Missouri Wine: Norton - Missouri's Official State Grape

The Norton grape has been the backbone of the Missouri wine industry through the industry's rise in the second half of the 19th century and the modern era. It was a Norton wine that was declared the "Best Red of All Nations" at an 1873 International competition in Vienna, Austria - a feat repeated in several other subsequent world fairs. At the same time nurseries, such as Bush & Son & Meissner near St. Louis, were propagating the grape throughout the Midwest and most likely France too. These Missouri nurseries are credited with saving Europe’s vineyards in the late 19th century after the phylloxera crisis by supplying disease-resistant rootstock. A major reason for its popularity is that Norton vines are very hardy and vigorous, resistant to numerous vine diseases and other growing problems such as downy mildew, powdery mildew, and bunch rot.

Post-prohibition, When Jim and Betty Held purchased the old Stone Hill Winery in 1965 - a winery that was once the second largest winery in the U.S. - they made Norton the lynchpin of their operation. Today it is the pride of their winery, as well as many other Missouri wineries, as Norton wine has become the most popular varietal wine in the Show Me State. It's easy to see why the Missouri Wine and Grape Board designated Norton Missouri's signature grape.

During our three day tour of the Kansas City area Missouri wineries, our group tasted several Norton wines representing various styles and geographic regions. In some instances, the wine was labeled Cynthiana which DNA suggests is the same grape but perhaps a distinct clone. The most widely produced styles are the big and bold reds that provide concentrated blackberry and dark cherry flavors and subtle spices, with the best versions taming the highly acidic and astringent character of the grape. Although Norton wines are low in tannins, the high acids encourage cellaring where older Nortons acquire a rounder profile with notes of chocolate and vanilla. Here are some of the group's favorite Norton wines.

Maureen Blum - MoWino
The St. James Winery Winemaker Series Norton 42 spoke to me at first swirl, sniff and impactful sip! As with many Norton wines, the dusty terroir flowed along in the long finish but it was the ripples of bright dark fruits that created a silky elegant sip to savor. Holding its own, the wine pairs beautifully with rich deep chocolate cake.

Katie Van Luchene - author of Insiders' Guide® to Kansas City and self-professed KC’s head cheerleader
During a tour of Stonehaus Farms Winery in — yes, Lee’s Summit, MO — owner and winemaker Brett Euritt described how he makes his port from estate-grown Cynthiana (also known as Norton, the state grape of Missouri), which is finished with California brandy and aged in charred bourbon barrels. The grapes provide notes of cherries and dark chocolate; the last step adds a smokey finish. I was impressed enough during the tasting to purchase a bottle (the $23 price was impressive as well). I’ll invite friends over for Port on the Deck where I’ll serve dark-chocolate truffles from Kansas City’s Panache Chocolatiers and Jerry will offer cigars from his humidor.

Sarah R. Jaquay -  wine and craft beer contributor to TheWineBuzz
Some of my favorites were Vox Vineyards 2014 and Cross J 2013--produced by Stone Hill Winery in Hermann. I purchased Cross J at the Merc and sampled it back home. The Cross J has aromas of chocolate and dark berries followed by robust fruit flavors with a dry finish. The oak comes through from beginning to end and it paired beautifully with grilled lamb chops.

Todd Godbout - WineCompass and theCompass Craft Beverage Finder
I agree with all of my fellow participant's recommendations and actually returned home with a bottle of the St. James Winery Winemaker Series Norton 42 and Stonehaus Farms Winery Cynthiana Port. My shipment home also included the Adam Puchta Winery 2016 Estate Norton grown in the historic homeland of Missouri wine, Hermann. This is a big boy, full of dark fruit and still abundant acids. I plan on allowing it to rest a couple years to tame the acids and anticipate a well-rounded wine with solid fruit and subtle spices and chocolate.

See other posts of the trips at Missouri Wine.

Missouri Wine: Reviving American Heritage Grapes at Vox Vineyards

Albania, America, Brilliant, Carman, Cloeta, Delicatessen, Favorite, Lenoir, Lomanto, Marguerite, Muench, Wetumka

These are winegrapes that were once grown in Missouri and middle America prior to Prohibition. They are just a handful among the many grapes developed in the rigorous breeding programs of viticulture pioneers Thomas Volney Munson, Hermann Jaeger, George Husmann, and Isador Bush. Each of these gentlemen received commendations from the French for rescuing that wine industry as mentioned in The Basics and between them developed hundreds of new wine grapes and rootstocks. The Show Me State is a prime grape breeding region as several diverse climates merge (eastern woodlands, western plains, Ozark Highlands, and the Mississippi Delta). Across the globe, there are about 79 different species of grapes in the genus Vitis (grapevines); but 27 of those are native to middle America. Thus Missouri has historically hosted many of these species: labrusca, aestivalis, riparia, rupestris, cordifolia, among others; and in fact, it was vines and rootstock from the riparia and rupestris species which were eventually grafted to French vines.

Post-prohibition, many of these vines have been lost, but there are groups of individuals who are dedicated to maintaining the legacy of the early grape pioneers. Jerry Eisterhold became one of these converts after reading Thomas Volney Munson's, Foundations of American Grape Culture in 1978. Inspired by Munson, in 1996 Eisterhold did what any reasonable person would do, he chartered a plane to scout topography and being a soil scientist by training (Agronomy at the University of Missouri and the third-best soil judge in the Big Eight) discovered a site in the Missouri River Bluffs. He also "reached out to Grayson College, a small university near Munson’s original vineyard in Denison, Texas. With their help, Jerry acquired cuttings from over sixty of the native varieties Munson had been developing for wine production". In 1996 this property was planted with two acres of vines in which Eisterhold just extended to six acres and judiciously, consulted with viticulturist Lucie Morton while planting specific rows.

For practically twenty years Vox Vineyards acted as an experimental vineyard narrowing down to 40 grape varieties which Eisterhold would like to widdle down to 12-20. Since he wasn't producing wine, Jerry could experiment freely without the market influencing his decisions. But in 2012 that changed and Vox Vineyards released its first vintage under the TerraVox label -- the Latin "terra", meaning "earth" or ground", and the Latin "vox", meaning "voice or "speech". The goal: "...to let the land speak for itself through our wine, and for our wine to be a Voice of the Land".

Vox was our very first stop along the Missouri Wine tour and our group received a similar epiphany regarding these heritage grapes. After introductions and a winery-vineyard tour, Eisterhold presented a slideshow on the importance of these American Heritage Grapes and the pioneers: Munson, Jaeger, Husmann, Bush, Muench, and Rommel - the latter two Munson named grapes after. Muench was a grower in Augusta and Rommel brought the first Norton into Missouri. After the slideshow, we were intrigued; how do these wines taste? Here are my notes from the three heritage grapes plus four styles of Norton.

2018 Albania ($32)
This is a Lincecumii-Aestivalis-Bourquiniana hybrid created by Munson in 1896 and is a cross of Ten Dollar Prize x Norton x Herbemont. It is late ripening with thin, but tough, skins used for late harvest and white wines. Eisterhold considers it the most sophisticated of the Munson whites. The nose is citrus and tropical, with a tart citrus core, and medium acidity. This is a most pleasant and easy drinking wine.

2018 Wetumka ($27)
This is a Labrusca-Vinifera-Bourquiniana-Aestivalis hybrid bred by Munson in 1893 by crossing Elvira x Herbemont x Gold Coin. This is another late ripening tough-skinned grape that retains a hint of its labrusca parentage. The strong aroma bounces between floral and elderberries and the core is tart with almost a funky pear cider component. But there's also a hint of Niagara or another strong grapey flavor and with all the combinations produces an interesting wine. I brought a bottle home to let it test the senses.

NV Wetumka RePort ($42 375ml)
This is the Wetumka fortified with local neutral grape spirits to 17.6%. It is delicious. I'm kicking myself for not purchasing a bottle. The strong floral aroma is present immediately and then the wine leads to a creamy interior and finishes with noticeable acids to balance the sugar and alcohol.

2018 Lenoir ($39)
Commonly known as Black Spanish in Texas, this grape is a Bourquiniana variety that was a natural hybridization between an aestivalis species of grape with an unknown vinifera pollen donor. Modern DNA analysis points to a Jacquez cultivar such as Madeira Jacquez. It is most popular in Texas because of its resistance to Pierce's disease and produces a full-bodied red wine. The TerraVox Lenoir is medium bodied with a woodsy profile and intense acids.

2018 Sunny Slope Rosé ($27)
The wine is made from Missouri's state grape Norton (aestivalis) and is quite tasty with a strawberry creamy core. The downside is a relatively flatter finish.

2018 Norton Saignée Rosé ($32)
This version of rosé has a little less fruit character than the preceding wine, but more lifting acids providing a refreshing finish. If TerraVox could somehow blend the fruit and texture of the Sunny Slope with the finish of the Saignée.....

2014 Norton ($35)
The winery had provided some bottle aging relief so this Norton does not shock the palate with a massive dose of acidity. It is still fresh with a friendlier cherry profile, not jammy, and with medium tannins. A solid Missouri Norton.

2016 Norton RePort ($40 375ml)
Once again, this wine has the acids to complement the sugar and alcohol providing a very fluid experience with really no sense of alcohol heat. Plus it's tasty revealing dried figs and plums. A dangerous wine at 19% abv.

2018 America Pet Nat ($42)
We actually didn't sample this wine but I purchased anyway and will provide an update on the tasting notes. But what patriot could ignore *M*R*C*?  According to Eisterhold, "We planted America, a red grape from Munson’s list, in our vineyard and we were surprised at how light in color last year’s crop was. The flavor was strangely beefy, similar to how steak tartare tastes. Our winemaker, Whitney Ryan, had the idea to lean into the funky taste, color and unpredictable nature of the grape and use it to make a pét-nat, a method of producing sparkling wine by bottling the wine during primary fermentation, capturing the carbon dioxide that’s naturally released".

Virginia Wine TV - Talking Norton and DLW with Jennifer McCloud

To celebrate this year's DrinkLocalWine.com conference - scheduled for St. Louis, Missouri April 2nd-3rd - ourselves, Virginia Wine TV, and My Vine Spot organized a couple sessions tasting Kansas and Missouri Norton wines along with Jennifer McCloud from Chrysalis Vineyards. The first session was a filming of a Virginia Wine TV episode released today showing McCloud and Ms. Ballard discussing the history of the grape as well as its migration west and then its return to Virginia via Dennis Horton. During the episode they sampled wines from several highly regarded wineries in the Midwest. You have to watch the video to see their thoughts.

A week later Dezel and I organized a bloggers tasting of Norton wines at Chrysalis Vineyards with Jennifer McCloud leading the tasting once again. Along with several that I had accumulated while traveling to Kansas City, McCloud pulled a couple from her cellar as well as several older Chrysalis wines. The result of the tasting shows that, handled with care and aged, Norton wines are very drinkable and can exhibit the same complexity as wines made from viniferia grapes. We also found that the wines needed to be decanted before tasting as many had some reductive characteristics - but after several violent shakes of the glass - the aromas and flavors were properly released. Each of us had our favorites, and with McCloud's dedication to the grape there was no surprise that her wines were very good - whether the high end Locksley Reserve, the Estate Bottled Norton, or the fruity Sarah's Patio Red. The Westphalia Vineyards Norton was my favorite from the Midwest - this was a full bodied where the acids had been tamed and the wine mellowed to a smooth and very drinkable wine. And as expected the Stone Hill Winery Norton was quite nice. In neighboring Kansas, the grape is often referred to as Cynthiana and Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery releases a version that stands up to both time and being opened for over a week. The flavor profile from this wine most closely resembles those from Chrysalis - bigger than many of the Missouri wines but tame in its acidity.

During this tasting, Hump Astorga, Director of Culinary Operations at Chrysalis, showed how Norton is also a very food friendly wine. We set aside our favorites and paired them with two
of his creations: Bouches with Thyme-scented Goat Cheese and Applewood Smoked Bacon and Garlic Crostini, Locksley Estate Venison Pate and Norton-laced Cranberry Chutney. He explained how to pair wine and food and the idea to balance the acidity in the wine with the flavor and acidity in the food. Obviously us mortals don't have the culinary skills to craft these items, but the idea is the same: wine is meant to be to enjoyed with food - Norton included.

Take a peak at the DrinkLocalWine.com website and think about heading to St. Louis this weekend. You will earn why Norton is truly the "Great American" grape - the only indigenous grape variety that can be vinified into a full bodied comparable to the noble European grapes.

Thanks to Jennifer McCloud for hosting these events; Hump Astorga; and all the participants; included Michael, Dezel of My Vine Spot, Chris Parker from New Horizon Wines, Raelinn from Wine Ophelia, and Alleigh from A Glass After Work.

Wines we tasted from:

• Chrysalis Vineyards
• Adam Puchta Winery
• Stone Hill Winery
• St. James Winery
• Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery
• Stonehaus Farms Winery
• Les Bourgeois Vineyards
• Davenport Winery
• Kugler's Vineyard
• Westphalia Vineyards

Norton virtual tasting for DLW 2011: Missouri

With the assistance of Dezel from My Vine Spot and Jenny McCloud, proprietor of Chrysalis Vineyards, we will be hosting a virtual tasting of various Midwestern Norton wines on Wednesday March 23rd in anticipation for DLW 2011: Missouri. Even though Chrysalis possesses the world's largest planting of Norton grapes in their Virginia estates, Norton is most popular in the Midwest and Plains states with the largest plantings in Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. Norton is best served aged, so we will be opening 8-10 year old wines from Chrysalis as well as the wineries listed below. We encourage everyone to open a bottle of Midwestern wine on the 23rd, whether Norton\Cynthania or St. Vincent, Chardonel, Vignoles; or any other grape variety. Just use the #DLWMO hash tag to share your thoughts. Cheers.

Kansas
Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery
Davenport Winery
Kugler's Vineyard

Missouri
Stone Hill Winery
Stonehaus Farms Winery
Les Bourgeois Vineyards
Adam Puchta Winery
Bethlehem Valley Vineyards
Röbller Vineyard Winery
St. James Winery

Third annual DrinkLocalWine.com Conference - St. Louis

"We don't need no stinkin' vinifera: The grapes of Missouri" - now that's a seminar I'd like to witness. And you can too by attending the Third annual DrinkLocalWine.com Conference, held at the Doubletree Westport - St. Louis on April 2nd-3rd. Yes, there are a few vinifera wines crafted in the midwest, but local wine drinkers imbibe in plenty of Norton\Cynthania, St. Vincent, Chardonel, Vignoles, and several other labrusca and hybrids. Having traveled to the area for the better part of a year, the wines are very good. Tickets to the conference start at a very reasonable $35 per session, with discounts for multiple sessions. Don't miss Doug Frost moderating the Grapes of Missouri session - he will make it entertaining; and plus there's the standard twitter taste-off and winery tours. Cheers.

Virginia Norton, here we come (are you there?) . . . . . .

Guest post by The Norton Wine Travelers:

A couple of years ago we had the opportunity to visit eight Virginia Norton vineyards. It was time to return to as many of the remaining twenty-two Norton vineyards as possible to explore this great potential experience. Thanks go out to http://www.wine-compass.com for help in navigating the hills and dales needed to find these east coast Norton wineries.

On our first trip we began a Norton wine exploration by visiting Abingdon Vineyard & Winery, Bluemont Vineyards, Burnley Vineyards, Cooper Vineyards, Horton Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards, Rockbridge Vineyards, and The Winery at La Grange vineyards. We were particularly fond of the Norton wines found on that trip at Abingdon, Horton, Rockbridge and especially Cooper Vineyards. Some were better than others in 2008, but just like the grape in the fields, each year has new winners and sometimes, disappointments. Vintages vary within the course of nature’s flow and vintners’ intentions. It was time for us to return and see the changes and new approaches to Virginia’s Norton offerings.

In most vineyards we were served newly opened bottles making evaluation difficult of Norton wines needing to breathe extensively before enjoying. Also some tastings started as early as 10:00 am and others were enjoyed after a long day’s drive in the late evening. Many factors could have influenced our tasting reactions, but in the end we hope this will whet your appetite for visiting the following wineries and letting us know your reactions.

We started our most resent trip to Virginia visiting Peaks of Otter Winery and Orchards near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Upon finding the orchard, $3.00 can provide you with a small tasting glass which you can keep, or you can opt out for a free tasting using one of Peak’s little plastic dental sippy spit cups. Makes no difference what your preference, the tasting will be so small that only the bottom of the glass/sippy cup will be coated with the pour. The tasting sheet consists of a Mountain Sunrise Norton, a Sheep Creek Ruby Cab Franc and a plethora of Peach, Fig, Apple, Crabapple, Acia-apple, Tomato-apple, Blackberry, Pear, Plum, Mango, Blueberry, Strawberry, and Raspberry fruit bomb wines. If that is not enough fruits, how about trying their 30 variety peppers Kiss the Devil chili pepper wine. Some will really like these sweet fruit wines in wonderful variations of bottle designs and colors. As for their Norton wine, my wife thought it potable without sourness, but I thought the flavors were very acidic. Trust my wife or just go with my negative flow. Let’s come away with a positive note. Their Apple wine reminded us of a once purchased sweet “Cloudberry” wine. What’s easier for you, traveling to Virginia’s POW for apple wine or Newfoundland for Cloudberry wine?

Next was an evening run to Lexington Valley Vineyard. Here we found a delightful couple who returned east for “retirement” after working professionally in Missouri. You can call it retirement, but what we observed was a lot of hard work. With chemistry Professor Kelvin Hale and his wife, Janette, a real project is on tap working with grapes in the harsh environs of Lexington, VA. Not only will you find a delightful Chill Norton Rose, but a Southern treat white Traminette which had rhubarb overtones (yum). As for their Norton wines, they offered a 2006 Norton blend with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Good, but I found this silver award winner tainted with dark tar flavors. Their 100% Black Tie Norton is a younger 2007 murky brown wine which hasn’t matured into formal attire at this point. We picked up a couple bottles of their Norton wines for a later 2014 Virginia Norton wine comparison.

. . . . . . . . . ~ Driving along Virginia’s Northern Neck river coastal waterways a few days later, we found blue crab freshly steamed in heavily seasoned river brine. We instinctively went for our Lexington Valley Vineyard young with sharp tannins Norton and were pleased with the pairing of this wine and the incredible treat of spicy crabs. Good for this meal, but unfortunately the Black Tie Norton did not hold up the next day exhibiting cooked raisin flavors and unusually heavy sediments.

Finding Virginia’s oldest continuously operating vineyard, Mountain Cove Vineyards, was only part of the allure. Here we were greeted with not only a nice “folk” Norton blend (Norton, Chambourcin, Cab Franc), but wines made from fruit that was actually fun to taste. This is a place with charm that only a backwoods setting could conjure. Enjoy the wines, but as important, ~ enjoy the people you will meet here. Bring yourself a picnic lunch and find your own special spot to enjoy the day on the farm.

New Kent Winery is a new-fangled venture of homes, golf courses, soon-to-be built 5-star hotel and the like. Be aware that the $10 tasting fee does not apply to purchases. Hot looking facility using recycled woods from eras gone by, but unfortunately real cool taste reactions by us for all seven wines served. We found a brassy Chardonnay and reds that just missed the mark all together. The experience was as artificial as the Richmond, VA stamped heavy ceiling beams which had come from Connecticut. We had to buy their White Norton in the blind since they only had a few bottles left from an earlier vintage. Because of crop failure, another similar Norton will not be available until 2012. First of all, we tend to not find ourselves drinking Rose very often, but were willing to try the NKW White Norton. To make this more palatable, we tried to couple this with an appropriate occasion food pairing. Out came the freshly picked strawberries dipped in chocolate and smiles from dinner guest who finished the first bottle of NKW White Norton in quick order. Good experience and glad we made the effort to pick up bottles of NKW White Norton for this once in a lifetime experience. Until the next NKW White Norton will be available, they are substituting a White Merlot.

We were fortunate in finding the owner and vintner of Belle Mount Vineyards after our late arrival to his winery along the Chesapeake Bay Region. Obviously a big investment had gone into his vineyard venture which included recreational sites, camping area, permanent RV properties, and large banquet lodge facility. Unfortunately they had run out of Norton wine in the tasting room, but he knew of possibly one bottle left in town (which we picked up the next day). He did have a Merlot, Chambourcin, Norton blend created for the 40th anniversary of the Virginia is for Lovers tourism campaign which we found a bit tart and musty. Our host so overwhelmed us with the politics of Virginia wine laws, we were not able to focus on his wine offerings. His over confidence in his wines punched out at us, making it impossible to reflect on them. Returning home we gave this Norton wine time to settle from our travels. We uncorked the bottle and let it breathe for 40 minutes or so. During our pouring, we noticed the term “inky black” certainly applied to this Norton wine - the blackest wine I’ve encountered. This wine had a slight murky aroma and a taste that had minimal sour overtones with very little tannin interference. I had to close my eyes in tasting this wine because the color tainted my opinions. Not a bad Norton wine, but you will have to just take my word for this since he is completely sold out now of this undated Norton wine vintage. He did not give me a date of when he expected to bottle his next Norton grape harvest.

Driving along the Northern Neck peninsula of Virginia between the Rappahannock and Potomac River we arrived at Potomac Point Winery. This is a great setting for a presentation of wines. Their well scripted wine list included wine name, pictured labels, appellation (Virginia vineyard locations), varietal make up of each wine, aging (SS, French & American Oak), alcohol percentage, residual sugars, winemaker tasting notes, cost, and space for your own tasting notes. Wow, we wish other wineries would mimic this wine list layout. At Potomac Point Winery you get a choice of Classic or Reserve tastings ($5 / $10) which was suppose to include the cost of your glass, but alas they had run low on stemware and did not offer a discount or bottle applicable pricing for their retention of the advertised glasses. Lots to choose from, but again we were here for their Norton wine. An unusual cocoa bouquet 2008 wine made from Orange county grapes (leased land near Horton Vineyards) which I was not immediately enamored with, but will put up for a few years and try again in 2013 or later.

Though I did not personally visit Barrel Oak Winery along I-66, a short ride west of Washington, DC, my daughters were there and reported a beautiful new facility “packed house” that was noisy and incredibly hard to get service. It took them literally 20 minutes to buy us a gift case of Barrel Oak Winery 2009 Nortons, an Indy International Red Wine of the Year winner. They are usually pretty insightful about what we would enjoy or not, so we did not go to this vineyard. We did try the BOW Norton wine and decided that the wine would be greatly enhanced with a few years of resting quietly.

Sometimes you just get lucky when finding a small remote vineyard and this was the case at Castle Gruen Vineyards And Winery and its owner-vintner, Dean Gruenburg. We made a concerted effort to find this setting through recommendations made by several Virginia Internet wine bloggers. Usually only open on weekends, Dean was very gracious in meeting us one early weekday. Though only five offered wines from this small family vineyard, you are quickly introduced to a person who is truly in love with his grape works. You just cannot go wrong with any wines at Castle Gruen. From a truly well crafted “Southern” Gewurztraminer style Traminette produced in stainless steel to a drinkable now Merlot (75% Merlot, 10% Alicante Bouschet, 10% Concord, 5% Viognier). His CGVW 2007 Norton is described as ‘Deep, Dark, Vanilla, and Cherry, with Balanced Tannins’. Good description except we did not find this Norton “dark” in color or taste. Dean stated that “the issue is not always the flavors, but the aromas” and this is so true to the bouquet of his light bodied, yet complex California Pinot Noir style produced Norton wine. Sixteen vineyards later on this one trip, my wife found this the most drinkable now Norton, but we both are betting after holding for a few more years we might have one of the best Nortons to be found in Virginia. Don’t leave without considering also their King’s Red blend (Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon-Cabernet Franc). Again, we will hold this wine royalty for a few more years. Dean’s experimentation with wine started at the age of eight (yes, 8) and today he is still looking forward to the latest and different with new grapes coming on line; as, Crimson Red in approximately three years. Thank you Castle Gruen for your time and pleasant wine and visit.

We are betting that DuCard Vineyards will become a Virginia Wines point-of-interest for many wine travelers in the years to come, tucked neatly in a scenic roads Shenandoah mountains valley 45 minutes off I-81. Though only a few offerings at this time selling out very quickly each year, we were so lucky to hook up with Scott Elliff in his busy schedule as he works to finish the new on-site tasting and sales facility scheduled to open in late May, 2010. How wonderful it was having him showing us variations of vine pruning in his vineyards. The ride into the beautiful Madison County area is a memorable part of the journey, followed by a superb drink now or hold 2007 Norton. DuCard’s description lists this wine as an ‘intense and inky-black wine with distinctive aromas’. This wording accurately describes a wonderful, newly discovered, Norton wine. Unique to this vineyard is Scott Elliff’s participation with a nearby technical college in which students “adopt” a row of grapes. What an experience he is presenting with his community viticulture teaching and work participation program.

Wisteria Farm and Vineyard: It has been noted that California often tries to recreate the European wine experience. In the town of Stanley, VA we found a lovely setting and charming Lebanese host doing the unusual in not duplicating someone’s wine, but rather creating his own unique style of wines, including our native Norton. Mousa has introduced to his small community a wealth of wines including Traminette, Seyval, Chardonnay, Viognier, Merlot, Norton, and in the future a Lebanese grape. This young Norton is not polished at this time, so we will hold our purchase for a few years to see what develops.

A flier from Rappahannock Cellars states: “Recognizing the promise in Virginia wines, we moved our family’s winery from California to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the heart of Virginia.” And with this move came the knowledge for preparing a wonderful assortment of wines produced from local Virginia grapes. Usually sticking mainly to Norton wines, we left Rappahannock with a case containing Claret, Meritage, Nortons, and a Port styled 100% Norton dessert wine. Some delightful white wines were available, but alas our case could only hold 12 bottles of reds and my wife had to lug the tote bag out with the four ports. The Norton was a 25% Cab Sauv blend which made this an easy to drink now Norton, but will be enhanced by putting away for a few years. Interestingly discounts applied only to Club Members, but a “Spring Special” applied to others in forms of free tasting fees / extra bottle (3 bottle purchase 1 free tasting; 4 bottle purchase 2 free tastings; & 12 bottle purchase 2 free wine tastings plus 1 extra bottle of your choice, ~ a Vintner’s Dozen). High praises go to Rappahannock Cellars for another reason, and that being their willingness to share facilities and insights with new area vintners. We visited several Virginia wineries freely stating their appreciation for all the help given to them by this Front Royal, VA area site.

In Casanel Vineyards we found a relative newcomer to the Norton world. What a pleasant setting using original structures dating back into the 1700s. The tasting room had been a small rock barn in which the proprietors had carefully recreated proudly the structure into an inviting venue for sharing wine with others. There is a sense of great pride with every project on the grounds. With the maturing of vineyard vines in the years to come, this location will become popular to visit and relax with Casanel’s wines. Though not to our taste, Casanel’s Rose Norton Batucada is a wine that I think would be perfect for preparing sangrias. You can already find here Chardonnay, Viognier, the mentioned Norton, Merlot, and a Cabernet. A $5 tasting fee does not apply to purchases. Good things will be coming from this family endeavor.

Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery is only a short drive from Casanel Vineyards. Basically the same location, but oh so different are the wines. You meet the proprietor, Dean Vanhuss, and you know that you are going to enjoy some of his wines. All wines are purposely different with an appreciated attitude. Take his spicy (my wife said “salty”) flavored Traminette which contrasts to previous tastings of this grape, but again unique to the fruit. The same can be said for his light, yet tasty Chambourcin. The attitude carries well over into his Nortons combined with 10% Mourvedre for this softened blend. Though Dry Mill’s 2007 Norton can be easily consumed now, we are going to put it through its paces for a couple more years and enjoy at a later date. It is refreshing at this site to compare Chardonnay wines prepared in stainless steel and with one oak barreled. What fun, it’s your choice.

We found generally Virginia’s gravel roads lead to good wineries, but add a single lane bridge into the picture and you get even finer wines. With this description your travels take you to Chrysalis Vineyards. Here you have a choice of a $5 Estate tasting or a $10 Reserve tasting. Let me implore you to treat yourself to the $10 Reserve tasting. As you ramble through the offerings, the variety and quality will soon be apparent for the additional pricing. I’m not a fan of tasting fees since I find so many good wineries do not need these, but there are those locations that possibly protect themselves from abusive curiosity wine seekers. In the case of Chrysalis Vineyards, you will get a more than reasonable taste and “seconds” are not turned down if requested in a polite and thoughtful manner for a particular reason. Here you will be treated to an array of non-viniferous wines broaching all that can be found well in Virginia. With the Reserve tasting, if you buy them or not, you will have experienced some of the best Norton wines that can be found on the East coast. What you experience two years ago will change today and two years from now since Chrysalis dramatically changes their blends annually. If you want to really learn more about the American wine industry which includes a fabled history of the Norton grape, search out the new book by Todd Kliman, The Wild Vine. This is a documentary about the characters, dead or alive, and the development of the American wine world, including the contributions of Chrysalis Vineyards and Jennifer McCloud. Learn the importance of wineries; as Chrysalis Vineyards in Virginia or Stone Hill Winery in Missouri, to the true development of a continuing story of American wines, - yesterday, today, and for sure, tomorrow.

Trying to catch Paradise Springs Winery open means making sure that you allocate time during your weekends for a visit. The ride through the elegant Clifton, VA home roadways will be rewarded by finding their small log cabin winery tasting room built in the early 1800s. Maybe as important as the wines you will encounter, is the story of bringing PSW to fruitation. A complex venture evolved to offer the community that PSW serves wines of amazing substance within the first year of its public operation. Grapes are brought in from other Virginia vineyards at this time, but with the gracious help of nearby wineries, Jane Kincheloe Wiles is producing wines quite successfully. Not only does her 2008 Norton, which is aged only six months in Hungarian oak, stand up well to established VA wineries, this wine took a 2010 Governor’s Cup Gold Medal. For me, I was equally impressed with their 2008 Cabernet Franc. Can you imagine Cab Franc as a soft tasting table wine with interesting character? Do yourself a favor, travel out to Paradise Springs Winery and enjoy a wonderful glass of wine.

Veramar Vineyards is a beautiful 100 acre setting surrounded by the Shenandoah hills where 5,000 gallons of wine are produced annually. There are 12 acres of vines at this site with other winery vine locations scattered nearby. A $5 tasting fee is charged, but dropped with purchases. Though nine wine selections are listed, be aware that their $50 Estate Norton is not offered for tasting and only available to Veramar Estate Club members (can you believe there is a Virginia Norton deserving this price?). Another thing that irked me a bit was that Reserve wines can only be tasted and purchased on weekends. I found it amusing that half of the wines had descriptions of pineapple or grapefruit. Sounded like we were getting ourselves into a fruit bar. Interesting was VV’s production of a 100% Mourvedre. We enjoyed the opportunity to try this Virginia grown Spanish wine, but left with only their Riesling/Vidal white and for a friend a Rooster Red blend (Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot). We are still curious about the almost non-purchasable $50 Norton one is not able to taste. If it follows in taste as the other rather middle-of-the-road Veramar offerings, we know that there are other good Virginia Nortons to be had (thank you Cooper, Chrysalis, DuCard, Castle Gruen, Rappahannock, Paradise, etc.). Hmmm, I wonder if I know someone who can help me on this tasting note at a later date? Has anyone else noticed at this location how many negative signs are posted around the grounds (Harley Parking Only, No Parking, Employees Only, Authorized Personnel Only, Private, Foods Only Purchased Here to be Consumed)?

- From Brian at The Other 46 blog comes the following about Veramar’s 2007 Norton: Retailing for $50, I wasn’t sure what to expect, as this was easily the most expensive wine I’ve tried from Virginia. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed. A solid wine with nice black fruit and oak, the wine is far, far from a $50 wine. But then again, everyone’s palate is different, and I’m sure they sell the heck out of it.

After visiting Virginia vineyard farm settings that have been in the family for over 200 years, other winery acreage that have developed over the last 15-to-20 years, and wine locations built recently with millions of speculative dollars, it was fun finding a winery that measures how many pounds of grapes were accumulated from the number of vines rather than from how many acres (as little as one vine and as many as five) in his backyard. Welcome to MistyRay Winery in Phillip Kreider’s Harrisonburg, VA suburban back yard. Here is a hobby gone wild from a man who grew up with grapes on his boyhood Ohio farm. Grapes have always been a part of his life, and though alcohol was not condoned in his youth, he learned to appreciate the production of quality wines during his life’s work and travels. At this home backyard setting, Phillip has been amazing to plant over twenty-five unique grape varieties for his desired extremely limited creations; as, Chardonel, Arkansas Sunbelt hybrids, and of course Norton grapes. Each wine offered has a different shining quartz-soil story to tell. Few Virginia vintners can produce a tasty Cabernet Sauvignon, but Phillip can. Don’t pass up his light yet complex flavored Norton wine that truly can stand up to most Nortons produced in Virginia. Since he gets 10-to-15 pounds of Norton grapes per vine (75 lbs total last year), you still have to be quick in being able to purchase this limited production wine. You hear at other vineyards how their wines are produced in stainless steel or oak barrels, but here you taste wines produced in genuine American glass. Do yourself a favor and call for an appointment to visit Misty Ray Vineyards, and don’t forget to ask to taste his rhubarb wine.

We did not make it to Valhalla Vineyards, Byrd Cellars, Bright Meadows Farm Vineyard & Winery, Molliver Vineyards and Hummel Vineyards, so we have something to look forward to in the near future.

A fun eight days finding seventeen Norton grape wineries, plus others that had been highly recommended to us: Lovingston Winery (great 2007 Cabernet Frank and Reserve 2006 Merlot), Corcoran Vineyards (trust me, too many good things to say about this winery, ~ grand red wines), and Fabbioli Cellars (What Doug Fabbioli does with Virginia grapes boarders on the magical. Two exceptional Virginia wines can be found in their Chambourcin and Reserve Cabernet Franc).

Now it’s your turn to make comments on the vineyards I’ve listed or criticize what we found. I look forward to learning from you what takes you have on Virginia’s Norton offerings. Since Norton grapes acquire its own wine characteristics not found in other viniferous wines, this truly entails developed tastes that can be interpreted in so many fashions. Thank you for letting me share our personal experiences and we look forward to hearing more on what you have found in the world of Norton wines. And remember, as you read Todd Kliman’s The Wild Vine, have your selected Norton wine at hand that has had the opportunity to breathe for at least 30 minutes.


The Norton Wine Travelers

Kugler's Vineyard 2004 Cynthiana

This week we opened a real surprise in our Norton series, the 2004 Dry Cynthiana from Kugler's Vineyard. Tony and Kay Kugler own and operate this small family enterprise located just south of Lawrence Kansas. The winery makes wines from a couple traditional labrusca grapes (Concord and Niagara), hybrids (Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc), and its flagship wine: Cynthiana. This is a big wine, and the Kugler's have managed to remove all traces of grapeyness and acidity from the wine. It is full bodied with cherry flavors, yet smooth - with little traces of tannins. A very nice wine. So, next time you find yourself traveling to Lawrence to see the University of Kansas, or a show at the Bottleneck or The Granada, or even just visiting Kansas City, take a little detour.

Guest Article: Developing a taste for Norton Wines

Think back on items that you had to develop a taste for in the past. Coffee, hopefully unsuccessfully tobacco products, or maybe single malt Scotch? Fortunately, acquiring a taste for Norton wines is a bit simpler, if you give yourself the luxury of visiting different vineyards, tasting various examples and discovering which wineries you prefer. I have collected so far a database of 150 vineyards producing Norton wines in twenty states! Somewhere out there in the Midwest or Southeast is that perfect Norton wine to match your preferences. If you are unable to visit these vineyards, possibly you will be enticed into ordering directly some noted references found in this article.

The costs, quality, and types of wines have been interesting to observe over the past 35 years. The places of selection also play into this, be it a liquor store, grocery store, big box discount stores or now, ~ a local vineyard. With today’s explosion of vineyards in all 50 states, the choices become mind boggling. With this explosion comes gifts from friends, to include wines that you have never heard of before. All this rambling brings us back to the subject of the Norton wine.

Our first gift of Norton wine, also known semi-incorrectly as Cynthiana, came with ‘family connections’ from a New Haven, Missouri vineyard, Robller Winery. We were so lucky that this first bottle inked our curiosity into the subject of Norton. It was years later, learning that the Norton grape was also present in Virginia, we decided to investigate Norton wine possibilities. Passing through Virginia on a trip north; we took the time to explore nine vineyards offering Norton wines. A few years back there were only a handful of vineyards growing Norton grapes in Virginia, but today there are 23 wineries sporting this wine (*vineyards visited):

Abingdon Vineyard & Winery *(http://www.abingdonwinery.com Abingdon, VA
Belle Mount Vineyards ((http://www.bellemount.com) Warsaw, VA
Bluemont Vineyard *(http://www.bluemontvineyard.com) Bluemont, VA
Burnley Vineyards *(http://www.burnleywines.com) Barboursville, VA
Casanel Vineyards (http://www.casanelvineyards.com) Leesburg, VA
Castle Gruen Winery (http://www.castlegruenwinery.com) Locust Dale, VA
Chrysalis Vineyards *(http://www.chrysaliswine.com) Middleburg, VA
Cooper Vineyards *(http://www.coopervineyards.com) Louisa, VA
Dry Mill Winery (http://www.drymillwine.com) Leesburg, VA
DuCard Vineyards (http://www.ducardvineyards.com) Madison County, VA
Horton Vineyards *(http://www.hvwine.com) Gordonsville, VA
Keswick Vineyards *(http://www.keswickvineyards.com) Keswick, VA
Misty Ray Winery (http://www.mistyraywinery.com) Harrisonburg, VA
Mountain Cove Vineyards (http://www.mountaincovevineyards.com) Lovington, VA
Paradise Springs Winery (http://www.paradisespringswinery.com) Clifton, VA
Peaks of Otter Winery (http://www.peaksofotterwinery.com) Bedford, VA
Potomac Point Winery (http://www.potomacpointwinery.com) Stafford, VA
Rappahannock Cellars (http://www.rappahannockcellars.com) Huntly, VA
Rockbridge Vineyards *(http://www.rockbridgevineyard.com) Raphine, VA
Valhalla Vineyards (http://www.valhallawines.com) Roanoke, VA
Veramar Vineyard (http://www.veramar.com) Berryville, VA
Virginia Wineworks (http://www.michaelshapswines.com) Charlottesville, VA
Winery at La Grange *(http://www.wineryatlagrange.com) Haymarket, VA

However, the taste of these Virginia Norton wines from the east coast did not resemble what we remembered from the Missouri gift of years past. All interesting, but oh so different. Maybe this was the best state to start our Norton tastings as the examples varied wildly, and it was easy to tell which selections we preferred. On a scale of ‘5’ being the best, we found mostly 2s and 3s, but more importantly a Norton that gingerly bumped the “4” marker.

Before going any further, it is important to state with all Norton wines, do not base your tasting on a freshly opened bottle of Norton wine. All Norton wines need to breathe for an extensive amount of time. Here again, as with most wines, do not base your tasting on your first sip since the second paused sip will settle your senses, and by your fifth-ninth-twelfth-etc. sips, you will be exuding an unquestionable Norton grin. Likewise, take advantage of Norton blends which combine the characteristics of this varietal grape, yet create a balance of complex flavors. To name a few sites which we enjoyed:

The two Virginia heavies in Norton wine production would be Horton and Chrysalis vineyards. I would say that Horton's mission is to introduce to the general public a good Norton wine at a fair price and to this they unquestionably succeed. Chrysalis, on the other hand, wants to produce Norton examples with a full range of tastes and cost. Both of these vineyards are fine examples of the east coast Norton varietal. Our favorite east coast Norton wines on this exploration turned out to be from two small farm-like venues: Cooper Winery, a fine dry red Norton, and from Pennsylvania's Stone Mountain Wine Cellars, a delightful “fruity” Norton. Both were wonderful variations on a theme of Norton grapes. As for a soft and easy tasting table-wine Norton, don't pass up Abingdon Vineyard's Norton.

Obviously, it is time for my wife and me to return to Virginia and try the offerings of other Norton wineries from this state. You will quickly develop your own Norton palate preferences while visiting the many geographical vineyard settings from the coastal rivers to the Shenandoah mountains. Wander the beautiful Virginia countryside for yourself and I promise that you will find several Norton surprises.

On to Missouri where the choices become harder. Virginia has now 23 out of 133 wineries producing Norton wines. I found Missouri has 49 (another report has 53) wineries producing Norton wines! One statement made from a Norton wine web page was not to compare a Norton wine to any similar wine from Europe or from California. Likewise, I would say not to compare Virginia Norton wines to Missouri Norton wines as they are produced under different climatic and soil situations. The same grape, but grown in two different agricultural scenarios.

We found several large producers of Norton wines in Missouri; as, Crown Valley, St. James, and Stone Hill. Crown Valley has an enormous wine production program making various Nortons in tremendous volume. St. James Winery has a similar mission as Virginia’s Horton Winery in that they want to educate and introduce to its public good, affordable wines. Don't let these affordable $6 prices dissuade you into thinking that these are only "cheaper" wines. On the contrary, their $10 middle priced Norton and sometimes available $15ish “Reserve” Norton wine are bargain wines and stand up well to the best-that-Missouri has to offer. To tell you our favorite Missouri Norton wine becomes a hard chore. Let me list a few with comments:

Chandler Hill Vineyards may be the new kid on the block, but what a taste explosion they laid introducing their Norton "Savage" wine. After participating in a dinner tasting of six notable Missouri Nortons at St. Louis' 2008 Norton Wine Festival, this came out an overall first at our table from publicly available selections. This is an interesting winery that is proud of its historic surroundings and goes to great lengths to preserve their history.

Blumenhof Winery produces an award winning Norton wine they have cleverly named "Original CYN". Unfortunately they ship directly only to MO & CA, but I have found that the Missouri Mercantile wine distributor will secure this wine for shipment. Order quickly because they always sell out by early fall. This is a vineyard working hand-in-hand with nature, providing a vineyard tree edge which accepts a 10% loss of grapes to its finely fed feathered friends.

Montelle Winery is now a sister winery to Augusta Winery. Simply stated, this is a fine Norton wine which they call ‘Cynthiana’ at great case prices. I’ll slip in a little note here that has nothing to do with Norton wines, ~ have you ever tried a Chardonel wine? Though I don’t normally pick up whites and even more remotely, don’t consider semi-sweet wines, Montelle’s Chardonel is a good starting point of learning about this Cornell University introduction. (“As a cross of the famed Chardonnay grape with the popular Seyval, Chardonel is usually barrel fermented, very dry and full bodied. This is great with heavier seafood dishes as well as chicken with cream sauces.” http://www.missouriwinecountry.com)

I throw in another Norton wine producer for different reasons. River Ridge Winery is a friendly out-from-the-beaten path winery with a Norton offering that is unique in that you get to contrast two barreled Norton wines. The same grapes from the same location, but one called Norton (aged in American Oak) and the other named Cynthiana (aged in French Oak).

Röbller Vineyard & Winery makes a Norton that sits right in the middle offering a great value wine that successfully caters to tastes that go the gamete north-to-south / east-to-west. Need a picnic or dinner wine? This one can go either place. We started our Norton experience here and will return to this site for many years to come. A robust Norton wine and as importantly, nice people.

A winery we found on this year’s trip west was Oak Glenn Winery & Vineyard. Though we haven’t settled on a family ranking of this wine, it is strange that we keep going back to this case, and before long it will be all gone.

To conclude my Missouri tasting treats, let me add Heinrichshaus Winery. I include this small winery because its proprietor insists that Cynthiana grapes were a sport of Norton grapes and his wines are "true" Cynthiana. He'll even show you the pictured differences between the growing habits of the grape clusters. Supposedly there is not any controversy about the Cynthiana/Norton grape any more, . . . . . . . . . . or is it?

Planning a Missouri wine tasting road tour? This is a selected list of vineyards we would consider returning to or visiting for the first time (*vineyards visited and enjoyed):

Adam Puchta Winery *(http://www.adampuchtawine.com) Hermann, MO
Augusta Winery *(http://www.augustawinery.com) Augusta, MO
Baltimore Bend Vineyard (http://www.baltimorebend.com) Waverly, MO
Bethlehem Valley Vineyards (http://www.bethlehemvalley.com) Marthasville, MO
Blumenhof Winery *(http://www.blumenhof.com/) Marthasville, MO
Bommarito Estate Winery *(http://www.bommaritoestatewinery.com) New Haven, MO
Cave Vineyard *(http://www.cavevineyard.com) Ste. Genevieve, MO
Chandler Hill *(http://chandlerhillvineyards.com) Defiance, MO
Charleville Vineyards (http://www.charlevillevineyard.com/) Ste. Genevieve, MO
Chaumette Vineyards & Winery (http://www.chaumette.com) Ste. Genevieve, MO
Claverach Farm & Vineyards (http://www.claverach.com/) Eureka, MO
Crown Valley Winery *(http://www.crownvalleywinery.com/) Ste. Genevieve, MO
Durso Hills Vineyard & Winery (http://www.dursohills.com) Marquand, MO
Eagle’s Nest Winery (http://www.theeaglesnest-louisiana.com) Louisiana, MO
Eichenberg Winery (http://www.eichenbergwinery.com) Cole Camp, MO
Grey Bear Vineyards (http://www.greybearvineyards.com) Stover, MO
Heinrichshaus Vineyard & Winery *(http://www.heinrichshaus.com) St. James, MO
Indian Creek Winery (http://www.indiancreekwine.com) Monroe City, MO
Jowler Creek Vineyard & Winery (http://www.jowlercreek.com) Platte City, MO
Keltoie Vineyard (http://www.keltoivineyard.com) Oronoga, MO
La Dolce Vita Vineyard & Winery (http://www.ladolcevitawinery.com) Washington, MO
Little Hills Winery (http://www.littlehillswinery.com) St. Charles, MO
Montelle Winey *(http://www.montelle.com) Augusta, MO
Montserrat Vineyards (http://www.montserratvineyards.com) Knob Noster, MO
Mount Pleasant Winery *(http://www.mountpleasant.com) Augusta, MO
Native Stone Vineyard (http://www.nativestonewinery.com) Jefferson City, MO
New Oak Vineyards (http://www.newoakvineyards.com) Wellington, MO
Oak Glenn Vineyards & Winery *(http://www.oakglenn.com) Hermann, MO
Oovvda Winery (http://www.oovvda.com) Springfield, MO
River Ridge Winery *(http://www.riverridgewinery.com) Commerce, MO
Robller Vineyard Winery *(http://www.robllerwines.com/) New Haven, MO
St. James Winery *(http://www.stjameswinery.com) St. James, MO
Stone Hill Winery *(http://www.stonehillwinery.com) Hermann, MO
Stonehaus Farms Winery (http://www.stonehausfarms.com) Lee’s Summit, MO
Summit Lake Winery (http://www.summitlakewinery.com) Holts Summit, MO
Terre Beau Vineyards (http://www.terrebeauvineyards.com) Dover, MO
Twin Oaks Vineyards (http://www.twinoaksvineyard.com) Farmington, MO
Vance Vineyards (http://www.vancevineyards.com) Fredericktown, MO
Westphalia Vineyards (http://www.westphaliavineyards.com) Westphalia, MO
Whispering Oaks Winery (http://www.whisperingoakswinery.com) Seymour, MO


Now the problem of selecting a Norton wine becomes more complicated after concluding a recent search of Illinois Norton vineyards. Oh, shucks, Illinois has 22 vineyards producing Norton wines. It looks like another trip is brewing.

As stated before, your Norton wines will benefit by decanting, which in turn mellows the strong Norton tannins and balances the flavors when served. Consider putting away your findings for a few years. We have found a little patience goes a long way with Norton wines.

I have to stop typing now as my doctor-minister-wine aficionado-brother-in-law has just walked in the door with a Three Sisters Vineyard Norton exclaiming “you have to taste this outstanding Georgia Cynthiana”. Did I mention that Georgia now has four Norton vineyards? Oh, well – we can talk about this later.

Boris Bauer
Easley, SC

Augusta Winery - 2001 Norton

For our semi-weekly Norton tasting we opened a bottle of 2001 Norton from Augusta Winery. The winery was established twenty years ago by Tony Kooyumjian and is noted for their Norton and Vignoles. Their appellation is significant since Augusta Missouri is located within the first U.S. Wine District, or Viticulture Area #1. The 2001 Norton has aged well in the bottle. It is full bodied with a black cherry nose and cherry-tobacco flavor. The finish is long and spicy - but remarkably smooth. There is no evidence of the standard grapey flavor or acidity associated with newer Nortons. One of our party's immediate reaction was "this is the best Norton I've ever tasted". Apparently the latest release has continued this tradition of excellence. It has one Gold medals at the Florida State Fair International, Pacific Rim International, and the Missouri Wine Competition. Congratulations to Augusta Winery.

Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery: Cynthiana

This week we stayed in the Midwest and opened a bottle of Cynthiana from Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery. Located in eastern Kansas - not far from Kansas City - father and daughter duo, Les & Michelle Meyer, produce about a dozen varieties of wine from indigenous and hybrid grapes. And these grapes are quite unique: St. Vincent, Melody, Aurore as well as Vignoles, Chardonel, Seyval, Foch, Leon Millet, Chambourcin, and Cynthiana (Norton). The Cynthiana has been quite successful for the Meyer's; winning several double gold medals over the years plus the 2004 Jefferson Cup - which honors the best of the best among US wineries from all of America’s wine regions.

We tasted the release following the Jefferson Cup winner and quite frankly, were not really impressed. Even though the wine was aged 12-16 months in oak, the wine was still extremely young and acidic. And only a slight grape flavor. We've stored several purchased bottles in our cellar and after three years in the bottle, we retested the wine. What a difference. The wine has transformed into a good, full bodied wine. It is a little less spicy than the Mount Pleasant from last week, but contains the same rich cherry flavor. This spicy characteristic may be a Midwestern trait, because we have not tasted it with Eastern produced Norton wines. And there were just a few traces of the standard grapey Norton flavor. Once again, the wine could easily pass for a viniferia based wine. Now, if we only had an aged bottle of the Jefferson Cup winner; but this is defiantly one proof that Norton\Cynthiana wines need to age a few years in the bottle.

Corey Ippolito Winery

While traveling through Tennessee on I-81, we saw signs and then the chateau for Corey Ippolito Winery and quickly exited. We learned that the winery is the newest in Tennessee, yet the vineyards have been producing grapes since 1999. In fact, Corey Ippolito Vineyard was the first vineyard to successfully grow Traminette, in which the state is now taking an active role in subsidizing the planting of this grape. Many of the other estate grown grapes are Labrusca (Carawba, Niagara, Steuben) with the remaining being Cabernet, Cynthiania, Golden Muscat and Leon Millot. Oh yea, and Sunbelt, a grape created by the Arkansas Agricultral Experimental Station. Bascially the grape is a concord with the hardiness to endure warmer weather. After growing these grapes and operating a bed and breakfast onsite, the next logical step was to start producing wine. After many years operating as amateurs and winning medals in several competitions, the winery opened to the public this year.

The wine selection was as diverse as the estate grapes. There were three styles of white wine: a dry Chardonnay, a semi-sweet Rocco Bianco, and the semi-dry Traminette. This last wine had the spicy aroma and flavor characteristic to the variety and was our favorite among the white wines. For reds, they offer a dry Merlot, a dry Cynthiana, and the sweet Bella Rosso Red - a blend of several of the labrusca grapes. The Cynthiana was good for a young wine. It didn't have the acidity associated with some new Norton wines and was drinkable now. Give it a few more years in the bottle and the wine will improve even more. The final select of wines was a mix of fruit, muscadine and blush styled wines. The Muscadine wine was really good; it had the fruit flavor of the grape without the syrup or grittiness that some muscadine wines possess. The Catawba based Sonnino Sunset Blush was also a good wine for this blend. It is made semi-sweet but tastes more dry than sweet. What is sweet is the Blackberry wine, made in a dessert style and even more interesting when mixed with shaved ice.

If you find yourself driving along I-81 at the Virginia-Tennessee border, visit Corey Ippolito Winery. What a great break from the road.

National Norton Festival

On Saturday September, we were fortunate to attend the First Annual National Norton Festival in St. Louis Missouri. Organized by the Missouri Wine Country The event provided the general public a chance to sample a wide array of Norton wines from 25 wineries from Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia. This event was the culmination of activities that began in August, at the 2007 National Norton Wine Competition.

We made it a point to visit the Gold medal winners first, and after tasting, agreed with the judges decisions; these were excellent wines. Best in Show Sugar Creek Vineyards & Winery's 2006 Cynthiana was smooth and fruity and somewhat similar to Westphalia Vineyards' 2006 Norton Reserve. Mary Michelle Winery's 2006 Norton was fruity with a little more spiciness at the finish. Bethlehem Valley Vineyards' 2004 Norton and Chrysalis Vineyards' 2005 Barrel Select 100% Virginia Norton and 2004 Locksley Reserve Norton where fruity, but possessed a little more character at the finish. Finally, we tasted the best dessert wine this side of Tokaji, Bommarito Estate Almond Tree Winery's 2002 Missouri Red Port. This may have been our favorite wine of the day.

Besides tasting these wines, we enjoyed tasting wines we normally would not be able to try such as Stone House Vineyards' (TX) 2005 Claros Norton, Tiger Mountain Vineyards' (GA) 2002 Mountain Cynthiana, Mary Michelle Winery's 2006 Illinois Cellars Norton, and Stone Hill Winery's (MO) 2005 Norton, Cross J Vineyards. The last was made from grapes from one of the winery's oldest vineyards. Plus, there were excellent wines from some of our favorite Missouri producers: Crown Valley Winery, Montelle Winery, St. James Winery, Les Bourgeois Winery, Baltimore Bend Winery, Cave Vineyard, Augusta Winery, Hermannhof Winery, Chaumette Vineyards & Winery, and the previously mentioned Stone Hill Winery. We will definitely be planning a trip Herman and Saint Genevieve next year.

We will post pictures and a longer description of this event at Compass Tours and a review of Chrysalis Vineyards and other Virginia Norton producers in the October edition of Virginia Wine Lover.

For those who are familiar with Norton or Cynthiana we strongly recommend this event. For those who have never tasted a Norton, try to find one in your area. You will soon learn why it is referred to as the Cabernet of the Ozarks.

2007 National Norton Competition Winners

Today, the winners of the 2007 First Annual Norton Competition were announced with Missouri's Sugar Creek Winery & Vineyards winning Best in Show and Best of Class – Dry Norton. Bommarito Estate Almond Tree Winery, also from Missouri, won Best of Class – Port Norton for their 2002 Missouri Red Port. A handful of other wineries were awarded Gold medals. Virginia's Chrysalis Vineyards won two golds, one with their 2005 Barrel Select 100% Virginia Norton and the other for their 2004 Locksley Reserve Norton. Mary Michelle Winery was the other non-Missouri winery to win Gold, this from their 2006 Illinois Norton. The other gold medals were awarded to Missouri's Bethlehem Valley Vineyards, Sugar Creek Vineyards & Winery, and Westphalia Vineyards.

In total 67 wines were awarded medals, representing Norton produced in ten states. Predictably Missouri made Norton won the majority of medals, followed by Norton's native state Virginia. But other states were well represented. Every Kansas winery that entered a wine were awarded medals, with Holy-Field Winery winning two and Kugler's Vineyard and Davenport Winery winning Bronze medals. Spirit Knob Winery and Piasa Winery joined Mary Michelle Winery as Illinois medal winners and neighboring French Lick Winery, from Indiana won Bronze for their 2002 Heaven's View Port. Finally, medals were awarded to our friends at Hinnant Family Vineyards (NC), Tiger Mountain Vineyards (GA), Summerside Vineyards (OK), and Stone House Winery (TX). Congratulations to all.

We look forward to attending the grand tasting on September 8th to try several of these medal winning wines. And check back later for more articles on the Missouri and Virginia winners.

2007 National Norton Wine Festival

In September, MissourWineCountry.com is hosting the first National Norton Wine Festival in St. Louis Missouri. The festival consists of a tasting competition held August 4th and a general tasting of 25 of the top Norton producers on September 8th. The results of the tasting competition will be announced the night before the general tasting and at the general tasting there will also be an opportunity to taste vertical Norton offerings for those who purchase a Norton VIP. The sponsors invited Norton producers from 12 states to the competition and currently there are 93 wines entered, representing 43 wineries from 10 states. Not a bad turnout. These wines will be judged by eight highly respected wine experts, such as Doug Frost (one of only three individuals who passed the Master Sommelier and Master of Wine examinations) and Bob Foster (Chief Judge of the Riverside International Wine Competition).

I am very interested to see how the east coast Norton fairs against the Midwestern wines. While traveling to the Midwest last year I became a huge fan of Kansas and Missouri Norton - such as Davenport Winery, Kugler's Vineyard, Holy-Field Winery, Stone Hill Winery, Röbller Vineyard Winery, Mount Pleasant Winery, St. James Winery, Stonehaus Farms, and Augusta Winery. There are dozens more Norton producers that I haven't tasted spread throughout Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Arkansas. Many of these wineries will be participating in the competition. From the east coast, New Jersey's Valenzano Winery is sending their Cynthiana which won the NJ Governors two years in a row. Most of Virginia's Norton producers have entered; the country's largest Norton grower Chrysalis Vineyards, Rappahannock Cellars, Cooper Vineyards, The Winery at La Grange, Veramar Vineyard, Keswick Vineyards, and Horton Vineyards. I've tasted the Norton from all these Virginia producers and believe they will be very competitive. Finally, several smaller Norton producers are also participating, including Jones Cabin Run Vineyards (West Virginia), Grove Winery (North Carolina), and Crane Creek Vineyards (Georgia).

We will post the results of the competition when they become available and look forward to trying several of these wines at the general tasting.