Frank Morgan of Drink What You Like has organized a sparkling tasting for several years now, and this year the annual event continued. This year the tasting off was held at Stone Tower Vineyards in Loudoun County. Winemaker Jordan Harris landed his expertise to the whole affair, and other palates included fellow bloggers Terry and Kathy Sullivan, Pam Riley, and wine distributor Lucinda Smith.

This year’s lineup featured only Virginia sparkling produced from the Chardonnay grape (or blanc de blanc), and nine sparkling were offered by local wineries for the taste off. These included:

Boneyard Bubbles by Tarara
Greenhill Blanc de Blanc
King Family Brut
Stone Tower 2009 Wild Boar
Thibaut-Janisson NV
Trump 2008 Blanc de Blanc
Trump 2008 Reserve
Trump 2009 Blanc de Blanc
Veritas Scintilla NV

So how did they rank? My personal top three were: 1) Trump 2009 Blanc de Blanc; 2) Boneyard Bubbles, and 3) Trump 2008 Reserve. Paul’s top three included: 1) Trump 2008 Reserve; 2) Thibaut Jansson NV, and 3) Stone Tower 2009 Wild Boar. Overall ranking were as follows:

1. Stone Tower 2009 Wild Boar
2. Trump 2009 Blanc de Blanc
3. Boneyard Bubbles
4. King Family Brut
5. Trump 2008 Reserve
6. Thibaut Jansson NV
7. Veritas Scintilla NV
8. Greenville Blanc de Blanc
9. Trump 2008 Blanc de Blanc

Virginia wineries are producing some excellent sparkling wines; visit these wineries to taste these bubblies for yourself. Please mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!