It was June 1776 when the Thirteen Colonies built and launched the first warship of the American Revolution. It takes a navy to build a ship like the 80-foot Oliver Cromwell, and the Griswold Inn, just a few steps from docks along the Connecticut River, opened that same year, keeping those early patriots and shipbuilders well-fed, well-rested and, most important, well-quenched.
Ever since, “the Gris” has served as both a haven for travelers and a local watering hole for the communities of Essex, Conn., and neighboring towns like Madison and Chester, which are all about as charming as you'll find in New England. Today, the Griswold Inn's dinner menu, Award of Excellence–winning wine program and collection of maritime paintings are all compelling attractions in their own right.
Wine director and general manager Alan Barone has steered the drinks program for more than 20 years. Channeling the inn's revolutionary spirit, Barone keeps the focus on American wines, especially historic California properties like Heitz, Ridge, Phelps and Inglenook. But the 100-plus-selection list includes Old World gems as well, including Louis Jadot Chassagne-Montrachet, Michele Chiarlo Barolo and Castello Banfi Brunello.
The dining room menu is classic, with seasonal seafood being a specialty, while small plates dominate in the wine bar. Those include seared salmon with a crispy potato puff, a dish eager for a glass of Ken Wright Pinot Noir, and carved bistro steak that calls for B.R. Cohn Cabernet.
The Griswold's large taproom and dining area is a veritable Versailles of Connecticut riverboat paintings and drawings (including a Norman Rockwell), accented by a collection of muzzleloaders. It also moonlights as a live music venue. The adjoining wine bar, however, is the place to quietly savor a glass and bask in the calming effect of an 18-foot mural that depicts the Essex harbor in the late 1800s, when steamboats ruled the river.
"It all goes together," says Barone. "We really wanted [the list] to reflect the American wines, even though I have wines from everywhere … because we're an all-American sort of place, heavy in history—just the number of 1776, just that year alone to open is pretty wild. So that's guided me to really get into the more American features [and] that was really the idea, to fill into our historical aspect and our artwork and have the wines kind of reflect that as well."
