Sometimes I need to get out of my four walls and head down the road to someplace different. I enjoy meeting new people and seeing Kentucky's pretty countryside. I drove to tour two Pulaski County wineries located near Somerset.
Both are wonderful; each winery is unique and the trip was fun and tasty too. I first visited Cedar Creek Vineyard east of Somerset and then on the way back home stopped by Sinking Valley Winery off the road to Mt. Vernon.
Cedar Creek Vineyards
Cedar Creek Vineyards is owned and operated by Jeff and Debbie Wiles. They live on the premises above the tasting room in a wooden home looking over a picturesque valley. They own 98 acres and the pretty fields alone are worth the drive. While Debbie held their wee new puppy dog, Jeff poured samples from a half dozen wines. They carry a 2006 Chambourcin, a lovely wine with black cherry and cocoa flavors called Cynthiana, as well as Pink Catawba, Catawba, Niagara and Hummingbird Blush varieties. I enjoyed all samples so it was a challenge to choose but I went home with Catawba, Chambourcin and Hummingbird Blush.
"We opened last year on Derby Day, 2007. Our first planted vines are eight years old. We studied over which varieties are hardy and we try to cultivate organically as much as possible," Jeff said as he showed me the production room with 1,000 liter stainless steel vats from Italy.
Debbie added: "Our tasting room is open on Fridays and Saturdays but I've seen Jeff leave the fields for a visitor who arrived on another day. We started with three red wines and folks kept asking for sweeter wines."
Cedar Creek Vineyards has a lovely make-yourself-at-home feeling. When I was there a neighbor family of four stopped by to catch up on news before fishing at local Buck Creek. Jeff said they have friends come help harvest. I wonder if they pay in wine.
Current by the bottle prices range from $10 to $12.50. For more information call (606) 274-1964 or (606) 875-3296. You can email Jeff at jeff@cedarcreekvineyards.net and visit their Web site at www.cedarcreekvineyards.net. Their address is 294 Cedar Creek Lane, Somerset, KY, 42501. I found Flat Rock Road on Google Maps but not Cedar Creek Lane.
Sinking Valley Winery
The Sinking Valley Tasting Room is set up in an old Post Office that operated from 1945 to 1953. When I arrived I saw rock geodes on the front porch. I like to collect rocks and crystals and I ended up buying a pretty golden one from the owner's daughter.
The place also served as a country store and still has a friendly feel with mail slots opposite the wine counter. Amy and Zane Burton bought it in 1996 and planted grapevines in 2000. They feature over a dozen wines. Some of those include Chardonnay (dry, aged in white oak barrels), Riesling (sweet white), Blackberry (Blush, sweet), Concord Nouveau (sweet or semi-sweet), Chambourcin (dry, aged in red oak barrels) and Cumberland (sweet blush).
I really enjoyed the Sweet Apple wine and I also bought one of the Kentucky-made cheeses sold at the counter. You can see their grapevines to the east and just behind the old store is a back porch where some folks chat and enjoy the scenery.
Sinking Valley Winery is open Monday through Saturdays from Noon to 6 p.m. Call them for more details and ask about their special events, at (606) 274-0223 or on their Web site, www.sinkingvalleywinery.com. Prices range from $9.99 to $15.99 per bottle.
If my budget allowed I would have purchased a case at each winery. Both Cedar Creek and Sinking Valley are triumphs of faith having established wineries in a dry county. Have a few tastes, take the bottles home and save opening them for when you have a party of oneÖor more. Enjoy your day trips.
To Get There
Cedar Creek Vineyards: Take Interstate 75 South for about 42 miles past Richmond and Berea to Exit No. 62 at Mt. Vernon. Turn right off the ramp onto Hwy 25, which turns into Hwy 461 after Mt. Vernon. Going toward Somerset, it's nearly 18 miles to Kentucky Hwy 80. Turn left on Hwy 80 and drive for 1.7 miles to turn right on Kentucky 1003. Follow this road for 1.8 miles to turn right at Flat Rock Road. Veer left onto Cedar Creek Lane, follow the sign at the top of the hill, bearing right and follow that lane to Cedar Creek Vineyards.
Sinking Valley Winery: Retrace your drive (and check out the lovely waterfall on the way out Flat Rock Road to your left) back to 1003 and Hwy 80 and Hwy 461 toward Mt. Vernon. To get to Sinking Valley Winery simply check for mileage from Hwy 80 along Hwy 461. Turn right 7 miles from Hwy 80 onto Plato Vanhook Road. Drive 1.3 miles from the highway turnoff and look for the small wooden building with parking lot on the left. Sinking Valley Winery is located at 1300 Plato Vanhook Road, Somerset, Ky.