The Norton Wine Traveler's Wine Journal
| Wineries Visited: 249Journal Entries:  252Photos Uploaded:  0 |  |
| About: Former military pilot and retired educator enjoying life with rhododendrons, magnolias, travels, and Norton wine explorations. Recommended reading of Norton wines is Todd Kliman's The Wild Vine. | ||
Favorite States
| State | Your Reviews | Wineries in State | Percent | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri Wineries | 48 | 130 | 36% |  |
| Arkansas Wineries | 6 | 17 | 35% |  |
| Louisiana Wineries | 2 | 6 | 33% |  |
| Georgia Wineries | 15 | 52 | 28% |  |
| Alabama Wineries | 4 | 19 | 21% |  |
| Tennessee Wineries | 10 | 49 | 20% |  |
| Rhode Island Wineries | 1 | 5 | 20% | |
| South Carolina Wineries | 4 | 22 | 18% |  |
| Virginia Wineries | 49 | 270 | 18% | |
| Kentucky Wineries | 11 | 62 | 17% |  |
| North Carolina Wineries | 19 | 128 | 14% |  |
| West Virginia Wineries | 2 | 14 | 14% | |
| Illinois Wineries | 10 | 94 | 10% |  |
| New Hampshire Wineries | 2 | 21 | 9% |  |
| Massachusetts Wineries | 2 | 34 | 5% |  |
| Kansas Wineries | 2 | 36 | 5% | |
| New Mexico Wineries | 2 | 49 | 4% |  |
| Minnesota Wineries | 2 | 54 | 3% |  |
| Maryland Wineries | 2 | 69 | 2% |  |
| Oklahoma Wineries | 1 | 37 | 2% | |
| Wisconsin Wineries | 2 | 75 | 2% | |
| Iowa Wineries | 2 | 83 | 2% | |
| Idaho Wineries | 1 | 45 | 2% | |
| Pennsylvania Wineries | 4 | 190 | 2% | |
| Texas Wineries | 4 | 232 | 1% |  |
| New Jersey Wineries | 1 | 60 | 1% | |
| California Wineries | 16 | 1640 | 1% | |
| New York Wineries | 1 | 252 | 1% | |
Latest Winery Visits
Cameron Hughes Wine (added Dec 08, 2018)
Cedar Creek Vineyards (added Nov 02, 2018)
Wide River Winery (added Nov 02, 2018)
Little Vine Vineyards (added Oct 27, 2018)
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Latest Wine Journal Entries
Garvin Heights Vineyards (written Dec 16, 2018)
Wine: 
Winery: Ambiance: 
This winery sits high atop a Mississippi River bluff in a town which also has an incredible art museum and a river front restaurant with their own version of a Boat House Lucy hamburger. You’ll find here an assortment of Tom Plocher, Elmer Swenson and the University of Minnesota's hybrid, mid-west hardy grape wines. Unlike most other Minnesota wineries, this winery successfully uses Minnesota oak in some of their wine production. Garvin Heights had the absolute best Frontenac Gris we tasted anywhere in mid-western states. Don’t miss trying their La Crescent, Edelweiss, Petite Pearl (a 2012 released hybrid) and Sabrevois wines. The later had a unique charcoal-asparagus hint of flavors not found before in wines which would be welcomed with red meats.
Cameron Hughes Wine (written Dec 08, 2018)
Wine: Winery: 
Ambiance:
Ignore the winery & ambiance star ratings since most people, I presume, order rather than visit this location. In their advertisements, Cameron Hughes admits that they do not own a vineyard, but rather search out the best wines from various vineyards and provide these at value prices. And to this end, they do exactly that with an outstanding cross-section of varietals from $-to-$$$ offerings. The wine choices are incredible from CA, OR, WA or imported, specific varietals, best sellers, topped reviewed, new releases and featured wines. They even sport a 'Fab Wines for $15' (or less) web page. I've been impressed with 90% of the wines received.
Wide River Winery (written Nov 02, 2018)
Wine: Winery: Ambiance:
The hospitality is over the top in this beautiful Mississippi River bluff winery setting. What a combination of sweet wine offerings (Niagara-Brianna, Vidal Blanc-Cranberry, Edelweiss-Niagara, Traminette-Niagara, Norton-Niagara, Norton-Raspberry, etc.). A long, narrow road to the winery, but a fun place to be upon arrival (you may need a drink by then). Very reasonably priced wines to boot. There are numerous locations in nearby cities, to include Illinois, where Wide River wines can be found.
Cedar Creek Vineyards (written Nov 01, 2018)
Wine: 
Winery: Ambiance:
Though we went out of our way to find this home-style vineyard in a beautiful rural setting, the owner/vintner freely admitted to us that he was slowly closing down operations. Grape harvest were down due to weather, various diseases were winning battles in his vineyards, vines were being pulled and ‘time’ was running against the winery’s history. We went to try specific varietals and found some of the bottled stock sold. Bottom line, if you are in the area, go out of your way to try wines of years gone by to never be offered again.
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