For the winery assignment I decided to visit  Whitecliff Vineyard and Winery. Whitecliff is an artisanal family run winery created from the ground up by owners and founders, Michael Migliore and Yancey Stanforth-Migliore. Whitecliff Vineyard and Winery is located at 331 McKinstry Rd, Gardiner, NY 12525 and it has one of the largest vineyards in the Hudson Valley, with over 20 varieties of grapes. They are growing: riesling, reserve riesling, dry rose, cuvee, sheer chardonnay, reserve chardonnay, oaked seyval blanc, vidal blanc, pinot noir, syrah, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec, dessert wines, sparkling wines etc. They also have wines that are blended with different grape varieties. Their vinification process is very simple: they harvest the grapes, then crush them when ready, they do fermentation process and bottle the wine. They have wines that mature in the barrel, and some that mature in a bottle. While they do use machinery for spraying, all the other field work is done by hand. They also try to follow an Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM). Viticulture at Whitecliff winery is to spray the grapes to protect them from diseases, netting and machinery. I had a chance to take a tour through the vineyard and I was fascinated with acres and acres of vines. Their customer service was very good, they had different options for wine tasting. They had various tasting flights from $8-$16, depending on a wine type and also depending on a quantity. They also have something called “GOLD TASTING”  which costs $35 per person for groups of 4 or more. They are offering tasting of 8 premium wines, cheese plate & brief winery tour and they Include souvenir glass.The knowledge of tasting room personnel was very good and very professional. I had many questions for them about winery itself, grapes, making wine process and they answered each question very patiently. I also asked about food pairing, and I learned about some great dishes that could be served with different types of wine. I

Overall, I had a very good experience and this assignment was very helpful for my future career. I would recommend this winery to anyone who is looking to try good wines and also enjoy wonderful atmosphere and spacious tasting room.

www.whitecliffwine.com

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