On an unseasonably cold and overcast day in early June, the atmosphere inside the newly opened Maugle Sierra Vineyards tasting room was comfortably warm. With the gentle glow of subtle lighting illuminating the old-world décor and local artwork hanging from the walls, one could hardly think of a better place to taste a few locally produced wines. And for owners Paul and Betty Maugle, the company couldn’t have been any more welcome.
The vineyards opened to the public in early May, and the Maugles literally are watching as the fruits of their labor come in. The couple purchased the 97-acre farm in 2001 and immediately set to work creating the ground plan for the vineyards and turning the uneven, rocky landscape into that which could double for some quaint winery in northern France. But, as Betty will tell you, the picturesque vineyard didn’t come together easily.
“The next three years became an adventure like no other,” Betty wrote in a letter. “Rainy spring weekends were spent watching Paul work in the mud, pulling rocks from our New England soil, digging holes to set up the trellis and string out miles of wire to support the vines…By August I watched as mud turned to sweat. My contribution was hydrating Paul and loads and loads of laundry.”
All the hard work did pay off, as Maugle Sierra Vineyards was officially established in 2002 with five acres of St. Croix vines that the Maugles purchased from St. Francois Vineyards in Missouri. The couple worked tirelessly to keep the vines healthy, not only pruning, but also devising tactics to keep turkeys, the nemesis of any New England vineyard, at bay.
Soon, they had their first harvest which they sold to a nearby Connecticut vineyard, using the funds to continue growing their own. With no grapes to work with to hone his wine-making skills, Paul purchased Merlot and Zinfandel juices that first year and began to perfect his own techniques. The following year Paul kept half of the harvest, and by 2005 he had produced two award-winning wines, a silver-medal-winning St. Croix, and a port that earned a bronze.
While his early wines were a success, they were by no means Paul’s first attempts at wine-making.
Paul’s love affair with wine started with his first sip. Studying food chemistry while in school, he remembers gathering with some of his college friends in the early 1980s and trying each other’s homemade wines. From there Paul’s affinity for fermented grapes grew as his job in marine biochemistry had him traveling the world to such wine-rich areas as Chile, France, California, and Peru. Paul explained that at each new place he visited, he would seek out the local vineyards and soak up as much knowledge from the wine-makers as possible.
“I would travel a lot on consulting trips,” Paul said, “and I always knew that I wanted to own a vineyard, so I’d talk with people in the wine-making business everywhere I went. It was a great way to familiarize myself with the business but also with the process of making fine wines.”
When he acquired his vineyard and when he wasn’t working in the field, Paul put to work the knowledge he gained from traveling to perfect his techniques while he began the legal journey to be a licensed wine-maker.
Using the lush and fruity St. Croix grapes he had already planted, Paul expanded his five acres to seven, and soon planted two acres of Traminette and two acres of Cayuga to make a white wine to complement the reds he was already producing.
In 2007 the Maugles’ wait paid off as they received federal licensing to apply for their Connecticut license, which they received in February. Waiting the few months for the weather to warm, Paul and Betty were able for the first time to open their doors to the general public, with their first wine sales coming in early May.
Open Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., wine enthusiasts who visit the Maugle Sierra Vineyards will find five very distinct wines ready for tasting and for sale. Along with their House White and House Red, both made partially from estate-grown grapes, Maugle Sierra Vineyards also produces a Rose, made from their distinctive St. Croix grapes fermented without their skins, giving the wine its subtle color and sweetness. Most popular and Paul’s “specialty” is the St. Croix, made entirely of estate-grown grapes and cold fermented in small batches aged in American oak barrels, producing what Paul describes as a “fruit forward” wine that finishes semi-dry.
The most labor-intensive of all the wines is the Esencia de St. Croix. Again, made of the St. Croix grapes, the Esencia is triple fermented and aged at least two years in toasted American oak barrels, giving it a smooth, creamy blackberry flavor with a strong chocolate finishing note. Much sweeter than the others, Paul and Betty suggest serving the Esencia as a dessert wine.
And just like the wines, the company of the actual wine-maker himself makes Maugle Sierra Vineyards an even more welcoming place, one where Paul promises, “Visitors are welcome to sit back, take a deep breath, and relax with friends, family, and wine.”
Maugle Sierra Vineyards and tasting room is located at 825 Rte. 117 near Ledyard center and can be reached at (860) 464-2987