Taste Local Cranberries at Plymouth Winery
It doesn’t get more local than Plymouth Winery’s Cranberry Wine.
The wine, made with 100 percent Massachusetts cranberries, is the winery’s best seller.
“We’ve been making it for a long time,’’ said Linda Shumway, the winery’s owner for the past nine years. “It’s probably not as sweet as some of the other cranberry wines. And it’s so local, we get it right down the street.’’
Her cranberries hail from Carver and the Cranberry Wine is sweet enough to stand alone as a dessert. If cranberries aren’t your thing, pick from plenty of other berry wines — raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, and strawberry. Blueberry is a fan favorite — it’s her second best seller. A Peach Wine was dropped after it didn’t sell well. It was replaced by a surprising newcomer, the Strawberry Wine.
“This was an experiment,’’ said Shumway. “Because I had the opportunity to get strawberries.’’
She was pleased with the results and added it to the menu.
“Not many places offer a strawberry wine,’’ said Shumway.
The Blackberry Wine is similar to a port. Port is typically saved for after a meal but Shumway said to disregard those rules and drink it with dinner, adding with a laugh, “I mean, I eat ice cream for lunch!’’
If you’d rather a more traditional red or white, try the Mayflower White, similar to a Riesling, or Mayflower Red, made with Cabernet and Zinfandel grapes. Shumway puts her own spin on them.
“No two wines are similar because we’re so small that I want them to be distinct and different,’’ said Shumway, who even created a wine in memory of her beloved chocolate lab named Bogart called Bogart’s Blend — a mix of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc grapes.
Take a look at her logo and labels and you’ll see more local influence.
The local Duxbury Pier Light, or Bug Light, is featured on the winery’s bottles.
It’s the Duxbury Pier Light, the same lighthouse you’ll spot across the street in Plymouth Harbor. Built in 1871, the iconic South Shore lighthouse is known for its unique coffee pot shape. The locals call it Bug Light and you will too when you order Shumway’s Bug Light Red, aged in new American oak, and Bug Light White, an off-dry white wine.
Shumway is a one-woman show, and she likes it that way. As she puts it, “I’m the winemaker, the bottle washer, the bartender, the bill payer, the dog walker, I do it all.’’
She also sells a mixture of practical and quirky products (socks featuring blue crabs, anyone?). She fell in love with socks during a trip to Napa.
But back to the wine. Do not leave this winery without tasting the rare and intense Diamond Wine. Her winery is one of the few places in New England that offers it.
“It’s very strong so either you love it or you don’t,’’ said Shumway.
The wine tastes like fresh table grapes.
Said Shumway, with a smile, “They call it a memory grape, because it reminds people of grapes growing in their backyard.’’
Where to go:
Plymouth Winery
170 Water St., Plymouth, MA
When to go:
Monday through Saturday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday: noon to 5 p.m.
Cost:
Tasting: Free
The small winery does not offer tours
What to drink:
For the wine snob: Cranberry Blush
For the adventurous: Diamond Wine
Pleasing to the masses: Mayflower Red
Boston.com favorite: Mayflower White
Make a day of it!
Where to eat: Blue-Eyed Crab, 170 Water St., Plymouth
What to do: Plimoth Plantation, 137 Warren Ave., Plymouth
(Recommendations by Linda Shumway)
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