolon, Gaia, and Petit Verdot (plus a bottle of Good Karma, which we finished with our dinner-not shown).
I’m not sure I have ever tasted their Petit Verdot, but my wife and I generally love the full-bodied wine and Auburn Road does such a nice job with their other wines, it seemed like a good bet.
One final takeaway, came as we were walking in the parking lot to our car. We asked a woman, who we saw talking with our server, what his name was. It turned out, she was Scott Donnini’s mother and the young man who waited on us is Scott and Jules Donnini’s son, Luca. Scott and Jules are the owners and Jules is the winemaker at Auburn Road. What a nice family and what a great winery!
Coming Attractions
- Old York Cellars Spring ’25
- Unionville Vineyards Spring ’25
- Hopewell Valley Vineyards Spring ’25
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