11 Amazing Bars to Get Wine in Dutchess County, New York

I never was much of a wine person before. I've been more of a wine cooler guy than anything else. Back in college, my roommates held a box wine party, and we all drank from red solo cups instead of wine glasses. Honestly, that's all we could afford! But we had fun, and we simulated being fancy.

When I would go to family parties, family members would offer me sips of wine, and frankly, I could never get behind it. It was either too dry or too sweet for my taste. It's ironic, I'm a hard liquor kind of guy, so you would think I'd be okay with downing and fighting through any kind of alcoholic beverage, but not these wines.

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That was until my girlfriend took me to this wine bar in Schenectady wine bar called Shaker and Vine. I liked the concept of this place: They had like wine machines that were very similar to soda machines. You'd simply click on the button for the wine you wanted, and then you would fill up your glass. They had such a wide variety of wines. My favorite wine was 19 Crimes. And it's got a great backstory:

There are 19 corks, one for each of the 19 crimes a person could commit to be sentenced to "Punishment by Transportation." The corks, which are randomly distributed with the bottles, have the name of the crime on the side.

 

Nineteen crimes turned convicts into colonists. Upon conviction British rogues guilty of at least one of the 19 crimes were sentenced to live in Australia, rather than death. This punishment by "transportation" began in 1787 and many of the lawless died at sea. For the rough-hewn prisoners who made it to shore, a new world awaited. As pioneers in a frontier penal colony, they forged a new country and new lives, brick by brick. This wine celebrates the rules they broke and the culture they built.

My girlfriend and I have been back there a few times now for various occasions, and its a fun place. My time there has made me more receptive to find some great wine bars in my area and to expand my palette.

READ MORE: HUDSON, NY WINERY FEATURING FREE WINE TASTING WITH AUTHOR AND WINE EXPERT ALICE FEIRING

Below, I compiled a list of 11 awesome wine bars in Dutchess County, New York. These wine bars have been highly rated on Google Reviews, receiving 4.5 Stars and higher. What do you think about the wine bars on this list? Are there other wine bars that should make the list? What other counties/regions should we cover in regard to wine bars and wineries? Let us know on the app or on social media!