Wine Country Nearby: A Winery Guide for Fairfield & Westchester Counties

David Saunders
5 days ago
2 min read

Aquila's Next Vineyards

You don't have to drive out to the North Fork or up to the Finger Lakes for a great glass of wine. Some of the best pours around are tucked into farms, nurseries, and converted barns right in our own backyard, including a few genuine hidden gems. Here's where to go.

A Recent Find Worth Sharing

Gossett Nursery South Salem Winery — **Gossett Nursery**

One of our favorite discoveries came from simply being out on the road: South Salem Winery, tucked inside Gossett Bros. Nursery in South Salem, NY. It's Westchester County's first micro-winery, small-batch and family-run since 2014, with tastings offered Thursday through Sunday right alongside the greenhouse. It's the kind of place you'd drive right past without knowing it's there, which is exactly why it's worth the stop.

Close to Home

Fairfield County has more going on than people realize. In Brookfield, DiGrazia Vineyards & Winery has been family-owned since 1978 and is known for its Wild Blue blueberry wine. In Sherman, White Silo Farm & Winery pours fruit-forward wines out of a restored 18th century dairy barn, with farm tours included. And in Newtown, Aquila's Nest Vineyards sits on a hilltop and is one of the area's newer, climate-neutral certified spots, worth a visit just for the views.

Worth the Drive

For a proper day trip, Hopkins Vineyard, perched above Lake Waramaug in Warren, CT, is about an hour away and pairs award-winning wine with some of the best lake views in the state, plus live music on weekends.

A Game Worth Playing: The CT Wine Passport

If you want a reason to visit more than one, the Passport to CT Wine Country program, run by the Connecticut Wine Trail, is a free app (or printed book) that lets you collect a stamp at each of the state's 35 participating farm wineries. Collect 12 stamps and you're a Taster, 18 makes you a Sommelier, and all 35 earns you Winemaker status, each tier entering you into a prize drawing worth over $10,000 combined. It turns wine touring into an actual reason to explore, one weekend at a time.

Wine Festivals Worth Planning Around

For a full afternoon of sampling in one place, a few festivals are worth the calendar note. The Putnam County Wine & Music Fest in Carmel, NY, typically held in August, brings together wineries, live music, and food vendors for a weekend outdoors, about 45 minutes from Ridgefield. The Greenwich Wine & Food Festival, held each fall right in Fairfield County, is another close option. And Westchester Magazine's Wine & Food Festival is less a single event than a week-long celebration each June, spread across multiple venues including Kensico Dam Plaza and the Rye Playland boardwalk, with a Grand Tasting Village featuring over 200 wines and spirits.

However you like your glass, from a converted barn to a lakeside vineyard, good wine is closer than you'd think.