A Visit to Stonington Vineyards

My husband called Stonington Vineyards, hoping to speak with the winemaker Mike McAndrew and Nick Smith, the owner answered the phone and invited us to meet with him and his wife, Happy. We are remiss in not going to Stonington Vineyards first since their vineyard is no more than 5 miles from where we live. Nick and Happy welcomed us in their winery and we sat and chatted for about 2 hours!
This is the 25th anniversary of Happy and Nick's ownership of Stonington Vineyards. Nick told us about some of the history of wineries in Connecticut back when they purchased Stonington Vineyards from Monique and Barbara Clarke on the last day of 1986. I did a Google search for Monique and Barbara Clarke and came upon this article in the New London Day called Family Develops Taste for the Wine Business. Nick mentioned that back when they bought the vineyard, there might have been about 6 wineries in the state. Given the paucity of people in the wine business in Connecticut, the 6 wineries seemed to have established a close relationship of helping each other. Nick carries on this tradition by helping people at Sharpe Hill and Jonathan Edwards and also extended this helping hand to us. We really appreciate their generosity!