2nd Annual Virginia Dessert Wine Party results

We hosted our second Virginia dessert wine party for members of our congregation.  We provided the wines and another couple provided all the home baked desserts, as well as providing a wonderful array of cheeses, fruit and nuts.  Counting us and the other couple hosting the party we had 18 people sampling wines and voting.


The Wine About Virginia team had personally tasted each of these wines in the past and purchased most of them at their respective tasting rooms.  We purchased two of the chocolate dessert wines, Horton Vineyards XOXO and Cooper Vineyards Noche, at the Olde Dominion Wine Shop in Occoquan.  Jeff Sanders from Glass House Winery donated a bottle of their Meglio Del Sesso for our party.

We organized the the dessert wines by type and paired them with desserts we hoped would pair well with that particular dessert wine.  Our groupings were Petit Manseng-based dessert wines, Vidal Blanc-based dessert wines, Viognier-based dessert wines, fruit-infused red wines, chocolate-infused red wines, and a couple specialty dessert style red wines.  We asked our guests to designate their favorite in each group and to designate their favorite dessert wine of the evening.

We had three white dessert wine groups, each paired with specific desserts. 

The Petite Manseng dessert wines were paired with fresh blackberries and raspberries, three different cheeses with crackers, and pecan wedding cookies.  The Delaplane Cellars 2011 late harvest Petit Manseng received two votes as favorite in this group.  The Stinson Vineyards 2010 Petit Manseng Dessert also received two votes.  The winning wine in this group was the Linden Vineyards 2007 Late Harvest Petit Manseng, which received 11 votes. 

The Late Harvest Viognier wines were paired fresh raspberries and apple slices.  Guests were surprised and pleased by the marked contrast in taste and styles between the two dessert wines in this category. The Casanel Vineyards Dulce 2009, with its luscious caramel and butterscotch flavors, received two votes.  The Keswick Vineyards 2009 Nektar, with its flavors of honeysuckle and pineapple with vanilla and coconut, received eight votes, making Keswick's Nektar the winning wine in this group.

The Vidal Blanc dessert wines were paired with dark and milk chocolates, cream cheese-filled pastry with caviar, and French pear tart.  The 2011 Hume Vineyards Vendange Tardive received two votes.  The Old House Vineyards Artica received six votes.  The Gray Ghost Vineyards Adieu received seven votes.  There was very close voting in this category with Gray Ghost Adieu winning the group by a single vote.

We had three red wine groups each with a specific pairing.  The three fruit-flavored red wines were paired with goat cheese and blackberry preserves-filled fried won tons, little strawberry and cream parfaits in plastic shot glasses, assorted nuts, and apple slices.

Corcoran Vineyards RAZ, made with Merlot and a blend of raspberries received seven votes.  Doukénie Winery Nichola’s wine, made from 50 percent blackberry and 50 percent aged red wine, received five votes.  Fabbioli Raspberry Merlot received one vote.  The Corcoran RAZ was the winning wine from this group.

We had two wines in our unique blends and fruit wines category, which were paired with pecan wedding cookies and assorted nuts.  Morais Vineyards Jeropiga, a fortified sweet red wine, received eight votes, while the Michael Shaps Raisin d’Etre, a Late Harvest Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc, received three votes in this category.  There was a lot of buzz about the Morais Vineyards Jeropiga, which won this category, at the party. 

The chocolate-infused Red wines were paired with creamy chocolate fudge and fruit slices. (One of our guests discovered that the goat cheese/berry filled wontons were great with the chocolate wines). This was the first category where my choice changed after eating and sampling the wines again.  Glass House Winery 's Meglio Del Sesso 2010 is made by infusing real chocolate into a Norton/ Chambourcin/Cabernet Franc blended wine.  It received eight votes.  The Cooper Vineyards Noche, a Virginia Norton dessert wine infused with chocolate, received three votes.  The Horton Vineyards XOCO - made from 88 percent Touriga Nacional, 8 percent Syrah, 4 percent Norton with a very small percentage of dark chocolate essence, received one vote. Glass House's Meglio Del Sesso won this group.

Keswick's 2009 Nektar was chosen as the favorite dessert wine of the evening with five votes.  Old House's Artica was voted second favorite with three votes. Three dessert wines, all whites, tied for third place for overall favorite.  These were Gray Ghost Adieu, and both the Linden and Delaplane Late Harvest Petit Manseng.

It was a fun evening enjoyed by all who attended.  All of the Virginia dessert wines were appreciated by the attendees and many stated their intent to visit the wineries represented at this party.