Sweet Baby Vineyard Review
Address: 204 South Rd Kensington,New Hampshire 03883.
Phone Number: 603-347-1738
Tasting Hours: Sat-Sun 12:00-5:00 and by appt.
Region: New Hampshire
Reviewer: Mark and Sonja
Review Date: 6/19/2014
Reviewer: Mark and Sonja
Rating: 3
The Review
Google maps isn’t always your friend. Upon setting out for Sweet Baby Vineyard, we found ourselves in a residential area that didn’t seem like the type of place you’d find a winery. We pulled in the driveway of a large red house and had the sneaking suspicion we were in the wrong place. A call to Sweet Baby confirmed it, and although we had found the house of the owner, we weren’t at the actual winery. The young lady that answered the phone chuckled and told us we were welcome to let the dog out and then proceeded to give us proper directions.
Located in a barn-like building, Sweet Baby Vineyards produces wine on the lower level while a small tasting room is located in the attic-like room above. The tasting room almost feels like you are walking in to someone’s apartment, with a seating area set up like a living room and then the tasting bar behind it. It’s simple but cozy.
The tasting room attendant was young, pleasant, and talkative, but often seemed more focused on another, larger group at the bar. Inside, we seem to have found all of the locals; there was a party of bridesmaids, a few men who professed to be truckers, a local deliveryman, and more, all in the small but pleasant attic environment.
The labeling on Sweet Baby’s bottles lives up to the winery’s name and many varieties of their wine are adorned with a different baby animal. They also serve their tastes in small, glass goblets that are cute and different, yes, though in candor, probably more suitable for spirits than fine wine.
Of the five reds on the list, only two were available a huge disappointment to red wine lovers like ourselves. The three whites they make were available, and we tried them all. The bread and butter of the winery, however, appears to be fruit wine. Of the eight fruit wines they make, five were available during our visit. We sampled a total of ten wines, virtually all that was available, and walked out with the Marechal Foch, a medium-bodied, fruit-forward red, as our favorite.
All things considered, we were disappointed that more of their wine, in particular the Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, was not available on our visit, but we still enjoyed the stop. If you find yourself in New Hampshire, where weird and overbearing laws making purchasing alcohol a difficult endeavor, we recommend you skip right past the state-run liquor stores and visit one of the many wonderful New Hampshire wineries, such as Sweet Baby Vineyard.