Last week I was able to attend the “Taste the Wines of America” Congressional Wine Reception, which coincides with the annual Board of Directors & Membership Meeting of
WineAmerica, and organization which "...serves the interests of wineries in all 50 states by
leveraging its formidable grassroots lobbying strength to benefit the
entire industry.". The reception is a unique event that allows guests to sample wines from throughout the United States (see list below) and particularly those made from non-standard grape varieties.
For instance, we sampled a few Chambourcin - notably our friends at
Port of Leonardtown Winery (MD) as well as
Glacial Till Vineyard & Winery (NE). In fact there were several Nebraska wines with
James Arthur Vineyards and
Soaring Wings Vineyard Dragon's Red from
Frontenac - being two more to follow. Texas was represented including
Blanc du Bois (
Chisholm Trail Winery Belle Star
Lone Oak Winery) as well as our favorite the
McPherson Cellars “Tre Colore” Red Wine. Temparnillo seems to be a popular grape in the Lone Star state as two wineries brought some to share:
Landon Winery &
Pedernales Cellars. Tennessee's
Arrington Vineyards contributed their Petite Noir made from the Noiret grape - another Cornell University variety with
Steuben as a parent. The wine is interesting, raspberry with a little smoke finishing with smooth tannins.
But perhaps the most unique non-standard grape was the
Valiant Vineyards Winery Wild Grape Wine - actually produced from wild grapes. Proprietor Eldon Nygaard uses native vitis riparia
(riverbank grape) that grow along the rivers and streams in the South Dakota and being native grapes are very cold-hardy and disease resistant. Nygaard's property resides near the banks of the Missouri River and while chatting he explained how Lewis & Clark camped on his site. He also showed us pictures of his Wild Grape Wine in wine shops in Paris selling for over 70 Euro. You don't have to pay that much in dollars - it's closer to $30 domestically. The wine is quite good, somewhat jammy as are many native grapes, but with a chocolate texture and a smooth tail. Very nice. Nygaard was also pouring his Full Throttle Saloon a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Norton - another nice wine
Moving to more traditional grapes, there was plenty of Riesling represented by Colorado, New York, Michigan wineries. The
Black Star Farms Arcturos Riesling was a favorite - with the brand being named for the brightest star in the constellation Boötes and the northern celestial hemisphere.
Fenn Valley Vineyards Edelzwicker (Riesling and Traminette blend) was another nice wine from the Wolverine State. The Midwest was also represented by other Michigan wineries as well as a couple from Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana's
Oliver Winery. Unfortunately no
mead. The Northeast was well represented with wines from throughout New York state - from Lake Erie to Long Island. From the later, Cabernet Franc was well represented from the North Fork by
Clovis Point Wines,
Palmer Vineyards, &
Osprey's Dominion Vineyards. From Connecticut, the
Jones Winery Woodland White blend was quite nice and we always enjoy the Dornfelder from
Presque Isle Wine Cellars (PA). Heading into Virginia, I had never sample the
Lovingston Winery Petit Manseng - giving us another incentive to visit the winery. Needlesstosay, there was quite a few wines being sampled - other favorites included the
Colorado Cellars Winery (CO) Gewurztraminer;
Gallifant Cellars (AZ) Chenin Blanc; and
Stone Hill Winery (MO) Norton & Vignoles.
What about the big three - California,Washington, and Oregon. They were well represented with several Oregon Pinot Noir - all very nice and very similar.
L'Ecole No. 41 wines and proprietor, Marty Clubb, came from Washington and his Columbia Valley and Walla Walla Valley wines are always fine. Note to self to start drinking more from the Pacific northwest. And finally their were several California wines with the most interesting being the
Bokisch Vineyards & Winery Verdelho and, as always, anything from
Cakebread Cellars.
And special thanks to the winemakers who attended, always great to talk to Ron and Mary Bitner from
Bitner Vineyards; Jim Ballard
James Arthur Vineyards; the Coes from
Black Star Farms; Marty Chubb
L'Ecole No. 41; and Eldon Nygaard
Valiant Vineyards Winery. Cheers.
After several years of home wine making, recognition in amateur competitions, and the support of his friends, Jerry Deal decided to turn his hobby into a business by establishing Forks of Cheat Winery in July of 1990. The winery releases a range of wines made from estate, West Virginia, and American grown vinifera, French hybrid, and American grape varietals. Their estate is particularly advantageous as the slopes allow cold air to pass and settle below and thus rarely do they loss crops to frost. Their Dry Chambourcin ($13) is made from a blend of estate and West Virginia grown fruit and is very reminiscent of the style for that grape. There are noticeable cherry fruit and spicy characters as well as decent acids and modest tannins. A very drinkable wine from the Mountaineer state. Cheers
