The Boston Foodie: Plymouth Bay Winery

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Plymouth Bay Winery

We spent part of a recent weekend stopping by Plymouth Bay Winery for a visit with the owners, Michael and Pam Carr, and a wine tasting. This is a fun place to visit and ideal for those who may be new to enjoying wine or looking for a fun group activity with friends or family.

All of the wines here are made with locally-grown grapes and berries in a family operation set pretty much right on Plymouth Bay just a stone's throw from Plymouth Rock. It is anything but a snobby or pretentious affair and, yes, some may sneer at the collection of sweeter wines but everyone there during our tasting seemed to love the wines, including us.

You'll taste about seven wines and then some of the jellies and sauces made with the wines which might be the most fun of all. The clever names are often takes on New England slang, such as the Wicked Pissah, which was actually our favorite. We purchased several jars for holiday gifts as well as many bottles of wine. They offer a discount for purchases made at your tasting.

Our tasting was conducted by Pam Carr. You are given a card with the listing of wines and some tasting notes. One of our favorites was the Colonial Red, made with concord grapes, the unmistakable, unique flavor of the grape coming through.

Another was the Drydock White made with 100% diamond grapes resulting in soft, citrusy notes with a distinct yet subtle musky taste. The Cranberry Bay would be ideal for a dried cranberry reduction sauce for duck or other meats. These are wines that you could really have some fun with in the kitchen.

The jellies are all made with the wines as an ingredient. Some are sweet and some are savory. In fact, one of our top picks here was the Drydock Scampi, a savory taste. Half the fun of the tasting is trying to imagine what foods you would pair these distinct flavor profiles with for both the wines and jellies. The sweeter varieties would be ideal to serve with cheese and crackers. My mouth was watering just thinking of slathering that Drydock Scampi on a thick roast beef sandwich with mayo on warm, fresh bread. There are all kinds of holiday dishes just screaming for these products.

If you haven't been to Plymouth in a while it's a perfect Saturday trip with lots of little shops and restaurants, plenty of history to explore, of course, and definitely book ahead for a stop in and tasting at Plymouth Bay Winery. We loved it.