Luxist Gift Guide 09: Clinton Vineyards Cassis
Filed under: Wine, Holiday Guides
This weekend I journeyed along the Dutchess Wine Trail, a popular travel destination for wine lovers out East, which tours local vineyards along the gorgeous Hudson River Valley, just 90 miles north of New York City. To reach the most popular destination, Millbrook Vineyards, you must drive down a dusty road surrounded by fields overlooking the Hudson Valley. The standard wine tasting includes a tour of the grounds, and taste of olive oil imported from the owner's Italian estate Villa Pillo estate. The highlight of the trail was the smaller Clinton Vineyard, housed in an historic green barn. Specializing in one grape, the seyval blanc, the vineyard offers one particular bottle which makes the perfect present this holiday season: Cassis Wine. Paying ode to the Brits, who put cassis syrup in anything from Guinness to fruit pies, to draw out natural flavors, the cassis wine is a lighter alternative with exponential flavor. The Clinton bottle, which has won Gold Medals and Best in Class at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition, might just be the best cassis liquor available in the States. Add a splash to champagne for a Kir Royal, the perfect end to any meal, or even to a glass of chardonnay, to add a special tartness to your daily glass of wine.
