Author: Paul

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https://www.psicologialaboral.net/2024/08/07/cgbis6o It’s been an interesting week in the Virginia wine world. Dave McIntyre has a very interesting post about a few things. One of the things he writes about is viognier becoming Virginia’s signature grape. Check out the article here.

On top of Dave McIntyre’s piece, Frank Morgan from Drink What You Like has written about this topic as well. There is a huge string of interesting comments with the post. Check out his post here.

Buying Xanax Bars Online The folks over at Virginia Wine In My Pocket are helping make today (Friday the 13th) a little less scary by offering their iPhone/iPad app for only 99¢. That’s a deal! If you don’t already have the app, you might want to get it today. It is only on sale today! You can learn about the app here.

And finally, you might be looking for something to do next weekend. The annual Wine Festival at the Plains is taking place next weekend. We usually attend this event but are unable to this year. Think about going and if you do, let us know how it was. You can check out the event here.

New Wineries

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Several weeks ago while between Charlottesville and Richmond, we were able to visit a few new wineries. We visited WindSong Winery and Grayhaven Winery. While these wineries are not new, they are new to us. And just this past weekend we were about to vista Nova Ridge Vineyards and talk with the owner/winemaker. By my count our list of visited wineries is up to 122!

https://blog.extraface.com/2024/08/07/t7gsrk1e7 WindSong Winery is located in Columbia Virginia. It’s a small winery but they produce lots of different wines. They focus on small batch winemaking. On the tasting menu you can taste chardonnay, muscat, several reds, whites, and fruit wines. From our tasting we must say the most interesting wine was the Dornfelder. This is produced from the German varietal Dornfelder. You will certainly notice the black licorice and plum while tasting this one. I think WindSong will become known for the peacocks. There are several on the property and make amazing sounds. And they are so pretty to look at!

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https://www.clawscustomboxes.com/xiviyw02ky Another winery new to us is Grayhaven Winery. We have known about Grayhaven for years but just haven’t had the chance to check them out. They make 27 kinds of wine that are mostly limited runs and low on the case count. Their fist planting was in 1978 and they mostly use stainless steel tanks with few wines seeing oak barrel treatments. The tasting menu was limited on the day we visited Grayhaven. We were able to taste the Eventide (a blush wine), the 2008 Cab Franc, the Trekker, and the 2008 Pinotage. The interesting wine here was the Trekker. It’s a red blend with spice and pepper notes. We’ll have to return to Grayhaven when they have more wines available for tasting.

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The final new winery isn’t really a winery. Nova Ridge Vineyards happens to be located near Corcoran Vineyards. We spoke with Tom Johnson, owner/winemaker. He currently has one wine available, the 2009 Cabernet Franc. He gave us a taste and we noted raspberry on the nose as well as in the mouth. The raspberry gave way to more structure with smoke and spice notes. We thought it would pair well with food—cheeses and even a big steak. You can only purchase it from Corcoran Vineyards. Tom has some other wines in the works and we look forward to tasting those when they are released. We look forward to great things coming from Nova Ridge Vineyards in the future!

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https://nedediciones.com/uncategorized/v7ngmkibdn If you visit WindSong Winery, Grayhaven Winery, or Nova Ridge Vineyards at Corcoran Vineyards, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Friday Wines

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On Friday evening we continued enjoying the nice weather on my balcony by enjoying our sipping wine as well as our dinner wine. There was a cool breeze perfect for sipping and enjoying the sunset.

https://sugandhmalhotra.com/2024/08/07/i0v0spap We selected the 2008 Chardonnay from Pollak Vineyards as our sipper. We enjoyed it with a creamy St. Angels cheese and baguette. We noted pear, apple, and honey on the nose with very similar notes on the tongue as well as slightly toasted edge on the finish. It paired perfectly with our nibbles. You can’t go wrong with any of the wines from Pollak.

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https://oevenezolano.org/2024/08/1v50eec For dinner we had filet mignon, wild rice, and mixed veggies. Warren selected the 2008 Merlot from King Family Vineyards. When I taste a wine like this I wonder what it would be like if I had left it on the rack a little longer. On the nose we noted smoke, dark cherry, blackberry, and dried herbs with a whiff of tobacco. In the mouth we noted dark berry flavors, similar fruit as the nose with the addition of vanilla. We also took note of the long finish. Of course this wine paired perfectly with our meal. Just like the Pollak wines, you can’t go wrong with any of the wines from King Family. They happen to be one of our favorite wineries.

https://mandikaye.com/blog/64xydvh313n If you haven’t been to Pollak or King Family, you simply must plan a visit soon. And if you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Saturday Sips

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On Saturday evening we decided to have our first meal on the balcony this season. It was warm enough even though we had some cloud cover. We selected the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from Breaux Vineyards to have with our nibbles and the 2009 Corcoran Vineyards Hunter’s Run Rose for our meal.

https://polyploid.net/blog/?p=slyxjyvz We had the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc with goat cheese and baguette. This sauvignon blanc is from the cellar club selection from Breaux Vineyards. You have to be a member of the wine club to get a chance to taste this one. We noted the crispness, a floral nose, and a nice mouth feel. It had a weightier mouth feel that made us think it spent time in oak but this one is from 100% stainless steel. It complimented our nibbles perfectly.

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How To Purchase Xanax Online For our dinner wine we had the 2009 Corcoran Vineyards Hunter’s Run Rose. We paired it with parmesan encrusted tilapia and wild rice. It’s created from 100% Cabernet Franc. We noted strawberry and melon characteristics with a nice crisp finish. We thought it paired beautifully with our meal. It also made us think of warmer afternoons. This one would be perfect for those warm summer days. Chill it well and it will keep you cool on those hot summer days.

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The selections for our Saturday sips were just right. We always enjoy the wines from Breaux Vineyards and Corcoran Vineyards. If you visit them anytime soon, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

New Winemaker at Breaux Vineyards

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https://merangue.com/w21g0gs On Friday Breaux Vineyards announced their new winemaker to their club members. The press and the rest of the world will hear about their new winemaker on Monday. The new winemaker at Breaux Vineyards is David Pagan Castaño. Turns out we sat right next to him at the recent Merlot Vertical at Breaux Vineyards. He was still a candidate at that time. Here’s a picture of Warren next to David’s wife, David, and Chris Blosser. We are looking forward to talking with David more at the Club members pick up party on May 22nd. We are also looking forward to the wonderful wines we’re sure he’ll produce at Breaux Vineyards.

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Paradise Springs Grand Opening

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Rx Xanax Online This afternoon I had the privilege of attending the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting ceremony of the new tasting room and production facility at Paradise Springs Winery. For 15 months Paradise Springs has been tasting wine out of log cabin near the road on the property. After several months of construction the new tasting room will be open this weekend. The new building houses both the tasting room and the production facility. Adjacent to the tasting room behind a glass wall is the barrel room. On the opposite side of the room is a very long tasting bar, large enough to accommodate many tasters. At the end of the large tasting room are doors out to the large patio, which has a fireplace. It’s a very impressive building and should serve Paradise Springs well for many years to come.

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At today’s event several members of the media, dignitaries, and wine industry people were present. I saw Jim Corcoran of Corcoran Vineyards, Chris Pearmund of Pearmund Cellars, Jenny McLoud of Chrysalis Vineyards, and Rob Cox, the new winemaker at Paradise Springs.

After being welcomed with a glass of wine and some mingling the program began. While mingling I ran into Kurt Jensen from Wine About Virginia, Todd Godbout from Wine Compass Blog and Virginia Wine TV. The program began with T. Robins Buck from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, welcoming everyone and introducing the speakers. The speakers were Sharon Bulova and Pat Herrity from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Timothy D. Hugo from the Virginia House of Delegates, Todd Haymore, the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the state of Virginia, and Kirk Wiles, proprietor of Paradise Springs Winery. After all the speeches it was time to cut the ribbon. Here are some photos from the event.

I was honored to be among the attendees for the opening. I enjoyed chatting with winemakers, bloggers, and others attending the event. They were serving the Governor’s Cup winning Chardonnay as well as their Cabernet Franc. I enjoyed a glass of the Chardonnay while mingling and having some nibbles. Towards the end the owners broke out a bottle of bubbly and toasted to the new tasting room. It was a wonderful afternoon. You need to plan a trip to Paradise Springs soon to experience their new tasting room for yourself. And when you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Beaujolais Twitter Tasting

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Regular readers know that we almost exclusively cover Virginia wines. However, every once in a while an opportunity comes along for us to spread out and taste other kinds of wine. One of those opportunities arrived this evening. We were able to participate in a Beaujolais tasting sponsored by Discover Beaujolais. They sent us four wines (two white and two red) to taste and we spent time getting to know the wines and Tweeting our impressions on a live Twitter tasting. We were actually surprised by the wines and pleased with the profiles.

The first wine was the 2009 Beaujolais Blanc from Chateau du Chatelard. It’s 100% Chardonnay and costs $14.99. On the nose we noted subtle floral aromas, pear, apple and melon. In the mouth we noted similar fruit characteristics and a crisp yet round mouth feel. This was our favorite of the whites.

The next wine was the 2009 Beaujolais Chardonnay from Terres Dorees, Brun. It’s 100% Chardonnay and costs $14.97. The nose on this one presented pear, apple, and mineral qualities. In the mouth noted more pear, apple, minerality and a fuller, honey mouth feel. We thought this one would go well with food.

Next up was the 2009 Beaujolais-Villages from Christophe Pacalet. It’s 100% Gamay and costs $11.99. We noted the deep garnet color of this one with a grapy nose. We thought it was very berry with anise as well. In the mouth we noted dark berries and tobacco. We’ve had this one before but thought it had changed since our last tasting.

The last wine we tasted was the 2009 Chateau du Chatelard Moulin-a-Vent. It’s 100% Gamay and costs $18.96. This one comes from 60 year old vines. It had a deep garnet color (more than the last one) with a tight nose with dark cherry, blackberry, and earth. We also noted very similar characteristics in the mouth with some minerality. This one became the our favorite of the reds.

It was fun evening following the other impressions on Twitter. We enjoyed getting to know some of the wines from the Beaujolais region. A big thanks to Discover Beaujolais for including us in this tasting. While we completely enjoy our Virginia wines, it’s always nice to try new wines.

Cooper Vineyards

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On our recent travels between Charlottesville and Richmond we were able to visit three wineries. These are new to us and if I counted correctly we are up to 121 wineries visited in Virginia. One of the wineries we were able to visit is Cooper Vineyards. We’ll be posting about the other wineries soon.

Cooper Vineyards has been around awhile but they have a brand new building for tastings and wine production. The new building is completely “green” and will soon have a LEED certification. When we drove into the parking lot I was so pleased to see a sign designating special parking spots for hybrid vehicles. I felt special parking my Civic hybrid in one of the specified parking spaces. Just to the right of the parking lot you can see the solar panel field. The building is quite impressive with a spacious tasting room as well as an outside tasting bar and wrap around veranda with views of the vineyards. There’s also a baby grand piano in the tasting room! But how about the wines?

Cooper Vineyards had 12 wines on the tasting menu the day we visited. Of course we started with the whites. Of these I selected the 2009 Chardonnay for my gold star. Done in stainless steel, this chardonnay presents pear and citrus with a crisp finish. Warren selected the 2009 Viognier for his gold star. He noted honeysuckle, mango, pear and a lush mouth feel. Either of our selections would make a great warm afternoon sipper.

After the whites we moved on to the reds. Of these I selected the 2008 Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Franc seems to be the red grape for Virginia and everyone seems to produce one however, I’d like to put a vote in for petit verdot. I think it will be the grape for Virginia but back to the franc. I noted smoke, cherry, and pepper with a classic cab franc color. Warren selected the 2008 Coopertage for his gold star. This is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and petit verdot. Warren noted blackberry, cherry, leather, and cedar on the palate.

Cooper Vineyards has a wine for everyone it seems. The new building also makes it a great place to visit. If you visit Cooper Vineyards anytime soon, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Appellation Wine Trail

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On Saturday we participated in the grade opening of the new Appellation Wine trail near Charlottesville Virginia. The trail consists of five wineries; White Hall Vineyards, Mountfair Vineyards, Glass House Winery, Stinson Vineyards and Moss Vineyards. Stinson had a preview opening this weekend and Moss Vineyards will be opening in 2012. We knew we wouldn’t have time to get to all the wineries so we will plan to visit the rest later this summer.

We began at Stinson Vineyards. We met Frank from Drinkwhatyoulike.com at Stinson and began our tasting. We started with the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc. We noted some nice citrus fruit, a grassy element and some minerality. This one quickly became my favorite. Its not for sale right now because they haven’t received their labels yet. Look for this on the official opening weekend on June 16th. We then moved on to the 2010 Rose. It’s made from 100% mourvedro. Warren noted strawberry on the nose. I picked up red fruit on the tongue and some nice pink grapefruit notes. We then moved on to the refreshing 2010 Sugar Hollow White. This one will be nice for the summer with it’s apple and grapefruit notes. Next up were the reds. We started with the 2010 Sugar Hollow Red. It’s a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. It was aged in stainless steel and was rustic and earthy. The 2010 Cabernet Franc was next. This one won’t be released until the opening day as well. We noted smoke and spice on this one.

While at Stinson Vineyards we met Nathan Vrooman who, along with his family, is starting a winery as well, Ankida Ridge Vineyards. He brought a sample of their Pinot Noir to taste. Considering how tough it is to grow Pinot noir in Virginia, this one was pretty good. We look forward to tasting more from Ankida Ridge in the future.

Next stop on the trail was Mountfair Vineyards. Mountfair has been around a couple of years and we’ve enjoyed their wines before. This visit was no exception. After surviving the downpour on the way there it was nice to see Fritz, Chris, Jacquline, and Ben once we entered the tasting room. After our hellos we got started tasting wines. While they only produce reds, they were pouring the Fizz and Brut from Thibout Janisson to begin the tasting.

We began the tasting with the smoky 2009 Merlot. We noted dark cherry tobacco,and beautifully smooth finish. This one became my favorite right away. We continued with the 2009 Cabernet Franc. This one had a velvety mouth feel with hints of bramble berries. Next up was the 2008 Belated. We noted bright red fruit characteristics. The 2008 Indigenous was nice. This is the first wine created using their own fruit. It’s a blend of petit verdot and cabernet franc. We noted a smokey nose, plum, tar, tobacco, and black pepper with a silky finish. The final wine was the 2009 Engagement. This is a meritage style blend. We noticed it was tight and needed a good swirl to get the cherry, ash, and coffee to appear.

After our tasting we joined Jacqueline, Ben, and Frank for some of the 2009 Merlot. This one stood out as my favorite at Mountfair. Before leaving we secured a bottle of the merlot for my rack. We always have a great time with the crew from Mountfair.

There are more wineries on the trail and we look forward to visiting them in the future. If you visit Stinson or Mountfair be sure to tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Friday Sips

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Our Friday sips consisted of the 2009 Pinot Gris from Pollak Vineyards and the 2009 Syrah from Blenheim Vineyards.

We had the 2009 Pinot Gris with bread and cheese. I’m a big fan of the stainless whites and this one doesn’t disappoint. I. Noticed the flowery nose and lit color. In the mouth I noticed the crisp mouth feel, grapefruit flavors, and nice acidity. I thought it paired nicely with our before dinner nibbles.

We had the 2009 Syrah with pasta and red sauce. We weren’t sure of the pairing but it went very well with our meal. We noted a floral nose with bright red fruit and spice on the tongue. It’s a smooth, lighter bodied red. We tasted this back in February and enjoyed it then.

We will be back on the wine trail this weekend so stay tuned for updates from the road. And if you visit Pollak or Blenheim tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!