Parley Lake Winery is located on a gravel road near Parley Lake just east of Waconia, Minnesota. The same family also operates Deardorff Orchards at the same location, where you can buy apples and even go pick your own. It makes sense, then, that they would combine apples and grapes in one wine.
In addition to the Apples and Vines wine, they also produce and sell several grape wines, including Minnesota grapes like Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, and Marquette.
This is made from 80% apples (Honeycrisp and Haralson), 14% unoaked Chardonnay, and 6% Frontenac Gris. While the apples and the Frontenac Gris are both from Minnesota, Chardonnay does not grow in this cold climate. I mention this because it may matter to some people that are trying to eat and drink as locally as possible. (They do have wines made from 100% Minnesota grapes, and some are even aged in Minnesota oak.)
Despite being mainly apple, it is surprisingly similar to a white grape wine. It has a light nose with a bit of floral. There’s the taste of crisp, slightly tart apples. I can definitely pick up flavors of the Chardonnay, and there’s a hint of butter, too. I don’t know if this is due to malolactic fermentation or if it is perhaps just from the apples themselves. There’s a bit of juiciness, too. This wine tastes fairly dry to me, despite the 2% residual sugar. The acids balance out the sugars well. It’s a very enjoyable wine.
This gets my “Very Good” rating.
Parley Lake Winery wines are available at the winery or at local liquor stores and restaurants.
Wine Details
Producer: Parley Lake Winery
Vintage: Non-Vintage
Appellation: Minnesota
Varieties: 80% Apple (Honeycrisp and Haralson), 14% Chardonnay, 6% Frontenac Gris
Alcohol: 11.5% ABV
TA: 7.8 g/L
pH: 3.43
RS: 2.0%
Price: $15.00 at the winery (750 ml)
My Rating: Very Good
