Sunset Hills Vineyard is one of those wineries you could visit every weekend. We don’t get the chance to visit that often but when we do we always enjoy our time there. Meredith Wilson, the tasting room manager, follows us on Facebook and Twitter and has been encouraging us to make a return trip to Sunset Hills. This past weekend we found ourselves in Loudoun County and simply had to stop by to try the wines and visit with Meredith. Once again, we had a great time enjoying the wines and lunch. And I was so pleased to see a special Hybrid parking space up close! And you know I pulled right in there!
We were lucky enough to have Meredith guide us through out tasting. She’s very knowledgeable of the Sunset HIlls wines and was able to answer all our questions. The white wines came first as they always should. The stand out here was the 2010 Viognier. I don’t think it is currently on the tasting menu but we were able to try it. We noted a floral nose with fruity notes of peach, lemon, and melon in the mouth. While this viognier has only .5% residual sugar, it certainly gives the impression of sweet. We thought this one would pair nicely with seafood dishes. This is an excellent example of the viogniers being produced in Virginia.
Before moving on to the reds, we tasted the 2010 Sunset Rose. This is a blend of cabernet franc, syrah, and mouvedre. This one quickly received our gold star! The rose has a very aromatic nose with hints of raspberry and strawberry in the mouth. Warren even noted some lavender. We also noted a crisp finish with a hint of minerality. Even though the summer is over, this one made us think of the concerts we attend at Wolf Trap during the summer. We always take roses with us to the concerts and this one would fit right in on a warm evening.
We finished our tasting with reds. The stand out in this group was the 2009 Cabernet Franc. This is created by blending 86% cab franc, 8% petit verdot, 4% merlot, and 2% tannat. We noted cherry, black pepper, and smoke. We also noticed the long finish and subtle tannins. Sunset Hills is also tasting the 2006 Kluge New World Red and it is really tasting good right now. We have always enjoyed the New World Red and tasting it again after a while was a nice treat.
After our tasting we enjoyed a lunch of pepperoni, manchego cheese, warm bread, and some tapenade. We selected the 2010 Sunset Rose to enjoy with our lunch items. And of course it paired beautifully with our meal. Before leaving we chatted with Meredith again about their upcoming events. One that caught our eye is the Vine to Wine Harvest Series. On selected dates you get to learn about the 2011 harvest and taste the fruit and fermenting wine. I have my eye on the October 23rd event because they will be featuring Petit Verdot. Be sure to check out their website for full details. A HUGE Thank You to Meredith for making our visit a great one! And the next time you visit Sunset Hills, be sure to tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!
Author: Paul
Harvesting at Gray Ghost
https://www.completerehabsolutions.com/blog/m64ihhhla Yesterday we spent a good chunk of the day at Gray Ghost Vineyards helping to harvest the chardonnay grapes. This has become an annual event for us. This was my 6th year and Warren’s 8th year harvesting. We always have a good time and enjoy meeting new people.
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As usual, we got up really early and met others at the winery and enjoyed some breakfast treats before heading out to the vineyards.
Al gave us a quick lesson on how to harvest the grapes.
We then headed out to the vineyards to begin harvesting the grapes.
Here’s Warren hard at work snipping the stems.
We found a small bird nest IN the vines!
A few hours later the lugs were weighed and 11 TONS (yes, tons) of chardonnay grapes had been harvested.
At the end we toasted and cheered for the record breaking harvest and what a good job we had all done! We look forward to repeating this again next year!
Hurricane Wines
https://polyploid.net/blog/?p=9o8g18ul We survived hurricane Irene last night. We had lots of wind and rain but very little damage and the power never went out! While weathering the storm we decided to enjoy some Pollak Vineyards wines with our nibbles and dinner. We haven’t been to Pollak Vineyards in awhile so we need to see what new wines are on the tasting menu.
To begin our evening we started with the 2009 Durant White from Pollak Vineyards. We selected cheese and crackers to accompany this wine. We noted apple, pear, and citrus on both the nose and in the mouth. It paired well with our cheese and crackers. We wondered if the 2010 is as crisp as this one. This was my last bottle so we’ll have to get some more soon.
For dinner we made a chicken and pasta dish. Since we just had a white wine with our nibbles, we decided we needed something a little bigger but not too big. We selected the 2008 Merlot from Pollak Vineyards. This is a medium bodied wine with lots of fruit characteristics. Since I’m currently enjoying the 2008 reds, this one was just as I expected. We noted lots of dark fruit…plum, dark cherry, blackberry…with a really smooth finish. It was the finish that made it possible to continue to sip this one well after we finished our meal. Yet another reason to get to Pollak Vineyards soon and check out the latest vintages. If you visit Pollak Vineyards anytime soon, tell them VIrginia Wine Time sent you!
Hurricane Preparedness
https://transculturalexchange.org/7rjbn5voa We have been preparing for hurricane Irene. Warren bought caned foods, water, and batteries. He’s a veteran hurricane survivor and knows just what to do to prepare for such a storm. As part of our hurricane preparedness, we enjoyed some Virginia wines last night around dinner time.
Our hurricane preparedness sipper was the 2009 Hunt Country Chardonnay from Piedmont Vineyards. We enjoyed this wine with some swiss cheese and crackers while sitting on the balcony trying to enjoy the humid weather. We noticed a whiff of pineapple and pear on the nose and a touch of citrus and a crispness in the mouth. Of course it paired beautifully with our cheese and crackers. It also helped manage the humid temperatures on the balcony.
For dinner we opted to move indoors and enjoy the air conditioning. We were having steaks and roasted potatoes for dinner and we selected the 2007 Petit Verdot Cellar Selection from Breaux Vineyards. This was a perfect wine to prepare for the oncoming hurricane. We noticed characteristics of concentrated dark fruit, lots of dark plum, dark cherry, leather, tobacco, and carmel. Warren even noticed some pepper. We did pour it through the Soiree to help give it some air as we filled our glasses. When we poured the last drops into our glasses, we were wishing we had another bottle! The wine paired wonderfully with our dinner choices.
Are you prepared for the hurricane? Make enjoying some Virginia wine part of your preparing for the storm. If you happen to visit Piedmont Vineyards or Breaux Vineyards in the near future, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!
Weekend Wines
Xanax 2Mg For Sale Online We had a very busy weekend and had the chance to enjoy some really nice Virginia wines. Each evening there was one wine that stood out. While we normally write about all the wines we enjoyed, we thought we’d focus on just two this time. Unfortunately I didn’t have my big spiffy camera to take some nice photos. The first one was taken with the iPad and the second was taken of an older vintage of the same wine.
On Saturday evening we decided to have some nice filets for dinner. Warren selected the 2001 Cellar Selection Merlot French Oak Select from Breaux Vineyards. How many ten year old Virginia wines do you get excited about? This one was amazing. We opened it about an hour before dinner just to let it breath. We had thick filet mignon, roasted potatoes, and veggies for dinner. This wine went perfectly with the filets. It started with a dark fruit nose which gave way to dark fruit and tobacco flavors in the mouth. What amazed me was how smooth it was. Ten years in the bottle treated this wine well. Even after dinner we continued to enjoy just sipping it. It’s the kind of bottle you don’t want to end. The next time we’re at Breaux, we need to see if they have any more!
Sunday evening we had some friends over for dinner and served the 2009 Seyval from Linden Vineyards. We had this with soft cheeses, crackers, and olives. On the nose we noticed lime and melon. On the tongue we noted wonderful lemon flavors that complimented the cheeses and olives. The acidity and crispness of this wine was perfect for a warm evening. Our guests talked about how much they enjoyed it. I think I have one more bottle on my rack. Even though the weather has cooled down somewhat, this one still remains one of our summer favorites.
Buy Xanax Pills Online What wines did you enjoy this weekend? If you visit Breaux Vineyards or Linden Vineyards anytime soon, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!
https://merangue.com/1u5gzu0By The Numbers
Alprazolam Order Online Now As most of you know we just completed a trip to visit wineries in the western and southern part of the state. We also had a side trip to Knoxville Tennessee to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday with my family. We had a great time visiting new wineries, talking with winemakers, tasting new wines, and checking out new tasting rooms. As I have mentioned before, we will be posting soon about our experiences on the road. Until then, here are the numbers from the trip:
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1405-Total number of miles traveled.
$3.79-The highest price paid for gas.
$3.23-The lowest price paid for gas.
42.7-Miles per gallon (hybrids get great gas millage).
12-Wineries visited.
9-New wineries visited.
3 1/2-Tanks of gas purchased.
2-Cases of wine purchased.
Xanax Online Store The last three wineries we visited were Annefield, San Soucy, and Molliver.
Moving On
https://merangue.com/7klh0gw After a few days in Tennessee celebrating my mom’s 80th birthday, we got back on the road today and traveled nearly 400 miles to Villa Appalaccia Winery, Chateau Morrisette Winery, and Foggy Ridge Cider.
We tasted lots of wine and cider, and took lots of notes. We have plans to post about our experiences in the near future. We’ve gathered so much information lately that we’ll have to digest it before posting our impressions. Stay tuned for more regular updates of our travels to different parts of the state. We have visited 132 wineries to date! We have plans to visit three new wineries tomorrow!
On The Road Again!
After a quick visit to the Woodrow Wilson birthplace and museum in downtown Staunton Virginia, we got in the Virginia Wine Time car and headed to our first winery. Our first stop was Ox-Eye Vineyards tasting room in downtown Staunton. They have a very interesting business model. They do not have a tasting room at the vineyards, instead they have a tasting room in Staunton. We’ll write more about it in the near future.
Our second stop was Attimo Winery just east of Radford Virginia. It took us awhile to get there because of all the construction on I-81 south. They have a beautiful tasting room and an interesting way of tasting at tables and not at the tasting bar…kind of like what they do at Hillsboro. Again, we’ll be posting more about Attimo in the weeks to come. Stay tuned.
Our final stop of the day was at West Wind Vineyard and Winery located just east of I-81 in Max Meadows Virginia. We visited them once three years ago and David remembered us when we were at the Monticello tasting during the wine bloggers conference. It was good to see him and Jason. We tasted the wines and will be reporting about them soon.
We have plans to visit two more wineries tomorrow before heading to Tennessee for a family gathering on Saturday. We’ll return to the trail on Sunday. We have now visited 131 wineries in Virginia! Stay tuned! If you happen to visit any of these wineries, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!
Veraison
https://udaan.org/c1dd1zxx.php Yesterday we started a wine trip to visit wineries in the Shenandoah AVA and in the southern part of the state. We will post about each winery in the weeks to come. On the first day we visited Cave Ridge Vineyard, CrossKeys Vineyards, Bluestone Vineyard, and Barren Ridge Vineyards. We tasted some really nice wines and enjoyed our visit to each winery. Here’s a picture from the Cave Ridge Vineyard. As you can see the grapes are almost finished with veraison. The grapes are developing nicely! We’ll post again tomorrow with the wineries we visited and maybe a few teaser pictures
Road Trip!
Today we begin a five day wine trip. We are heading to the western part of the state to visit wineries in the Shenandoah region. We have plans to visit about 12 wineries in the western part of the state and the southern part of the state. We’ll be updating the blog along the way. If you happen to see the Virginia Wine Time car on Interstate 81 South, wave and say hi!
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