New Hampshire Wine Club Guide

New Hampshire Wine Clubs...
From the Mother of Rivers, Mother of Wine

A lot of states can boast century old traditions in wine making. And New Hampshire isn't one of those states.

Why then, you ask, do I say the "Mother of Wine?"

While the New Hampshire commercial wine industry only began in 1994, this little New England state has birthed some of the craziest and most creative libations you could ever dream up.

What's Your Fancy?

New Hampshire's two most popular grape varietals are classics that you may be familiar with: Marechal Foch and Seyval. New Hampshire uses a lot of French and European hybrids, with some Native American grapes, also.

Would you believe that there are currently 150 different varieties of grapes being tested in the cool New Hampshire climate? This state is definitely looking to expand its wine industry!

But you will learn that grape wines aren't everything!

While New Hampshire is experimenting with grapes that match its climate, you can also enjoy some amazingly creative fruit wines and blends. New Hampshire grows more than 25 different fruits that the vintners also bottle into some very interesting wines that you're sure to appreciate.

The most popular is apple, but there are many, many others - plum, cranberry, blueberry, strawberry, peach... the list goes on!

Two types of wine that you may find especially unique are commonplace in New Hampshire. Honey wine, or mead, is a very popular libation and there are wineries that have focused on this ancient wine as a specialty. Did you know that this traditional wine was consumed every day for one month (a moon) following a wedding, hence the term "honeymoon"? :-)

How about wine for breakfast? Okay, maybe not, but New Hampshire gives you an exceptionally unique wine that will certainly make you think about pancakes and waffles. The area is famed for its colorful fall foliage, maple trees, and of course - syrup. It would only stand to reason that vintners have made wine with maple flavoring!

New Hampshire Wine Clubs

New Hampshire falls into the same shipping trap as many U.S. states, and has trouble maintaining New Hampshire wine clubs.

If you are close to the New Hampshire area, case clubs are fairly common in its dozen wineries. One New Hampshire wine club, offers a little bit more.

The Attrezzi Wine Club is actually an extension of a quality kitchen utensil shop! (This is perfect for you if you love to plan great meals to go with your wines.) Attrezzi is like a one stop shop. You can get every piece of gourmet equipment under the sun, plus the wine to make the meal perfect. They'll even help you match wines and recipes and provide some good recipes, too. :-)

As a member of the Attrezzi Wine Club, you will be charged a $29 one-time fee. From there, you will receive discounts on all wines and merchandise, including 15% off each month's newest Wine of the Month selections. There are tastings each Saturday to help you learn about the wines of New Hampshire, and you will even receive one free wine class to help your knowledge bloom!

Another fun club for you to check out is the New Hampshire Wine Chix. No, you can't actually join it; its membership card is full. However, you can apply to become a "sub" with hopes for a future membership. This group of New Hampshire women meets once each month and shares bottles of wine that they have found in the state. They perform their own tastings and discuss each bottle, a total of twelve bottles per meeting.

The greatest part for you is that you can track their progress online. You may not be able to join, but you can still learn a lot from these real women, with real tastes, and real budgets. Plus, you'll learn all of their shopping secrets and find great places to buy wine!

Classical Wine Newbie

You can probably identify with New Hampshire, regardless of your wine-drinking status. New Hampshire is sort of a wine-newbie, but it also uses some really classic varietals.

No matter where you fall in the aficionado spectrum, New Hampshire has the perfect bottle for you.