The Vineyard of Virginia

• November 2009

  Comparing Norton wines. I have a database of 170 Norton producing vineyards and have visited over 50 of them so far. Has been an interesting ride. Instead of boring you with the details, this is our take on these Norton wines so far: Norton Wine Producers - 1 Poor 2 Fair 3... Read moreComparing Norton wines. I have a database of 170 Norton producing vineyards and have visited over 50 of them so far. Has been an interesting ride. Instead of boring you with the details, this is our take on these Norton wines so far: Norton Wine Producers - 1 Poor 2 Fair 3 Good 4 Excellent 5 Exceptional Alabama Ozan Vineyard and Cellars 1 Calera, AL White Oak Vineyards 3 Anniston, AL Georgia Crane Creek Vineyards 2+ (needs maturing) Young Harris, GA Frogtown Cellars 1 Dahlonega, GA Three Sisters Vineyards 3 Dahlonega, GA Tiger Mountain Vineyards 1 Tiger, GA (Clayton) Kentucky Chrisman Mill Vineyards 2 Nicholasville, KY Elk Creek Vineyards 3+ Owenton, KY Lovers Leap Vineyard & Winery 3 Lawrenceburg, KY River Valley Winery 2 (needs maturing) Carrollton, KY Smith-Berry Winery -1 New Castle, KY Wildside Vines Winery 1 Versailles, KY Wight-Meyer Winery 1 Shepherdsville, KY Missouri Adam Puchta Winery 4 Hermann, MO Augusta Winery 3 Augusta, MO Blumenhof Winery 5 Marthasville, MO Bommarito Estate Winery 3 New Haven, MO Cave Vineyard 3 Ste. Genevieve, MO Chandler Hill 5 Defiance, MO Cooper’s Oak Winery 1 Higbee, MO Crown Valley Winery 3 Ste. Genevieve, MO Heinrichshaus Winery 4 St. James, MO Hermannhof Winery 1 Hermann, MO Les Bourgeois Vineyards 2 Rocheport, MO Louis P. Balducci Vineyards 2 Augusta, MO Meramec Vineyards 1 St. James, MO Montelle Winery 4 Augusta, MO Mount Pleasant Winery 3 Augusta, MO Oak Glenn Winery 2+ Hermann, MO River Ridge Winery 2+ Commerce, MO Robller Vineyard Winery 4 New Haven, MO Sainte Genevieve Winery 1 Ste. Genevieve, MO St. James Winery 3 / 4 (Reserve) St. James, MO Stone Hill Winery 3 Hermann, MO Sugar Creek Winery 1 Defiance, MO Tower Rock Winery -1 Altenburg, MO Villa Antonio Winery 1 Hillsboro, MO Yellow Farm House 1 Defiance, MO North Carolina Grove Winery 1 Gibsonville, NC Hinnant Family Vineyards 1 Pine Level, NC New Jersey Valenzano Winery 2 Shamong, NJ Pennsylvania Stone Mt. Wine Cellars 3 Pine Grove, PA Tennessee Corey Ippolita Winery 1 Blountville, TN Virginia Abingdon Winery 3 Abingdon, VA Barrel Oak Winery 3 (need maturing) Delaplane, VA Bluemont Vineyard 2 Bluemont, VA Burnley Vineyards 1 Barboursville, VA Chrysalis Vineyards 2+ Middleburg, VA Cooper Vineyards 4 Louisa, VA Horton Vineyards 2+ Gordonsville, VA Keswick Vineyards 1 Keswick, VA Rockbridge Vineyards 3 Raphine, VA Winery at La Grange 1 Haymarket, VA As an additional note, we have visited some of these vineyards over a three year period more than once to taste if progress has been made. In a few cases the these numbers did slide up and down a notch. Bottom line, it is interesting to see how Norton vineyards are maturing. So many vineyards, so many miles to travel . . . . . . .    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Barrel Oak Winery Norton 2008 by rhodies

  
  

• November 2009

  Coolies. One of the "smart" things about this new portion of the Veritas "web presentation" is that it allows those of us who have never been there to see exactly how nice their tasting room and location are. It's very beautiful there, and more than just scenic really, but... Read moreCoolies. One of the "smart" things about this new portion of the Veritas "web presentation" is that it allows those of us who have never been there to see exactly how nice their tasting room and location are. It's very beautiful there, and more than just scenic really, but "natural". They make some tasty wines too by the by; a fascinating port from the recently discovered phenomenon of Touriga Nacional's acceptance of Virginia terroir called "Othello" (http://www.snooth.com/wine/veritas-vineyard-winery-othello-2006/), and one of the best Viogniers made in the state, along with their 'Vintner's Reserve", which is a particularly strong example of how well the red-scene is coming along in the Commonwealth. You could fool a lot of folks with that one at a blind tasting. The strength of the Petit Verdot in particular plays beautifully with the well-established Cab Franc. Veritas is easily in my top four in the entire commonwealth, though I've many more to see. !http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3281/3028118372_583e57300f_b.jpg!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Virtual Veritas (see: a great... by ChipDWood

  
  

• September 2009

  Enjoyed your review. Now onward to finding more Norton wines (I warn you, it takes only a few trips finding Norton wines and you will easily be classified as a Norton cultist). In Ohio you have two Nortons: Henke Winery in Cincinnati and Lakeside Vineyard in Felicity, OH. Run back... Read moreEnjoyed your review. Now onward to finding more Norton wines (I warn you, it takes only a few trips finding Norton wines and you will easily be classified as a Norton cultist). In Ohio you have two Nortons: Henke Winery in Cincinnati and Lakeside Vineyard in Felicity, OH. Run back down to Kentucky and you will find: Chrisman Mill Vineyards in Nicholasville, Ky, Elk Creek Vineyards in Owenton, KY, Lovers Leap Vineyard & Winery in Lawrenceburg, Ky, Smith-Berry Winery in New Castle, KY, Wildside Vines Winery in Versailles, KY and Wight-Meyer Winery in Shepherdsville, KY. Friend is coming in tonight from Kentucky and promises us she picked up one of these Norton wines. Looking forward to this. Have been to 27 Missouri Norton vineyards, nine Virginia N. vineayrds, 1 in Penn, and 2 in Georgia so far. My database has a 167 Norton wineries on it. So many places and so little wine time in this life time.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Indiana and Kentucky Wineries by rhodies

  
  

• August 2009

  Check out Pollack in Greenwood, Virginia. A relatively new vineyard but their Petit Verdot and Durant Red are two of my favorites. Also, www.monticellowinetrail.com is an excellent resource for wine in Central Virginia. Read moreCheck out Pollack in Greenwood, Virginia. A relatively new vineyard but their Petit Verdot and Durant Red are two of my favorites. Also, http://www.monticellowinetrail.com is an excellent resource for wine in Central Virginia.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Vote for your favorite... by crksing

  
  

• August 2009

  An interesting read regarding the oft-underestimated Virginia vino and some good stuff from Cali- against the French. Of course: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/08/18/ST2009081802401.html Glass Acts In Our Wine Tasting, Virginia Shows It Can Compete With... Read moreAn interesting read regarding the oft-underestimated Virginia vino and some good stuff from Cali- against the French. Of course: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/08/18/ST2009081802401.html Glass Acts In Our Wine Tasting, Virginia Shows It Can Compete With France and Napa Valley By Dave McIntyre Special to The Washington Post Wednesday, August 19, 2009 The "Judgment of Paris" transformed the world of wine, marking California on the map in big, bold letters that could not be ignored. That May 1976 tasting galvanized an upstart American wine industry that had struggled in the decades since Prohibition and helped overcome a consumer perception here and abroad that American wines were inferior to their French counterparts. The Paris tasting was immortalized in the 2005 book "Judgment of Paris" by George M. Taber and the 2008 movie "Bottle Shock." It has provided a model for countless wine tastings and parties in the decades since, setting the standard that wines should be evaluated based solely on what's in the glass, not on the label. Where California was in the 1970s -- underappreciated for its quality -- Virginia is today. So when we decided to hold our own Judgment of Washington, it wasn't just to see whether the United States would best France today. It was to see whether local wines might surprise the judges now as much as Napa Valley bottles did more than three decades ago. We invited six area wine professionals -- three retailers, three sommeliers -- to blind-taste a dozen chardonnays and a dozen red Bordeaux-style wines, telling them only that we were pitting the United States vs. France in a sort of oenological grudge match. Then we slipped in five Virginia wines and one from Maryland without telling anyone. Could the locals hold their own against the more established competition from Napa Valley, Bordeaux and Burgundy? Could they overcome a market perception that they are expensive novelties that don't offer value to match their price? Or would they fall flat as overreaching pretenders? When the scores were totaled and the wines unveiled, a California wine narrowly edged out a French rival for the top spot in each category. But Virginia was nipping at their heels. "Wow, you're really swinging for the fences right away with this one," John Wabeck said as he sniffed the first red wine. Wabeck, a former chef who is now sommelier at Inox restaurant in Tysons Corner and a third-level master sommelier candidate, scribbled "classic Bordeaux structure . . . merlot-based? . . . cocoa powder" and scored it 90 points out of 100. Elli Benchimol, beverage director for the Stir Food Group, which includes Zola and Potenza restaurants and their affiliated wine stores, also noted cocoa powder and scored the wine 90, lauding its "beautiful structure." Brian Cook, sommelier at Sonoma and Blue Ridge in the District and Redwood in Bethesda, praised its "cured meat, savory cassis, mint, mocha" flavors and its "dusty tannins," awarding the wine 92 points. The wine was Barboursville Vineyards' 2006 Octagon, a merlot-based blend of Bordeaux grape varieties that retails for about $40. Four of the six judges mistook it for a Bordeaux. Ultimately, the Octagon trailed the Newton Vineyards 2005 Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, a $60 monster that wowed the judges with its unmistakably jammy fruit, velvety texture and spicy complexity. Second place went to Chateau Larrivet-Haut Brion 2005, from the Pessac-Leognan region of Bordeaux, every bit as French as the Newton was American. Like the Octagon, it retails for about $40. Napa Valley scored points for value, with cabernet sauvignon from Sterling Vineyards ($25) and Beaulieu Vineyard's Rutherford bottling ($20) impressing the judges. But Virginia came in big again, in a fifth-place tie between the Michael Shaps 2007 Cabernet Franc ($35) and the Gordon Brothers 2003 Tradition from Washington state ($45). California also scored for value with the white wines. Our top finisher -- by a hair -- was the Chappellet 2007 Napa Valley Chardonnay, a $32 charmer that fooled the judges into thinking it was French. Only Vanessa Moore, owner of Unwined retail store in Alexandria, identified it as a Napa wine. (Wine Spectator magazine loved it, too, rating it 91 points, about what our judges gave it.) The Chappellet was in a virtual dead heat with the $50 Louis Latour Chateau de Blagny 2006 Meursault-Blagny Premier Cru. Our judges were unanimous that this was French. Two of them, Dominque Landragin, co-owner of the Cork & Fork stores in Gainesville and Bethesda, and Christian Bonny, wine buyer at Circle Wine & Liquor in Northwest Washington, even guessed the correct appellation. Bonny was so excited about this wine that he got tangled in similes, saying that "it keeps coming around, like a snowball rolling downhill," and after the next sip, "like a ferris wheel of stone fruit and cream." Right behind the first two, though, came two Virginia chardonnays: Linden Vineyards 2006 Hardscrabble, which retails for about $26, and the Michael Shaps 2007 ($35). Fewer than 1.25 points separated the first four chardonnays, two of them from Virginia. The judges were unanimous in thinking the Shaps was from Burgundy. "Montrachet!" Landragin wrote, while Benchimol, Moore and Wabeck suspected Puligny-Montrachet. The Linden was mistaken for French by three of the judges, while the others suspected the West Coast. What conclusions can we draw from our exercise? That U.S. wines are the equal of the French is no longer the surprise it was in 1976. Yet it is worth noting that when our judges were asked where they thought a wine was from, they tended to believe the wines they liked most were French. France still holds pride of place in our minds as the benchmark for fine wine. But we cannot ignore that wines produced within a two-hour drive of Washington stood toe-to-toe with highly touted competitors from California and France. This result is a snapshot of what six judges thought about two dozen wines one July afternoon, yet it should send a signal to retailers, sommeliers and consumers that local wines can match the best in the world -- and they are beginning to do so. It's time to put our preconceptions aside and focus on the quality of these wines. Dave McIntyre can be reached through his Web site, http://www.dmwineline.com, or at food@washpost.com. !http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/08/17/PH2009081702211.jpg! Quick note: I'm fortunate enough to have tasted both the Chappellet '07 as well as the Shaps '06... still got a bottle of the Shaps in the cooler over there, with the former waiting for me at verk to buy & try again. Also of note & irony; I too thought immediately about white burgundy, but more along the lines of "Meursault" when I tried the Shaps back at the Wineworks a year ago. I'm sure I was just bieased from hearing where Shaps was trained. Be a great little blind tasting ;).    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic "Glass Acts" (Washington... by ChipDWood

  
  

• August 2009

  I live right in the heart of VA wine country, near Barboursville, and I like to try a lot of VA wines but am typically disappointed. My favs of recent are Sugarleaf Cab Franc, Veritas Merlot and Barboursville Barbera. My husband and I used to like Valhalla Cab Sav, but that's been... Read moreI live right in the heart of VA wine country, near Barboursville, and I like to try a lot of VA wines but am typically disappointed. My favs of recent are Sugarleaf Cab Franc, Veritas Merlot and Barboursville Barbera. My husband and I used to like Valhalla Cab Sav, but that's been at least 8 years ago that we drank it. I'm curious to know others' opinions of Virginia reds and whites that you like best. My good friend has a small vineyard that Pearmund sources grapes from for their Sandy Branch Vineyard Cab Sav. It is very nice, but you will only be able to buy it direct from the winery. Linden and Cooper make some great VA whites. Let me know your opinions. Cheers to VA wine country!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Best Virginia wines by Imperial210

  
  

• April 2009

  Currently studying in Virginia, I've had the pleasure of vineyard hopping in the Shenandoah Valley. While eager to support my local economy and join the ranks of Virginia wine lovers, I have noticed something rather unpleasant about nearly all the Virginia reds I've tasted. Every... Read moreCurrently studying in Virginia, I've had the pleasure of vineyard hopping in the Shenandoah Valley. While eager to support my local economy and join the ranks of Virginia wine lovers, I have noticed something rather unpleasant about nearly all the Virginia reds I've tasted. Every one of them smells of damp gym bags. I kid you not. I feel like I'm constantly drinking corked wine. At one tasting room, I asked the server about it. He replied that they [VA wines] do have a distinct odor to them, possibly emanating from the clay in the soil. Very well. However, should this musty, old library, wet clothes left to fester for three days nose be simply an expression of Virginia terrior, then I think I may have to take my palate elsewhere. Maybe I've just had a miraculously long series of bad experiences, or perhaps the wineries that I've visited have been subpar. I keep trying to embrace VA wine, but this pungent odor stands in my way. Has anyone else had this experience?    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Virginia Wines and Damp Gym Bags by lamarr

  
  

• March 2009

  Just poking around here. Found this site while surfing around at work (bad!). I used to really hate wine (Blasphemy). I was really into Bourbon for a long while. (which usually does not end well to be quite honest). I got into whites somehow, I still am kind of picky, have not... Read moreJust poking around here. Found this site while surfing around at work (bad!). I used to really hate wine (Blasphemy). I was really into Bourbon for a long while. (which usually does not end well to be quite honest). I got into whites somehow, I still am kind of picky, have not really broken into the red world yet. What made me want to learn more was when I watched Sideways(total noob mentioning Sideways). It was Virginia Madsen's monologue about why she got into wine. I thought "hey maybe I could look cooler as a wine snob." So I'm still poking around, (I know much more about distilling bourbon, than making wine) but I just find wine making this really fascinating and creative process, from grape to choosing what label goes on it. (except for Franzia in a box or something. heh)    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic New Girl around the virtual... by Cassparagus

  
  

• March 2009

  Yea I'm starting to think I'm nutty here but, to me at least, this is a good omen that portends good things for every size and ambition around the world of wine making. For every Mom & Pop that goes by the wayside (or, more accurately: gets bought out), there seem to be TEN that... Read moreYea I'm starting to think I'm nutty here but, to me at least, this is a good omen that portends good things for every size and ambition around the world of wine making. For every Mom & Pop that goes by the wayside (or, more accurately: gets bought out), there seem to be TEN that spring out of the ground from the other side of the mountain that never get much coverage. A good example? Barren Ridge Vineyards, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Literally; on the other side of "the mountain". http://www.barrenridgevineyards.com/ John Higgs, owner and Grandson of the property owners from 1934, converted the apple farm to vines two years ago. So, there ya go. A family owned vineyard & winery that popped up on the other side of the mountain that- because of the vast investment in wine making technology made by larger and more powerful wineries- benefits directly, and can bottle their own. More to come. !http://www.barrenridgevineyards.com/Gallery/BRV-Pergola2-Square.jpg!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic A sad farewell to family... by ChipDWood

  
  

• January 2009

  It depends on your situation too, like, say; where ya RESIDE. East Coast, West coast? I'm sorry if I missed that nugget of information if you'd mentioned it before... but now IS the time to nail something down, no matter the region you wish to learn most about. And like Fibo says... Read moreIt depends on your situation too, like, say; where ya RESIDE. East Coast, West coast? I'm sorry if I missed that nugget of information if you'd mentioned it before... but now IS the time to nail something down, no matter the region you wish to learn most about. And like Fibo says there: FOLLOW UP. Just because someone doesn't get back doesn't mean they're not interested. 80% of the time it's simply that they're up to their elbows in prepping for the chores around the vineyard and wearing lots of hats. Pick the spots YOU want, then fire off polite, brief reminders of your interest. ...Virginia's nice in the summer I hear. Good schools too ;) Lo, shall I forever digress.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Summer Work by ChipDWood

  
  

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