Cynthiana

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  September 2009

  Baltimore Bend Cynthiana Reserve 2006

  Snoothrank: Starting at $22^.00

  Spicy with nice oak treatment. Their literature says made with French oak. I will reevauate in a couple of year. Still young. Potential for higher rating.

  Wine review by schellbe

  
  

• September 2009

  RE: the oak. It's not only the species, it's the way the wood is treated prior ... there's any way to get some cynthiana out in NYC. I've never tasted it

  Forum post in the topic Norton - a brief history of... by GregT

  
  

• September 2009

  After visiting 40+ Norton vineyards, D9sus4 asked which have turned out to be ... Oak) and the other named Cynthiana (aged in French Oak)

  Forum post in the topic Indiana and Kentucky Wineries by rhodies

  
  

• September 2009

  Baltimore Bend Vineyard My wife and I visited this winery, east of KC about 50 ... tired. But here goes: 06 Cynthiana Reserve $22 (Cynthina is another name for Norton.) Nice wine which I purchased. Notes of spice and ripe olive. Their literature says it is aged in French oak 24... Read moreBaltimore Bend Vineyard My wife and I visited this winery, east of KC about 50 ... tired. But here goes: 06 Cynthiana Reserve $22 (Cynthina is another name for Norton.) Nice wine which I purchased. Notes of spice and ripe olive. Their literature says it is aged in French oak 24 months. 05 Cynthiana $17 Smooth flavors, softer than 06 reserve. Probably more ready. 05 Chambourcin $15 Another common red hybrid grown in MO. Lighter bodied than Cynthiana. 06 Cabernet Franc $17. Very light bodied, soft and smooth, with tobacco in nose. I believe this is a MO wine. A quality CF, perhaps similar to that from Loire, or New York State. Definitely without the ripe fruit of a CF from California. I also tasted the 05 Chardonel (white hybrid), which seemed soft, with nice oak and a little spice, and one sweet wine, "Cirrus", which seemed simple. They also have a variety of sweet wines made from American or hybrid varieties,and a couple of fruit wines (apple, peach). I did not try these. There is no harshness or unripe bell pepper flavor in any of these wines. They seem well made, one of the better MO producers I've sampled.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Norton - a brief history of... by schellbe

  
  

• September 2009

  I was asked by a fellow snoother to write a bit about Norton wines after I had ... (sometimes also called Cynthiana). First, I should begin by stating that Norton is a grape that is uniquely American in origin which is principally used to produce a dry red wine. It was discovered... Read moreI was asked by a fellow snoother to write a bit about Norton wines after I had ... (sometimes also called Cynthiana). First, I should begin by stating that Norton is a grape that is uniquely American in origin which is principally used to produce a dry red wine. It was discovered and introduced to the world by Dr. Daniel Norton (1794-1842) of Virginia. It was first mentioned in William Prince's book "A Treatise on the Vine", published in 1830. It is presumed to be a hybrid of the Bland grape (a now extinct Vitis aestivalis hybrid of uncertain origin) and Miller's Burgundy (Pinot Meunier, a Vitis vinifera). Whatever it is, it happened by chance, and it was a lucky break for future American vintners. A few years after Norton's discovery, a group of German immigrants founded a town along the Missouri River called Hermann, Missouri. There they planted a considerable amount of Norton grapes which were used to produce some very fine wines. At the 1873 Vienna World Exposition a Norton wine from Hermann, MO won a gold medal and was pronounced one of the finest wines in the world. But, a few decades later came Prohibition and, for a while, the world forgot about Norton, Missouri and a great American wine. Sometime in the mid 1960's, a few adventurous people purchased, and began the long process of rebuilding some of the fine old wineries of Missouri and once again producing that almost forgotten wine, Norton. A decade later a second wave of adventurers began opening new wineries in the region. On June 20, 1980 the first federally approved AVA (American Viticultural Area) was given to Augusta, MO. That was eight months before Napa Valley, CA received it's AVA. The wine industry in Missouri had officially returned. Enough with the history lessons, so how does it taste? OK, now it's opinion time. I find Norton to be a lot like Pinot Noir. Not in taste, but in the fact that it's hard to find a really good one cheap. Norton can have a bit of that foxy taste that you usually associate with Vitis labrusca wines. It is a hybrid of a Vitis aestivalis (a native wild grape) after all. What I've found is that the vintners who put in the extra effort to take these grapes to the highest level they can, produce some truly wonderful Norton wines. But, they do charge extra. You can expect to pay $20-50.00 for a good bottle of Norton. This may not sound like much compared with a great Cabernet Sauv. or Pinot Noir, but if you consider the spectacular Zinfandel and Shiraz(Syrah) wines available for under $20.00...well... Let's take barrels for instance. In California today they primarily use French oak barrels for their better wines, and American oak for only part of the process. In Missouri, most of the wineries use only American oak to age their Norton. I feel this makes the wine too oakey and so tannic, that you really can't drink it in less than ten years. It also doesn't help to disguise the foxy nose of the wine the way that a good French oak barrel could. A handful of Missouri wineries, like Stone Hill, have experimented with French as well as Hungarian oak barrels for Norton wine in recent years and have produced some amazingly good and complex wines. As I write this, I am drinking a 1997 Cynthiana (Norton) wine from Heinrichshaus Vineyards. He used primarily Hungarian and older American oak barrels to make this wine. It is still vibrant and has not yet peaked, but the Norton taste is not dominated by the foxiness of the grape, nor the harsh tannins of new American oak. Here's a short list of wineries whose Norton wines I would highly recommend: Stone Hill Winery http://www.stonehillwinery.com/ St.James Winery http://www.stjameswinery.com/ Heinrichshaus http://www.heinrichshaus.com/ Adam Puchta http://www.adampuchtawine.com/ Crown Valley http://www.crownvalleywinery.com/ Sugar Creek http://www.sugarcreekwines.com/ Blumenhof Winery http://www.blumenhof.com/ There are a lot of other wineries I could list, but all of the ones I have named produce consistently good Norton wines as well as other varietals. This should be enough information to get you off to a good start. Cheers!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Norton - a brief history of... by D9sus4

  
  
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  June 2009

  St James Winery Cynthiana NV

  Snoothrank:

  Incredible value at $ 5.99 this is a steal. The 2005 is stewed plums and maduro cigars

  Wine review by Andrew Meggitt

  
  
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  May 2009

  Valenzano Winery Cynthiana Rouge 2005

  Snoothrank:

  No written review

  Wine review by trish0315

  
  
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  January 2009

  Sugar Creek Vineyards & Winery Norton Cynthiana NV

  Snoothrank:

  This norton comes from a region with many fine vineyards that serve the same. Compared to the nortons from Defiance & Augusta, MO, this can only be described as an overpriced poor botique example.

  Wine review by rhodies

  
  
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  December 2008

  Red River Winery Pinot Noir 2004

  Snoothrank:

  decent Pinot, but not great for the price. very hit or miss.

  Wine review by jaymesbawned

  
  

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