The Connecticut Wine Trail: Twelfth Stop
The next stop on our wine pilgrimage was at Dalice Elizabeth Winery on Amos Lake in Preston and owned by John and Mary-Lee Wilcox, and their grandson, Blaze Faillaci. The three are also owners of a gourmet food distribution service, Sumptuous Selections, which Mary-Lee started with her daughter, Dalice Elizabeth. Around the same time as the food business was started, John began turning his hobby of winemaking into a business, using techniques - and the original wine press - brought here from Italy by his father-in-law, Raphael Blaze Faillaci. They were just days away from opening the winery and retail store when tragedy struck. Suddenly and unexpectedly, Dalice Elizabeth passed away and plans for the winery were put on hold and only recently resurrected, and the fledgling winery was renamed "Dalice Elizabeth Winery" in her honor.
Now, after a heartbreaking story like that I hate to start off with a negative, but when we arrived for our tasting the gate to the property was locked! We double-checked that we had the right operating hours and we did, so we hunkered down to see if anyone would come to unlock the gate. After about 15 minutes or so, an employee did open up for us and a couple other cars that had arrived, and we proceeded to the tasting area, a small building set in front of the main house. Once inside, we encountered more bad news, as the employee (the event manager for the winery) told us that they were out of all the white wines (Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio) and two of the reds (Sangiovese and Syrah), leaving only four of the eight wines available for tasting.
So, we tasted the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Old Vine Zinfandel and Cabernet Franc. Again we were rather disappointed, as none of the wines save the Merlot had much punch to them. The Cabernet Sauvignon was lacking much of the chocolate and black currant we were expecting, but it wasn't unpleasant; the Zinfadel was fruitier and a little watery for our taste; and the Cab Franc was almost unrecognizable when compared to similar wines we've had at other vineyards. The Merlot was quite bright and full of cherry aromas and flavors, quite nice actually, and that made it our favorite of the four. In all fairness, however, we should probably make a return trip when the whites and the other two reds are available and give them another go. We hate to leave a winery in a foul mood, so we'll withhold giving them a failing score until we can do a Mulligan!
Dalice Elizabeth Winery is located at 6 Amos Road in Preston, and their hours of operation are 12 PM to 5 PM, Thursday through Sunday. If you're in the Preston area any time soon, please stop by and give them a try, and if you like them come back here and post a comment letting us know! Maybe we'll see you there!
