Monticello Wine Trail - From Scottsville to North Garden

Mother's Day Weekend consisted of two days visiting relatives in Scottsville, a small town located on the James River, about 20 miles south of Charlottesville. Previous we would look forward to hitting a couple of wineries along Route 20 and perhaps a tubing exhibition on the river. Now our trips to the area have been enhanced by the arrival of the James River Brewing company - who brew several English and German styled beers right on main street. And being in Bud Light country, they brew a wide range of beers to hopefully entice the lager crowd and the craft beer crowd. The "River" series takes care of the lager drinkers from the English bitter River Runner to the lighter River Walker. My father-in-law enjoyed a few of these while I experimented with their more complex creations. The "Green Eyed Lady" is a sweet, but balanced treat brewed with pistachios. The Barbados Brown Ale is aged in used Rum barrels giving a nice bite to the tail. There is also a Baltic Porter (quite nice) and the Midnight Mistress, a Baltic Porter brewed with cacao nibs and paprika. I have a bottle for a future post. And finally, my favorite was the Fluvanna Fluss Wheat Ale - refreshing with an interesting banana flavor.James River Brewing also support local music, so there's another reason to visit the brewery.

One regret from the weekend is that we didn't head east on Route 6 to visit Thistle Gate Vineyard. This winery will be our starting point on future visits and if you want to start your tour from the furthest point southeast, they will be your destination - particularly if you enjoy Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc.   From there, head through Scottsville and north on Route 20. Your first two wineries will be on the left with First Colony Winery and Virginia Wineworks on the same road. On previous trips First Colony was our destination, so this time we stopped by the old Mountdomaine facility that Michael Shaps now utilizes for his VW and Michael Shaps brands. We were looking for boxed wine and our post at VirginiaWineTV explains why. Returning to Route 20, you will soon cross over a bridge spanning the Hardware River. Taking a right will lead you to Blenheim Vineyards & Trump Winery;  both are popular destinations in their own right and highly recommended.  From there, you have two choices, head north to 708 or backtrack to 721. The first will lead to Wisdom Oak Winery, formerly Sugarleaf Vineyards, whereas the second to the Laird & Company apple orchard. Not sure if tours are available at the distiller of Apple Jack brandy - but we will soon attempt to visit. Regardless, both roads intersect Route 27 where you will find Albemarle CiderWorks and Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards. In fact, if you took Rt 721, then just cross over 27 to Pippin Hill, whereas take a right on 27 if traveling on Rt 708. For you, cider will be your next stop - and quite good cider. At Pippin Hill, get ready for solid wines and spectacular views. Once again our VirginiaWineTV post provides more information. Cheers and safe travels.

2011 Wine Bloggers Conference Highlights

The 2011 North American Wine Bloggers Conference was held July 21-24 in Charlottesville Virginia. Here are the highlights from the various events, tours, seminars, and tastings during the weekend from the International Tasting Thursday night to the Ignite sessions Sunday morning. The video also includes footage from the vineyard tour of Virginia Wineworks, First Colony Winery, and Blenheim Vineyards. The musical theme features Tony Trischka performing at the Floydfest Front Porch courtesy of the Virginia Folklife Program. And one note, the Traminette shown in the International Tasting was from the Other 46 Tasting. Cheers.

DrinkLocalWine.com Twitter Faceoff

We just finished the Twitter Taste-off where participants tweeted about wines they just tasted. The premier wineries from Virginia and Maryland were pouring and even more importantly the winemaker\proprietor was available to discuss their products. Each winery poured a red and a white and not surprisingly Viognier was a common white varietal. There were also a couple Chardonnay, the Chrysalis Vineyards Albarino, the Ingleside Vineyards Pinot Grigio, and the Lovingston Winery Petit Mangseng - but in general it was a Viognier face-off. And yes, Virginia makes a mean Viognier. Many we tasted were old favorites, but for the first time we sampled versions from Pollak Vineyards, Barboursville Vineyards, and the Michael Shaps Virginia Wineworks. In fact Shaps has been making Viognier way before it became standard among VA wineries. They were all very nice.

The selection of red wines was much more disparate. Some 100% varietals, but also many blends. Some Cabernet Franc, but also many Petite Verdot and Merlot. Sunset Hills Vineyard & Winery bucked the trend suggested in an earlier seminar and poured a Cabernet Sauvignon. Proprietor Mike Canney believes it works for their vineyard since the grape must struggle in the acidic soil. They also limit planting and prune excessively. So perhaps it works in selected vineyards, but not as a general rule. And as expected Jennifer McCloud was pouring the Chrysalis Vineyards Locksley Reserve Norton and Breaux Vineyards, their awesome 2002 Reserve Merlot. As much as we like single varietals, I think its the blends we prefer. The Barboursville Vineyards Octogon is always a favorite; Keswick Vineyards and Jefferson Vineyards poured nice Meritages as did Williamsburg Winery with their Adagio.

There was a smaller sample of Maryland wines. Black Ankle Vineyards continues to impress - their Syrah was very popular. Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard has always been a favorite destination of ours their wines make the trip worthwhile. Unfortunately we didn't get around to the other MD wines but will catch up with Kevin Atticks of Maryland Wine to hear more about the state's wine industry.

After tasting each wine, attendees were required to select a favorite white, red, and overall favorite. The latter was split so that members of the media chose the Media Favorite and the general public selected a People's Choice. The best White Wine was awarded to Chrysalis Vineyards for their Albarino - which shows that esoteric vinifera wines can thrive in Virginia. Hat's off to Jennifer McCloud for planting the grape and producing a 100% varietal. The best Red Wine was awarded to Breaux Vineyards for their 2002 Reserve Merlot. This wine is silky smooth. It was apparent that the media weighed heavily in these last awards, because the Michael Shaps Virginia Wineworks Viognier was awarded the Peoples Choice - no complaints here. Shaps also crafts an authentic Cabernet Franc. The overall Media Choice: Breaux Vineyards 2002 Reserve Merlot. And after another glass at dinner that evening - a very respectable decision. More photos are available at CompassTours and Facebook.