Chrisman Mill Vineyards

Well, my pictures did not turn out very well, but the wine was great!

Last year, at the Jessamine Jamboree (the county fair in Jessamine County, Kentucky), we discovered Chrisman Mill Vineyards. We had heard rumors that there was a vineyard in Nicholasville, but we were a little skeptical. How can you grow grapes in a state where the weather changes more in a month than it does all year in some states?


But, as we drove down Main Street, there was a booth on the side of the road with “Chrisman Mill Vineyards” written on it. We stopped for a taste. Having just come back from vacation in Napa and Somoma, we were really into the tasting room thing, and had fun tasting the various wines that they were pouring. Chris and Denise Nelson, the owners, were there, and told us all about the winery. It was near the site of the first commercial winery in the United States!

We tasted a Vidal Blanc, and a rosé called Sweet Jessamine Rose. The Vidal was the better of the two, in my opinion. I found the rosé rather too sweet for my taste. The Vidal was crisp and refreshing. We bought a bottle of Tasting Roomthe Vidal. But if I were completely honest, I’d have to say that we bought it more because we were really excited about the idea of wine production in Kentucky, than because we really liked the wine. It was nice. (Please don’t stop reading here and think that this is my final judgement!)

Last, my brother-in-law brought me a brochure from the Chrisman Mill Vineyards Art Gallery and Tasting Room, which had just opened downtown Lexington. He had gone there and tasted some of their wines. So, this afternoon, when Sarah got up from her nap, we went down to the tasting room to see what it was like.

They have a lovely little store and tasting room in what used to be the Jefferson Davis Inn, which someone once told me was the oldest continuously-operating bar in the state. (It closed about 5 years ago, and has been vacant since then, I think.) Much of the art is original paintings by Denise’s father, which is what is on the labels of the bottles.

We tasted the Vidal Blanc. Before I tasted it, Denise said that it was better than the year before, as Chris had learned a lot from his first bottling. And, wow, was it ever! Whereas last year’s wine was simple and sweet, this has layers of fruit flavors, and had an amazingly long finish for a off-dry white wine. We also tasted the Sweet Jessamine Rose, which was, likewise, much better. Last year’s was a sweet White-Zinfandel-ish wine. While still a somewhat simple wine, this years Jessamine Rose is a serious rosé, and a great summer wine.

Denise The wine that we brought home was a “Terre Blanc.” (We actually already had a bottle of the Vidal, having bought one a few weeks ago to have at the Memorial Day picnic, before I knew how much better it was than last year’s. Fortunately we did not open it, as it would doubtless been wasted on the folks there. (Just kidding, guys!)) I actually did not catch what the Terre Blanc was made of, but I’ll try to remember to ask next time I go. It is simpler than the Vidal, and has what Denise described as a Granny Smith apple taste to it. I think I pretty much agree with that. It is sweetish, with a little tartness, and a long finish. It seemed to me that it would be really good with grilled fish, and I’ll open this up when we grill some halibut later this summer. Mmmmmmm!

Anyways, I expect you’ll be hearing more about Chrisman Mill Vineyards. At least from me. But with the recent changes in Kentucky law, there’s a chance that you might be able to get some of this for yourself, even if you’re not in Kentucky. Stay tuned for more about that to come.