A Monticello Collaboration - "3"

One aspect of the wine and beer industry we find fascinating is the close collaboration between winemakers and brewers. This collaboration is manifested in several ways, such as the second vintage of "3". This wine consists of three grape varieties (Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc) grown on three different vineyards, and made into wine by three acclaimed winemakers. The Merlot was crafted by Matthieu Finot from King Family Vineyards, the Petit Verdot by Emily Pelton from Veritas Vineyards, and the Cabernet Franc by Jake Busching from Grace Estate Winery. Each winemaker selected two barrels and the "resulting blend is a wine with full proportion and balance which highlights the ripeness of the vintage".

Tomorrow (July 3rd), King Family is hosting the official release party but each winery will have 45 cases for sale at $33.33 per bottle.

“3” - A Monticello Wine Trail Collaboration

“Three winemakers, three vineyards, three varietals, one wine” is the unique tagline for a unique Virginia wine named “3”. A triumvirate effort from winemakers Emily Pelton, Jake Busching and Matthieu Finot was born over a friendly beer and a what-if statement. ‘”Wouldn’t it be fun if…’”.

The three winemakers decided that this would be an opportunity not only to work together and show the collaborative nature of the industry, but also to highlight the creative process of sharing and learning from one another. The winemaking industry is distinctive, in that it is a wonderful combination of artistry, science and vintage expression. Each of the three winemakers’ personal style joins forces in a product that reflects the blending of terroirs and personalities.

“3” is a Bordeaux blend of three varietals in equal one-third portions from the 2009 vintage.

The Merlot was crafted by Matthieu Finot from King Family Vineyards, the Petit Verdot by Emily Pelton from Veritas Winery, and the Cabernet Franc by Jake Busching from Pollak Vineyards.

With more than 30 years of combined winemaking experience, these 3 winemakers carefully selected two barrels from their cellars that they felt would highlight their colleagues’ wine. The resulting product is a wine with perfect proportion and balance. This wine is a limited edition crafted in friendship and bottled to show the unity of the industry. The expansion and quality of Virginia wine is mirrored in the growth of these three young winemakers’ careers.

The premiere introduction of “3” will be at Pollak Vineyards on Thursday, March 3 from 3:33 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Tastings of this limited production will only be available at this release event and at the three participating wineries all day the following Sunday, March 6. Each winery will have 45 cases for sale at $33.33 per bottle.

Team 3
Matthieu Finot was born in Crozes Hermitage in the Rhone Valley. From a family of viticulturists and wine lovers, Matthieu was predisposed to continue his family's pursuit of winemaking and enjoying. He first studied viticulture and oenology at Beaune, in the heart of Burgundy. After graduating in 1995, Matthieu worked in many different wine regions around France including Rhone Valley, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Provence, and Jura. Matthieu then wanted to gain world-wide experience. He worked in Italy and South Africa before settling in Virginia. Since arriving in 2003, Matthieu has worked with wineries throughout the state. He enjoys working in the Monticello Appellation most because he likes the excitement of the region’s growth and being close to Charlottesville. When not at the winery, or with his brand new son, Matthieu likes to play rugby, snow board, rock climb, cook, and drink wine with his friends.

Emily Pelton graduated from Emory University with a B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, and a focus in Infectious Diseases. She happily moved to Virginia from Atlanta in 1999 to take a year off, and work alongside her parents in the development of Veritas Vineyard and Winery. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was not going back to her original field of study. After completing her Masters in Oenology at Virginia Tech, Emily joined the family venture full-time. Focusing primarily on allowing the Virginia terroir to show through in her wines, Emily is emphatic about being true to the grape. Elevated by a strong family business, Emily has grown up making wine solely for Veritas Vineyard and Winery. Outside of wine she has an extensive orchid collection and two beautiful girls.

Jake Busching began growing wine grapes in the Monticello region in 1997. Having grown up as a cattle farmer, the transition into winegrowing was a natural step. Pollak Vineyards has been his home as winemaker and general manager since 2003. Having learned viticulture and winemaking through mentors and hands on application, Jake believes that wine is an expression of the soil on which it is grown. Beyond the world of wine Jake plays bass guitar, thinks about playing golf, and has 2 sons that keep him very busy. In 2011 Jake will release a very limited amount of his own wine under the label Pythias.

Photographs, Courtesy of Jack Looney
www.kingfamilyvineyards.com
www.pollakvineyards.com
www.veritaswines.com

Currently Drinking....

We haven't toured any wineries or breweries lately; instead, we've been clearing out our wine cellar. That means, drinking wine that we have purchased over the years and determining why we purchased it in the first place. Many were from our travels in Virginia. We had two bottles left from our friends at Corcoran Vineyards, their Viognier and Malbec. Both superb. In addition, there was Petit Verdot Veritas Vineyards and Jefferson Vineyards and White Hall Vineyards Petit Manseng from our Monticello WineTrail tour last year. We would purchase each again - no doubt - Petit Verdot is destined for Virginia's vineyards. We also had on hand the Valhalla Vineyards Alicante Bouschet. This grape is normally used in a blend in order to add color, but this winery choose to make a 100% varietal. And initially, we felt this was a poor decision - there didn't appear to be much flavor. But by the second day - the wine had breathed enough to come out of its shell - it turned into a decent wine - slightly spicy - similar to a Shiraz. In total - nice, but we prefer others. The last Virginia wine was a surprise, the Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery Perry- 75% Pear wine and 25% Mead. We were expecting an overly sweet dessert wine - but its actually made dry. The pear flavors take precedence with just a slight honey finish.

Of course we had to bleed through our Norton collection and found an abundance from Mount Pleasant Winery and Stone Hill Winery. These two Missouri wineries have mastered the art of eliminating the grape's inherent acidity and grapey flavor. The Mount Pleasant version was aged slightly longer so is a bit spicier and oak - but for Norton wines - these are perhaps the most consistent.

While traveling to Seven Springs we usually visit Glades Pike Winery - so there were several samples available. The Baco Noir was not very impressive and we are not sure what instigated the decision to purchase. The Diamond was good - we had to be in a sweeter mood - but this is perhaps the most drinkable labrusca grape. We also opened a bottle of their Mountain Mead - and although a little sweet - is a good honey wine. I also blended with Apple Jack made in North Garden for an interesting concoction - talking about keeping warm.

Finally we found a two wines that we should have bothered aging - we must have forgotten about them, but these wines are made to drink now: Marietta Cellars Old Vine Red Lot #44 and Gnarly Head Zinfandel. Sonoma's, Marietta Cellars wines are usually excellent and the Old Vine Red is an affordable everyday wine. The same holds for the Gnarly - there are others that have a better pedigree - but for the price - this is our Zin.

Veritas Vineyards

Our first stop on the Monticello Wine Trail was Veritas Vineyards, located just southwest of Charlottesville at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Andrew and Patricia Hodson planted their first vines about a decade ago and opened the tasting facility in 2002 - selling wine from the 2001 vintage. They named the winery after the Roman historian, Pliny the Elder's statement: “In Vino Veritas” ~ “In Wine There Is Truth”. Their goal was to create high quality vinifera wines and with the assistance of their daughter Emily Pelton they have largely succeeded. And don't think that hiring your daughter is just another case of nepotism; Ms. Pelton earned a Masters in Enology at Virginia Tech and was recently awarded the Judges Choice Award at the 2007 National Women’s Wine Competition in California. On our arrival, Emily and resident sommelier Thomas Roberts escorted downstairs to the fermenting and barrel areas. Amongst large steel tanks we learned about the winery operations and their other goal of educating consumers on wine\food pairings through classes, private events, and weddings. Plus, these events are great opportunities to sell wine. During the discussion we also sampled their wines, starting with a Sauvignon Blanc - made in the Loire style. It was dry and crisp - nice for a varietal that we usually find as too weak in Virginia. We followed with a couple versions of Chardonnay and Viognier and what was exceptional about these wines is that we were tasting directly from either the tanks or barrels - basically the wines were only a few months old. The Viognier was most impressive - peaches and apricots - and its excellent character is why the previous vintage was awarded a double gold in San Francisco.



Moving to reds, we tasted from several barrels of Cabernet Franc, starting with a fruit forward version made from free run juice. There was no tannins in this sample - just cherry fruit flavors. We moved to two other barrels that contained wine made from grapes picked from the same vineyard lot - just a week difference. The wine was completely different - the first seemed fresher - some in our party smelled and tasted Violets - interesting for such a young wine; whereas the wine from the lot picked later was more tannic. Who knew that one week could create such a divergence in flavor. We continued with Merlot and Petit Verdot - the first solid, but the second exceptional. After only a few months in the barrel the Petit Verdot was already full bodied and spicy - no need to blend here - this is a single varietal. Emily also poured versions of their port-styled wine Othello where the Tannat and Touriga Nacional are fortified and aged separately. Finally we were lead into the sparkling wine room where amongst riddling racks we sampled their Mousseux - a dry sparkling style wine. The wine is an equal blend of Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc and is extremely dry - think dry raspberries - and very unsuspecting with the pink color.

What a fantastic start for our trip. Veritas set a very high benchmark that we would use to judge the other wineries. In the coming months, the Veritas wine making staff will need to determine how to bottle the wines we tasted. Some will be sold in the tasting room as 100% varietals, others will be blended to produce a Claret or Meritage. Partly science, mostly art - they will continue to sample the wines in the barrel until they can determine its final destination. We look forward to returning after bottling to sample the final result.

Monticello Wine Trail Tour 2009

Last month, at a weekly wine tasting, several of us discussed the various wine regions in Virginia and which, as a region, were producing the finest wines in the state. We concluded that perhaps the Monticello area was sovereign, and to prove our hypothesis we planned a visit to the region. Our excursion was organized by Jim and Lori Corcoran - the proprietors and winemaker from Loudoun County's Corcoran Vineyards. The Corcorans make some of the best Cabernet Franc and Viognier in Loudoun County and they were looking forward to an exchange of ideas with other winemakers. Our party also consisted of other experienced wine professionals including Mary Watson-Delauder, a sommelier who graces the current cover of the Virginia Wine Lover Magazine; her husband Rick Delauder of Australia's Ballast Stone Estate Wines; wine writer Dezel Quillen from My Virginia Vine Spot; Michael Ching, a partner at The Winery of LaGrange; and a few other wine connoisseurs. Our destination was several of the top wineries surrounding Charlottesville: Veritas Vineyards, King Family Vineyards, White Hall Vineyards, Blenheim Vineyards, Jefferson Vineyards, and Keswick Vineyards.

In the upcoming weeks look for separate articles on each winery, but we have several general conclusions we'd like to share. Overall, our initial hypotheses was not validated. Whereas we did sample some tremendous wines, there was enough doubt among us to conclude that many wineries in northern Virginia make comparable wines. Instead, the trip exposed the potential in Virginia wines and introduced us to a new generation of young winemakers who are striving to produce world class wines. In most cases, the wine making was conducted by a young, educated winemaker - we are talking about winemakers in their 20s and 30s - who have both the experience and geographic background to add value to their products. At Veritas Vineyards, Emily Pelton has taken over the daily wine making chores from her father Andrew Hodson and is producing over a dozen still and sparkling wines that were first class. Kirsty Harmon (Blenheim Vineyards) is beginning to inject her experience working with Gabriele Rausse and in France and New Zealand to enhance the winery's portfolio. The same holds true for Stephen Barnard (Keswick Vineyards) who uses many techniques that he learned in his native South Africa to produce excellent wines. And Andy Reagan (Jefferson Vineyards) uses his background at several mid-Atlantic wineries to produce a portfolio of great Bordeaux-styled wines. Matthieu Finot, from King Family Vineyards, was not able to meet with us, but his credentials include working in his native France, as well as in Italy and South Africa. The future is definitely bright at these wineries. In addition, the quality in the wines made by the female winemakers lead many in our party to suggest that, in general, females are better winemakers than men. That's another interesting hypothesis we can discuss at a later date.




More importantly we saw the direction where these wineries want to lead Virginia in terms of wine grapes. In the past, many Virginia wineries have gambled on different varieties, hoping that they would elevate Virginia in the wine market. Some thought Norton, others Chardonnay. In the past few years many wineries thought Cabernet Franc. And over the weekend we tasted several excellent versions of this wine. Virginia wineries make excellent Cabernet Franc - but are they world class wines? We also discovered several excellent Merlot wines and learned from David King that it grows rather consistently from year to year in the state. Normally not pleased with Virginia grown Cabernet Sauvignon, we tasted a fabulous version aging in the barrel at Blenheim. We also sampled good Touriga and Petit Mensing at White Hall and Sauvignon Blanc at Veritas Vineyards. But, as good as all these wines tasted, two grapes clearly stood out, and we believe that these grapes have the best potential to elevate Virginia wines to world class status. We are referring to Viognier and Petit Verdot. The first is not surprising since many wineries have been producing excellent Viognier over the past decade. Interesting, this ancient grape was recently threatened with extinction for as late as 1965 there was only eight acres planted in Northern Rhône. Considering the history of the grape (it migrated to the Rhône region with the Romans) and how well it has rebounded, that would have been tragic. Particularly since it also produces excellent wines. Each winery we visited had a superb Viognier wine - regardless of style - that would hold their own against California and Rhône produced varietals. As for Petit Verdot, this grape is normally used in Bordeaux blends and is a relative newcomer in the state, yet almost each winery we visited choose to vinify it. And as a 100% varietal. The winemakers recognize the potential in the grape and believe that is very suitable for their climate. And in each instance, the wines were fabulous; full bodied with depth and tannins worthy for further aging. We have seen the future for Virginia....and its not Cabernet Franc, or Norton.

Finally, we listened to fabulous discussions on wine making. Stephen Barnard stressed how managing the vineyard was the single most important factor in making good wines. And in a later email exchange, Matthieu Finot reiterated that point. At Veritas Vineyards we tasted how the juice from the same grapes picked from the same lot produce different wine depending on when they were picked. At Blenheim Vineyards and Veritas Vineyards we compared the fruitiness of free run juice against more tannic juice from grapes pressed once or twice. We discussed blending, yeast, malolatic fermentation, racking, and several other principles involved in making wine. And we talked screw caps. Some wine makers wanted to convert their entire portfolio to this closure device in order to eliminate the cork taint caused by TCA, others only the whites. Nevertheless, all hesitate since the general public still associates screw caps with cheap wines. But they expect to release more wines closed with screw caps - at least white wines; but until the public's perception changes - keep the corkscrew handy.

This was the type of trip that every wine consumer should experience. Although we did get special access due to the Corcoran's association with the wineries, the average taster can plan a similar venture. Many wineries hold wine classes that explain their wines and are usually taught by the winery's winemaker. In other instances the winemaker assists in the tasting room, providing an excellent opportunity for interaction. Research before you travel - start at wine-compass.com, find wineries and events in your destination and drill into the winery's website. Contact the winery directly, the information is available; it just takes planning. Next up, Veritas Vineyards.