Peach Wine and Cabernet Franc Shine at Winery 32

Fall is a fantastic time to visit wineries and for those of us n NOVA, Loudoun County is a top destination. A relative newcomer in that area is Winery 32, located off Route 15 north of Leesburg. Roxanne and Michael Moosher opened the winery just over a year ago with the former a chemist, the later a chef. Seems like a perfect combination for a winery and bistro. The property consists of 32 acres, encompassed by an abandoned horse farm and dairy farmland. The vineyard was planted during the Moosher's 32nd anniversary in which they also planted 32 peach trees. And as you already guessed by now, the reason behind the name Winery 32. The winery is only open on weekend's and is right down Limestone Road from Fabbioli Cellars, thus a logical stop within the county's Potomac Cluster. The tasting room is spacious, with Michael's kitchen to the left, tasting bar on the right. It provides deck seating with ample views of the property's pond and the distant Short Hill Mountain (within the Blue Ridge Mountains).

As for the wines, the first impression is the beautiful artwork on the labels drawn by their daughter, Chantal Moosher. The prints are also featured throughout the tasting room and are available for purchase.  The second impression is that the wines are rather tasty. With their vineyards just reaching maturity, the grapes were sourced from mostly other Loudoun County vineyards. The whites consist of an off-dry Vidal & Traminette blend labelled 2012 Being Koi White Wine ($18); an oaked 2013 Chardonnay ($26), sourced from Trump Winery; Gloria's Sunshine Light Peach ($24), augmented with a smidgen of Vidal; and Gloria Peach Dessert Wine ($16.50. I couldn't get enough of the drier peach wine, the aromatics and off dry peach flavor won my attention.  As for the reds, there's a California sourced Syrah ($22), Loudoun County sourced 2013Cabernet Sauvignon ($28) and 2012 Cabernet Franc ($18), and a Bordeaux styled blend known as 2013 Thoroughbred Blend ($26) that includes a small percentage of Charmbourcin. Of these, we preferred the Cabernet Franc, just a touch green and spicy, but more light cream and smooth tannins.

Looking forward,  it will be interesting how the character of the wines change once they start utilizing the estate fruit. One sure bet will be their Petit Manseng which Roxanne provided a tank sample. Despite still fermenting this wine is delicious now: abundant acids, flavor, and structure. Can't wait to return to sample the final product or the food pairing from the bistro. Cheers.

2015 Wine Bloggers Conference Live Wine Blogging - Whites

I always look forward to the madness known as the Live Wine Blogging. For 50 minutes, winemakers rotate around the room, stopping at a different table to describe their winery and wines in 5 minute increments. Within that time, the participants post their thoughts using their preferred social media channel. Mine was Twitter. I anticipated scores of Riesling at the white wine version of this event, but in general, winemakers chose to showcase other varietal wines such as Traminette, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Vidal Ice Wines. The 2014 Boundary Breaks #239 Dry Riesling was my overall favorite followed by a tasty Hermann J. Wiemer 2009 Blanc de Blanc.

@casalargawinery the 2010 Fiori Delle Stelle Vidal Ice Wine 41 year old winery ; delicious apricot and acids #wbc15 pic.twitter.com/JBQW14oHQn

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

@LamoreauxWine single vineyard Red Oak Riesling honeysuckle aroma nice acids #flxwine #wbc15 pic.twitter.com/aEj3BttlFQ

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

2014 Boundary Breaks #239 Dry Riesling late Oct harvest; dry, lemons; long finish #wbc15 #flxwine pic.twitter.com/2aPypZwPBJ

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

#wbc15 #flxwine Hazlet Vineyards 4 clones of Sauvignon Blanc. Early harvest. pic.twitter.com/lKpTKxmtXe

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

@MontezumaWinery Edelzwicker Riesling & Gewurztraminer blend. Big aroma, easy finish; $14 #wbc15 #flxwine pic.twitter.com/LFKLmwqyKZ

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

#idolridge 2014 Vidal Ice Wine apricots luscious good acids #wbc15 pic.twitter.com/MXmDujPBSF

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

Glad to meet Dave Peterson @GooseWatchWines '14 Traminette dry, lemon, high acids #wbc15 pic.twitter.com/feV1UFSyDI

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

@LucasWinetalk 2014 Semi Dry Riesling honeysuckle aroma; balanced acids #wbc15 #flxwine pic.twitter.com/RLDzNwTrOd

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

Hermann J. Wiemer 2009 Blanc de Blanc 100% Chardonnay #wbc15 #flxwine pic.twitter.com/VFMjPF77dV

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

@BellangeloWine 2013 semi dry riesling acids don't overwhelm great flavor #wbc15 #flxwine pic.twitter.com/gQ1IUADJQw

— WineCompass (@winecompass) August 14, 2015

A Vidal & Syrah #VirtualVines Tasting with Old York Cellars

Last night Old York Cellars hosted their January edition of the Virtual Wines online tasting where consumers can watch and/or participate in a tasting of two wines from one New Jersey's oldest wineries. The winery encourages consumers to participate at the winery, by hosting their own tasting party, or follow along via the Virtual Wines Livestream site, Facebook, or Twitter.  For me, I was fortunate to receive a complimentary sample.

The tasting was hosted by winemaker Scott Gares and sommelier Laurin Dorman and featured two wines: the 2012 Vidal Blanc ($15) and Syrah ($18). And quite frankly, these were the two tastiest wines I've tried from the winery. 

This webcast started with a discussion on the cold hardiness of Vidal  - particularly its use in ice wines or late harvest styles; I learned that it is even grown in Sweden as an ice wine.  But the Old York Cellars 2012 Vidal is bone dry - zero R.S.. On the nose and palette it displays a Sauvignon Blanc character of lemon citrus, followed by a nice refreshing acidic finish. Always enjoy sampling this French-American hybrid and this wine shows Vidal is enjoyable dry just as much as semi or sweet. Dorman suggests several food pairings with the Vidal which include goat cheese, triple creme, brie, feta, risotto, shellfish, pasta with cream, poultry, and Greek or Caesar salads.

The Syrah was made from 50% estate grown fruit, maturated on skins for 20 days and then treated in medium oak. The finished wine starts with a dark cherry almost black berry nose followed by a nice balance of dark cherry flavor and a tasty peppery spice that lingers in the finish. This finish is also soft - just enough tannins to maintain a chewy affect, but not enough to overshadow the delicious flavor. This is an old world styled wine; very impressed - nicely done. Dorman's food pairings include Gruyere and smoke cheddar, beef stew, brisket, grilled lamb, London broil, sausages, and salmon.

And it wouldn't be a Virtual Wines tasting without Laurie's Chocolates -Madagascar Single Origin 65% and Hawaii Single Origin Milk Chocolate with Macadamia & Sea Salt. The latter was paired with the Vidal so that the wine's acids mingle with the chocolate's milk fat. The darker Madagascar chocolate was paired with the Syrah, adding a litter bitterness to the fruit and pepper flavors. Like I wrote previously, these were the two tastiest wines I've tried from the winery.  I hope to be included in the May addition as they introduce their SF Competition Gold winning 2012 Merlot.  Cheers.

The United Grapes of America - Connecticut - Jones Winery Woodland White

StarChefs.com: The United Grapes of America

One of the many wines tasted at the “Taste the Wines of America” Congressional Wine Reception were two from Connecticut, both from the Jones Winery - a Chardonnay and Woodland White ($14.95). The later left a more lasting impression and is made from all Connecticut grown Cayuga White, Vidal Blanc, and Seyval Blanc. It is slightly sweet,more off-dry, aromatic with some weight and enough acidity to balance the sugar. Very pleasant. The winery itself is located in Shelton (not far from the Long Island Sound) and is currently operated by the 6th generation of Joneses - currently Philip Jamison Jones (see the wine's label). They must be doing something right; for the past three years Connecticut Magazine recognized the Jones Winery for producing the Best Connecticut Wine.

Finger Lakes Wine Country Goes Sparkling and Icy

This week we participated in a Finger Lakes Wine Country Finger Lakes Wine Virtual Tasting Series tasting on Dessert, Sparkling, & Ice Wines. We were sent samples from seven Finger Lakes wineries - specifically three sparkling wines and four dessert or ice wines.during the tasting several bloggers shared their insight on the wines via Twitter (#FLXWineVT), submitted questions to the winemakers, and watched real time as the winemakers discussed their wines. 


We started with the sparkling wines and while tasting learned that this style is a "Labor of Love" for the winemakers and also, the the Finger Lakes cooler climate allows for more intense flavors at a lower brix measurement.  We started with the Atwater Estate Vineyards 2008 Sparkling Cuvee ($30), which is a
66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay blend. The grapes ripened at the same time, which allowed them to be co-fermented after being whole clustered pressed. The winery then follows the traditional Champagne Methodoise where the the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle with active riddling so that the lees do not settle in one area. The lees are removed during disgorging, more sugar and wine added during dosage, and then sealed with a champagne-style cork closure. The result is an impressive sparkling wines - full of green apple flavor, a strong mid-palette, and a refreshing lemon finish.

We moved next to the 100% Pinot Noir 2008 Blanc de Noir ($30) from McGregor Vineyard Winery. This wine was created because winemaker Jeff Dencenburg wanted to experiment with a 100% PN. My feelings is that the wine is just not on par, particularly when following the Atwater Cuvee. Yes this wine had a decent mouth feel, but the flavor was bland and not exciting. Many of the other bloggers disagreed, proving that no two palettes are the same.

The final sparkling wine was the Swedish Hill Winery Riesling Cuvee ($18) - a most interesting wine fermented to 3.5% R.S. and reminding many of us as a Proseco - with more flavor. The Riesling juice was tank fermented in order to retain the inherent flavor of the grape. The result is a food friendly sparkler with a strong amount of lychee on the nose and a nice balance between sugar and acidity at the tail. Nicely done.

Round two consisted of the dessert and ice wines and these were all well received. We started with the Casa Larga Vineyards 2008 Fiori Vidal Blanc Ice Wine ($45). The name translates to Flower of Stars in Italian and is what the harvest workers view in the dead of night when harvesting the frozen grapes. Yes, true German style Eiswein are produced from grapes harvested when completely frozen in the middle of night - usually in late December or early January. As expected, the volume at harvest is much lower than for grapes harvested on a normal schedule resulting in 1/4 less yield (1 ton of grapes = 160 gallons vs 1 ton of grapes = 40 gallons). The Eiswein juice is then cold fermented and the result is a slightly syrupy sweet nectar. And the beauty of using Vidal Blanc is the natural acidity and the grape balances the concentrated sugar in the wine. The is a very nice apricot flavored wine - perfectly balanced between sweetness and acidity.

The other true "Eiswein" was the Knapp Vineyards Winery 2010 Vidal Ice Wine ($25). The was my preferred dessert wine of the evening showcasing an orange aroma, followed by a full - full apricot profile, finishing with refreshing acidity.  This reminded of the famed Hungarian Tokaji wines - with a high puttonyos. And at $25 a bargain.

The last two wines were produced in an ice wine style where the grapes were harvested late and then immediately frozen in order to concentrate the sugars. The Lucas Vineyards 2010 Vidal Blanc Iced ($25) was very similar to the Knapp, without the orange aroma, but a very similar apricot flavor profile. Just a tad lighter - but a very nice wine. The Standing Stone Vineyards 2010 Gewurztraminer Ice ($25) is an excellent alternative to the Vidal, emanating a more lychee flavor profile with a spicy finish. Gewurztraminer is an interesting grape to use for an ice styled wine since its low level of acids would be difficult to balance the concentrated sugar. Yet freezing the grapes solves this problem by concentrating the acids in addition to the sugar. The result is a balanced wine.

Cheers to the Finger Lakes - there's more than just Riesling.

WBC11 Preview: The Wine Grapes of Virginia

We recently saw a Twitter tweet from the Rhone Rangers regarding the Wine Bloggers Conference 2011 (#VAWine producers at #WBC11 - We will be present, love to meet with any interested in becoming a @RhoneRangers). The Rhone Rangers is "America's leading non-profit organization dedicated to promoting American Rhone varietal wines". Now, its widely known - or becoming widely known - that Virginia's new signature grape is the Rhone varietal Viognier. And please check out the interesting commentary regarding that decision at DrinkWhatYouLike: Viognier – Virginia’s Signature Grape?. But what about other Rhone varietals. Syrah is relatively popular with about 20 wineries crafting that varietal. And several are quite good: Delaplane Cellars, Tarara Vineyard & Winery, and Fox Meadow Winery among others. Viognier and Syrah are basically it for Rhone grapes, although Horton Vineyards and Hillsborough Vineyards do craft wines using Roussanne.

Yet, even with Viognier being Virginia's signature grape, Bordeaux and Burgundy varietals are still the most popular. In fact, Meritage and Chardonnay wines have won the last few Governors Cup and at one point in recent history some observers where predicting that Cabernet Franc may become the Commonwealth's signature grape. Here's an interesting post and commentary at MyVineSpot: Making a case for Chardonnay and Merlot. Yet the future for red wine in Virginia may be the Bordeaux blending grapes: Petit Verdot and Malbec. Crafted as single varietals, these are full bodied, tannic wines. And let's not forget grapes from South West France, where Tannat and Petit Menseng wines do quite well in Virginia. Interestingly, the later was first introduced into the United States by Alan Kinne, of Chrysalis Vineyards.

Speaking of Chrysalis Vineyards, the vineyard holds the world's largest planting of Virginia's native grape: Norton. Many winemakers choose to avoid Norton, considering it less than a noble grape, but Jennifer McCloud thinks otherwise and is the grape's most vocal proponent. Please check out this VirginiaWineTV episode featuring McCloud in Talking Norton and DLW with Jennifer McCloud.

Finally, there's the hybrids, which remain quite popular and are the wine grapes that grow best in many mountainous and arid regions of the state. Vidal Blanc is the most popular and is used primarily as a dessert wine. Next popular is Chambourcin which has the versatility to be crafted into a range of styles from dry to sweet. Our friends at Corcoran Vineyards have now aged their Chambourcin in used bourbon barrels to create a port styled wine that tastes pure Virginia - as in Virginia Gentlemen.

For more information on a compendium of wine grapes used in Virginia please visit our post at The Wine Grapes of Virginia. See you at the Wine Bloggers Conference 2011 in Charlottesville Virginia.

The Wine Grapes of Maryland

We recently posted on The Wine Grapes of Virginia based on a discussion of Viognier being named the Signature Grape of Virginia. We were then asked to provide the same information for Maryland which, due to its smaller number of wineries, was easier to compile. This data is obviously not official and does not designate the appellation where the grapes were grown; just the grape varieties that were used to craft Maryland wines. The first four were not surprising, and probably not Vidal either as seen in Virginia. However the sixth, Riesling, was a surprise. I wonder if the grapes are harvested in state or sourced from the Finger Lakes.

24 Cabernet Sauvignon
24 Chardonnay
22 Merlot
22 Cabernet Franc
18 Vidal Blanc
15 Riesling
13 Chambourcin
12 Seyval Blanc
10 Pinot Grigio/Gris
9 Zinfandel
8 Syrah
8 Sauvignon Blanc
6 Pinot Noir
6 Traminette
5 Sangiovese
5 Gewürztraminer
4 Chancellor
4 Malbec
4 Viognier
4 Vignole
3 Cayuga
3 Concord
3 Mead
3 Petit Verdot
3 Barbera
2 Albarino
2 Muscat
2 Niagara
2 Montepulciano
2 Dolcetto
2 Chenin Blanc
2 Traminer
1 T'ej
1 Tocai Friulano
1 Vincent
1 Symphony
1 Reliance
1 Colombard
1 Malvasia
1 Marechal Foch
1 Dutchess
1 Fredonia
1 Gamay
1 Gamay Noir
1 Muller-Thurgau
1 Melody
1 Norton
1 Pinot Blanc
1 Blaufrankisch
1 Chardonel
1 Catawba
1 Grenache
1 Gruner Veltliner
1 Isabella
1 Johannisberg Riesling
1 Landot
1 Landot Noir
1 Leon Millot

West-Whitehill Winery

It is becoming common knowledge that some form of wine is produced in every state and within scenic West Virginia about 15 wineries call home. The eastern section of the state, the Potomac Highlands, contains the South Branch Valley which is a small micro climate. Called a Rain Shadow, the area receives little precipitation and low humidity because they are located on the leeward side of the Allegheny Front. (See picture below for more information.) For almost thirty years, West-Whitehill Winery has been cultivating French Hybrid grapes in the valley and selling the wines to a steadily growing domestic market.

Because of this domestic market, the wines are made on the sweeter side. The only completely dry offerings are a nice medium bodied Chambourcin aged in French oak and a Seyval Blanc. They also produce the West Virginia red which is basically the Chambourcin made off-dry. Our favorites were the two semi-dry wines, the Vidal Blanc and a second Seyval Blanc - both made with about 1.5% r.s. Both portray nice fruit characteristics, but we were won over by the acidic content. Both are refreshing wines.

The most interesting wine is their Aurora Blush. I wonder how many readers have even heard of this grape, or of the Chancellor that is added to enhance the color. Its actually a decent wine, not necessarily fitting into our tastes, but during a visit a couple entered the tasting room and purchased a case. That's how the winery stays in business. With assistance from the sweet wines. There's the Highland Mist, a blend of hybrid grapes and orange and lemon spices; the Mountain Spice, this time with cloves and cinnamon added to the juice; the Classic Currant and the Raspberry Royale. These last two are definitely worth tasting; for us - substitutes for dessert wines - for others - table wines. The Currant wine is made from California juice and white grapes. The flavor basically explodes off the tongue - how many currants are picked to make a bottle? The Raspberry Royale is a blend of the Aurore and red raspberries and the flavor also stays in the mouth from the initial taste to the tail.

West-Whitehill Winery is a small winery, making only about 2,000 cases a year. Their tasting room is only open during the weekend, so most of their wines are sold in retail outlets - particularly tourist shops. In Thomas, we noticed several customers carrying 3 bottle boxes purchased from the Riverfront Antiques & Thrift. Why not a bottle of wine as a souvenir or a gift.

Sugarleaf Vineyards

On a recent trip to Scottsville we stopped into Sugarleaf Vineyards, a boutique winery located in the heart of the Monticello Wine Trail. - producing wines from primarily estate grown vinifera grapes. I would recommend visiting their website to read about the winery's history, but in brief, Sugarleaf Vineyards is owned and operated by Jerry and Lauren Bias. They initially purchased the property as a retreat - future retirement home, but after consulting with vineyard experts from the university of Virginia, they found that there 126 acres were ideally suited for grape growing. They initially intended to source the grapes to other vineyards, but soon realized that the property was producing high quality vinifera grapes; thus, why not make wine instead. The first vintage was available for sale out of the tasting room in 2007 and already most of the wines have been awarded medals at several national competitions.

We arrived to find winemaker Daniel Neumeister preparing the Chardonnay and Viognier tanks for a bottling session scheduled for the next morning. We learned at this time that last year's vintage of their Viognier had sold out in 4 months, so they were eager to bottle this year's production. In addition their Petit Verdot was also gone - consumers are starting to discover Virginia's top grapes. We had to settle with the rest of their portfolio, which consisted of a Chardonnay, Petit Manseng, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Vidal Blanc, and the Neubia Nectar, a dessert wine made from 25% Petit Manseng and 75% Vidal Blanc. All the grapes were grown in the estate vineyard except for the Petit Manseng which was sourced from White Hall Vineyards. In general, the wines were very good - our favorite was the Petit Manseng - I guess always searching for something unique. The Chardonnay was more fruit than oak; the Cabernet Franc a nice medium bodied wine; and the Cabernet Sauvignon a full bodied wine and not bad for a grape that normally struggles in the Virginia climate. For those with sweeter tastes, the Vidal Blanc comes in at 1.1% r.s. and possesses a typical characteristic of this hybrid: floral aroma and peach flavors. Obviously Mr. Neumeister knows his craft and we have no issues with the wines themselves.

The problem we had was the cost of the tasting. First, Sugarleaf's wines are expensive ranging from $24 to $30, excluding the Vidal Blanc. There is obviously a market for Sugarleaf's wines, since they sell out quickly; Charlottesville is a wealthy area. Sugarleaf also charges a hefty tasting fee. Now, we fully understand the argument why wineries charge tasting fees - particularly when the winery will most likely be able to sell their stock within the year. Since the winery must pay an excise tax on each bottled wine, if they don't sell the wine, they must eat the tax. As a result, most wineries charge a modest tasting fee that is usually waived if the taster purchases a bottle. That is not the case at Sugarleaf Vineyards. The tasting fee is $6, so for two of us, it costs $12 to just enter the door and taste the wines. When we travel to a winery, we want to support the industry by purchasing at least one bottle, and here we decided to purchase a bottle of the Petit Manseng. Thus we paid basically $40 for a bottle of Virginia wine. For those who regularly tour wineries, is it worth the cost to drive 3 hours to pay the equivalent of $40 for a bottle or $12 just to taste the wine? Some of you may reply with an emphatic, YES. For us, I'm starting to think its not worth the effort.

Barrel Oak Winery

After many months of delay, we finally visited Barrel Oak Winery, another new winery in Fauquier County. Sharon and Brian Roeder officially launched the winery in May 2008 and we have been lax in visiting - even after several friends and fellow bloggers had favorable impressions after their visits. This weekend the winery was hosting a Pumpkin Decorating for the Kids! so we drove out Route 66 for a visit. Several other families had already beaten us to the winery, and this was apparently a slow day. There were also several four legged friends as BOW encourages visitors to bring their leashed pets. Not only are dogs allowed on the patio - they are also welcome inside the tasting room. Our dogs like that idea.

Barrel Oak is located on a hill overlooking Little Cobbler Mountain and the John Marshall Oak Hill estate. The two year old estate vines roll along one side of the property and soon BOW will have a local source of Traminette, Seyval Blanc, Merlot, Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc, Petit Verdot and Petit Manseng. In the meanwhile, the winery sources grapes from several well established vineyards including Keswick Vineyards. The production facilities are built into a hill and the winery is heated and cooled by a geothermal system.

When we arrived, the children quickly found the pumpkin painting area and we were escorted to the tasting bar. The winery opened on a grand scale - producing over a dozen styles of wine. That's a large selection for any winery - not to mention one in its infancy. We started with the BowHaus White, a semi-dry blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Vidal Blanc. It has a citrus flavor and balanced acidity - and it was selected as our picnic choice for the day. The Seyval Blanc and Chardonnay Reserve were next with the later being a favorite. It is made in the traditional European style - sur lees - and fermented in stainles steel and aged in neutral French oak. The final white was their Viognier and this was the most interested version of this varietal we had tasted. It is made dry - but contains some sweetness. The citrus flavor makes way for a silky finish produced by aging in Hungarian oak. This is a nice wine. It's no surprise that the Late Harvest Viognier was also a good dessert styled wine.

Turning to reds, we started with the Bowhaus Red a table wine blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, Malbec, and Touriga; Bordeaux and Portugal in a bottle. For a young wine, this is remarkably smooth with great flavor and little acidity. This was our second choice for the afternoon's picnic. The next wine was the Tour Ga Franc, a blend of Cabernet Franc and Touriga, and possibly the first time we had tasted this combination. It is also smooth with a little more spiciness than the Bowhaus Red. Plus, $2 from every bottle is donated to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. They followed with several Bordeaux styled wines, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. The last was our favorite and perhaps our overall favorite; it is dry, full bodied with cherry and some chocolate flavors. This is a big wine. The other Bordeaux styled wines were not bad either - the Cabernet Sauvignon had a unique nutty finish whereas the Merlot and Cabernet Franc both had full cherry flavors with a slight spiciness to the Cab Franc.

Besides being only an hour outside of Washington, D.C., Barrel Oak Winery offers several incentives to visit. They host various events each month ranging from Friday night movies, Saturday night music, barrel tasting, book signing, plus more.... Even after the events, visitors must have an incentive to return which usually has a direct correlation to the quality of the wine. We really liked the wines, both the whites and reds - and the wine is competitively priced to other wineries in the area. So count us as future returnees.

More pictures are available at Compass Tours at Wine-Compass.com.

Vintage Ridge Vineyards

Last Saturday we visited one of Fauquier County's newest wineries, Vintage Ridge Vineyards. The winery is located in the historic village of Rectortown, which still contains many 100 + year old houses - and was where General McClellan was camped when relieved as commander of the Army of the Potomac. The vineyards are hidden from the main road; but once you drive up the driveway the estate opens into an array of vines surrounded by woods and views of the Blueridge Mountains. An amazing site.

I am constantly surprised when new wineries produce quality wines in their first vintages, and Vintage Ridge Vineyards is no exception. They started by planting vines of two grapes that grow extremely well in Virginia: Cabernet Franc and Vidal Blanc. Plus, they added a little character by growing Mourvedre. Thus all their wines are estate grown, except for a Syrah where the grapes are grown in another Fauquier County vineyard.

Vintage Ridge has a very unique method for serving their wines. Visitors can purchase a tasting platter containing meats and cheeses as well as access to a variety of mustard and chutneys. The tasting sheet offers suggestions for pairing the wine with specific meats, cheeses, or spreads. The winery wants visitors to appreciate how a wine's flavor changes when combined with different foods - plus it makes the tasting experience a lot more entertaining. The first wine was a dry vidal - the Summer Night (dry) - which has a nice floral aroma and dry fruity finish. I preferred the next wine, the Maiden Voyage, a blend of Vidal and Mourvedre. This is your refreshing afternoon wine after a day of work - smooth with a refreshing acidic finish. Moving to the sweeter whites, Vintage Ridge produces a second Summer Night, this one with 1.5% RS. This is an alternative to a semi-dry Riesling. And then there's the Ice-wine styled Late Harvest Vidal Blanc - made from grapes frozen after harvest. This is the wine to have the most fun tasting with chocolate, the chutneys, and even spicy mustard.

Turning to reds, Vintage Ridge poured two excellent wines from Cabernet Franc that show why this grape is special in Virginia. The 2005 Cabernet Franc was aged one year in the barrel and is a full bodied spicy wine. Spicy from the initial aroma to the "tail". The 2006 Cabernet Franc is smoother and more complex - more reminiscent of a Bordeaux styled wine. Both are completely different - but excellent in their own styles. The final wine was a Syrah - but after the Cabernet Franc - my attention span was wavering - so any thoughts would not give this wine justice. Next time, I'll try this wine first.

If I can't return to the winery before Christmas, I look forward to my next visit in the spring. Plan ahead and give yourself ample time to try the wines and food - I plan to spend an afternoon.

Potomac Point Winery

On Saturday, July 14th we attended the second day of Potomac Point Winery's three day Grand Opening event. The winery is located in Stafford County Virginia and currently offers a wide range of excellent wines from grapes grown mostly in Orange County Virginia. There are wines for everyone. Their Norton, Viognier (gold medal), Vidal Blanc dessert wine, and Cabernet Franc are great examples of how these grapes thrive in Virginia. They also offer excellent Bordeaux, Italian, and Portuguese styled red wines, as well as a gold winning Chardonnay. These wines are impressive and for an initial release, outstanding. The winery itself is also impressive with meticulously designed metalwork throughout the Mediterranean-style building. This building is worth a visit itself - let alone the desire to "hang out" for a few hours. You can red the full account of our visit at Compass Tours.