Lobster’s Wineries and Foods of New England with Elderhostel

What a fabulous week we had exploring the outstanding and unique foods that New England had to offer.  A great group of people from fourteen states complitmented the week.

The weather cooperated with us giving us some beautiful spring days with comfortable tempatures throughout the week.  The rain that we did receive came at night and never interupted a day of activities. 

Our group arrived on Monday and we enjoyed a our get together dinner at our Newport, RI hotel.  Dinner was folliowed by a program orientation that included a description of the weeks activities.  

On Tuesday following breakfast we gathered for a short ride to Kingston, RI where we were met with Paul III & Paul Drum, SR., at their Kenyon Grist Mill operation.  Paul Sr., gave an excellent prestation on the milling of their white corn meal  and the history of the operation.  Paul III, met with the group where he talked about their commercial ventures at fairs and The Big E.  Dick Donnelly concluded our program with an excellent cooking demonstration on making Johnny Cakes or Journey Cakes in other parts of the country.  He also shared many of his wonderful Johnny Cake recipes that include coconut almond, chocolate and hot dogs in Johnny Cake batter. 

We then transported everyone to the Rhode Island Quahog Company restaurant where our group was treated to a delicious Rhode Island chowder (clear broth) and one of the best I ever had.  Our main course consisted of a very nice lobster and we finished this outstanding meal with a wonderful creme brulee. 

Our afternoon program took us to the Newport Vineyard where we met with Craig Corsetti who shared his expansive knowlede of grape growing and wine making.  He concluded our program with with a tasting that included five of their top wines.

On Wednesday we said good-bye to Rhode Island and made our journey north to Hamilton, MA where we made a stop at the Green Meadows Organic Farm.  Here we met with Dave & Dianne, the farm managers for the Patton family (decendents of George Patton) who own this marvelous farm.  We were treated to an excellent presentation on organic farming and CSA farming.  They served us a lunch that included their organic egss, chicken, produce and breads from a local organic bakery. 

We arrived in Maine under beautiful blue skies where we boarded the Finest Kind Lobster Boat for a cruise along the Ogunquit coast.  We pulled three traps, the first had zero lobsters but a bunch of hermit crabs, starfish and sea weed.  The second pot hit the mother load and we were able to get five keepers with the largest weighing about two pounds.  The mate gave an excellent talk on fishing, the lobsters and history of the industry. 

Our next day in Maine we started with a visit to the Portland Fish Exchange where we learned about Maine ground fishing and the aution and sale process of the boats fishing George’s Bank off the coast of Maine. We had a quick coffee stop at Borealis Bread who was our speaker the night before on at art of artisian bread making.  We concluded the day with a visit Wilbur’s Chocolate for a candy sampling and making demo.  What would a visit to Maine be without a traditional lobster dinner and Foster’s Lobster Bake in York did an awesome job serving us one of the best lobster dinners that I have had in a long time. 

We said good-bye to Maine the following day and traveled to Lee, NH where we made a stop at the Flag Hill Winery and Distillery.  Our presenter was one of the most energetic people we met all week.  What a detailed program on the art of making of vodka with local apples and wines from their 25 acre vineyard.  We continued to Vermont where we spend the next two evenings at the historic Brandon Inn. 

The Brandon Inn is listed on the National Historic Register and was built in the 1780’s.  The owner Chef Louis Pattis was trained in Europe and has operated the inn for over 15 years.  They are located in the center of town and offer outstanding dining and simple accommodations.  

While in Vermont we traveled to Neighborly Farms, an organic cheese farm where we where split into two groups.  The first part of the presentation was the art of cheese making both raw and pasturized colby style cheddars, feta and flavored cheddars.  The second part of the presentation included a visit to their barns and dairy where they milk 50 holstein cows that supply the milk for the cheese making operation.  The group enjoyed this visit due to the size of the operation and the philosophy on quality cheese.

Our afternoon visit took us to Cold Hollow Cider Mill where we were greeted by Bob who is one of the part time managers of the mill.  Cold Hollow Cider is the largest producer of cider in New England and they also make some of the best baked apple goods in their in store bakery.  Our group enjoy a sample of their gourmet spiced cider doughnuts which were rated by Gourmet Magazine as the best doughnut in New England.  A visit to Vermont would not be complete without a visit to a Sugarhouse to learn about maple sugaring. 

We traveled to Montpelier (Vermont’s State Capital) where we visited the Morse Sugar Farm.  The Morse Farm is an eighth generation farm who’s operation dates back to the early settlers in Vermont.  We enjoyed a presentation by Burr Morse who spoke about their operation and Vermont syrup.  We concluded our visit with a tradional sugar-on-snow, maple syrup heated to 234 degrees and then poured over ice where it forms into a delicious taffy type treat.  A sugar on snow would not be complete unlessed it was served with doughnuts (the unlevened kind) and pickles, yes pickles it cuts the sweetness. 

Our final night dinner is served in the Main Dining Room followed by entertainment in the living room presented by Brad Morgan a local musician. 

We now journey to the TF Green Airport in Rhode Island for a drop off of the group.  I will miss this group as they were wonderful to travel with and enjoyed all the components offered on this diverse program.

Until our next journey, have happy travels.