Augusta Winery

• November 2009

  Comparing Norton wines. I have a database of 170 Norton producing vineyards ... 4 Hermann, MO Augusta Winery 3 Augusta, MO Blumenhof Winery 5 Marthasville, MO Bommarito Estate Winery 3 New Haven, MO Cave... Read moreComparing Norton wines. I have a database of 170 Norton producing vineyards ... 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

  
  

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• September 2009

  I was asked by a fellow snoother to write a bit about Norton wines after I had expressed some opinions regarding same in another forum thread. So in an effort to comply and, for what it's worth, share my humble knowledge of the subject, I present the following: I moved to Missouri... Read moreI was asked by a fellow snoother to write a bit about Norton wines after I had expressed some opinions regarding same in another forum thread. So in an effort to comply and, for what it's worth, share my humble knowledge of the subject, I present the following: I moved to Missouri in 1994 after having lived the prior ten years in Sonoma County, CA. My taste buds were pretty well adapted to the noble wine grapes grown in California's perfect climate. I frequented the great wineries of Napa and Sonoma and my first impression of Missouri wines was not very favorable. Then I learned that the true vinifera grapes I was used to didn't survive in the harsh Midwest weather. However, hybrids of some of the grapes such as Chardonel (a Chardonnay hybrid) and Vidal Blanc (a French hybrid of Ugni Blanc and Seibel) did do well and produced some excellent wines. But, the one that really surprised me was a wine I didn't know called Norton (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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  September 2009

  Augusta River Valley Red NV

  Snoothrank: Starting at $9^.08

  sweet, intense and flavorful. yum.

  Wine review by tailleur

  
  
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  March 2009

  Augusta Winery Chardonel 2004

  Snoothrank:

  Yummy! Creamy/peachy dry white

  Wine review by Val13

  
  
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  March 2009

  Augusta Winery Chambourcin Rouge 2004

  Snoothrank:

  Good red; rich, lots of tobacco; better with salty foods or meat

  Wine review by Val13

  
  
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  February 2009

  Augusta Norton 2002

  Snoothrank:

  Rich dark cherry Norton. Though sold as a dry red, Augusta Norton is fruity tasting in comparison to their sister vineyard's Montelle Cynthiana. Have ordered several cases from this vineyard in the past. Never disappointed in their offerings and service.

  Wine review by rhodies

  
  
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  February 2009

  Augusta Norton 2002

  Snoothrank:

  No written review

  Wine review by rhodies

  
  

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