Cranwell Indoor Pool

Now that the seasons are changing and the air is a bit chilly, our guests have been enjoying our new partnership with Cranwell Resort.  We are happy to offer Winthrop Estate guests complimentary passes to Cranwell’s state of the art, award winning spa facilities.  As a guest of Winthrop Estate you now have the opportunity to visit another beautiful Berkshire Mansion and enjoy a soak in their whirlpool, sauna, steam rooms and indoor and outdoor pools.  What a great way to warm up and relax, knowing you are here to be taken care of in every way!  When you visit our home we want you to feel there is no end to the hospitality.

Photo by John Seakwood

Thanksgiving!

It’s our favorite time of year again, when we are truly grateful to be living in one of the most beautiful counties in New England.  Our cozy “Berkshire cottage” is the perfect place for you to “escape to home” for the Thanksgiving holiday.   Staying true to the spirit of the house (Winthrop Estate is a gilded-age mansion that was built in 1925), our home is furnished with luxurious period pieces.   Bring your entire family and a big appetite for a long weekend of festivities.  Our staff is here to make you feel completely at home.  You can get comfortable in the wood paneled library where we have leather couches and chairs, a wide selection of current books and music, a fireplace (one of many throughout the mansion) and a baby grand piano; kids and teens will enjoy the upstairs game room with ping pong, board games, foosball, and a big screen T.V. with cable and video games.   Or relax in the conservatory, a sun drenched, verdigris colored room with original wood paneling, red hexagonal tile floor, and lush potted plants; it’s right off the kitchen and a favorite spot for breakfast and long conversations. Or step outdoors where we have the six-acre lawn, woodland trails, views to take your breath away.  Or enjoy the 500+acres of sanctuary hiking trails very nearby.

But let’s talk turkey.  We can have a twenty -pound bird in the oven and all the fixings for your feast served in the formal dining room.  You won’t have to lift a finger.  Leftovers – you bet!  Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwiches on dinner rolls will be waiting too.

What is your Thanksgiving plan?

Just a few weeks ago Berkshire County was hit by a fairly severe storm.  The wind knocked down only a branch or two on the main property, but the hiking trails to the west of the mansion took some more damage.  Some members of the staff went out later that week to clear trails and found some massive trees down.  The rings on one pine suggested that it had lived for over 100 years.  Some hours later, Chris Brown and his team finished the job.  Gorgeous trails, once again ready to be hiked and biked by the guests of the Winthrop Estate.  Yokun Ridge, Kennedy Park and October Mountain are actually some of the best-kept secrets of the Berkshires.  Together, they provide over 20 miles of beautiful mountain biking, cross country skiing, hiking and trail running for residents and visitors alike.

Our ping pong table is on the third floor of the mansion, in the game room, a perfect space for just kicking back and relaxing with a drink.  Here the groom watches his friends play after the rehearsal dinner BBQ on the Winthrop Estate lawn. Other guests are hanging out on the club chairs watching, and others are in the library or music room.  Sometimes it’s nice to be all together in a big group at a wedding, and sometimes guests like to have time with smaller groups of friends.  On a wedding weekend at the Winthrop Estate, we often see friends enjoying each other’s company in small groups throughout the weekend, in the game room, verandah, lawn, music room, even in the second floor foyer they catch a good conversation.

Photo by Eric Limon

Family Vacation

In the Berkshires, we are enjoying warm summer weather this week and the garden is growing tall.  A full schedule of weddings and family events is ahead of us.  The busy summer season, which started in early May for us, always tends to go by fast.

Many of our guests have already inquired about repeat visits.  Though the estate is almost completely booked this year already, there are a few weekends still left.  Labor Day weekend is one of them and with the Tanglewood Wine and Food Classic September 1-4, and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, it will be a great time to be in Lenox.  The Winthrop Estate is just about a mile from Tanglewood’s main gate and the Jazz Festival and the Wine and Food Classic are real treats, (if you like good jazz, wine and food)!

Labor Day weekend is a nice time to gather the family in Lenox, just before school starts for the young ones and as the trees are starting to turn.  There are so many things to do at that time if you want to venture off property; see a Shakespeare & Company production, visit the Mount or Chesterwood, enjoy a lazy day and a hike in Kennedy Park just a few minutes from the Winthrop Estate, or take the kids out for a sweet at Patisserie Lenox.  There’s plenty to do in this area. Here are more ideas for family fun in the Berkshires.

Photo credit to John Fitzpatrick of MomentsKept.com.

Lettuce from the Winthrop Estate Garden (photo from the summer of 2010)

Last summer when I was sitting on the verandah, savoring a Winthrop Estate salad that was picked moments earlier, I felt like I knew what heaven must be like.  I fell in love with that bite as it was such an intense, fully engaged, ‘all-senses on’ experience.  I can hardly wait for the harvest!

A farmer?  I never thought I’d be a farmer.  But, based on our bountiful harvest the last two years and our unbounded enthusiasm for organic, locally grown, high quality vegetables, and the fact that my kids eat them right off ‘the vine’, we have expanded the Winthrop Estate farm this year.  We added more space for beds and completed the cultivation in late May, and we are now a small CSA with a handful of lucky, near by families and one restaurant as members (the shares sold out within a few phone calls).

We have planted tomatoes, beans, peppers, lettuces, carrots, corn, parsley, basil, and more…  (the full list can be seen in this <Winthrop Estate’s Organic Farm> post) and just last week we completed the beds with some plants from Left Field Farm.  Within a few weeks we will be ready to harvest the new crops.  We already have plenty of chives, scallions (quite strong and flavorful), spearmint and chocolate mint, and all have wonderfully intense flavors unlike we find in most grocery stores. We distribute the produce each week to the participating farm members, the guests of the Winthrop Estate, and a wonderful local restaurant, Nudel.

Because I love the organic fresh vegetables, in addition to being an enthusiastic farmer, I am a fan of the farmer’s markets and CSAs and am always looking for places to eat locally-grown, organic produce.  I am so pleased that there are many opportunities to get Berkshire produce at local restaurants and stores. See the Berkshire Grown site for more information on the farm to table week they have created in early June.

It is starting to feel like spring here in the Berkshires!    Crocuses and daffodils – the perennial symbol of springtime–  are in full bloom here at Winthrop Estate.  Migratory birds are returning and we are awakening to the enchanting sounds of their morning chirping.

Planting Peas

Here at Winthrop our gardeners have planted the first crop of the season, and this year we will harvest green and red leaf lettuce, peas, spinach, kale, carrots, leaks, hungarian peppers, and plenty more.  This weekend, we are excited to be expanding our organic garden and are thrilled to be offering fresh, organic produce “farm to table” at Winthrop Estate.  Berkshire County is renowned for it’s farm to table philosophy and has played a leading role in it’s development.  Winthrop Estate is proud to be a part of this movement.  In addition to stocking our own kitchen with delicious, fresh produce, we supply local restaurants, such as Nudel, here in Lenox.

Just Arrived

Watch our new family photo montage: click here.