Wine About Virginia

Wine Storing

2012-02-10T19:49:00.000-05:00

Swirl, Sip, Snark started it with a picture and story about their new wine rack.
Then Frank from Drink What You Like tweeted about theirs.
Allan from Cellar Blog said he was all in and posted his pictures of his wine storage and said he hoped all the Virginia Wine Bloggers posted theirs.
Then Paul from Virginia Wine Time posted pictures of his with a story.

So Carol took some photos so we could join the Virginia Wine Cabal in this too. So here is Wine About Virginia's wine storage.

Rose and Dessert Wines - All Virginia

More Virginia Dessert Wines

Several "port like" wines here, including some "white ports" Some very nice dessert wines too.

White wines in the pantry - All Virginia

Our whites are organized with Chardonnays in the bottom rows, Viognier in the top rows, and everything else in the middle. It would be nice if bottles were all consistent in sizing- this rack just has too much give and the rows spread the the point the bottles sit on top of each other, instead of the supports. sigh.......

Red wines stored on the stairway to the cellar. Nearly all Virginia

For our reds, Chambourcin at top right, then several rows of Cabernet Franc, then some Bordeaux blends. On the left, the rarer Virginia reds like Syrah, Touriga, Blaufrankish, Merlot (rare in our house at least) and Petit Verdot (not all that rare here).

Kitchen renovation starts early next month - so hopefully we will be a bit less "scattered" when all is done.

On the road again, with friends

2012-02-09T05:23:00.002-05:00

Dry Mill's Tasting Bar

We went out to visit some Loudoun County wineries with some good friends. Our first stop was Dry Mill Winery. The tasting fee at Dry Mill is $5.00. There were 8 wines on the tasting menu, but we wound up tasting nine.

First up was the 2008 Traminette $18.00. This wine was totally dry with floral aromas and spicy flavors.

Next was the 2009 Steel Chardonnay $17.00. This was a medium bodied Chardonnay with apple flavors and no maloactic fermentation. This was followed by the 2009 Barrel Chardonnay $18.00. This wine is aged in lightly toasted French Oak barrels. Our friends liked the first better than the second. We preferred the barrel Chardonnay.

Next came the 2009 Viognier $22.00, which is also aged in French Oak barrels. This Viognier had a smooth creamy finish. This one came home with us.

2008 Chambourcin $19.00 had tart cherry flavors finishing with earthy/spicy complexities.

The 2008 Merlot $19.00 was lighter than most Merlot, very fruity though with a smooth peppery finish. I preferred the 2009 Merlot. This wasn't on the tasting menu. This wine was more full bodied and was quite good, having a lot of flavors and a good flong inish. The 2009 Merlot came home with us.

We then tried the 2009 Petit Verdot. A full-bodied, fruity, mellow wine with some backbone, this wine is great with chocolate, which was provided as a Hershey's dark chocolate kiss.

The 2010 Chambourcin Rose' $18.00 is a slightly dry rose' with 2 percent sugar. This one too came home.

After visiting at Dry Mill we drove to Magnolia's at the Mill Restaurant in Purcellville. After lunch we stopped at North Gate Vineyard.

North Gate entrance

I have never seen North Gate this crowded. Vicki told me that the Living Social special was expiring that week. We decided to fore-go tasting, due to the crowd, but I purchased two bottles of the 2010 Rose to go. (Its almost sold out). Vicki also slipped a Trellis Club membership form in the bag. Many of readers know that we have never joined a wine club. But if we start, North Gate will likely be first.

Crowded North Gate tasting room

Finally, we stopped at Corcoran Brewing where we found out that they were all ready out of their Black IPA. I really liked the Root Beer and the Paeonian Porter, but my friend is a big IPA fan and only really liked the Rhino IPA being served in place of the sold out Black IPA - the other flavors just weren't his thing. The wives weren't really into beer so we went up to the Corcoran winery tasting room.

Unfortunately, Lori hasn't released her Vionier yet. The new wine in the tasting room that day was Blackjack, Lori's new blackberry-infused Chambourcin. It's quite tasty, with the blackberry flavor blending well with the Chambourcin spiciness. This is a welcome addition to RAZ and USB for those of us who have come to appreciate sweeter wines again. It really was pretty much a sweet day at Corcoran, with Apple Wine and Cello also on the tasting sheet.

Jim also gave me several wines to pass on to Allan at Cellarblog as their donation for the upcoming Wine and Chocolate Tasting benefit for the National Capital Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. This event will be held at Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro in Reston on Sunday, February 12th from 1:00 to 4:00. We will be there.

Thin Skins: Why the French Hate Australian Wine

2012-02-04T06:14:00.000-05:00

I found a copy of Thin Skins: Why the French Hate Australian Wine at the used book store recently. I purchased it and read it while commuting on Metro. This book is really a collection of articles about Australian wine, wineries, vineyards, and personalities by Australian wine writer Campbell Mattison. The book is held together by the introduction and his final chapters.

I was surprised by how two reviews of Australian Shiraz by Robert Parker, both scored at 99 out of a hundred, completely changed Australian wine forever. Those reviews set in motion the great boom and bust cycles to come.

Mattison surmises the French hate Australian wine because they can produce "industrial wine" (think millions of gallons) of wine far better than France ever will. This has been a blessing and a curse for Australian wine makers. Yes, they can make wonderful, inexpensive wines that the world wants. But Mathison says that Australia is also making some of the best wines in the world at small, boutique wineries and if the French taste those they will really hate Australia.

There are a couple chapters on New Zealand wines in the book that chronicle the dramatic rise of New Zealand wines on the world stage. These I enjoyed a lot as I agree that New Zealand is making the best Sauvignon Blanc and may give Burgundy a scare with the quality of their Pinot Noir.

So, while a lot of the book is aimed at an Australian audience, I enjoyed learning that Australia has hundreds and hundreds of small family-run wineries producing world class wines. I now have many suggestions of where to visit if I ever get Down Under.

Three Fox

2012-01-30T05:16:00.000-05:00

Looking at the tasting bar at Three Fox

We had visited Three Fox Vineyards only once before on a crowded summer day, so we decided to visit them again. Tastings at Three Fox Vineyards are $7 each for ten wines (the Aloutte Cabernet Franc is for sale only). The tasting menu has a Guest wine, the Thibaut-Janisson Sparkling Chardonnay, along with two whites, a Rose, and six reds.

Following the rather good sparkling Chardonnay, here are the Three Fox wines we tried in order:
2010 Leggero Chardonnay $22
Gatto Bianco $23, A blend of Viognier and Chardonnay. The label says less than 1 percent residual sugar but it tasted sweeter than that. We eventually settled on this one to take home.
Cano Pazzo Rose $23
2009 Signor Sangiovese Reserve $27
2009 Volpe Sangiovese $26
Sirius $24, a blend of Barbera and Chambourcin.
2009 Piemontese Nebbiolo $29
2010 La Trovatella Merlot $26
2009 Rosso Dolce Chambourcin $29 This came in at 6 percent sugar.

Three Fox Vineyards has a small facility, but the winery has a large outdoor area with a hillside that gently slopes down to a small creek. In warmer weather they have additional tasting areas set up outside. On our trip it was too cold for that, so the tasting room was filled up. Not uncomfortably so on a Sunday, but we both wondered how crowded it would be on a Saturday.

Three Fox Vineyards 10100 Three Fox Lane
Delaplane, Virginia 20144
540-364-6073

Fox Meadow Vineyards vertical tasting

2012-01-27T18:49:00.000-05:00

We decided to visit Fox Meadows again for a cellar tasting. This cellar tasting involved a vertical tasting of the 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 Cabernet Franc.

We were also able to taste some barrel samples of unreleased wines: The 2011 Fox Meadow Vineyards Merlot and the 2010 Reserve Cabernet Franc. Dan Mortland let us taste some samples of some really nice future releases. He also credited their wine consultant Tom Payette for Fox Meadow achieving the Governor's Cup for their Le Renard Rouge. We all thought the 2011 Merlot to be very fruity and the 2010 Reserve Cabernet Franc very tasty. The Cabernet Franc is blended with a little bit of the Merlot too. These should both be great wines when released.

Our vertical tasting of the 2006 through 2009 Reserve Cabernet Francs let us see the effects of both aging and the differences between the grapes in each year. Dan calls the 2009 Reserve Cabernet Franc his snow wine as he harvested the grapes that year in the snow. We favored the 2007 Reserve. It was more full bodied, with black pepper on the finish. We liked each vintage however and took home a bottle of the 2008 Cabernet Franc.

Fox Meadow has joined the Virginia Commonwealth Quality Alliance. This group is attempting to bring quality standards to Virginia wineries. Fox Meadow is strong supporter and future releases will bare their label.

We enjoyed our visit to Fox Meadows and think you will too.

Fox Meadow Winery

3310 Freezeland Road
Linden, Virginia 22642

540-636-6777

And the Winners Are…………

2012-01-23T18:36:00.010-05:00

About 40 people came out for an evening of Virgina wine tasting (and fundraising) for the FUUSE program that Kurt has been heading for the past several years. We asked everyone to make the rounds and vote on their favorites from each category. You will notice, however, that most tallies do not come near the number present. We had some serious red drinkers who never left that side of the room, and some just lightly sampling, here and there. Still, I think a good time was had by all, and we may have converted a few folks to the world of Virginia wines. So, that said, here are the tallies. Of course, the real winners were our summer teen interns and the Fairfax County agencies they will work at this summer.

Whites-Viognier

Keswick Vineyards 2010 Viognier - 10 votes

DuCard Signature Viognier 2010 - 2 votes

Chester Gap 2009 Reserve Viognier – 7 votes

(Several people said they really loved all the Viogniers. It was a "new" wine to some.)

Whites-Chardonnay

King Family 2009 Chardonnay – 4 votes

Rappahannock Cellars Chardonnay 2009 – 5 votes

29 Vines Reserve Chardonnay 2009 – 1 vote

(I guess we had a bit of an ABC crowd last night) (ABC= Anything but Chardonnay)

Whites-Vidal Blanc

Crushed Cellars Vidal Blanc 2009 – 5 votes

Vintage Ridge 2009 Summer Night – 2 votes

Catocin Creek Vidal Blanc 2010 – 10 votes

(Several persons asked what Vidal Blanc was, which led into a discussion about hybrid grapes. Many folks were really impressed by Vidal and liked both the dry style of Catocin Creek and the semi-sweet versions.)

Rosé/Blush

North Gate 2010 Rosé – 2 votes

Hume Rosé 2010 – 7 votes

(I was surprised that this vote wasn't closer.)

Red: Bordeaux-style Blends

Narmada Melange 2009 – 6 votes

Montfair Wooloomooloo 2009 - 6 votes

Cobbler Mountain Cellars 2009 Meritage – 7 votes

(Several people said that they liked all of these blends and it was difficult to pick a "winner." Also, a few folks became really big fans of the Monfair Wooloomooloo).

Red: Cabernet Franc

Corcoran Vineyard 2009 Cabernet Franc - 6 votes

Miracle Valley 2008 Cabernet Franc – 5 votes

White Hall Vineyards 2008 Cabernet – 1 vote

Capitol Vineyards 2009 Cabernet - 3 votes

(Many people said that they liked all of these Cabernet Francs).

Red: Chambourcin blends

Gadino Cellars Imagine – 7 votes

Delfosse 2007 Cuvee Laurent -6 votes

Pippin Hill Farm Winemaker's Select Red– 2 votes

(Many people also said that they liked all of these Chambourcin blends).

Just for Fun/Dessert:

AmRhein Ruby– 4 votes

Corcoran Cello - 3 votes

Lost Creek Courtney’s Christmas – 2 votes (although this was the first empty bottle of the night – hmmmm??)

Thank you to the FUUSE team for all the food and set/up and clean up for our party. If you would like an invite for next year, please let us know.

Back to Barrel Oak - again

2012-01-21T14:09:00.000-05:00

We went out to Barrel Oak Winery early on a Sunday morning. If you are a fan of Barrel Oak, but not a fan of the crowds they usually generate, this is the time to come. It was nice having our enthusiastic wine pourer all to ourselves. She really knew and enjoyed the Barrel Oak wines.

Guests are offered 2 different tastings, each with 6 wines, the BOW and the WOW at $6 each, or both for $10. We did the combined BOW and WOW tastings. These included:

Montand Sparkling N/V. This Blanc de Blanc is the opening wine for both tastings. It is sparkling white wine, made from Ugni Blanc, from Cotes de Jura, France.

The least crowded I have seen Barrel Oak

The second wine we tasted is on the BOW tasting. It is the 2010 BowHaus White ($26), a blend of Vidal Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Chardonnay, and Seyval Blanc. Fermented and aged in stainless steel with 1.8 percent residual sugar. This is Barrel Oak's most popular wine, and certainly ranks right up there with as a great summer porch and picnic wine.

The next wine is also on the BOW tasting. This was the 2009 Barrel-Fermented Chardonnay ($28). This Chardonnay has been through malolactic fermentation so it had a buttery finish and had a hint of vanilla from the oak barrels. We enjoyed this wine a lot.

The third wine to taste in the combined tasting is the 2009 Reserve Chardonnay ($30) (stainless steel fermented). This wine is the on the WOW tasting. It recently won a double gold medal at the 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. This is a very good "naked" Chardonnay but we were more partial to the barrel fermented one.

Yes, Barrel Oak has space at the bar on early Sunday mornings

On to the reds.
The 2009 BowHaus Red ($26) is a blend of Merlot, Syrah, Chambourcin, and Malbec is aged in French, Hungarian, and American Oak. It is on the WOW tasting. It is crisp, flavorful red with raspberry flavors.
The 2009 Merlot ($29) is on the BOW tasting. This is a solid, well-made Virginia Merlot.
The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon ($31) is on the WOW tasting. The grapes for this wine are sourced from Breaux vineyards. I found it a bit young. Carol, as her usual, was not a fan of the Cab Sauv.
The 2009 Cabernet Franc ($34) is on the BOW tasting. This was a wonderful Cabernet Franc. The wine was velvety smooth and very fruity. It also had black pepper on the nose. This is one we took home. (All wines are $2 off if you take them to go).
The 2009 Petit Verdot ($39) is on the WOW tasting. I liked this one too. The PV was inky dark and had good flavors, being very smooth and balanced.

The Chocolate Lab Dessert Wine ($31) is port-style Chambourcin infused with essences drawn from cocoa beans added to the wine during secondary fermentation. The wine is aged in recovered whiskey barrels with 5 percent residual sugar. It finishes both the BOW and the WOW tastings with a sweet, chocolate-like ending.

After our tasting and purchase we introduced ourselves to Brian, one of the owners, who showed us the basement area where the fermentation tanks and barrels are. This part of the winery can be viewed by anyone as part of a self-guided tour. Brian told us that they made about 7500 cases of wine last year and they plan to increase to 10,000 cases of wine in the near future.

Brian also pointed out the white farm house across the fields and told us it had belonged to John Marshall. Barrel Oaks plans to turn John Marshall's old house into another tasting room complete with their own labels. Watch for this new space - it should be an exciting addition.

Barrel Oak Winery
3623 Grove Lane
Delaplane, VA 20144
540-364-6402

Virginia Wine Party fundraiser

2012-01-21T05:20:00.001-05:00

Carol and I are having a fundraising at our church tonight for a program that recruits teens associated with our church to work internships of 80 -120 hours at social service agencies over the summer.

We will have an evening of Virgina wine tasting. We will compare VA Wine categories and select winning wines from each one. Here are the wines we will taste this evening. The notes are from the wineries.

Whites- Viognier

Keswick Vineyards 2010 Viognier After 24 hours of cold storage, the Viognier fruit was whole cluster pressed and the juice transferred to stainless steel tanks for natural settling. The wine was matured on the gross lees for 8 months prior to bottling. Bottled June 1, 2011. Pale straw color; Nose – Initial hints of green apples with honeysuckle and peaches following. Palate – Fruit forward style of wine with yellow fruits, subtle hints of oak all balanced by vibrant acidity.

DuCard Signature Viognier 2010 Elegant dry white wine with subtle aromas of peaches, honeysuckle and wildflowers that evoke summer mornings in the Virginia countryside. Barrel-fermented and aged in neutral oak to highlight character.

Chester Gap 2009 Reserve Viognier: Barrel aged in French Oak for eight months, lemon and subtle peach aromas with a creamy finish.

Whites- Chardonnay

King Family 2009 Chardonnay - Our Chardonnay is fermented and aged in French oak barrels. With 30 percent new oak, the balance of fruit and oak remains the focus. The nose bursts with white flowers, lemon and pear. The wine exhibits white peach, ripe pear and lemon on the mouth with touches of oak and a smooth, creamy finish. 100 percent malolactic fermentation.

Rappahannock Cellars Chardonnay 2009-- Fermented and aged for 8 months in French and Virginia oak barrels. This Chardonnay offers a heavy perfume of apricot, granny smith apple, and graham cracker on the nose. The palate is treated to apple, oak, and hay character against a sublime texture.

29 Vines Reserve Chardonnay 2009. 100 percent barrel aged Chardonnay; This classically styled Chardonnay is made from grapes harvested from Autumn Hill’s 30 plus years old vines in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Barrel fermented and sur lie aged 14 months to bring out notes of toasty French oak and butterscotch.

Whites- Vidal Blanc

Crushed Cellars Vidal Blanc 2009 -- Our Vidal Blanc was made using only the finest grapes and shows its sweetness, 2.3 percent on the natural residual sugars and very fruity aromas.

Vintage Ridge 2009 Summer Night -- Off-Dry 100 percent Vidal Blanc Melon, Pear, Pineapples, Almonds, Hazelnuts. Perfect with: Date with Goat Cheese, Hot Peach Chutney, Spiced Pecans, Watermelon, Thai food, Crab Cakes, Fruit Tarts, Spiced Pecans

Catocin Creek Vidal Blanc 2010 -- Not your usual Vidal! Dry and earthy with citrus, pear and melon aromas. Medium-bodied with a gentle finish! Great with goat cheese, shrimp and chicken.

Rosé/Blush

North Gate 2010 Rosé - Our goal with this wine was to create a dry rosé that would showcase the bright strawberry and cherry flavors of the Chambourcin grape, while retaining the tingling spice on the finish of a Malbec rosé that we fell in love with.

Hume Rosé 2010 - Produced from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, red fruit, especially strawberry shine on the nose and palate.

Red: Bordeaux-style Blends

Narmada Melange 2009 Narmada Winery’s Melange wine is the latest vintage of our popular French style red wine, a blend of 40 percent Cabernet Franc, 40 percent Merlot, 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10 percent Tannat. A medium-bodied wine with complex flavors of cassis and blackberry and just the right amount of well-structured tannins make this an excellent pairing for a filet mignon, balsamic marinated portabellas or strong well-aged cheddar.

Montfair Wooloomooloo 2009 - Components: Petit Verdot 60 percent, Merlot 30 percent, Cabernet Franc 10 percent. Oak aged 24 months

Cobbler Mountain Cellars 2009 Meritage A dreamy blend of 40 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 40 percent Merlot and 20 percent Cabernet Franc ~this sophisticated union of reds reveals an easy blend of spice, tannins and oak.

Red: Cabernet Franc

Corcoran Vineyard 2009 Cabernet Franc Our 100 percent Cabernet Franc wine is showing typical dark cherry and raspberry fruit flavors balanced with hints of spicy black pepper.

Miracle Valley 2008 Cabernet Franc Our 100 percent varietal estate grown Cabernet Franc shares many of the same phenolic and aroma compounds as our Cabernet Sauvignon but with some differences. Our Cabernet Franc is more lightly pigmented and but it produces wines with the same level of intensity and richness. It has more pronounced perfume with notes of raspberries, black currants and violets.

White Hall Vineyards 2008 Cabernet Franc A very mellow Cabernet Franc, nice and smooth with aromas of fresh cedar and blackberry. Leading with smoke and roasted fennel seed flavors, this wine finishes with oak and hints of ripe olive. A mixture of 88 percent Cabernet Franc, 8 percent Petit Verdot, and 4 percent Chambourcin.

Capitol Vineyards 2009 Cabernet Franc This Cabernet Franc was produced exclusively with high quality Virginian Cabernet Franc grapes and aged in partial oak for seven months.

Red: Chambourcin blends

Gadino Cellars Imagine: This is a big, deep red wine with a velvety soft mouth feel and abundant fruitiness. It is a robust selection comprised of 40 percent Chambourcin, 40 percent Cabernet Franc and 20 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. While the components of the wine are robust, this was created to be an easy drinking wine to be enjoyed on its own.

Pippin Hill Farm Winemaker's Select Red - Our Pippin Hill Winemaker's Select Red is a blend Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin. It was aged in new oak barrels to bring out the character of the varietals.

Delfosse 2007 Cuvee Laurent A Chambourcin based blend of 72 percent Chambourcin, 22 percent Cabernet Franc and 6 percent Merlot was aged 9 months in French Oak barrels. This rich concentrated red wine has bright fruit, soft tannins and slight oak with a rich structure, which enhances the rich bright fruit of this round, smooth red wine. With great balance and lively acidity, the many layers of red fruit and mild smokiness are backed by length on the finish.

Just for Fun/Dessert:

AmRhein Ruby A provocative blend of red wine blended in to a decadent aroma and mouth feel reminiscent of red raspberry and sweet chocolate.

Corcoran Cello Cello is made out of Petit Manseng grapes and fortified with heavenly spirits with a touch of lemon zest.

Lost Creek Courtney’s Christmas This dessert wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Chambourcin, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The hints of cranberry and clove make it a delightful wine to accompany fruit desserts.

The Just for Fun wines really aren't comparable. The Bordeaux-style blends have a large variation in varietals, and in one case a varietal not from Bordeaux (although from France). It will be interesting to see the favorites in each category. Some will be very close, I think. We will raise some funds and introduce Virginia wines to people not familiar to them. Some of our Virginia wine blogger cabal have said they will come by. It should be fun.

Hunter’s Run Wine Barn

2012-01-18T05:23:00.001-05:00

We visited Geri Nolan's Hunters Run Wine Barn on a Sunday afternoon. Tastings at the Wine Barn are $7.00 each. Beth was our wonderful tasting room staff person. She was friendly and certainly knew all about the wines she was serving at the Wine Barn.

The wines at the Wine Barn are from Cave Ridge or are Hunters Run own label, made on contract, at Cave Ridge. Hunters Run is now a winery, not just a tasting room, as Geri has planted vines on site and is leasing vineyards in the Valley.
There were two whites to start the tasting, a Cave Ridge Riesling and the Hunters Run 2008 Viognier. The Reisling had typical apple flavors and some sweetness. To be honest, we weren't big fans of the Viognier.

Cave Ridge Ramblin Rose is a tasty, semi-dry blend of of Viognier, Traminette, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. The Hunters Run 2009 Chambourcin was a very smooth, fruity, well-made wine. We liked how smooth and fruity this wine is.

The Cave Ridge Cabernet Franc has 20 percent Syrah blended in, which gave it an even more spicy finish.

The Hunters Run Wine Barn Red is a blend of 60 percent Cabernet Franc, 20 percent Chambourcin and 20 percent Petit Verdot and it was aged for 10 months in French Oak. I really enjoyed this well-crafted blend and took a bottle home.

Cave Ridge La Petite Traminette is a wine we have tried before at Cave Ridge. We still have a bottle of this on the shelf from our trip out to Cave Ridge. The wine is very floral with 5 percent residual sugar.

Hunters Run Todd was a clear winner. This is a port-style wine named after Geri's father who passed away last year. Made with Chambourcin and aged for 14 months in Bourbon barrels, Todd is fortified with Bourbon and is far smoother than one would expect with a 17.5 percent alcohol content. We both were really impressed by the smooth texture and taste of this wine. We bought a bottle of this to take home. Beth said this was her last bottle. (I think Geri has more somewhere).

Last we had "Geri's Sangria" made with the Viognier and the Riesling. This was very tasty indeed and a great wine to conclude our tasting. The Hunters Run Wine Barn was a very nice place to spend some time on an afternoon.

Geri told us she hopes to have her last three labels approved sometime in late February. Then we can try the Hunters Run versions of Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Raspberry Merlot.

Hunters Run Wine Barn

40325 Charlestown Pike
Hamilton, 20158

703-926-4183

Wolf Gap Vineyard

2012-01-16T12:11:00.002-05:00

We had never visited Wolf Gap Vineyard so we swung by on our Shenandoah valley visit a while back.

Wolf Gap has 5 acres under vine, one acre each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Chambourcin, and Traminette. Their tasting room opened in 2008.

The winery takes its name from the Wolf Gap in the mountains, which can be seen from the wrap-around deck. The tasting room is located on the second floor.

Tastings are $5 at Wolf Gap and you keep the glasses. The day we visited there were 7 wines to taste: two whites ( a Viognier-Traminette blend and a Chardonnay); 4 reds ( A Merlot, a Cabernet Franc, a Cabernet Franc Reserve, and a wine called Chamerlot Reserve), and a semi-sweet blueberry wine. Active duty and retired military get a discount.

Wolf Gap Vineyard

123 Stout Road
Edinburg, VA 22824Office: (540) 984-3306

Pearmund Cellars yet again

2012-01-15T10:08:00.009-05:00

We decided to swing by Pearmund Cellars to eat our lunch on our way home from Old House. Of course, that lunch was now an early dinner. We hadn't eaten our lunch earlier as we had enjoyed the great small plates at Morais Vineyards earlier in the day.

Tastings at Pearmund are $10 per person ($15 in a group). We were fortunate to have our Tuskie's Wine Trail Map with us, so our tastings were free. We had to taste everything to decide what to have with lunch, didn't we? There were 14 wines on the tasting sheet.

Rather than write up every wine, I recommend folks click on this link and read about fellow wine blogger Julie's visit last November. We generally agree with Julie's write up. We wound up purchasing a bottle of the Riesling ($19) for our lunch and a bottle of the Old Vine Chardonnay ($23) to take home. The Riesling wasn't a typical Riesling. It had very strong apple-like flavors and was quite crisp.

The only wine we didn't care for was the 2007 Vin de Sol ($25), which is just because we do not like this style of wine.

Pearmund Cellars is one of our long-time favorite Virginia wineries. We know that each time we visit we will have an enjoyable time with the wines and the winery.

Pearmund Cellars
6190 Georgetown Rd.
Broad Run, VA 20137
540-347-3475

Another visit to Old House Vineyards

2012-01-13T05:02:00.000-05:00

After visiting Morais we agreed to meet Virginiawineknow and friend at Old House Vineyards, a favorite of all of us.

The tastings are $5 each to taste 10 wines. We love Old House for the atmosphere, as well as the wines. This visit we were "greeted" by a large Christmas tree in the front hallway. When we arrived the tasting room bar was full so a staff person set us up at a table in the center of the room. I liked the wines so much I neglected to take any photos inside.

First up is the Old Hose Pétillante ($35), an enjoyable sparkling wine. On prior visits we have missed out on this one, so we were glad we were finally were able to taste this refreshing, yeasty sparkling wine. I definitely would include it on my short list of go to Virginia bubblies.

The standard whites begin with a totally dry Vidal Blanc named Clover Hill ($15). Next came the Chardonnay ($17), which had a nice hint of creaminess. Then we tried the Vidal Blanc ($14) a nice, off-dry white and a real crowd pleaser. Of these 3, today we choose the Vidal Blanc for a trip home. And we also decided to buy the next wine, Rosie's Rosé ($15), made from Cabernet Franc, is served chilled. This off-dry wine exhibited tasty raspberry flavors.

(We were happy to see the giant chess set back on the front lawn. It was missing on our last visit. Just a bit too chilly to play a game today.)

Moving onto the reds. The Cabernet Franc ($17) is a good solid example of this reliable Virginia grape. The Wicked Bottom Chambourcin ($18) is always one of our favorites and one we took home.
The Bacchanalia ($21) is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, and Tannat. We still have a bottle of this blend on the shelves aging.

Finally, two well-made dessert wines. Old House Arctica ($23 for 375 ml) is made from Vidal grapes which are deep-frozen post-harvest to create this quite well-balanced dessert wine.
The Chambourcin Dessert Wine (port-style)($25 for 375ml bottle) is another favorite of ours. We still have a bottle awaiting opening sometime soon.

While we were inside I heard a lady at the tasting bar tell her friend that she liked every wine she tasted. Old House is like that, a wide variety of quality wines.

Old House Vineyards is one of our favorite Virginia wineries. A great location, great staff, and great wines are all awaiting a visitor.

Old House Vineyards

18351 Corkys Lane
Culpeper, VA 22701

540-423-1032

Morais Vineyards and Winery

2012-01-09T05:26:00.000-05:00

We last visited Morais Vineyards and Winery last July. Morais Vineyards opened for week-end tastings over New Year's, although they have been open for weddings and other events for a while now. When we arrived shortly after noon on Saturday Noreen and Candace were in the tasting room to lead customers in their tastings. We really liked these two. They were very friendly. Their admiration for Mr. Morais, the owner, was evident. Victor, the vineyard manager, is back in Portugal right now but is expected back shortly. Mr. Morais, we were told, has also hired a winemaker from France to make the French-derived varieties (Cabernet Franc, Merlot) while Victor will make the Portuguese ones (Touriga, "Green Wine" Albarino, Jeropiga).

Tastings are $7 for six wines, which today was accompanied by a small plate of Serrano Ham and Machego cheese imported from Spain, and home-made Portuguese-style bread.

Tasting Room

The tasting started with Morais Select White wine ($15). This wine is made from Rkatsitelli, a wine that originated in Georgia (the country, not the state). The wine was spicy and floral and had a good balance. This one came home with us. The second white was named Battlefield ($14) and is a combination of Vidal Blanc and Albarino. The tasting room folks said this was Morais version of a "green wine." It is meant to be drunk young.

Tasting Room

Next up was the Rose wine ($14), made from 100 percent Cabernet Franc. This is a dry rose, with subtle strawberry flavor. We enjoyed this wine and purchased a bottle to take home.

The red wine tasting starts with the Morais Select ($16) a 50/50 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and aged in French Oak barrels. This wine has improved since we first tasted it in July. We were told that they are planning to do single varietal wines of these two grapes as the harvests improve. Next up was a Touriga National, a Portuguese variety that made a full-bodied, smooth, dry wine.

Tasting Room

The final wine is Jeropiga ($9 for 375 ml) This is made from partially fermented red wine and brandy. This wine packs a velvet punch, so beware. The taste is sweet and nutty (think caramel corn). A bottle of this came home too.

Main ballroom from balcony

Morais has a first-class operation going. We also were able to see the chapel, which was just a plan last time we were there. The facility is looks great.

We like where Morais Vineyards and Winery plans to go with the wines in the future too. The tasting sheet says they plan to release Moscatel Virginia in 2012.

Address	11409 Marsh Road, Bealeton, VA 22712
Phone	703-369-2241

8 Chains North - visit four

2012-01-08T05:22:00.000-05:00

We visited 8 chains north with our daughter and son-in-law on Christmas Eve.

Ben Renshaw was working so his employees could have the day off. We got there just at opening, and had the place to ourselves. It was nice to have some time with Ben. There were two whites and 4 reds to taste.

Ben poured us a taste of his 2009 Sauvignon Blanc ($20). The wine is aged for 7 months in neutral French Oak. Ben told us this Sauvignon Blanc is more Loire Valley style than New Zealand style. The other white wine Ben poured was the 2010 LoCo Vino ($18) a 54/46 blend of Traminette and Vidal Blanc. We liked the refreshing acidity with the various fruit flavors and took home a bottle.

After a quick rinse we were treated to some reds. First up was the 2008 Merlot ($20). This was a well-made Virginia Merlot. Next up was an unusual wine, the Otium Cellars 2009 Dornfelder. Dornfelder was inky black with an earthy and spicy taste to it.

Then we tried two Furnace Mountain Reds, the Red ($22) and Red Reserve ($27). Ben told us he didn't have any Cabernet Franc and he knew that Clyde at Hiddencroft didn't have any Merlot, so they swapped a barrel of each with each other. Furnace Mountain Red is a Bordeux-style red blend as is the Furnace Mountain Red Reserve. The reserve has a slightly different varietal mix of the five classic grapes and is aged another year in the barrel. I took home a bottle of the Furnace Mountain Red Reserve. My son-in-law chose the Furnace Mountain Red.

8 Chains North Winery
38593 Daymont Lane
Waterford, 20197-1038
571-439-2255

CrossKey Vineyards

2012-01-06T05:04:00.000-05:00

CrossKeys Vineyards is a large winery that opened in May 2008, although the first vines were planted in 2002 and first wines were produced in 2006. Stephan Heyns, a native South African and former winemaker at Oakencroft, is the CrossKeys winemaker. CrossKeys has a beautiful facility. The main rooms were closed as they were being prepared for a big New Year's party. But the inviting tasting room and patios were open when we visited.

Unfortunately for us, CrossKeys was all sold out of dry white wines when visited. Tastings on the day we visited were limited to red wines and dessert wines. Tastings were $7 to try 8 wines, plus their mulled wine. We found the tasting room staff friendly and very well-informed about the CrossKey wines.

We enjoyed the CrossKeys wines we tasted. We wound up purchasing two. The Pinot Noir (on sale $16) was lighter than most Pinots, but was very tasty. It had the cherry and earthiness flavors common to Pinot Noir. I was intrigued by that fact that a Virginia Pinot Noir was actually produced that tasted well. Our other purchase was the 2009 Joy Red ($16.50). This was a very nice Chambourcin with good fruit.

Other wines that really stood out at CrossKeys included the 2009 Ali d'Oro($30) . It is listed as a Late Harvest Traminette, but it tastes more like a Petit Manseng to us, although with the distinctive Traminette flowery aroma. We also very much liked the 2008 Tavern ($38), the CrossKeys version of a "port-like" wine made from Touriga National. But we have several "port like" Virginia wines right now so no purchase this time. We also enjoyed the 2009 Merlot ($19) and 2009 Cabernet Franc ($23).

All in all, we found CrossKeys a very nice place to visit and taste wines. We certainly will return.

CrossKeys Vineyards

6011 East Timber Ridge Road
Mt. Crawford, VA 22841

540-234-0505

Bluestone Vineyard

2012-01-05T05:29:00.000-05:00

We had never been to Bluestone Vineyard before. Bluestone has 12 acres under vine. They grow Chambourcin, Norton, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Golden Muscat, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot.

The Bluestone tasting room in a building that is partially built into a hillside. The tasting room is on the second floor, but is accessed from outside via a gentle path from the parking area. The tasting room has windows looking into the tank room of the winery and out towards the vineyard.

Bluestone Winery opened in January 2011, although the family had made wines for themselves earler. Bluestone has a tasting fee of $5.00. There were 12 wines to taste, five white wines, six red wines, and one dessert wine.

We wound up purchasing two wines from Bluestone. The Quartz Hill Red ($18.50) is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin. We found the wine verry fruity with a long finish. The other red wine was the Crooked and Weedy ($15.50), named for an abandonded train track that once went through the property. This wine is on the sweet side made mostly from Chambourcin with about 4 percent Zinfandel. The server made a point of telling us that is was indeed a Virginia grown Zinfandel.

We also enjoyed the 2010 Chardonnay ($18.50) with its creamy after taste, the 2010 Traminette($17.50) which was spicy and a touch sweet, and Beau ($15.50) a Vidak Blanc/Traminette blend named for a golden retriever. Beau had 3 percent residual sugar, but is nicely balanced and came with a good, long finish. Bluestone did earn a gold medal in the 2011 Governor's Cup for their Blue Ice, an ice wine made from Traminette.

Bluestone Winery is making some good wine for such a young winery. We will definitely return when we are in this part of the Valley.

Bluestone Vineyard
4828 Spring Creek Road
Bridgewater, 22812
540-828-0099

Back to Barren Ridge

2012-01-03T19:59:00.000-05:00

Following our visit to Ox Eye we drove a few miles east to Barren Ridge Vineyards. We were impressed with Barren Ridge on our last trip and wanted to sample the new vintages.

Barren Ridge has a very nice facility fairly close to both I-81 and I-64. The tasting room and vineyard are located on a former apple orchard owned by the family. Barren Ridge Vineyards owners John and Shelby Higgs converted their old apple barn into a winery. Some of the original beams can be seen in tasting room. There is also a patio to view the great scenes across the Valley

Basic tastings at Barren Ridge for 8 of their wines are complimentary. The reserve tasting is $5 and includes all the wines in the complimentary tasting plus 6 reserve wines. Take our word for it, spend the $5.00. The tasting sheet that day had 14 wines to taste, 7 white and 7 red (including the Rose).

The Barren Ridge tasting sheet has tasting notes and 5 wineglasses. Tasters are invited to circle the number of glasses to rate their favorites. The lowest rating I assigned to any of the wines was 3.5 wine glasses. Each wine was at least an above average Virginia wine. We purchased a bottle of of the 2009 Chardonnay to have with lunch. We re-corked it to take home. We appreciated the fact that we could bring in a picnic and our dog into the tasting room.

We brought home another bottle of the 2009 Chardonnay, a bottle of of the 2009 Harmony, and a bottle of the 2009 Rose.

The 2009 Chardonnay was terrific. This Chardonnay has great fruit with a hint of both nutty and butter flavors, all with great acidity.

The 2010 Harmony is a semi- sweet blend of Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Viognier, Petit Manseng, and Traminette. This is a change from the 2009 blend, but we thought it a great wine with citrus flavors, apricot, honey all balanced with great acidity. Harmony has 1.9 percent residual sugar.

The 2009 Rose is a medium dry blend of 6 wines- Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Touriga, Chambourcin and Petit Verdot. This wine had a hint of strawberry and a crisp finish. When we arrived home we both said we should have purchased more than a single bottle.

Besides these three we purchased, we thought the 2008 Merlot was really outstanding, as well as the 2009 Petit Verdot. Both these red wines were rated 5 wine glasses by us. We also were very impressed by the 2009 Christoff dessert wine, a blend of Traminette and Vidal Blanc with all kinds of fruit flavors and a spicy finish. But as we said earlier, all of the Barren Ridge wines were very good, these wines we are describing were just the ones we liked best and assigned "5 wine glasses." Most wines were rated at least "4 wine glasses" by us.

Following this visit we added Barren Ridge to our list of favorite Virginia wineries. This is a "must visit" winery if you are in the area.

Barren Ridge Vineyards

984 Barren Ridge Road
Fishersville, VA 22939

540-248-3300

Chris Pearmund announces sale of Winery at La Grange

2012-01-01T12:54:00.000-05:00

Chris Pearmund announced the sale of the Winery at La Grange to a large Chinese concern on the Washington Business Report this morning. Chris will remain a participant for the next five years.

See video here: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/12/washington-business-report-jan-1-2012-70874.html

Ox Eye Vineyards

2012-01-01T08:06:00.000-05:00

After a great time at Rockbridge we set our GPS towards the fairly new wine tasting room for Ox Eye Vineyards, which is located in Staunton. The tasting room is located in the Wharf district in Staunton instead of at the vineyards. This is an interesting part of Staunton with art galleries, bakeries, and coffee shops, not far from the central city with the major hotels.

The Ox Eye tasting room is a bit unusual. There is a kind of sitting room off to one side and the tasting bar to the other. There is also a covered patio area out back, but with winter here it is not being used.

Tastings at Ox Eye are $5, with nine wines on the tasting menu. Unfortunately, Ox Eye is all sold out of their Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, and Lembeger.
Our first white was the 2010 Chardonnay. Although stainless steel fermented, this Chardonnay had a creaminess that went well with the classic apple and pear flavors. The Chardonnay also had a long finish with some citrus flavors lingering. A very good Chardonnay.

The Riesling came next. Although it has 1.25 percent residual sugar the acidity balances that to the point where you really don't get sweetness as much as a full mouth feel.

Next was the White Ox 2009. This is a blend of Chardonnay and Riesling. This wine would make a good summer sipper with its 3 percent residual sugar.

Finally, came Brad's Stickdog Petit Manseng 2008. This wine is made by Brad McCarthy. The tasting notes say quince aromas, but since I don't think I ever have had quince I would say pineapple. Although not a dessert wine, with the intense fruit flavors it comes close, but balanced by acidity.

We then tasted two reds. First was the 2009 Cabernet Franc. This was a robust Cabernet Franc with a bit of cherry, some raspberry, and a bit of black pepper.

The Brad's Stickdog Lemberger was the other red available. This wine is also made by Brad McCarthy and is aged for three years in oak. This Lemberger has an aroma of dark ripe cherries. The wine is spicy and peppery, and with good acidity. The oak aging has made the wine velvety smooth. We purchased this wine, both because we enjoyed it and to do a comparison to a bottle of Otium Cellars Blaufränkisch from Loudoun County that we have. (Blaufränkisch is another name for Lemberger).

We liked the wines at Ox Eye and thought the tasting room fit quite nicely into the area of town where it is located. We hope to try a future vintage of their Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, and Lembeger

Ox Eye Vineyards
44 Middlebrook Avenue
Staunton, 24401

Rockbridge Vineyard

2011-12-31T14:58:00.000-05:00

We had a rare weekday off so headed down I-81 to visit some Shenandoah Valley wineries. First up was Rockbridge Vineyard. Rockbridge Vineyard produces a wide range of wines. You can be sure to find something that you will enjoy. We certainly did.

Rockbridge is a bit south of Staunton near Interstate 81. The vineyard is owned by Shep and Jane Rouse. Shep apparently is well-know in the Virginia wine scene, having formerly been winemaker at Mountdomaine. The couple purchased the farm in 1992.

We tasted several wines at Rockbridge and really liked all of the wines we tasted, except for the Norton (We really don't care for Norton). Since we really don't like wines with Concord grape in them we declined tasting the wines made from Concord grapes, although these are big sellers for Rockbridge. Rockbridge has two lines, the Rockbridge line and the reserve wines with the De Chiel name from Shep’s French Huegenot ancestors. The De Chiel line has the family crest on the label.

Here are descriptions of the wines we took home with us:

The 2010 DeChiel Chardonnay Reserve ($15) is aged in French oak. This Chardonnay is their reserve and had great color, and a creamy, almost buttery finish. At $15 this wine is a steal.

The 2007 Traminette ($14) had a restrained floral aroma and great taste.

The 2007 DeChiel Cabernet Franc Reserve ($15) was smooth, fruity, and soft tannins. It was a great Cabernet Franc for the price.

The 2009 V d’Or ($24), An ice-wine style made from Vidal Blanc, Riesling, Vignoles, and Traminette. This was sweet (15 percent residual sugar) with really pronounced honey and orange flavors. The wine also has a lot of acidity to balance the sweetness. This is a very well-done dessert wine.

We tasted several other wines that we found were quite good. On the white side, the 2008 Vignoles stood out. First, it is an unusual grape to find in Virginia, and the 2.5 percent residual sugar is really kept in check by the acidity. This makes for a very drinkable white. The 2010 Tuscarora White is zesty. It has delightful pineapple fruit flavor, a touch of residual sugar, 1.5 percent, but with balancing acidity. One very interesting white was the 2010 Pinot Noir Blanc de Noir. This white Pinot Noir was light yellow in color with peach flavors.

The 2008 Tuscarora Red is a blend of Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Norton, and DeChaunac, which is aged in oak for one year. The 2008 DeChiel Merlot was quite nice with good flavor.

Jane opened some local cheese for customers to try with crackers during the tasting. We appreciated that the sales prices for the local cheeses were so low compared to many wineries. We took some home with us.

We found Rockbridge to be a charming place with friendly staff. We will definitely return next time we are in the area.

Rockbridge Vineyard
35 Hill View Lane
Raphine, VA 24472
888-511-9463

Terrific Tarara

2011-12-29T18:15:00.000-05:00

We left Hidden Brook to visit Tarara. It has been a while. We had tasted a couple of Tarara wines at the 29 Vines tasting room a while back and were impressed. So we decided it was time to visit.

Tarara has beautiful grounds and is situated along the Potomac river. Now that it is winter you can really see a large section of the Potomac through the bare trees. You usually only catch glimpses in summer.

Tastings at Tarara consist of six wines. Tasting fees are $10 per person, but we had the Tuskies map with a coupon for two free tastings and 10 percent off purchases. What a great deal. The staff at the register where you pay for your tastings, along with any purchases after, was friendly.

The tasting room wasn't crowded. There was a group we had seen at Fabbioli and a couple from Maryland with whom we we talked to a bit and gave them our card. While we were tasting Jen and Bryan came in. They are both Tarara club members whom we have met several times on the Virginia Wine Trail.

The wines we tasted at Tarara were terrific. Tarara has really stepped up the quality of the wines. The first white wine we tried was the Tarara White 2010 ($15). This is a blend of mostly Chardonnay with Pinot Gris and Viognier. We loved it. There was great balance between fruit and acidity and had a long finish. At $15, plus our discount, this was a real bargain.

We also really liked the second white wine we tasted, the 2010 Viognier ($15). The tasting room staff said the grapes came from Williams gap. We both loved this Viognier. It was very fruity, but balanced with the acid and again, a long finish.

The last white was the Charval ($20). This wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Gris. It had a touch of residual sugar and tasted great, but the finish seemed to drop off quicker than the other two whites.

The next wine on the tasting menu was Long Bomb edition Three ($20). I really liked this wine, which is a blend of 88 percent Merlot, 8 percent Cabernet Franc, and 8 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Besides being very smooth and with lots of fruit I was getting some really nice herbal flavors. The wine had a long finish too. I also got a preview of the Long Bomb edition Four - looking forward to seeing how this matures. Long Bomb Edition One is still available for tasting. Edition One has softened a bit with time, but is still pretty tight with firm tannins. I prefer the more accessible Edition Three, but mentioned to Carol that I would like to try it through our aerator. We were also able to try the unreleased Long Bomb Four. This was another big, fruity, red. If my notes are correct this Long Bomb is a blend of 53 percent Cabernet Franc, 25 percent Merlot, 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 6 percent Pinot Noir, 4 percent Petit Verdot, and the reminder Tanat. (Jordan, is that correct?)

Next up was the 2009 Cabernet Franc ($20). We liked this Cabernet Franc a lot. It was very smooth and fruity. Carol liked the fact that there were only light tannins present.

The staff had some of the Nevaeh Red ($40) open so our server let us taste it. The grapes for this wine are all from the Hill Block of the estate Nevaeh Vineyard. It is a blend of 71 percent Merlot, 23 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 6 percent Cabernet Franc. This was a fantastic wine, but we wondered whether Nevaeh Red at $40 may be a priced bit high for most visitors. It was a very good wine though, very smooth, with a lots of different fruit flavors coming through.

We really enjoyed Tarara. We visited on a Sunday so it wasn't crowded. It was really nice to see Jen and Bryan again. We took home three wines from Tarara - the Tarara White, the Viognier, and the Cabernet Franc. We have talked about making some time in 2012 to attend one of the Premier tastings at Tarara. Jen and Bryan said they were really fun and informative. All in all a great visit. Tarara is doing some great things. Check them out.

Tarara Winery
13648 Tarara Lane
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
703-771-7100

All in the Family: Lost Creek and Hidden Brook

2011-12-27T04:57:00.001-05:00

We travelled up the gravel road from Fabiolli Cellars towards the neighboring wineries of Lost Creek Winery and Hidden Brook Winery. Hidden Brook Winery is located in a log cabin built by the owners Eric and Deborah Hauck. Eric's parents, Bob and Carol Hauck own Lost Creek Winery, which is about 100 feet away.

Lost Creek Tasting Room decorated for the Holidays

We visited Lost Creek Winery first. Lost Creek has Tuscan-style architecture including gardens and arbors. Lost Creek charges $7 per person to taste 10 wines. It is normally 11 but they are currently out of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Lost Creek has 4 whites, 1 Rose, 3 Reds, and 2 dessert/speciality wines on the tasting menu. After our tasting, we purchased a bottle of the Sweet Summer ($15). This unique wine has about 25 percent Apple Wine blended with Chardonnay and Viognier and comes in at 4 percent residual sugar. This wine tasted less sweet than expected though and was surprisingly refreshing.

We still have two bottles at home of the always popular Courtney's Christmas ($20/375ml), a blend of Vidal Blanc, Chambourcin, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. We have found that this wine goes very well with spice cake and the staff at Lost Creek says it goes very well with a baked ham.

Tasting Bar at Lost Creek

Lost Creek Vineyards and Winery
43277 Spinks Ferry Road
Leesburg, VA 20176

After our visit at Lost Creek we went down the private road and made a sharp right to enter Hidden Brook's parking lot. Tastings at Hidden Brook are $7.00 for 9 wines. Tastings begin with the Reserve White ($18), a blend of Vidal and Niagara, which tastes strongly of the Niagara grape and has a strong aroma of Niagara grape too. If you like Niagara, you will enjoy this wine. If you aren't a fan of Niagara you probably will not.

The next wine up was the Chardonnay ($18), which I later asked to re-taste as the Niagara still lingered in the glass when I first tasted the Chardonnay. I was glad I asked for a re-taste because the Chardonnay was dry, fruity and had a nice finish. We wound up taking a bottle of this Chardonnay home.

The final white is a semi-sweet Vidal Blanc ($16). This is their best-seller.

Tasting Bar at Hidden Brook

We tasted 4 red wines at Hidden Brook. The Reserve Red ($20) is a 50/50 blend of Chambourcin and Cabernet Sauvignon. Hidden Brook also was pouring a Merlot with some good fruit and finish, a peppery Chambourcin, and a spicy Cabernet Sauvignon. This was followed by a pleasant Rose (actually a Chambourcin/Vidal blend), and their Sweet Amber, made from frozen Chambourcin grapes, which has 4.1 percent residual sugar.

Hidden Brook Winery
43301 Sprinks Ferry Rd.
Leesburg, VA 20176

Fabbioli Cellars - new looks and wines

2011-12-25T11:37:00.000-05:00

We went up to Fabbioli Cellars early on a Sunday afternoon. It had been a while since our last visit. We arrived to find quite a few changes had been made. The tasting room has been tastefully remodeled somewhat and there are more tasting bars.

Fabbioli's tasting fees are now $10 per person, but this includes pairing the wines with either foods or, as in our case, some gourmet chocolates from MC2 Confections. Since we had just had lunch we decided on the chocolates. Wise choice.

The tasting sheet included 8 wines, plus our hostess honored a request to try a bit of the Sangiovese, a new wine (from Fabioli) for us. Folks are seated for tastings at Fabbioli Cellars and tastings are a bit more liesurely than at some of the other Loudoun County wineries.

Award winning wines of Fabbioli Cellars

As Fabbioli is currently out of both their Something White and their Rose they are pouring Hiddencroft 2010 Vidal Blanc ($19). We appreciate this nearly dry white wine from Hiddencroft and have a couple at home on the wine rack. The first wine from Fabbioli we tasted was the Paco Rojo ($16), which we had never tried before. My notes on the tasting sheet are hard to read, but this wine is a Chambourcin-based red blend. It appears to have Sangiovese in it too. We liked it and took home a bottle. Next up was a tasty Chambourcin ($16). Ever notice how well chocolate pairs with Chambourcin? We did. This was followed by the Cabernet Franc ($19) and the Tre Sole ($28) a Bordeaux-style blend.

Next came the "dessert-style" wines. A very good Apertif Pear Wine ($32), the legendary Raspberry Merlot ($22/375ml), and finished with the black raspberry "Port" wine called Rosa Nera ($32).

We enjoyed our visit to Fabbioli Cellars and look forward to visiting again.

Fabbioli Cellars
15669 Limestone School Road
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
703-771-1197

Party in Paradise

2011-12-23T13:45:00.002-05:00

Paradise Springs Winery had their holiday party last Saturday and we decided to go. The free tastings for two were an incentive to arrive between 11AM and noon (Paired with the fact that one of us had to be at work at 2:30pm).

The barrel room is pretty full

The regular tasting included 8 wines: 4 whites, 1 Rose, and three reds. The 2010 Chardonnay ($29) was quite nice with a long, smooth finish and the 2010 Viognier ($27) was similar, both dry and fruity (but definitely Viognier), but my favorite white was the Petit Manseng ($24). The Paradise Springs version is bone dry but has a strong citrus aroma and taste. Carol liked the Sommet Blanc ($21), a stainless steel fermented blend of Vidal Blanc, Traminette, and Chardonnay.

The 2010 Nana's Rose ($21) has really improved in the bottle, with much more restraint than when we first tried it. My favorite red was the 2010 Petit Verdot ($27), with its rich, dark fruit flavors. Since Paradise was offering 10 percent off as party of their holiday celebration, we took home a Nana's Rose and a Petit Verdot to compare them to some other Virginia wines in an upcoming Virginia Wine Party.

We do love having Paradise Springs so close by, and based on the number of folks already there when we were leaving, many of our Fairfax County neighbors feel the same way.

Paradise Springs Winery 13219 Yates Ford Road
Clifton, Virginia 20124
703-830-9463

Corcoran just keeps getting better - again and again

2011-12-22T05:31:00.000-05:00

No pictures this time. We swung by Corcoran Brewing to try the beers. Jim was there and had us sample the Emmanubräu Ale first. This was simply great. When I asked for a growler of it later I discovered it was sold out. Corcoran Brewing is like that. It is so popular that, near closing time, they can sell out a certain variety before you finish tasting the other beers.

Jim is expanding the tasting area by building an addition to move all the brewing apparatus into, freeing up more space for visitors. We were there right before closing and the place was still very busy.

We left Jim and went up to the wine tasting room at Corcoran Vineyards to say hi to Lori. We shared in a glass of Lori's wonderful "Port-like" USB, or Ultra Sweet Beverage. It isn't really ultra sweet. In fact, I think it is actually nicely balanced. This rich, dark USB is made from Chambourcin fortified and aged in whiskey barrels. It is my "I'll take a glass" wine at Corcoran.

Jim and Lori are two of the nicest people in the Virginia wine scene and every trip we take there is wonderful.

Corcoran Vineyards 14635 Corkys Farm Lane
Waterford, VA 20197
540-882-9073

A quick stop at Sunset Hills

2011-12-20T18:13:00.000-05:00

We swung by Sunset Hills Vineyard for a quick tasting the other day. Tastings at Sunset hills are $7.00 each for 6 wines plus their mulled wine. The Chardonnay and Viognier have been placed on the Estate Club Only list.

Service by Stephen was great. I particularly liked the 2009 Sunset Red ($25) a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Tanat, and Petit Verdot.

Sunset Hills is a beautiful place. The large tasting room is in an Amish-restored 140 year-old barn. It is worth a stop if you are out on Rt 9.

Sunset Hills Vineyard38295 Fremont Overlook Lane
Purcellville, Virginia 20132
540-882-4560

North Gate Vineyard

2011-12-17T14:04:00.000-05:00

We suggested to Julie and Lori that we visit North Gate Vineyard , which our regular readers know is one of our favorite wineries. Julie's field is environmental engineering, so North Gate was a great spot for her on that level, as well as the great wines.

We had our lunches with a bottle of the North Gate Rose ($15). Julie and Lori had picked up lunch at Hill High's Country Store located in the same building as Bogati Bodega.

The North Gate Rose wine is a dry Rose of Chambourcin. It is going fast folks. We picked up a couple bottles. We were visited at our table by both owners,Vicki and Mark, and heard more about LEED certification and power usage than we expected, but like I said that's Julie's field.

We tasted 7 wines at North Gate. The fee is $5 but we all had coupons to let us taste free. North Gate is all out of the their gold-medal winning Viognier, but they still have a great Chardonnay ($18) and Petit Manseng ($18) for those who favor whites. We loved both, as well as the Rose mentioned above.

There are 3 reds, the 2009 Cabernet Franc ($18), the 2009 Merlot ($18) and the 2009 Meritage ($20) all wonderful wines. We took home a couple bottles of the Cabernet Franc. The Meritage is 47 percent Cabernet Franc, 26 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 21 percent Petit Verdot, and 6 percent Merlot. We finished with the always tasty Apple Wine ($13).

Mark showed us his wine making area and told us about the wines coming next year. Mark and Vicki have a good layout and will be increasing production a bit. I look forward to more great vintages of Petit Verdot, Viognier, and Cabernet Franc to name just a few. The next Rose will be made of the Bordeaux-type blends and Mark may bottle a Chambourcin. Stay tuned. In the mean-time go visit North Gate and experience this great little winery yourself.

North Gate Vineyard
16031 Hillsboro Road
Purcelleville, VA 20132

Veramar and Bogati Bodega

2011-12-13T21:27:00.001-05:00

It had been over a year since we had visited Veramar Vineyard and we decided it was time for a return trip. We were joined by Julie who blogs at A Rousing Vine and her friend Lori.

Tastings at Veramar are $7 to try 8 wines, or in this case 9, as they were also letting folks taste their mulled wine.

Our favorite wine was the Mourvedre ($23) which one doesn't often see in Virginia, and almost never bottled as a varietal. Mourvedre is usually a blending grape in Rhone-style red wines. We purchased a bottle as we were intrigued by this easy drinking, quite tasty, fruity red.

Veramar Vineyard
905 Quarry Road
Berryville, VA 22611

From Veramar we went to Bogati Bodega. The folks at Veramar were kind enough to give us coupons for $1 tastings at Bogati with our bottle purchase.

Bogati had 7 wines to taste which included the Sangria. We preferred the Bogati Bodega wines over Veramar's even though they are all made at Veramar by Justin Bogaty. They were all out of their Malbec, but had replaced it with a wine called Collection I, a nice blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. I thought the Cabernet Franc ($21) was very smooth and had a great pepper aroma, but Carol persuaded me to go home with the Tango Blu ($17) a blend of Viognier, Riesling, and Vidal Blanc. Bogati makes a Syrah/Mourvedre blend ($20), but I liked the Mouvedre varietal bottling at Veramar better. Bogati Bodega also made a very tasty mulled wine.

Bogati Bodega and Vineyard
35246 Harry Byrd Hwy
Round Hill, VA 20142
540.338.1144

Virginia Wine Quality

2011-12-10T06:05:00.000-05:00

Justin Bogaty, the wine maker at Veramar and Bogati Bodega, recently passed on a story about a person at a wine shop who refused to even taste Virginia wines. The person only drank wines from California, Washington, or other recognized wine region and not "crap from Virginia."

Justin asked a few of us to write about the quality of Virginia wine and sent us the recent Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator "Very Good" ratings of some Virginia wines, including several from Veramar, along with some from Lovingston, Tarara, Bogati Bodega, Keswick, Annefield, and Potomac Point. I suspect the reason more Virginia wines aren't receiving good scores, from Wine Spectator at least, is because the magazine does not have someone dedicated to cover the Other 46. (The Other 46 means the wine produced by states other than California, Washington, Oregon, and New York). I think that is a shame because there are quality wines being made here in Virginia and elsewhere.

For the record, Carol and I think many Virginia wine makers are producing high quality wines. Most wineries in the state are making decent enough wines that no one should refuse to even try them. Further, we suspect the percentage of "crap" wine in Virginia is probably smaller than in most regions covered by Wine Spectator. I know from tastings at Total Wine that California and France have more than their share of "crap" and plonk. I also suspect that Virginia wine scores may be conservative because the wine is Virginia instead of California.

All that being said though, there are a few places in the state that are not producing good wine, in our opinion. So, if someone were driving by and stopped to taste some really lousy wines, we can understand how such an opinion might take hold. It is unfortunate and other wine regions can point to tons of positive press over decades to counter negative experiences. Virginia has a lot less to point to in that regard. But our time is coming.

So congratulations to the wineries above. We are visiting Veramar and Bogati Bodega soon and we certainly won't decline a taste.

Sweely Winery Holiday Open House

2011-12-09T17:33:00.000-05:00

Sweely Winery Holiday Open House taking place this Saturday, December 10^th from 11 am until 5pm in Madison, VA.

The party will be fun for the whole family including visits with Santa, carolers, free horse and buggy rides, crafts and shopping, holiday foods, sweets, hot mulled wine and cider, and of course, wine from Sweely.

The coolest news is that as part of the festivities, Sweely is offering a holiday sale at 30percent off of the entire selection of wines and branded merchandise.

Sweely Estate Winery 6109 Wolftown Hood Road
Madison, Virginia 22727

540-948-9005

"A Taste of Virginia's Own"

2011-12-03T08:20:00.000-05:00

I attended "A Taste of Virginia's Own" the other night (November 30th) at the Hotel Palomar Arlington. All proceeds went directly to the Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry, an organization dedicated to providing comprehensive HIV prevention education for local youth and direct services to meet the needs of those who are living with HIV/AIDS in the Northern Virginia community. Virginia wine tasting in support of a great charity, how great is that?

Kudos to the wonderful Virginia Wineries that were there this year. I know how difficult it is to decide which events and causes to support in these tough times. Here are short descriptions of the supporting wineries:

Annafield Vineyards, who were pouring two superb wines, theit 2010 Viognier and their 2009 Cabernet Franc. Every time I taste Annefield wines I am more impressed than before.

Barboursville Vineyard, who poured a selection of their wines including Pinot Grigio, Octagon, and Malvaxia Passito.

Fabbioli Cellars, who was pouring several wines, including the popular Raspberry Merlot and Pear wines.

Horton Vineyards, who poured several wines including a Viognier.

Paradise Springs Winery, who were pouring their Sommet Blanc and Meritage.

Tarara Winery, who were pouring Viognier, Chardonnay, and their red blend, the Long Bomb.

Unfortunately, the fire alarm went off around 7:30 p.m. After we evacuated, I just went the Metro to head on home. But, NOVAM reports the rest of the evening went well.

Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn

2011-12-02T04:59:00.000-05:00

Our last stop was Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn. Aspen Dale was crowded when we arrived. The staff had a good handle on it though. Shay McNeal-Poulin took our name, asked us to take a seat, and soon a staff person came by with some wine glasses for us and poured a bit of Rose in each of our glasses. We sipped this fine Rose until the counter cleared. Aspen Dale does this when the tasting room gets crowded.

Claude Poulin, who has a French-Canadian accent, was our pourer. At Aspen Dale the wine tastings are accompanied with a small food plate. We soon were tasting wines with these selected food pairings. The tastings are $7.50. The small plate of bites contains such things as white/dark chocolate, goat cheese, cheddar, and little meats. We tasted the following wines with these small bites:

Mary Madeline's Rose. This Rose is actually mostly Vidal Blanc with about 5 percent Cabernet Sauvignon blended in. It is paired with cheddar cheese.

Sarah's Chapeau: A combination of Vidal Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc with 2 percent residual sugar. This was paired with a bit of pheasant sausage and brie.

The Hildersham, made with Seyval Blanc, was paired with sage infused Darby cheese.

We also tried a white wine named Islington. We have had this before on a previous visit. It is a nice, dry Seyval Blanc with a long finish. They had us pair this with a white chocolate chip. Sounds strange, but it seemed to work.

The Parris Country Blend is a Merlot with 20 percent Cabernet Sauvignon blended in. I neglected to write what kind of meat this was paired with.

The Bridgetown Red, a new wine for us, is made with Chambourcin. This is paired with goat cheese and white chocolate, just like Aspen Dale did with their now sold out Cabernet Sauvignon called Rockawalin.

Full tasting bar on Saturday

We really enjoyed our visit. One thing that Aspen Dale does, that most wineries do not here in Virginia is rinse the glasses with the next wine to taste. Aspen Dale works hard to make your visit enjoyable. The wines are quite good. The entertainment on Saturday in the tasting room is usually quite good too. This place remains as one of our favorites and one really suitable for folks new to Virginia wine to visit.

Claude Poulin talking to a customer

Aspen Dale Winery at The Barn
3180 Aspen Dale Lane (GPS: 11083 John Marshall Hwy)
Delaplane, Virginia 20144
(540)364-1722

Chester Gap Cellars

2011-11-30T04:51:00.001-05:00

View from Chester Gap Cellars

After our tasting at Rappahannock Cellars we decided our next stop would be the nearby Chester Gap Cellars. We were slighlty sad to find that Chester Gap was all sold out of two our our favorites - the Petit Manseng and the Cuvee Manseng. (They jokingly blamed us for this because of our positive reviews). They were also out of their Petit Verdot. But they did still have five great wines that day, three different Viogniers, a Merlot, and a Cabernet Franc. We also noticed there is a real tasting bar now.

The 2008 Viognier ($16) is very crisp. We could taste honeysuckle and peach flavors. This wine is stainless steel fermented. I liked it more than Carol, who preferred the 2008 Viognier Reserve ($19). This wine is barrel aged in neutral French Oak for eight months, giving it a more rounded feel. The third Viognier is the Viognier Boisseau. Boisseau Vineyard is owned and operated by Richard Boisseau. It is located in Front Royal Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley. This well-known vineyard also produces Chardonnay and several Red wine grapes for Linden. Although a very fine Viognier, we could certainly taste the differences.

We also liked the very smooth Merlot ($19) which had less tanin than one normally expects and the Cabernet Franc ($22).

Chester Gap Cellars 4615 Remount Rd (Right off 522 North)
Front Royal, Virginia 22630
540-636-8086

Returning to Rappahannock Cellars

2011-11-28T15:20:00.000-05:00

We wanted to stop and visit Rappahannock Cellars on this trip as we had no wines from Rappahannock Cellars remaining on the wine rack. We e-mailed Kelley and Allan we were going to stop by, but neither were there when we arrived. Two other family members were working in the tasting room though and they made our visit quite pleasant and informative. That is what we love about Rappahannock Cellars, the family presence is everywhere. They know their wines and are proud of what the vineyard and winery has produced.

Tastings are $8 for eight wines. Rappahannock uses two different glasses for reds and whites, which is pretty unique. They also put out a bottle of water for you to drink or to rinse your glasses. All of the wines are solid and well-crafted. We think the 2010 Viognier ($27) is quite good, with a long finish, and good balance between acid, fruit, and alcohol. The 2009 Chardonnay ($23) is really one of the better ones in Virginia. It has layers of flavors coming through and we have really enjoyed tasting this wine as it ages in the bottle. The Noblesse Viognier is 75 percent Viognier, with some Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc, and Chardonnay blended in. We purchased all three white wines. The 2010 Rose ($19) is made with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon and has a hint of sweetness (1 percent residual sugar). Not much residual sugar, but it is there, along with a lot of cranberry-like flavor. This wine seemed to have improved with a little aging.

I liked all the reds, but our favorite is still the 2009 Cabernet Franc ($26). It was one of the best examples of Cabernet Franc in the state. (It won as best Cabernet Franc at our blind tasting party for Virginia Wine Bloggers). The tasting notes say medium-bodied, but I would say closer to full-bodied. Great aroma, bouquet and tastes in this well-crafted wine.

Currently, Rappahannock only offers tastings of the 2008 Vidal Blanc dessert wine ($19.50 for a 500 mL bottle). The Vidal Blanc dessert wine has 8 percent residual sugar. The 2008 "Port-style" dessert wine made from Norton is only available for purchase.

Rappahannock Cellars is really doing things right. We have noticed little changes each time arrive. They respond to feedback and are always striving to improve. Although Rappahannock Cellars is bigger than many of their neighboring wineries, they still have a the feel of a great family winery.

Rappahannock Cellars 14437 Hume Road
Huntly, VA 22640
540-635-9398

Desert Rose revisited

2011-11-28T05:23:00.003-05:00

We decided to head west to visit a few wineries that we hadn't been to in a while. We stopped at Desert Rose Winery first. The Open flags were out so we turned in to a nearly empty parking lot. Turns out Desert Rose Winery doesn't open until 1:00PM. We came in about 12:45 and found another couple at the tasting bar. They let us start tasting early too. As we have reported before, Desert Rose is Western-themed. The owners and staff are friendly and down-to-earth.

Desert Rose has two tastings. The first one is for a tasting of five wines for $5.00. The second tasting, for $7.00, also includes Starboard, their "Port-style" wine made from Norton, and a piece of hand made chocolate. We opted for the full experience. We noticed that both the Hitch Hollow Chardonnay ($22) and the Rose called Sparky ($20) have changed and improved as they have aged in the bottle. There are two versions of the Starboard ($35). We had the original on prior visits, today they were pouring the more recently released version that was aged in whiskey barrels. Not being fans of Norton, we do have to say that it can make a wonderful port! As before, Carol liked the Ole Moo Moo ($20), the (slighly sweet) white table wine. We still have a bottle of the R.E.D wine made from Chambourcin ($21) at home. They still have a very nice Cab Franc for sale, although supplies are limited enough thatt thye are not tasting it any longer.

We enjoy visiting Desert Rose and will return again.

Desert Rose Ranch and Winery
13726 Hume Rd.
Hume, 22639
540-635-3200

Vintage Ridge Vineyard

2011-11-24T10:33:00.000-05:00

It had been quite a while since we had visited Vintage Ridge. We were in the area so we swung by this unique farm winery. Vintage Ridge does two types of tastings. The Premier Pairing ($18) includes wines, artisan cheeses, meats and seasonal food pairings, chosen by Vintage Ridge to compliment the wines. Vintage Ridge also does wine-only tastings for $10. The tastings are done seated at tall tables. We opted for the premier tasting, like most folks who visit. One thing to note for you is that at Vintage Ridge you get a generous pour to go along with the tasty food combination selected for that wine.

Just like our last visit, our favorites were the two white wines. The 2010 Maiden Voyage ($22) is made of 60 percent Vidal Blanc and 40 percent Mourvedre. They remove the Mourvedre skins before any color transfers to the wine.

The other white wine was the 2009 Summer Night, made of 100 percent Vidal Blanc with 1 percent residual sugar. Unlike last time, we were seated indoors and upstairs. Interesting view from there. Service by Randy was great despite being upstairs and out of the way. The Summer Night was the last wine on the tasting sheet and was paired with a date with goat cheese.

I also quite enjoyed the 2008 Petit Verdot ($28). This wine is a smooth, deep bodied, inky-dark red. The other reds were all 2008 vintage: A Merlot ($22), Syrah ($24), and a Cabernet Franc ($24). We were surprised at how much the Syrah changed when consumed with the salami and mustard. It was much smoother. The Merlot was paired with some really superb Wisconsin Bellavitano cheese.

We had a quick conversation with Bill, the owner, who told us the recent rains took a severe toll on Vintage Ridge's 2011 harvest. He said he and Kerem (the winemaker) will really have their work cut out for them.We left with a bottle of the Summer Night. We recommend Vintage Ridge for folks fairly new to Virginia Wine scene. The seated tastings with food pairings lets folks experience Virginia Wine in an unhurried, pleasant environment.

Vintage Ridge Vineyard

8517 Maidstone Rd
Rectortown, Virginia 20140

540-364-3371

Return to Chateau O'Brien at Northpoint

2011-11-22T21:40:00.001-05:00

We actually had to wait for a train to pass to arrive at Chateau O'Brien. We stopped near the vineyard to try to take a photo of this large bird resting on a post, but he or she took off just as we were focusing.

Chateau O'Brien has switched the tasting bars around. As you enter the classic (regular) tasting ($5) is on your right. The cellar tasting ($10) is on your left. We opted for the classic collection and really enjoyed the Rose ($20) and the Apple Wine. The VA Apple Wine is made from five varieties of apples from neighboring Northpoint Orchard.

We decided to share a bottle of Rose out on the enclosed deck. Chateau O'Brien was offering small plates of roast turkey and stuffing. The stuffing had been infused with Apple Wine and was really tasty, as was the Rose.

There were also sauces and preserves made from estate grapes with breads to accompany the turkey and dressing. This was all gratis. One interesting thing we noticed on the deck is that when seated you do not see I-66, just the view of the hills and mountains. Pretty cool. Chateau O'Brien also was offering tastes and sales of a mulled wine on the deck. It was quite tasty too. Besides the 2006 Chardonnay, which is really past its prime, we found very fine wines at Chateau O'Brien.

Chateau OBrien at Northpoint 3238 Railstop Road
Markham, Virginia 22643

540-364-6441

Fox Meadow Vineyards

2011-11-21T04:54:00.000-05:00

We drove out I-66 West to visit some wineries we haven't been to in a while. First stop was Fox Meadow Winery. Tastings at Fox Meadow are $5 each for five wines, 2 Whites and 3 Reds. Fox Meadow currently make 14 different wines, so they rotate the wines that are on the tasting card almost every week.

View from Fox Meadow

The first white we tried was the 2010 Le Renard Gris ($21), a blend of Chardonnay, Vidal and Pinot Grigio. The grapes for this wine are all estate grown. We enjoyed this crisp, fruity, dry wine. The other white wine being offered for tasting is the newly released 2010 Barrel fermented Chardonnay ($23). This was a great Chardonnay with creamy fruit and a long finish.

Fox Meadow Tasting Bar

Following these nice white wines we tried the 2009 Syrah ($24). This wine was fruity and smooth, with soft tannin. Next up was the 2008 Cabernet Franc ($25). The fruit for this wine comes from around Charlottesville. The aroma was great. The 2008 Cabernet Franc Reserve ($29) is estate-grown and is a very smooth and flavorful Cabernet Franc.

They were also serving a mulled wine, made with the Syrah wine. It was sweetened and had loads of cinnamon. One nice touch with the standard tasting - we were offered cheese with 3 of the five wines - a nice way to see how the wines will stand up to food.

We were hoping to try the newly released Chambourcin, but were told they didn't have any opened, and they weren't tasting it this weekend. But they did offer up for tasting the Freezeland White and Freezeland Red. The Freezeland White is a sweet, (4 percent residual sugar) fruity white wine blend of Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Rkatsiteli, a Georgian varietal. The owner told us only two places in the eastern U.S. grow Rkatsiteli, Horton Vineyards in Virginia and a vineyard in New York. The Freezeland Red ($19) is a sweet, red blend, served chilled, of Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chambourcin and a touch of Viognier. It has 5 percent residual sugar, but it actually finishes dry - seemed like a great choice to use as a base for a mulled wine.

We liked all the wines we tried at Fox Meadow. They are well made wines. We left with the 2010 Chardonnay and a bottle of the Freezeland Red (going to play with the mulling spices in the near future!)

Fox Meadow Winery
3310 Freezeland Road, Linden, VA 22642

Phone: 540-636-6777

Corcoran just keeps getting better - again

2011-11-20T09:04:00.000-05:00

We stopped at Corcoran Vineyards after our trip to Breaux. It was a little crowded on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Monk's BBQ was out and we saw Lori out talking with the BBQ team. Corcoran is one of favorite wineries to visit.

The tasting room itself is in a 1750 restored log cabin. There is a $7 charge for tasting. That fee will bring you tastings of at least 7 wines. Corcoran changes their tasting line up pretty regularly. They were also are making a mulled wine from Cabernet Franc when we visited. After a tasting, I had a glass of the USB, Corcoran's outstanding "Port-like" wine made from Chambourcin. Carol had a glass of the mulled wine.

Later, Jim was kind enough to take us down to Corcoran Brewing so we could try their excellent Padawan Pumpkin ale. The brewery is normally open only on Saturdays. While there, we had a long talk about the Virginia wine business and about the soon to be completed expansion of the brewery. A little later Lori brought over a couple from Norfolk whose family name is also Corcoran.

Lori & Jim

Lori took us over to where her new vintage of USB is aging in whiskey barrels. The aroma is awesome. Lori says this vintage will be better than the currently released one. I love the current vintage, so this is welcome news.

Before we left, Lori let us all try one of Tony's lemon bars. These bars are made with Corcoran Cello. Cello is made out of Petit Manseng grapes and fortified with spirits with a touch of lemon zest. These were great Lemon Bars. Lori has been posting this and other recipes that include Corcoran wine as an ingredient on her blog. The link is on the Corcoran Vineyards web page.

So, in our opinion, Corcoran just keeps getting better and better. See for yourself, but go early on Saturday to get there before the crowds and the beer runs out.

Corcoran Vineyards

14635 Corkys Farm Lane

Waterford, VA 20197
Phone 540.882.9073

I'm a Believer

2011-11-19T07:41:00.004-05:00

Breaux

We first visited Breaux Vineyards quite a while ago, before we really started blogging. To be honest, we weren't thrilled. Several area wine bloggers urged us to try Breaux again. Many love Breaux and are members of their cellar club. We always are willing to give a winery a 2nd try and often find that our first impressions were off the mark. As you can see from the title, we have totally changed our opinion of Breaux.

Cooper running to meet us

We started out by having a picnic late Sunday morning. The Breaux employees walking by all smiled and said hi. It was too cold to stay outside so we finished in the car. Cooper was running around and greeted us warmly. We later found out he wasn't supposed to be out and about but we were glad to meet him.

Tammy was our very nice pourer

We went inside and were warmly greeted by Tammy and she walked us through the tasting and the fees. $10 for 10 wines. We settled in to taste. We both enjoyed the 2010 Madeline's Chardonnay ($20). I wrote on the tasting sheet that the Chardonnay had an endless finish. The Viognier ($26) also had a very long finish. I especially enjoyed the 2004 Merlot ($26); the 2010 Jennifer's Jambalaya, a white blend that includes some Breaux-grown varieties of Muscat ($19); the outstanding Nebbiolo Ice (19); and the $2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($24).

As were were finishing the normal tasting we heard Jennifer Breaux Blosser asking a lady near us if she was with a group with our name. Apparently one of our Virginia wine blogging compadres had let Jen know we were coming. (Thanks). We told Tammy that Jen was asking about us and Jen soon came over to talk about Breaux and let us try some of the other wines that Breaux makes, including some cellar collections.

Carol tasted some of the other great white wines while I tasted some amazing Reds. Jen set up a vertical tasting of Nebbiolos for me, the 2001, 2005, and 2007. I thought the 2001 was extraordinary. It was very fruity and the tannins had softened such that the wine was smooth. Light, fruity, but with some backbone remaining, this was a great red wine. I don't drink much if any Barolos or Barbarescos but I may need to try a few now. Jen also had me try a vertical tasting of Meritage, their blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc. I tried the unreleased 2007 with the 06 and a NV Meritage. Carol in the meantime tried the Sauvignon Blanc (yummy New Zealand style -love that citrus!) and a Reserve Chardonnay, which ended up being one of our choices when it came time to check out. We both also were able to try the Soliel, a late harvest, ice style dessert wine. It is made of late harvest Vidal, Viognier, Semillion and Sauvignon Blanc. We loved it.

Now, we understand that our tasting was "expanded" because we are Virginia wine bloggers. But we had made up our mind that Breaux was a fine winery before they knew we were bloggers. Also, we came early before the big crowds show up. As we were leaving the Breaux team was setting up multiple tasting tables in the tent adjacent to the tasting room. So, if you know the winery you are visiting is popular try going early. In the meantime, as we told the Virginia wine wine bloggers later in a tweet, in the words of that old Monkees tune, as far as Breaux goes, I'm a Believer. We are still not signing up for the cellar club although we thought about it, but we have resisted joining anyone's club in all our travels. We like keeping our options open and we still have managed to collect more wine that we have real storage for, buying a few bottles here, a case there..... just can't commit to regular deliveries.

Breaux Vineyards 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane
Purcellville, Virginia 20132
(540)668-6299

Winetasting at Speakeasy

2011-11-18T05:40:00.001-05:00

We stopped in Old Town Warrenton and noticed that Marterella has tastings in the Shelf Life furniure shop right where we parked on Main Street. We stepped inside to taste their wines and get caught up with their saga. The Marterella tasting room at the vineyard is closed as result of a court case with their homeowners association. That case is on appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court.

They call the tasting area Speakeasy and are located just inside the front door of the store. Marterella offers 12 wines to taste at the Speakeasy. Customers can choose to taste all for $10, or choose wines to sample at $1 per taste. Carol stayed mostly with the Whites, while I tried the entire portfolio. We still enjoy the Marterella whites and I liked all the red wines I tried.

We all laughed when Carol said she preferred the semi-sweet Rosalie's Rose ($24), while I preferred the Heritage Dry Rose ($27). We both liked two of the dessert wines. The Sweet Nothings is a sweet Chambourcin wine that pairs well with chocolate. The 2009 Grace ($24) is a blend of Vidal Blanc and Riesling. Both the dessert wines are labeled as "American" wines so some of the grapes are probably from outside Virginia. But we liked them both enough to purchase them.

So, if you are around Warrenton swing by Old Town and try tasting at the Speakeasy.

SHELF LIFE and SPEAKEASY TASTING ROOM

52 MAIN STREET

WARRENTON VIRGINIA

540-687-0379

Going by Gray Ghost

2011-11-17T05:26:00.001-05:00

We stopped at Gray Ghost Vineyards on our way home. Tasting were complimentary because it was Veteran's Day. We tasted nine wines; 4 Whites, 4 Reds, and 1 dessert wine.

Our tasting started with the Whites, always strong at gray ghost. We enjoyed The dry 2010 Seyval Blanc ($17) and the 2010 Chardonnay ($17). The Reserve Chardonnay ($25) has been through Maloactic fermentation, so you get that buttery finish reminiscent of a California Chardonnay. Our favorite Chardonnay at Gray Ghost remains the Victorian White ($15) with a hint of residual sugar. We get great taste and a full mouth feel. Gray Ghost is all sold out of the Gewurztraminer.

Our favorite red was the 2009 Ranger Reserve ($30), a Bordeaux-style blend.

Our tasting finished with the 2010 Adieu, a late harvest Vidal Blanc ($24). The tasting notes say "Sweet but not syrupy", we think this is one of the best dessert wines in Virginia. We picked up a bottle for a future dessert wine party.

Gray Ghost Vineyards 14706 Lee Highway
Amissville, Virginia 20106
540-937-4869

Narmada - another favorite winery visit

2011-11-14T04:29:00.002-05:00

Ganesha - the remover of obstacles

When we are out on Rte. 211, we are always compelled to stop by Narmada. The staff is great and greet us as friends. We have already sampled all the current wines at Narmada, so since it seemed to be the perfect time for a mid afternoon snack we decided just to share some vegetarian samosas and sip glasses of Narmada wine. We orderd a glass of Mom, an off-dry white wine blend of 65 percent Vidal Blanc and 35 percent Chardonel, with approximately 1.5 percent residual sugar. It pairs very well with the spicy sauce that accompanies the samosas. And we had a glass of Dream, made from Traminette with .6 percent residual sugar. Not really enough to taste sweet, but the small percentage of residual sugar gives the Dream a fuller mouth feel. We enjoyed both wines and the ambiance of this truly unique winery.

Nice crowd at Narmada on Friday afternoon

Narmada Winery 43 Narmada Lane
Amissville, Virginia 20106

Going by Gadino Cellars

2011-11-13T04:35:00.003-05:00

We stopped by Gaddino Cellars on Veteran's Day. We hadn't been by in a while and wanted to try the Petit Verdot that we read about on Virginia Wine Time. We had e-mailed Stephanie we would be stopping by. She told us they had stopped offering their Chardonnay at the tasting bar because it was selling so fast. We like and trust Gadino Cellars, so we bought a bottle untasted. We have NEVER purchased a bottle of Virginia wine untasted before. That is part of the fun. Visiting tasting rooms and selecting great wines to take home is almost like a ritual. But, since we have really liked everything we have tasted at Gadino, we figure the risk was nil.

Anyway, we had our tasting and brought home a couple other bottles. We liked everything we tasted, as usual. We wanted to replace a bottle of Dolce Sofia, Gadino Cellars superb late harvest blend of Petit Manseng and Vidal Blanc. We also purchased the white table wine Sunset (Traminette/Chardonnay blend) and the Rose-like Moonrise.

Gadino Cellars is one of our favorite wineries. They are working on plans with family back in Italy so pay attention this summer. There may be some nice surprises in store.

Gadino Cellars
92 Schoolhouse Road
Washington, Virginia 22747
(540)987-9292

Little Washington Winery?

2011-11-12T09:03:00.000-05:00

Friday was the grand opening of the Little Washington Winery. We went out on Friday afternoon to check it out. What we found really isn't a winery. They are not making wine on the premises. The vineyards were just planted too, so Little Washington will not be harvesting grapes on site for a few years. What we found was a pleasant tasting room with a very nice view.

Little Washington is pouring two blends made for them at Potomac Point. First is a white blend of Viognier and Vidal Blanc called Mesmerized. The second is a red, Bordeaux-style blend called George. These were decent wines. Little Washington is also pouring some wines from what they call the Dirt Road Tour. These wines are from all around the world that are for sale in the tasting room and will be rotated from time to time.

To tell you the truth, we found the whole set-up a little disconcerting. Little Washington does not make wine on the premises, doesn't harvest grapes (yet), and primarily pours out-of-state wines. When we asked Carl, the owner, where his wines' grapes in his two wines were from he really wasn't sure. He told us Simone, the winemaker at Potomac Point, won't tell him. He later said they were all Virginia grapes, most from the Northern Neck. Service was a little chaotic too, with long waits to start the tasting, but that might just be opening day jitters. They did say they had been slammed in the morning, so maybe they were in recovery mode. We do wish them well, but will probably give them a year or 2 before another visit, to let things even out a bit.

Little Washington Winery

72 Christmas Tree Lane
Washington, 22747

Virginia Wine Goes Local

2011-11-06T15:02:00.000-05:00

Carol was working Saturday so I went around to various local venues that feature Virginia Wine to see and report what is happening. First up, the Total Wine-Chantilly in the Greenbrier Shopping Center.

Total Wine is carrying a bit more Virginia wines than last time I checked. Besides carrying a substantial number of such "large" producers as Chateau Morrisette, Williamsburg, Horton and Barboursville, they also carry several varieties from Lake Anna, and Prince Michel, along with wines from smaller producers like Burnley, Willowcroft, and Chrysalis.

Whole Foods Market in Fair Lakes on the other hand seems to carry only local Virginia wines. All the Virginia wines I saw in their Enoteca Room and on the shelves were exclusively from Northern Virginia.

Whole Foods has an Enoteca machine dedicated to local Northern Virginia wines. There are a few others on the other machines too.

Whole Foods also carried several more varieties from the same producers on the shelves of their wine shop. There are very good local wines available at the Whole Foods located in Fair Lakes.

Following a quick lunch at Whole Foods I headed out to Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton, Virginia.

Paradise Springs Winery Springs was hosting a Humane Society fundraiser when I arrived. I bid on some items in the silent auction a little later, but first I wanted to enter and check out the latest.

There was a comfortable-sized crowd at the Tasting Bar. I had a taste of the menu and liked what I tried. The Cabernet Franc is sold out, but Paradise is pouring a new Petit Verdot. This was a powerful, but smooth and fruity dark red wine. I was impressed. The 2010 Nana's Rose has improved in the bottle too. I also still really appreciate the Petit Manseng, some of which is aged in Acacia Barrels. Though totally dry, the wine bursts with citrus fruit and some very interesting, but complementary, flavor from the barrel.

Outdoor fireplace under the roof

Paradise also had some entertainment outdoors. This spot is a very nice place to spend an afternoon.

It is easier today than ever before to find good Virginia wines in Fairfax County, whether at a wine store, a supermarket, or our own local winery. The situation seems promising.

Paradise Springs Winery 13219 Yates Ford Road
Clifton, Virginia 20124
Phone: 703-830-9463

A Taste of Virginia's Own" Wine Tasting

2011-11-01T17:57:00.001-04:00

This has been a great charity event. I hope you all can attend.

Kimpton's Hotel Palomar Arlington invites you to
"A Taste of Virginia's Own" charity wine tasting
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
6:30 to 8:30 PM

In honor of World AIDS Day and
in recognition of NOVAM's contributions to the community

Hotel Palomar

1121 N. 19th Street
Arlington, VA 22209

Enjoy delicious hors d'ouevres with wines from some of Virginia's most acclaimed winemakers.

Enter a drawing for fabulous prizes.

Raise a glass of Virginia wine to honor those whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS.

Reservations are recommended.

Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door.

You may purchase tickets securely online.

NOVAM

Church Group Trip to North Gate

2011-10-27T20:34:00.001-04:00

We arranged for a group of our fellow congregants from our church to visit North Gate Vineyard located in Purcellville. Regular readers know that North Gate is one of our favorite wineries.

Vicki, one of North Gate's owners, conducted our tasting. She told us a lot about her and Mark's wine making history, their vineyard, and about the new winery. We appreciated all the background on each of the wines and learning about all the features of the winery. We learned that North Gate's tasting room was built to LEED Gold specifications and that North Gate also uses a “Birdgard” , an electronic device that sends out bird distress calls and predatory bird calls.

We had a great time tasting North Gate's wines, including their Gold Medal-winning Viognier. We tasted the Viognier, Petit Manseng, Rose, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Meritage, and an Apple Wine.

Carol and I really liked the new Petit Manseng and took home a bottle, along with a Cabernet Franc. One of our guests took home a case of the Meritage.

North Gate Vineyard
16110 Mountain Ridge Lane,
Purcellville VA 20132
540-668-6248
Following our tasting our group went to Magnolias at the Mill for a delightful lunch.

Magnolias at the Mill
198 North 21st Street, Purcellville, VA 20132
540 338 9800

Back to Bob's

2011-10-19T21:50:00.001-04:00

On our way home from Hiddencroft Carol told me to head to Bob's, as we hadn't been there for a while. I knew, of course, that she was talking about Crushed Cellars.

Crushed Cellars is owned by Bob Kalok. Bob makes wine, and has other agricultural products available like farm fresh eggs, cheeses, jellies and other items. We have heard from some folks that all the extras at Crushed Cellars are a bit of a turn off. Not us- we love the place. We love the wines and the laid back atmosphere. If you let yourself go with the flow, and take your time, we think you might come to really appreciate this small winery. If you want to have a rapid tasting and then get on your way, then Crushed Cellars is not going to be for you.

We were able to try the Crushed Cellars Merlot this time out. This is one of the few Merlots Carol has ever liked. We brought a bottle home with us. We also got a sample of the new Chardonnay - this one is not for sale yet, still wainting for label approval, but hopefully will be out soon, as it is another good, solid wine. Carol loves the Vidal Blanc, a very fruity wine with 2.3 percent residual sugar. I even enjoy it and I prefer dry wines. I loved the Seyval and the Cabernet Sauvignon too. Crushed Cellars is normally open on Saturdays and tastings are $3.00.

Crushed Cellars 37938 Charles Town Pike
Purcellville, 20132
Phone Number: 1.571.374.WINE (9463)

A trip to the "New" Hiddencroft

2011-10-18T18:25:00.000-04:00

Hiddencroft Vineyards is the northernmost winery in Virginia. We had to use our Specialicious coupon before it expired ($12 for two wine tastings and a $15 credit for a bottle purchase) and we hadn't been by the new tasting rooms. So this visit was extra special.
.

The tastings are now in what used to be the house next door. You approach the house by going through a cut out in the old barn. The barn will someday be used for group tastings The old tasting room will be used as wine production space. They put a lot of work into the new place and it is looking pretty nice. There are still more decorating touches planned. There are 2 tasting bars, and several rooms upstairs for relaxing in if the weather is bad, and a beautiful new deck for nice days.

As always, Hiddencroft was pouring some really fine wines. We left with a bottle of the 2010 Vidal Blanc. Very distinctive grapefruit aroma and taste.

We like the new set-up. Nothing too fancy, but tasteful.

Hiddencroft Vineyards 12202 Axline Road
Lovettsville, Virginia 20180

Phone Number: (540) 535-5367

Final day from our Anniversary trip - Jefferson and Keswick

2011-10-16T15:43:00.000-04:00

Jefferson Vineyards Tasting Room

After a church service in Charlottesville, we started our wine tasting on a very wet Sunday afternoon at Jefferson Vineyards. We tasted 10 wines for $10 and were able to keep our Riedel glasses. We liked most of the wines and really liked the Viognier at Jefferson Vineyards.

Our next stop was to one of favorite Virginia wineries, Keswick Vineyards. We finally were able to meet Kat Schornberg Barnard, the Keswick social media person. Kat did our tasting and gave us a sneak preview of the Touriga, which is now released. The wines were all just terrific.

Keswick Vineyards Tasting Room

Kat also took us out back to say hello to Stephen and see the team de-stemming some Petit Verdot. Stephen told us that he will be making a Rose out of the Petit Verdot due to all the rain this year. Stephan and Kat are a great couple. They make visiting Keswick such a great experience.

Kat & Stephen (on the forklift)

So, after picking up a four bottles at Keswick (Pinot Gris ($17), two Viognier ($23), and Touriga ($24)), we said goodbye to the Monticello area and headed back to Northern Virginia. We had a great time and will return.

Vertical - AKA Sideways a few years later

2011-10-16T07:03:00.000-04:00

Well, it is a few years later. Miles became famous after his book about a road trip through the wine country around Solvang, CA was made into a movie that became a cult hit. Miles is wealthy now and hardly ever has to buy wine. He has the only "Never pay" card issued by the Hitching Post.

Jack fell onto some hard times. Divorced, paying child support, often out of work.

They both need a road trip.

Miles decides to grant his mom's wish to get out of the assisted living place she hates and take her back to Wisconsin where her sister still lives. But first he has to get her dog back from one of his ex-girlfriends, hire away a Philippine care giver, and bring Jack along to help drive the handicap-equipped van. They will head out just as soon as Miles meets his obligations at a couple wineries along the way and be Master of Ceremonies at an international Pinot Noir festival in Oregon.

Thus begins Vertical. Jack and Miles on the road again, often more outrageous than before. But Vertical is more than a wine trip book. It is also about Miles' Journey through life. It becomes something very different in the last few chapters as Miles considers life, love, family, and obligations.

I won't spoil the ending. I really hope they can make a sequel to the movie. In the meantime, enjoy the book. But, fair warning, many scenes will offend some folks.

47 Words for Regional Wine Week:

2011-10-13T20:28:00.000-04:00

From Carol:

Why do I love the Virginia wine experience? Unique wineries, friendly people, friendly dogs, Traminette, Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Vidal, Seyval, Chardonnay, back roads, watching the seasons of the vines, spending time with my honey, beautiful views, and remembering it all every time we open another bottle.

First Colony Winery

2011-10-12T06:42:00.002-04:00

Last stop of the day was First Colony Winery, right next door to Wineworks. They are growing the Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Traminette on the property.

The wines:

2010 Seyval Blanc $16

2009 Chardonnay Reserve $18 We were told that this was fermented in steel, aged in oak and then returned to steel. Not sure why…..???

2008 Merlot $22

2008 Meritage $20

2009 Petit Verdot Reserve $24

2010 Zephyr $20 Petit Manseng/Vidal Blanc blend 1.3 percent residual sugar
NV Sweet Shanando $15 Vidal Blanc-based blend

NV Claret $15 Chambourcin/Concord blend. 3 percent residual sugar. Please don’t do this to Chambourcin!

2007 “1607” Red Dessert Wine $ 25 375 ml Touriga, port-style, 6 percent residual sugar

First Colony Winery 1650 Harris Creek Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902

Phone Number: 434-979-7105

Michael Shaps Virginia Wineworks

2011-10-10T11:08:00.000-04:00

On to another “new” spot for us – Michael Shaps Virginia Wineworks. This is very much a working facility –don’t expect any prettiness here.

We found our way to the tasting area in the back corner, through the trucks and bins out front, through the tank and processing area, past the barrels. The smells of fruit and yeast were heavy in the air.

Wineworks has tasting options of the Wineworks label or the Michael Shaps label or a combination.

The wines:

2009 Wineworks Box Chardonnay $30/ 3 liter box

2008 Michael Shaps Chardonnay $ 24

2009 Wineworks Viognier $16

2010 Wineworks box Viognier $ 30 3 liter box (This is a huge bargain!)

2008 Michael Shaps Viognier $24

Wineworks Dry Rose $14 –Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot/Merlot

2009 Wineworks box Cabernet Franc $30/3 liter box

2007 Michael Shaps Cabernet Franc $ 28

2008 Michael Shaps Petit Verdot $ 28

2007 Michael Shaps Merlot $ 28

2008 Michael Shaps Meritage $40 –Petit Verdot/ Merlot/Cabernet Franc

2008 Michael Shaps Raisin d’Etre $25/375ml Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon port style wine

Micheal Shaps has proven that good wine can be found in a box!

Interesting note – Posted is a sign saying that it is now VA law that tasting fees cannot be waived if wine is purchased. Wonder why this doesn’t seem to be policy in other places we have visited?

Virginia Wineworks
1781 Harris Creek Way
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
Phone Number: 434 296-3438

Veritas

2011-10-09T15:01:00.003-04:00

We arrived at Veritas Vineyard and Winery to find a full parking lot. Cars were also parking on the grass. The tasting room was full, but the Veritas staff knows how to handle large crowds. We found a place at the tasting bar just as some folks were leaving and soon started tasting the wines.

The wines:

2010 Saddleback Chardonnay $18 Fermented in steel, aged in neutral oak

2010 Harlequin Chardonnay $25 Barrel fermented and aged

White Star $18 Viognier/Chardonnay/Traminette/ Vidal Blanc Hints of tropical fruit and lightly sweet. This is very well-done wine. One of my favorite white blends.

2009 Petit Manseng $25/375ml Dessert in a glass with 10 percent residual sugar.

2010 Rose $14 Cabernet Franc and Merlot A good summer wine.

2010 Cabernet Franc $18

2010 Claret $18 Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot

Red Star $18 Cabernet Franc/Merlot/Chambourcin

This concluded the standard tasting, but we were offered anything on the reserves side of the sheet.

We opted for the 2009 Othello, $28, a port-style wine made from Touriga Nacional and Tannat. This one (a 500 ml bottle) went home with us. We also ran into Trista Haycraft, the Narmada tasting room manager, at the tasting bar around this time. We gave her our e-mail to get on the Narmada festival volunteer list.

Cardinal Point

2011-10-08T06:52:00.003-04:00

Next stop, a previous favorite, Cardinal Point Winery.

We arrived to find the tasting room overwhelmed with a very large group. Note to anyone going on a group tasting – CALL FIRST! Most places will be happy to accommodate you, and you will find it a better experience, if they know you are coming and are prepared for you.

We knew that the wines were worth the wait, so we waited for the space to clear out. Tasting fee is $5.00.

The wines:

2010 Rose $15 This Rose is made from Cabernet Franc.

2010 A6 $19 Viognier/ Chardonnay blend (named for the road in France that connects the 2 wine regions where these grapes originated)

2009 Barrel Select Chardonnay $16

2008 Riesling/Gerwurtztraminer $ 19 The Riesling is estate grown, 26 year old vines. Really nice combination here. Cardinal Point grows all their own Reisling. 1 percent residual sugar.

2010 Quarttro $17 a blend of 4 whites: Riesling/Gerwurtztraminer/Viognier /Traminette A great summer sipper. 3 percent residual sugar.

2010 Rockfish Red $15 Cabernet Franc, done in a “short vat” style, with neutral oak. Very light bodied, not sure that I would have picked it out to be a Cabernet Franc.

2009 Cabernet Franc/Viognier $18 These were co-fermented, not blended, aged in French oak. A very nice combination. This Cabernet Franc seemed lighter and fruiter, with less tannin. Very tasty and easy to drink.

2009 Clay Hill Cabernet Franc $20. A full-bodied Cabernet Franc with a black pepper finish.

2009 Union $25 Petit Verdot/Cab Sauv/Tannat 18 months in oak. Just won Gold medal at the Finger Lakes International. A very interesting red blend. Dark red wine with plum flavors. Very easy to drink.

Cardinal Point uses mostly estate grown grapes, getting only the Tannat, Gerwurtztarminer and Traminette from another local grower. Cardinal Point also gives discounts to teachers and the military.

Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery 9423 Batesville Road
Afton, Virginia 22920

Phone Number: 540-456-8400

Flying Fox

2011-10-06T07:01:00.004-04:00

On to our next “new” vineyard, Flying Fox Vineyard.

Flying Fox is another small (1440 cases) family operation. They seemed to be pleasantly busy for a Saturday afternoon, but not overly crowed. We stepped right up to a just vacated space at the tasting bar.

The wines:

2010 Viognier $18 A gold medal winner at the 2011 Virginia State Fair.

2010 Fox White $16 Vidal Blanc 2 percent RS. An easy sipper, this one.

2010 Rose $16 100 percent Merlot grapes, done in steel. Crisp and light.

2008 Cabernet Franc $17 This wine spent 2 years in oak (10 percent Petit Verdot).

2008 Trio $18 Merlot/Cabernet Franc/ Petit Verdot.

2008 Petit Verdot $19 Gold Medal 2011 Virginia Wine Classic and the 2011 Monticello Cup wine competition. Smooth dark wine with fruit flavor and soft tannins.

2008 Fox Red $16 Cabernet Franc/Merlot, 1.5 percent residual sugar. This is the wine with the fun label, but the label was not enough incentive to bring this home with us.

They also have a number of library wines, available to their wine club members only.

Flying Fox Vineyard
27 Chapel Hollow Road
Afton, Virginia 22920

Phone Number:434-361-1692

Next stop – Wintergreen

2011-10-05T07:07:00.000-04:00

Kurt remembered being at Wintergreen Winery many years ago – I had no recollection of the place. There was a large group at the tasting bar when we were arrived, but we were greeted and assured that we would be served in just a very few minutes. In fact, we were encouraged to be seated at a table in the gift shop area and we started our tasting there.

The wines:

2009 Black Rock Chardonnay $20 Barrel aged, but only light oak. Something different about this Chardonnay, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Three Ridges White $18 Petit Manseng/ Chardonnay blend. Lightly sweet.

Thomas Nelson White $14 Vidal Blanc/ Petit Manseng blend. Sweeter still.

Three Ridges Red $18 Chanbourcin/Cabernet Franc/ Merlot blend

2007 Black Rock Red Reserve $18 Cabernet Franc/Merlot/Chambourcin blend

Mill Hill Apple Wine $12 100 percent apples. We were served this straight up chilled and also mulled with spices and brown sugar – warm apple pie in a glass.

Nothing really begging to go home with us at this stop.

Lunch at nearby Devils Backbone Brewing Company where we found the food and beer to be quite tasty.

Lovingston Winery

2011-10-03T19:22:00.000-04:00

After a wonderful breakfast at our B&B, The Inn at the Crossroads, we were on the road again. Feels like fall – overcast and a chill in the air (but at least it’s not raining).

First stop Lovingston Winery, another new winery for us, and one we have heard good things about. We arrive to find wine maker Riaan Rossouw transferring wine between tanks.

The tasting area is upstairs overlooking the wine making facility. You can tell it is crush time the fruit flies were abundant! We chatted with Riann as he worked while we waited for owner Ed Puckett to begin our tasting. Riann has been with Lovingston Winery for 11 years and is passionate about his wine making. Before coming to Lovingston he was the winemaker at Oakencroft. He told us this year’s vintage is “maddening” and will present challenges to many winemakers.

Lovingston wine maker Riaan Rossouw

The wines:
2010 Wahoo White- $15. 100 percent unoaked Chardonnay, from 30 year old vines. Just a hint of effervescence here. This Chardonnay could make you believe it was a Sauvignon Blanc in a blind tasting.

2010 Petit Manseng $17. Less than 2 percent residual sugar, bright pineapple, but good acid finish. The Petit Manseng was served at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville, VA.

2006 Reserve Merlot $17 Great tastes including berries, plums, and vanilla.

2007 Merlot $14

2009 Rotunda Red $15 Bordeaux blend (A blend of 57 percent Merlot, 30 percent Cabernet Franc and 13 percent Petit Verdot). Rianx said this was a “soulful wine” both soft and full-bodied.

2008 Estate Reserve $20 80 percent Merlot and 20 percent Cabernet Franc blend.

2010 Pinotage $23 Riann really loves the challenge of working with this African varietal.

2010 Cabernet Franc $21 not hot, even though we were told it was 14.8 percent alcohol. Riann said the key here was to establish a balance by getting the concentration of fruit to conceal the alcohol.

2009 Lovwine $14 –this is their “summer red” 1.5 percent residual sugar, blend of Merlot and Petit Verdot.

Lovingston’s wines are made mostly with estate grapes. They produce about 1500 cases per year. The vineyard was first planted in 2003 with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. They added Pinotage, Chardonnay, and Seyval Blanc in 2005.

Lovingston manages the vineyards a bit differently than most with dense plantings of 1200 vines per acre, tall trellising the vines. The winery is built into a hillside and uses a gravity-flow production method to virtually eliminate the use of pumps. It certainly seems to be working well for them, as they are producing some “mighty fine wines”. These wines are some of the best wine values you will ever find in Virginia.

Pond at Lovingston Winery

Lovingston Winery
885 Freshwater Cove Lane
Lovingston, VA 22949
(434) 263-8467

Sugarleaf Vineyards

2011-10-02T06:23:00.000-04:00

Since they were open until 6pm, and close to our inn, we decided we could fit in one more stop at Sugarleaf Vineyards, another place new to us.

Sugarleaf is using their own grapes- Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. They get other grapes from the folks at White Hall. Tastings and tours are $7 per person. We were comped one tasting fee, for Kurt’s retired military status. (It never hurts to ask, if they don’t have this policy posted).

Tasting today:

2008 Chardonnay $24 – half oak, half steel aging.

2008 Viognier $27 - this one had 20 percent Petit Manseng blended in.

2010 Petit Manseng $27 – 25 percent Viognier blended in

2008 Vidal Blanc $23 6.5 percent residual sugar

2008 Cabernet Franc – $28 10 percent Petit Verdot - this one came home with us.

2009 Petit Verdot $30

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon $30

We were a little put off by the pricing here. The wines were decent, but not quite approachable at these prices, which are higher than many of the surrounding wineries.

On to our Bed and Breakfast, Historic Inn at the Cross Roads, just a stone’s throw from Pippin Hill Vineyard.

One of the Sugarleaf dogs

Sugarleaf Vineyards 3613 Walnut Branch Lane
North Garden, VA 22959

Phone Number:
434-984-4272

Return to Pollak Vineyards

2011-10-01T15:26:00.000-04:00

We swung by Pollak on this trip because we had read about their new port-style wine named Mille Fleurs. We enjoyed the “white port” style wine called CRU from the now defunct Kluge and this wine sounded similar. We also came by because we really like Pollak. They have some of the best wines in Virginia and have a very nice facility and beautiful vineyard.

We tried 11 wines at Pollak. All the wines are grown on the estate. Pollak has 27 acres of vineyard First up were the whites. These ranged from very good to great. We love the Pinot Gris ($18) here. This Pinot Gris has real flavor unlike so many others. The Viognier ($20) was great, as always with peach/apricot aromas and taste, a full mouth feel, and a long finish. The 2009 Chardonnay ($10) was on sale to clear it out, so look for the 2010 next week. But inexpensive does not mean flawed or not well made. The Pollak 2009 Chardonnay was a real bargain at this price for this tropical fruit flavored, creamy, delicious Chardonnay.

Pollak makes great reds too. In fact, our neighbors at the tasting bar said Pollak makes the best reds in the state. I wouldn’t go that far, but they are quite good. Pollak red wines are all unfined and unfiltered, so you will see some sediment in the bottle and perhaps in your glass. We tried the 2009 Merlot (20), the 2009 Cabernet Franc ($20), the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($24), a 2008 Meritage ($25), and the 2009 Petit Verdot ($25). I liked them all. The 2008 Meritage really stood out for me. Smooth with a ton of fruit flavors, this was one great wine.

Finally, we tried the 2009 Mille Fleurs, a Port of Viognier. This wine, as Gary V used to say, was bringing on the thunder. At $30 a bottle it is expensive, but this is a unique wine in that the underlying brandy is Viognier-based too. This may be a once-in-a-great-while wine experience for Virginia. We enjoyed it immensely with the intense apricot flavor and nutty aftertaste. Well done, Pollak.

Pollak Vineyards 330 Newtown Road
Greenwood, VA 22943
Phone Number: 540-456-8844

Stinson Vineyards

2011-09-30T05:26:00.000-04:00

This was a new adventure for us, as Stinson Vineyards have only been open for a few months. It is a small family operation. They do have vines planted on the property, (Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Sauvignon Blanc) but are currently getting their grapes from Woodstock and Mt Juliet. We were served by wine make Rachel Stinson, and her dad.

2010 Sauvignon Blanc $22 This was an interesting Sauvignon Blanc. This was not at all like a big New Zealand-style SB. Rather it was more understated, yet flavorful.

2010 Rose $17 100 percent Mourvedre - Nice summer wine. A Rose in the Southern France style (dry). We were told there would be no 2011 Rose, due to crop loss of the Mourvedre this fall from all the rain

2010 Chardonnay -$20 Nice blend of new oak and neutral oak aging. Silver Medal in governor’s cup competition.

2010 Sugar Hollow White $20 A blend of Petite Manseng and R-Kats, 1 percent residual sugar, so lightly sweet, but not overpowering. One of their best sellers this past summer.

2010 Cabernet Franc $ 22 This was a full bodied Cabernet Franc with cherry flavors and pepper.

2008 La Tour d’Afton $25– unfiltered red table wine from Turk Mountain Vineyards. This is a blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec made in a very natural way (no commercial yeasts, not filtered, etc).

2010 Petit Manseng Desset wine $25/ 375ml Very flavorful, yet not cloying. We were told this wine is fermented and aged in acacia barrels.

We really liked Stinson Vineyards. The wines were very good, especially for a new winery. They have a great view, a nice facility, and were great folks to meet. We look forward to stopping there again in the future.

Stinson Vineyards 4744 Sugar Hollow Road
Crozet, 22932
Phone Number: 434.823.7300

White Hall

2011-09-29T05:08:00.000-04:00

This was our second visit to White Hall, and once again we found them to be friendly and helpful. They also have a number of wines not on the tasting , but available for sale.

Out Tasting:

2008 Chardonnay $15 Nice drinking Chardonnay
2009 Gewurtztraminer $ 18 This wine was Carol’s choice.
2008 Petit Manseng $16

Breakheart Red (NV) $13 80% Merlot, 20% Chambourcin
2008 Merlot $15 (sale $100 case!)
2009 Touriga $15 A good, smooth, fruity red. Very drinkable.
2009 Petit Verdot $18

2006 Edichi $20/375 ml, Port-style made from Touriga and fortified with brandy.

White Hall Vineyards makes many very nice, well-priced wines. We enjoy visiting when we are in the area.

White Hall Vineyards
5282 Sugar Ridge Rd.
Crozet, Virginia 22932
Phone Number:434-823-8615

Mountfair Vineyards

2011-09-28T18:00:00.001-04:00

We next travelled to another Appellation wine trail winery. Mountfair Vineyards produces red wines exclusively. The currently are growing both Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. They do pour two sparkling whites from Thibaut Janison: Blanc de Blanc ($28) and Virginia Fizz ($23), which is made Proseco-stlye. Both wines are made from Chardonnay and were pretty decent wines for the price.

Next we tried Montfair’s 2009 Merlot ($20). Aged 22 months in oak, it was smooth and very fruity and had a long finish. The Merlot has a little bit of Cabernet Franc blended in. This was followed by the 2009 Cabernet Franc ($20). The Cabernet Franc was mellow with a light peppery finish. It has a little bit of Merlot blended in.

Next came the right-bank Bordeaux-style blend called Engagement ($25). Engagement is 60 percent Merlot, 20 percent Cabernet Franc, and 10 percent each for Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.

Our final tasting was the 2009 Wooloomooloo ($25) A red blend made of 60 percent Petit Verdot, 30 percent Merlot, and 10 percent Cabernet Franc. This was my favorite red wine at Montfair. The excellent Petit Verdot is enhanced by the fruitiness of the Merlot. This was a keeper and should age well for a number of years. The pourer told us this particular vintage has only been in the bottle for three weeks.

If you enjoy red wines, Montfair should definitely be on your really-ought-to-visit list. The prices are quite good for wines of this quality.

Mountfair Vineyards
4875 Fox Mountain Rd
Crozet, Virginia 22932
Phone Number:
434-823-7605

Next stop, Glass House

2011-09-27T05:21:00.002-04:00

Our next stop on a rainy Friday was Glass House Winery . This was our second visit to this truly unique winery. It was still raining, but this time we were greeted at the car by Dogbert, and she didn’t bring umbrellas. We met Jeff Sanders, one of the owners, when we arrived in the tasting room.

We had a nice chat with Jeff, and were well served by Sabrina. In our opinion, all of the vintages are better than the previous year.

The tasting included:

2010 Viognier $24 - Estate grown. As an added bonus, we got to taste the first crop of Glass House bananas with this wine. The banana is a variety that grows around New Orleans. It was sweet and tasted very much like other bananas. The Viognier was quite good, better than last years vintage.

2010 Vino Signora $ 15 This is an Estate grown Traminette with 3 percent residual sugar, but good balance. This is a really well-made Traminette that will appeal to many wine drinkers.

Jeff said he had managed to get all his white grapes in before the almost constant rain, but had not had the opportunity to harvest any red yet.

2010 Caihailina Vidal Blanc –$20 produced at Glass House by Bob Ramsey

2010 21^st $23 – Bordeaux blend, made from Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Bold and fruity, nice acid

2010 C-Villiain - $17 Chambourcin, with a touch of Merlot and Cabernet Franc

2010 Meglio del Sesso- $21/ 375 ml- (translation – Better than Sex) Chocolate dessert wine. Made from Norton, Chambourcin and Cabernet Franc, aged with 82 percent ground chocolate and with 13 percent residual sugar. Served with a sample of hand made espresso chocolate.

We also got to try the Caihailian Vidulce 2009, another wine by Bob Ramsey – 100 percent Vidal Blanc. This wine won the State Fair competition in the Dessert wine category.

Last, but not least, we tried the Concord grape Juice that Jeff makes for fun. I’d drink this for breakfast every day, if I could.

We took our lunch to the greenhouse with some Traminette and with Dogbert for company.

Glass House Winery
5898 Free Union Road,
Free Union, Virginia 22940
434.975.0094

Reynard Florence Vineyard

2011-09-26T05:15:00.001-04:00

We started off driving into the rain, heading south toward Charlottesville. Our first stop was Reynard Florence Vineyard in Barboursville VA. They advertise being open by appointment and by chance. We had made arrangements to visit, and were in fact met at the car by Roe Allison, carrying umbrellas. He walked us down a hill to the tasting room (be forewarned – there are no public restrooms at this point.) We did stop by a couple vines, where Roe offered up tastes of the Petit Manseng and Grenache grapes still hanging. Roe and Dee planted their first fines in 2006, and have added more each year. They are working with Chris Hill, and making their wine at Virginia Wine Works. They produced 530 cases last year, hope to eventually get to about 1500.

The Reynaud Florence Vineyard wines we tasted:

2010 Reynard Blanc –$18 - a blend of Traminette, Riesling, Petit Manseng and Viognier. 2.5 percent residual sugar. You get an explosion of flavors when you taste this.

2010 Petit Manseng $24 - Estate grown 5.0 percent residual sugar. One of the best Petit Mansengs we have tasted.

2010 Cabernet Franc $22 - A very nice wine.

Reynard Rouge - $18 Cabernet Sauvingnon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc An easy drinking red.

Also for sale, but not tasting: 2009 Petit Manseng, $24, 2009 Grenache - $30

So, if you are planning a visit to the Barboursville/Burnley area we recommend giving Reynard Florence a call to make an appointment or to see if you can swing by to try their wines. You won't be disappointed.

Reynard Florence Vineyard
16109 Burnley Road
Barboursville, VA 22973

(540) 832-3895

An Ideal Wine

2011-09-18T10:00:00.002-04:00

I just finished reading An Ideal Wine: One Generation's Pursuit Of Perfection - and Profit - In California by David Darlington. The book tells the story of the last decades of California wine making from the post Judgement of Paris time period to now.

David Darlington tells his story through the lives of two major figures in California wine: Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyards and Leo McCloskey of the wine analysis firm, Enologix. Randall Grahm is, of course, the first protagonist representing terroir-based wines and lately, biodynamic farming. Leo McCloskey is the other protagonist representing the scientific, materialistic approach, using databases of wine critics scores like Robert Parker's and Wine Spectator's along with the chemical compound measurements that make wines achieve those scores.

Other figures are covered of course, and the story includes the rise of Yellow Tail from Australia, the sale of Glen Ellen, the arrival of Two-Buck Chuck, and the rise of the school at UC Davis. It is a great read about how the California industry was transformed from a collection of family wineries to corporate giants of today.

The book talks about everything and any wine drinker is sure to discover many things are not as simple as they first appear. I finished thinking both sides are right--and wrong.

As I was reading the book I couldn't help but think to myself that the description of the California wine scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s sounds familiar to the situation in Virginia (and to a lesser extent North Carolina and Maryland) today. How the vineyards and wineries here will proceed remains to be seen. But I think this book offers some clues about how it might move forward.

I recommend the book highly. It is a very revealing look at the wine industry today as seen through the eyes of two still major figures in the wine world.

Village Winery

2011-09-17T06:41:00.000-04:00

We were in the area and decided to visit Village Winery again. Last time we visited they were all out of their Viognier. We wanted to see if they had released a new vintage. They had, plus some other new wines.

As you can see, Village Winerey is not a fancy place. It will never be a big destination winery. The owner/winemaker says he is a farmer. He told us he was putting in 100 apple trees, so that he will have his own source of apples for the apple wine. It is a plaesant and friendly palce to visit and the wines are nice.

We tasted Village Winery's Viognier ($18), Merlot ($17), Cab Franc ($17), Merlot and Cabernet Franc Blend ($17) and a Petit Verdot ($20). We particularly enjoyed the Viognier and bought a bottle.

We also tried an Apple Wine ($13), Apple and Elderberry Wine ($17), a Raspberry Apple Wine ($16), and an Elderberry Vinaigrette,which was quite tasty. Village Winery also makes Elderberry Syrup, an Elderberry Chocolate Syrup, and an Elderberry Beverage mix.

Village Winery 40405 Browns Lane
Waterford, Virginia 20197

29 Vines

2011-09-13T05:34:00.000-04:00

29 Vines is a new winery in Loudoun County. The winery has a tasting room in Purcellville. 29 Vines will host a Grand Opening on Saturday, Sept. 17. The tasting room offers other Virginia wines in addition to its own. Right now they are pouring and selling wines from Tarara and Fabbioli Cellars.

29 Vines is now pouring and selling four wines of their own: Sweet Rebecca Lynn (a blend of Tramminette and Seyval Blancwhich is not sweet) ($18), White Chambourcin ($18), Reserve Chardonnay ($22), and Karma ($28). A Chambourcin is coming soon. They are also pouring two Tarara whites: Viognier and 3 Vineyards Chardonnay; two Tarara reds: Cabernet Franc and Long Bomb 2; and Fabbioli Cellars Raspberry Merlot.

Co-owner Mary Beth Barbagallo

We really liked the 29 Vines Reserve Chardonnay. It was soft and fruity with a lingering finish. We took a bottle home with us. Mary Beth also poured us a taste of their Cabernet Franc which they have blended with Merlot in the Karma. She explained that they really didn't have enough Cabernet Franc for a separate bottling, which is too bad because it was wonderful. The Karma was just bottled so it needs time to recover from bottle shock.

The tasting room is very nice. It is pleasant place to stop for a tasting and maybe a glass of wine. Mary Beth said their plans include adding some other Virginia wines and having these available for tastings and sales. It was nice to taste the Tarara wines as we hadn't been to Tarara in some time.

Wine tastings are held Friday – Monday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. They cost $10 for 9 wines (soon to be 10). Active duty and retired military have a sponsored tasting costing only $1.

We had a pleasant time at 29 Vines and think you will too.

29 Vines, 105 E. Main St. Purcellville, VA 20132

Herndon Labor Day Festival

2011-09-10T06:15:00.001-04:00

We went to the Herndon Labor Day Festival. The festival has wine tasting, food, beer tastings, and music. There were twelve participating wineries and four participating micro breweries .

Wineries: Barboursville Vineyards, Chateau Morrisette, Cooper Vineyards, Davis Valley Winery, DelFosse Vineyards, Horton Vineyards, Loudoun Valley Vineyards, North Gate Vineyard, Peaks of Otter Winery, Rebec Vineyards, Thistle Gate Vineyard, and Williamsburg Winery.

Micro Brews: Port City Brewing (Alexandria, VA), Williamsburg Alewerks (Williamsburg, VA)
Lost Rhino Brewing (Ashburn, VA), and Victory Brewing (Downingtown, PA).
I liked all the beers I tried. We received three tasting tickets so I only selected the Indian Pale Ales.

Highlights of the wine tastings:

Thistle Gate Vineyard is a new winery not yet open to the public. We liked all their wines, especially their Chardonnay.

North Gate Vineyard is one of our favorites. Mark introduced us to their new Petit Manseng. We still love his Chardonnay. Mark told us the 2010 Viognier was awarded a Gold Medal at the 2011 VA Governor's Cup for White wines so he is not pouring it for tastings. He is also out of his Petit Verdot.

Other wines that caught our attention: Cooper Vineyards Viognier, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot; Loudoun Valley Vineyards Vinifera Red; Davis Valley's White (made from Chardonelle) and Autumn Red; and Delfosse 2008 Grand Cru Olivier.

All in all we had a nice time despite the rain. Old town Herdon is a nice place to visit and more so with a festival.

Virginia Wine Bloggers Blind Tasting Party

2011-09-04T15:48:00.002-04:00

We hosted a Virginia Wine Blogger blind wine tasting party the other evening. It was a lot of fun and a chance to meet and talk to each other. Some of our guests have been blogging for years. Some, like us, are fairly new to Virginia Wine blogging. Even with several regrets, we hosted a large and diverse group at the party.
This party was Carol's idea. We invited many of the Virginia wine bloggers we knew about to participate in a Virginia wine tasting party featuring blind tastings of different varietals. We asked that they help by contributing to the tastings by bringing at least 2 bottles of the same varietal (or same/similar blends) from different Virginia wineries. We planned to compare our 2 Albarinos, and later added 2 Petit Verdots.

Carol thought it would be really interesting if we did this as a blind tasting, so we asked everyone to mask their bottles, and just label with the varietal/blend and "A" or "B" ( and "C" if they really wanted to get crazy, as many of them apparently did ).

We also asked that each blogger brought some kind of snack/ tidbits that would go well with the wine they brought. We made up score sheets for everyone, put some turkey meatballs in a spicy BBQ sauce in the crock pot and prepared the house for a fun evening. Our guests brought some cheeses, spinach cheese dip and chips, chocolate covered grapes, special cookies that go with wine varietals, fresh breads, a prosciutto and cheese plate, olives, flatbread crackers, and gourmet pretzels. We included some dark chocolates which were supplemented by others during the evening.

Virginia Chardonnays revealed

Kristy Wine Vine and the Swirl Sip Snark team each brought two Chardonnays to taste. There was probably more variation in the Chardonnays than in any other grouping that evening Here were the Chardonnays we tasted blind: 2009 Veramar Reserve, 2009 Blenheim, 2010 Willowcroft, and 2010 La Grange. Winner: 2010 Winery at La Grange Fletcher's Chardonnay by a rather overwhelming majority.

Virginia Viogniers revealed.

Colleen and Andrew from Wine Cruisers and Frank from Drink What You Like each brought two Viogniers. I liked each of the Viogniers and each received at least one vote. Viogniers tasted: 2009 La Grange, 2010 Paradise Springs, 2009 Delaplane Cellars, and 2008 Annefield.
Winner: 2008 Annefield Vineyards. This was the clear favorite.

Loudon County Albarinos revealed

Carol and I supplied the Albarinos. We tasted the 2010 Chrysalis and the 2010 Willowcroft.
Winner: The 2010 Chrysalis in a close vote. One taster wrote "Chrysalis Honeysuckle. Apricot. Sweet finish." Most everyone liked the Albarinos and asked if other Virginia wineries planned to grow it.

Allan from Cellar Blog provided three Nebbiolos: 2007 Breaux, 2001 Breaux Barrel Select, and Barolo from Italy. Winner: The 2001 Breaux Nebbiolo.

John from Hagarty On Wine provided three Cabernet Francs. I liked all three Cabernet Francs. They all had good fruit and good after taste. The winner received the vast majority of the votes. Cabernet Francs tasted included a 2009 Desert Rose, a 2010 Hagarty Cellars from John's private collection, and the 2009 Rappahannock. The winner was the 2009 Rappahannock Cellars Cabernet Franc by a wide margin. But again, most folks really liked all three. The Rappahannock Cellars had a fuller body and slightly more intense flavors.

Carol and I provided two Petit Verdots for this tasting including a 2008 Chester Gap and a 2008 Pearmund Cellars. The winner was 2008 Pearmund Cellars by overwhelming vote. One blogger said the Pearmund was "very approacable." I had written "very fruity."

Virginia Petit Verdots revealed

Allan from Cellar Blog provided two Meritage-like blends and Kristy Wine Vine provided a Cabernet Sauvignon which we placed in this group. Wines in this group included 2007 Breaux, 2007 Delfosse Grange Cru Oliver , and a 2009 La Grange Cabernet Sauvignon (a varietal, not a Meritage-like blend).

Red "blend" revealed

The decisive winner was the 2007 Delfosse Grange Cru Oliver. Again, one blogger commented "very approachable."

We all had a great time. Many of the participants were open to the idea of having another VA Wine Bloggers blind tasting party sometime soon and hope to include several other bloggers who couldn't attend this one.