Rhode Island WInes

[RAD]

My wife and I were in RI last weekend predominantly because I wanted to do some fishing; but after realizing that the fishing wasn't up to snuff, we opted for Plan B, which always is exploring the surrounding environs.

After stumbling across an honest-to-goodness REAL Southern BBQ joint (we are both from Atlanta and know good BBQ when we see, smell, and taste it), we headed up the road to two wineries that we'd never heard of, but had found in a magazine in our hotel room.

The first was Newport Vineyards, about 10 minutes north of Newport. My olfactory senses got a Big Red Flag the moment I opened the door and stepped inside, as I was assaulted by an aroma that I can only describe thusly: imagine one of those pine tree-shaped car air fresheners designed to hang from your rear-view mirror; now, dip that in a vat of industrial artificial grape flavoring; next, inhale deeply. That was the smell when we opened the door (perhaps not surprisingly, I heard a lady following us in immediately say, "My, it smells good in here!"). I swear, I can only believe that the establishment sprays some kind of fake grape smell on a constant basis. Anyway, to the wines--I tasted several whites, a couple of reds, and a port. Remember those various friut-scented magic markers that were popular back in the 70s? Each one is now bottled and for sale at Newport Vineyards. Enough said.

Next, we travelled about 20 minutes to Sakonnet Vineyards, an absolutely beautiful property along the Sakonnet River. Tried several estate wines, including a nice Chardonnay, a wonderfully clean and crisp Seyval Blanc (aged in stainless), a Fumé Blanc (same as the Seyval, but aged in oak), a nice Gewurztraminer, a rosé, and a couple of reds. Unfortunately, they were sold out of their Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Anyway, the white wines were lovely--and for what it's worth, WS ranks some of them in the mid-80s.

Anyone else have any experience with RI wines?