Dry Petit Manseng Ascends in Virginia During 2019

"Petit Manseng is one of the key white grape varieties of South West France. Used predominantly in Jurancon and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, it is most commonly vinified as a richly sweet wine with stonefruit characters such as peach and apricot, citrus and sweet spice." -- Wine-searcher.com

Twenty years ago, two Virginia wineries planted plots of Petit Manseng using cuttings from Virginia Tech’s Alson H. Smith Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center experimental vineyard near Winchester.  The extension agents recognized that the grape's thick skins and loose clusters would be advantageous during Virginia's humid summers.  Soon afterward Jennifer McCloud of Chrysalis Vineyards petitioned the precursor to the Alcohol and Trade Tax Bureau (TTB) to approve Petit Manseng as a valid grape variety so that the grape's name could be used on a wine label. However, before approval was granted,  Horton Vineyards was able to label their first Petit Manseng vintage as that grape name because it had submitted the wine label as a place name and not as a grape name. Pretty sneaky. Over the succeeding years, Petit Manseng made small strides in the Virginia wine industry, but primarily as a dessert or off-dry offering as its inherent acidity balances residual sugar -- reminiscent of Riesling.

However, today it is dry Petit Manseng that has elevated the grape to public consciousness within the Commonwealth as two were included in the 2019 Governor's Case Club. During the 2019 Denver BevFluence Experience, we received samples of these wines which consisted of the Governor's Cup winning Horton Vineyards Petit Manseng 2016 ($25) and the gold-winning Michael Shaps Petit Manseng 2016 ($30). What makes these wines exceptional is that they maintain the grape's inherent bright tropical characters and provide a newly discovered depth and weight. he Horton version includes five percent each Viognier and Rkatsiteli which help explain some stone fruit character and both were fermented primarily in oak introducing Burgundian techniques.

These two wineries are linked with other interesting facts. In 1991, when Horton's first crop was harvested, they leased Montdomaine Cellars as a production facility for the next 5 years and used the Montdomaine trademark during that period. In 1995, Michael Shaps moved to Virginia to work at Jefferson Vineyards as head winemaker and general manager and in 2007 he and a partner purchased that same Montdomaine facility to open Virginia WineWorks. And recently longtime Horton winemaker Mike Heny, who started production of the 2016 Horton Petit Manseng, left in late 2017 for a similar position at Virginia WineWorks. Heny was then replaced by Andy Reagan who conducted the final blending trials for the Petit Manseng and it was Reagan who had previously succeeded Shaps at Jefferson Vineyards. Plenty of winemaking talent making the rounds in Virginia. Cheers to 2019.

Comparative Cabernet Franc - Colorado vs Virginia

"I'm not a huge enthusiast of the sexual stereotyping of wines but even I can see that Cabernet Franc might be described as the feminine side of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is subtly fragrant and gently flirtatious rather than massively muscular and tough in youth. Because Cabernet Sauvignon has so much more of everything – body, tannin, alcohol, colour – it is often supposed to be necessarily superior, but I have a very soft spot indeed for its more charming and more aromatic relative, Cabernet Franc." -- Jancis Robinson

Whereas Cabernet Franc is mostly known from its Bourdeaux (St-Émilion and Pomerol) and Loire (Chinon) homes, this black-skinned wine grape has been widely planted in the United States - particularly in wine regions such as the Finger Lakes, Long Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Colorado.

Colorado Case Club Wines

These regions provide challenging conditions for grapevines such as short growing seasons, frost, and humidity. Cabernet Franc's relative thick skins and loose clusters allow the grape to withstand humidity; yet frost and short growing seasons are still detrimental since the grape buds and matures earlier than say, Cabernet Sauvignon. These conditions heighten the inherent green vegetal character of Cabernet Franc due to the increased presence of the chemical pyrazine in these unripened grapes.  Winemakers can attempt to compensate for this overly green vegetal character by increasing oak treatment - in many cases leading to overly oaked and dull wines.

Virginia Case Club Wines

During the BevFluence Experience Denver, we sampled several Cabernet Franc wines, a few from the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board and another from the Virginia Wine Board.  This provided a small, yet interesting, sampling of comparative Cabernet Franc.  The grapes from the Colorado wine were sourced from the Grand Valley located on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains - basically a high altitude desert at over 4,500 feet with sunny days and cool nights.  In Virginia, the grapes were also grown on the western slope of a mountain range, in this case, the Blue Ridge Mountains and between 1,000 and 1,400 feet above sea level.  Besides elevation, another difference is the lush green environment and potential humidity common to the Commonwealth.

Out of the four wines sampled, two were very similar - one each from Colorado and Virginia.  Both were luscious, full-bodied, velvety, finishing with lifting acids and firm tannins. Both wines were devoid of the inherent green vegetal character and while receiving some oak, neither was overly so.  Two home runs from uniquely distinct regions.

BookCliff Vineyards 2015 Grand Valley Reserve Cabernet Franc ($26.99)
In 1995, John Garlich and Ulla Merz purchased a ten-acre peach farm just outside of Palisade in Colorado's Grand Valley AVA and quickly planted grapevines on six of these acres. They sold off most of their initial grape harvest but soon established the winery and named it after the Book Cliffs, a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah. They also strove to produce 100% Colorado-grown wines and have slowly increased their holdings to 37 acres planted with 14 different varieties. The Cabernet Franc grapes were harvested from the estate vineyard that benefits from sunny days and cool nights at this high altitude desert. It's easy to see how this wine won Best of Show in Colorado's 2018 Governor’s Cup Wine Competition.


Glen Manor Vineyards 2015 Cabernet Franc ($31.99)
Around the same time as the establishment of BookCliff, Jeff Raymond White planted vines on a parcel of land that had been in his family for over a hundred years and which was originally part of a larger land grant owned by Lord Fairfax of England. Chief Justice John Marshall eventually purchased a share of these holdings and through various sales cascaded to Stephen Clifton Lawson (Jeff’s great-grandfather). Since 1995, White has planted his Cabernet Franc in different lots experimented in slope, soil, exposures and canopy cover which eventually lead to two plantings that combined to produce this Governor's Cup Case Club wine.

Michigan Wine - Reach for the Pinot, Not Just the Riesling

During the BevFluence Experience Denver, the Michigan Wine Collaborative (MWC) coordinated with a few wineries to provide the experience with several signature Michigan wines. Riesling was, as expected, highly represented with excellent versions ranging from dry to off-dry and characterized by minerality with bright tropic and or stone fruit notes. Many of these we covered earlier with the MWC Riesling Roundtable and Michigan #WineStudio. Examples include the 45 North 2017 Riesling, St. Julian Mountain Road 2018 Estate Riesling, St. Julian 2018 Reserve Riesling, and the St. Julian Braganini 2017 Reserve Dry Riesling.

However, it was the Pinot wines, both Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris that piqued our interest. It started at dinner the first evening with the 2018 Chateau Chantal Pinot Grigio ($15). That was followed by the next night with the 2016 Proprietors Reserve Pinot Gris ($24) from the same winery and among a larger group. The Pinot Grigio is light and minerally like its Italian namesake includng plenty of stone fruit. Great acidity as well. The Pinot Gris is more Alsatian with rich layers of apples, stone, and tropical fruit. Once again acids lift the finish and the tasting group was quite impressed.

Eventually, attendees discovered the St. Julian 2018 Lake Michigan Shore Reserve Pinot Grigio ($9.99). And like the others, this wine was far from the pedestrian Pinot Grigio's that flood the grocery store isles. Don't let the light color fool you, there's plenty of flavors starting with apples then transitioning to tropical fruits. Nice.

Michigan Pinot Noir was more familiar to attendees and the Chateau Chantal 2017 Proprietor's Reserve Ole Mission Penninsula Pontes Vineyard Pinot Noir ($27) got the party started. This is a rich wine, dark fruit with a velvety texture. Similarly, the 45 North 2017 Pinot Noir ($36) is equally full-bodied but with more red fruit and spices. In contrast, a nice vertical with the 45 North 2016 Pinot Noir ($36) shows a lighter wine with a strong sour cherry profile.  These wines represent the 45th parallel.

Thanks MWC, St. Julian, Chateau Chantal, and 45 North for enhancing the BevFluence Experience Denver. Cheers.

Disclosure: We received samples from the Michigan Wine Collaborative in order to share our opinion about their products, but this isn’t a sponsored post.

#BevFluenceExperience Denver: Golden Moon Distillery

One of the first tours of BevFluence's Denver Experience was to Golden Colorado and the Golden Moon Distillery. For good reason. The Distillery had just been awarded the American Distilling Institute’s 2019 Distillery of the Year Award and the ten+-year-old distillery offers a rather rare and remarkable range of spirits. In fact, founders Stephen Gould and Karen Knight opened the distillery in order to recreate lost recipes -- particularly those from the late 1700s to the early 1900s. Gould's research library of ancient distilling methods dates back to the 1500s, but in order to be as authentic as possible, Gould scours the globe for antique stills. Presently they use four in the distilling process -- all dating from the early to mid-1900s. Although in order to scale up production, they contracted for larger and more modern stills but manufactured specifically to replicate the design of these antiques.

A dozen spirits and a smiling tasting room manager (Kayla) greeted us on arrival and we immediately dove into samples.  Two facts became immediately clear; first that Golden Moon produces high-quality spirits and second, there is a nice cross-pollination between Colorado craft beverage industries. The latter is evident by the Golden Moon Apple Jack ($56) and Golden Moon Grappa ($56). The Apple Jack starts with Colorado-grown apples that Denver's Stem Ciders crushes and during fermentation, the cider is transferred to the distillery where it is soon distilled, then lightly oak-aged and bottled.  This is a voluminous cider - full of apple funky apple flavor and a smooth - slight burn.

Even more intriguing and adding to the cross-pollination is their line of grappas produced from grape must from BookCliff Vineyard.  Each year brings not only a new vintage but also a different grape variety and in this case, we sampled three versions: a Riesling, Viognier, and a Chardonnay.  The final version was the clear preference. It provided a fuller profile both in body and fruit flavors with a more wine sensation. I'm sipping a glass as I type.

The other spirit I purchased was the Golden Moon Kümmel ($32)  - a spirit initially developed by assistant distiller Robbie Cunningham based on a Scottish recipe. The base alcohol is flavored with caraway and fennel and on its own is an interesting spirit. But Kayla, who is also the bar manager at the Golden Moon Speakeasy, recommended this as an alternative to vodka in a Bloody Mary. As fate intervenes, two of our party had already ventured to The Real Dill, Denver's source for pickles and bloody mary mix. Kayla was correct. We started with the Real Dill Bloody Mary mix and rimming spice, then the Golden Moon Kümmel, a dash of Celery Horseradish or Smoked Salt and Pepper bitters from Monarch Bitters and topped with a Real Dill Habanero Pickle. Great success.

In addition to the Kümmel, Golden Moon produces several other unique spirits and liqueurs. One is an aperitif resurrected in stature, the REDUX Absinthe ($86) where just water, and not sugar, brings out the milky and cloudy character. A sure sign of quality. The Golden Moon Crème de Violette ($32), Golden Moon Dry Curacao ($32), and Golden Moon Ex Gratia ($56) are liqueurs worth sampling neat and mixologists can envision imaginative cocktails. However, be aware of sampling the Golden Moon Amer dit Picon ($56) neat. It is based on the original recipes and ingredients used by "legendary distiller Gaetan Picon to create his amer (bitters) in the 1830’s". And it is bitter, very bitter. Get the Picon Punch ready for this one.

Follow #BevFluenceExperience on social media to read future posts on the Golden Moon Gin ($46), Port Cask Reserve Gin ($86), Golden Moon Colorado Single Malt Whiskey ($110), Gun Fighter American Rye - Double Cask Whiskey ($34), and Gun Fighter American Bourbon - Double Cask Whiskey ($34). Cheers.