Photo via the South End Historical Society

The Coastal Wine Trail contains fourteen vineyards spanning New England shores, from Connecticut to Massachusetts. Of those fourteen, though, my favorite — not the biggest or most extravagant, but my favorite — is arguably Greenvale Vineyards, found in the charmingly verdant Portsmouth, Rhode Island. 

Greenvale currently produces eight different wines from its 27 acres of grapes, some familiar and some uncommon. The latter category includes their extremely good 2015 Albariño, a dry, citrusy wine that’s difficult to find outside of its native Spain. Otherwise, there’s varietals like the 2012 vintage Vidal Blanc or 2013 Chardonnay, an award-winning wine of which only 173 cases were produced. It’s probably one of the most impressive I’ve ever had- and not just because I’m from New England myself. 

I visited Greenvale a few weeks ago, and was immediately drawn in by the atmosphere created by the live jazz music wafting out from the patio, people sitting on the sun-soaked lawn, and fairy lights hung across the tasting room’s ceiling. It felt as though I’d stumbled across a cozy farmhouse (that just happened to serve wine), and the personalized, extremely informative tasting I took part in was nothing short of fantastic. It’s true that idyllic locales aren’t hard to come by in the Newport area, but when they’re paired with great people and great wine, it’s something really special.