I thought I was a AAA person until I met Tania Dougherty, the owner operator major domo of The Little Wine Bus. I received a press release about their Memorial Day Saturday tour of Hudson Valley wineries and was accepted as her guest. She liked what I had written about her friend Tony Muia and his Slice of Brooklyn and Brooklyn Neighborhood Tours.
I was early for their 9AM pickup at 47th off Broadway across from the W Hotel. Eventually the bus filled to capacity with 52 people. Tania also had several other smaller buses from New Jersey and Westchester going to the same wineries. The average age in my bus was probably mid to late ‘20s which included a bachelorette group. Most were New Yorkers and several had been on previous tours. The Hudson Valley wineries visited change based on availability due to private parties and concerts.
The Little Wine Bus was founded in 2007 by Tania who also owns and operates Hudson Valley Wine Tours and Events, The Little Beer Bus, Hudson Valley Brewery and Distillery Tours, and The Little Beach Bus, New York and New Jersey shore Beach Tours. Her tours are all about fun, especially when she puts on the Karaoke machine. There are day tours, special events, corporate events and team building, wine/beer dinner parties, bachelorette/bachelor parties, wedding showers, engagement parties, rehearsal dinners, family reunions, birthdays, etc. Tania has over 18 years of experience in the travel industry with a background in planning special events, corporate meetings and outings for some of Wall Street’s most prominent firms. She grew up in the Hudson Valley and still resides there with her new baby daughter.
My Take Me To The Vino tour cost $145 per person and included: three winery visits, all wine tastings at each winery, a grand cellar tour, wine education, full buffet lunch, dessert, afternoon snacks, water, raffles, wine trivia, cheese, cracker & fruit platters, great music and fun on the bus with a movie for the way home, a signature wine glass to take home, and Fun! Fun! Fun!
Our first stop was a familiar one to me- Benmarl Winery in Marlboro, the oldest vineyard in America. I had interviewed the late owner and famed magazine illustrator Mark Miller many times. Victor Spaccarelli purchased the winery in 2006 and his son Matthew is the GM and winemaker. There are 37 acres with sales of about 4,000 cases with 30% from their own grapes. I particularly enjoyed the Seyval Blanc, the estate grown Baco Noir and Cabernet Franc, the Merlot sourced from grapes from the North Fork of Long Island and the Riesling sourced from Seneca Lake. www.benmarl.com
Glorie Farm Winery was also located in Marlboro in a 1913 barn at the top of Mt. Zion Mountain (great views of the Hudson Valley). Doug and MaryEllen Glorie had a fruit farm of 20 acres, with 7 acres devoted to wine grapes. In 2004 they decided to open their own winery instead of selling their grapes to other wineries. They are small with sales of about 1,000 cases. My favorites were their whites including: Seyval Blanc, semi-dry Riesling and Rumple Pumpkin, plus the semi-sweet Peach wine. www.gloriewine.com
By the time we got to the last winery, Palaia Vineyards in Highland Mills (only 5 miles north of the famed Woodbury Commons Premium Outlet Stores), I had made friends with quite a few of the participants (wine will do that). They all seemed to be enjoying themselves without worrying about drinking and driving. The tasting room was inside a 200 year-old barn on land that, in 1784, was owned by Aaron Burr. Jan and Joe Palaggi both were musicians when they bought the property in 2006 and opened the winery. There are 10 acres of vineyards, all vinifera, producing about 2,00 cases. Four times a week there is live music, either in the outdoor space or in the “treehouse” music room. There is an outdoor BBQ in the summer and NY beers on tap. I recommend the Cabernet Franc, the semi-sweet Pearl, made from Cayuga varieties and the Honey mead. www.palaiavineyards.com
My snooty wine snob friends are going to take me to task for not discussing PH, residual sugar and malolactic fermentation. Sorry folks, this is a story about a 8 ½ hour fun day where no one got sick or drunk and everyone, including yours truly, had a fabulous time. Tania- you did good.
Additional Information-
www.travelhudsonvalley.com
www.hudsonvalleywinecountry.org
www.gunkswine.comm
www.orangetourism.org
EDITORS NOTE- In the 10 years I have been using the internet to post my stories I have NEVER had anyone not proof an article, when requested. I sent 3 notes to Tania asking her to please fact check this story. She has a new born child and is a very busy business woman BUT, she certainly could have taken 10 minutes to check my story for additions, deletions or corrections. I waited 10 days and never got a responce. This story has been posted WITHOUT the facts having been checked.
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