turtle creek winery

Turtle Creek Winery is by far the best winery I've been to on the East Coast, and rivals many other wineries across the county. As some of you may have noticed, many wineries, especially in Massachusetts, leave a lot to be desired in terms of complex wines. Most are too sweet, or not interesting, but Turtle Creek is in a league of their own. Located in Lincoln, MA, the production all happens at the owner Kip's house. But don't let that be misleading- the grounds are absolutely beautiful and he has set up a really neat facility in the bottom of the house, including a pretty cool barrel room where the tasting occurs. And the wine, it really is fantastic. I've never tasted such a balanced, complex Cabernet Franc at any winery in MA. Some of the grapes are grown locally, and some he gets from other vineyards across the country. If you like wine, you should definitely come here. Here are a few tips as well:-Winery tasting and tours are by reservation only, so email ahead. They occur on Saturdays and Sundays, and Kip is pretty responsive by email. There was a couple who showed up who had just emailed an hour beforehand and Kip got back to them and told them to come.-Tour and tasting are $20/person (or $10/person for just the tasting), however I would really recommend doing both. Kip is really knowledgeable and has a lot of interesting facts about every aspect that goes into making wine. -The wine share program is really a steal. There are 4 different levels, ranging from $60-$200 every quarter. If you've seen other programs, you never really find one so affordable. Also included with the membership are discounts on bottles, priority notice for all new wines, free tasting/tours and invitations to special events. You can have the bottles shipped at cost or pick them up for free. For people who drink a fair amount of wine, it really is a no-brainer to sign up.

We attended a wine tasting at Turtle Creek last Saturday and it was really lovely! The wines all tasted great and Kip, the owner, was very interesting to speak with and he helped us understand the wine-making process. For $10 a person, you get to sample local, delicious wines and spend about an hour relaxing and learning as much as you can. The whole experience was great and we wound up purchasing one of the wines (Chardonnay- definitely a must-try!) and drank it that night after dinner. I will definitely be back with friends and other family members!

A small local winery run by some very nice people. Go for the tour - stay for the wine! Wine is generally good and enjoyable.