Corduroy Orange

Aurora and I just finished a wine and cheese tour of Vermont. Okay, so it was mostly cheese (it turns out while Vermont has the world’s best cheddar, it also boasts several other lovely cheeses as well). But, we did get to sample several lovely wines, most notably from Boyden Valley Winery in Cambridge, VT.

Boyden Valley Winery had several nice wines and one excellent liqueur. Their Maple Cream Liqueur was absolutely outstanding: Apple Brandy serves as the base. It is sweetened with maple syrup and made rich with cream. If you enjoy Irish Cream you will definitely love this. If you also cherish pure maple syrup as the superlative sweetener, you will venerate this concoction. It is delicious. And, as it turns out, this liqueur will be available through the PA Liquor Control Board soon.  I highly recommend purchasing it.

If you happen to be in Cambridge, $7 gets you 6 samples and a wine glass. Here are some notes from my tasting of some of Boyden Valley’s other products:

• Riverbend Red: Peppery. Lovely and rich at the front of the tongue with a gentle glide through to the aftertaste. Quite enjoyable.
• Big Barn Red: Fatter through the front of the tongue but rears up in the back. Good.
• Rhubarb: Hmmm… I didn’t expect to like a fruit wine. Not really too sweet, though. Nice and tart.
• Vermont Maple Apple Wine: 6 months in stainless. Dry maple flavor. Wonder what it would taste like aged in maple cooperage instead of stainless?
• Gold Leaf Cider: Northern Spy apples. Sweet, rises toward the back of the tongue.
• Vermont Ice Cider: McIntosh, Empire, Northern Spy. Balanced wave across the tongue, finishes with a sweetness in the front of the mouth.