Author: Paul

Virginia Wine Month Weekend

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We are continuing to celebrate Virginia Wine Month! We started our Virginia Wine Month weekend by heading to Glen Manor Vineyards. It had been a year since our last visit so it was time to taste some new wines and find out how things are going at Glen Manor.

Jeff White’s wines are so popular that there weren’t many wines in stock to try. We should have visited sooner. We missed the Sauvignon Blanc, the Rosé and the Cabernet Franc. We were able to enjoy flights of the wines they did have available. We tasted the 2015 and 2016 St. Ruth, the 2014 Hodder Hill, the 2017 Petit Verdot and the 2017 and 2019 Petit Mansengs. All of the wines we sampled were wonderful but the 2014 Hodder Hill stood out as a favorite.

For lunch we enjoyed a bottle of the 2015 St. Ruth with different cheeses, crackers and prosciutto. It paired nicely with our lunch items. After lunch it was off to the Skyline Drive to view the fall colors but not before picking up a case of our favorite wines.

After our drive along the Skyline Drive, we headed to Gray Ghost Vineyards. We needed to pick up a case of Reserve Chardonnay we had on order and taste some new wines. It’s always great to see Amy, Cheryl and Al and catch up. We chatted about all kinds of things while enjoying a tasting of their current line up. Before leaving we enjoyed a glass of the Reserve Chardonnay. It was perfect with the beautiful weather. We also picked up that case of Reserve Chardonnay and then headed to Warrenton.

Once we reached Warrenton, we checked in to our hotel and then went to Claire’s at the Depot for dinner. We love the Claire’s! We both selected beef for dinner and Warren selected the 2016 Hardscrabble Red from Linden Vineyards to enjoy with our meal. The pairing was perfect and so was the meal! We recommend Claire’s if you are looking for a great place to eat in Warrenton.

The next day we headed to Muse Vineyards to meet some friends. It was another gorgeous day so we were able to sit outside on the second floor deck. Our fiends are club members so they made reservations in advance. Muse doesn’t serve flights on Saturdays so the group decided to order a bunch of food items for lunch and a couple different wines to pair with the food items. We selected the 2020 Gamay and the 2019 Urania. Both are reds with the Urania being an Italian blend of Teroldego, Sangiovese, Aglianico and Merlot. We found both wines to be very nice and paired well with our food. We were also quite surprised by the 2020 Gamay. It was bright and fruity and finished smooth. It was also just slightly chilled. It was the favorite among the group. We did not realize the winemaker is Tim Rouse. That explains the amazing wines at Muse.

After an amazing weekend of Virginia wine and fall foliage, it was time to head home. We left Muse with half a case of our favorites and headed home. It was a great Virginia Wine Month weekend! If you haven’t been to these wonderful wineries, we suggest you plan a visit soon! And tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

October Is Virginia Wine Month

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Happy Virginia Wine Month!

We started Virginia wine month with a harvesting experience at Gray Ghost Vineyards. Besides COVID 2020, we have harvested grapes at Gray Ghost for 15 (Paul) and 20 (Warren) years. It’s always great fun! We usually harvest the chardonnay grapes but this year we decided to harvest the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Here are some pictures from the day.

Al Kellert, the winemaker and owner, starts off the day with a lesson on how to harvest grapes.

The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were gorgeous this year!
Here Warren is showing us how to snip the vine and capture those beautiful grapes.

We had a great time filling up the yellow bins with grapes.

What a great way to start off Virginia Wine Month. Please catch up with our social media to see what we are pouring and enjoying throughout the month. Are you planning on visiting any Virginia wineries this month? If so, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Granite Heights Winery

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We were visiting wineries with friends on Memorial Day weekend and stopped at Granite Heights Winery along the way. It was great to see owners Luke and Toni and catch up with them.

The day we were there they had 8 wines on the tasting menu. Our tasting was conducted by Matt, Luke’s brother. The wines were all poured in little plastic cups and placed on a tasting sheet with descriptions of each wine. Even though the wines were poured in small plastic cups, they did give us glasses to taste the wines. We tasted four whites and four reds. The favorite of the whites was the 2018 Chardonnay. It’s a dry chardonnay fermented mostly in stainless steel but also spends time in French and American oak. The favorite red was the 2012 Evening Serenade. It’s a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot. We noted red fruit, raspberries, gripping tannins and a smooth ending. It’s holding up really well. We have one bottle of this left on our rack. However before leaving we picked up another bottle to add to the collection.

After our tasting we were treated to a barrel tasting with Luke, the winemaker. He treated us to barrel samples of the 2020 Barbara (from stainless steel!), the 2020 cabernet franc, the 2020 petit verdot and the 2019 cabernet franc that will be part of the blend for their Humility red blend. All of the barrel samples were amazing! My favorite was the 2019 Cabernet Franc for the red blend.

Photo courtesy of Jill Dail.

After our barrel tasting, we enjoyed a bottle of the 2018 Chardonnay with our friends on the front porch. We had a chance to catch up with Toni while enjoying the chardonnay. Before leaving we picked up half a case of our favorite wines. We always enjoy our time with Luke and Toni at Granite Heights Winery. We’ll be visiting again soon! We recommend you visit them soon! And when you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Photo courtesy of Jill Dail

Gray Ghost Vineyards

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Warren’s parents are visiting us from New Orleans for Mother’s Day. Today we took them to Gray Ghost Vineyards for a tasting and to enjoy some lunch.

We were lucky to have Amy Payette conduct our tasting. Since our last visit the 2020 Riesling was released. And this Mother’s Day weekend they are releasing the 2020 Gewürztraminer. We were able to taste both during our tasting. We noted tropical fruit and bright citrus flavors from the 2020 Riesling. It’s perfect for some spicy foods. The 2020 Gewürztraminer presented tropical notes and some spice with a touch of sweetness on the end. But it must be noted that this is fruit sweet and not sugar sweet. This one would also pair well with spicy foods or by itself!


Just when you thought there weren’t many decent reds coming from the 2018 vintage, Gray Ghost presents their 2018 Petit Verdot. This Petit Verdot has a beautiful color and notes of plum, blackberry and currants with accessible tannins. This one quickly became our favorite red of the day. After our lunch we enjoyed a glass of the Petit Verdot with some dark chocolate for dessert.

If you haven’t been to Gray Ghost lately, it’s time visit them again. Be sure to taste the wines mentioned here. And when you do visit them, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Boxwood Winery

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Recently we went to Boxwood Winery with some wine friends to participate in the Trellis Vertical Tasting that was being held that weekend. It had been a few years since we’d been there so we were looking forward to seeing how the wines had developed.

The Trellis tasting consisted of the 2014, the 2015, the 2016 and the 2018. The consensus of our group decided the 2015 was our favorite. We loved the color and the cherry, raspberry, plum and pepper notes. We noted the mild tannins and smooth finish. We were not fans of the 2014. There was just something that didn’t taste right. Maybe we got a bad sample.

After the Trellis tasting we enjoyed a flight of wines with a delicious cheese and cracker tray. We enjoyed all the wines on the flight but particularly enjoyed the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2019 Rosé. The weather was perfect for enjoying these wines.

We had a really nice time at Boxwood and want to thank all the tasting associates for their help and guidance during the tastings. Before leaving we stocked up on our favorite Boxwood wines. If you haven’t been to Boxwood lately, time to get back and taste their current line up. And if you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Walsh Family Wine

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We joined Kurt from Wine About Virginia at Walsh Family Wine to celebrate their recent anniversary weekend. Happy Anniversary Walsh Family!

We began with a self directed tasting of the 2019 Estate Chardonnay, the 2018 Viognier, the 2018 Loudoun County Cuvée and the 2017 En Passant. The Chardonnay was a favorite as we worked our way through the wines. The Viognier was soft and refreshing. The 2018 Cuvée was smooth, fruity and a perfect light red sipper. The 2017 En Passant ended up being the favorite red in this tasting. We noted dark fruit, coffee and some black pepper.

After our tasting we selected the 2019 Estate Chardonnay to enjoy with our lunch items. We had lots of food items to enjoy with the chardonnay. It paired well! While enjoying our lunch and the chardonnay, Nate Walsh came by and chatted with us. It was nice to catch up with him. We were also able to see Sarah and the new baby!

We enjoyed our time at Walsh Family Wine. It’s always nice to visit and catch up and enjoy all the wonderful wines. If you haven’t been to Walsh lately, you need to plan a trip and when you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Fox Meadow Winery

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After our trip to Linden, we decided to stop at Fox Meadow Winery to see what’s happening. We did not have reservations so we weren’t sure what we would be allowed to do at Fox Meadow.

Once we arrived, masked up and went to the tasting bar, we were informed that we wouldn’t be able to do a tasting since we didn’t have a reservation. We would however, be allowed to enjoy a bottle on the deck or on the lawn. So we decided to check out the 2019 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay on the deck. The weather was beautiful and the views were gorgeous.

The 2019 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay did not disappoint. We noted apple and pear on the nose and tropical/citrus notes on the palate. The oak finish was not overwhelming and could stand up to some creamy dishes.

Having enjoyed the 2019 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, we decided to bring home a few other wines to add to our rack. We committed to returning when we could do a full tasting and see what else we might like. If you happen to visit Fox Meadow Winery, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Linden Vineyards

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What a beautiful day it was on Saturday! We went to Linden Vineyards after several months of being away and started off with some wine flights. They have both a red flight and a white flight so we decided to share one of each.

The white flight consisted of the 2018 Village Chardonnay, the 2017 Village Chardonnay, the 2017 Wabi Sabi and the newly released 2019 Boisseau Viognier. We loved them all but our favorite of the flight was the 2017 Village Chardonnay. We enjoyed the pear and apple notes as well as the round mouth feel. We’ll enjoy this one for years. The 2019 Boisseau Viiognier was also a favorite. It was floral, creamy, rounded mouth feel, tropical fruit and a lengthy finish.

The red flight consisted of the 2016 Claret, the 2016 Petit Verdot, the 2016 Avenius Red and the 2016 Hardscrabble Red. Again, all of them were very good but our favorite this time was the 2016 Avenius Red. We noted juicy cherry and dusty tannins. We expect this one to last several more years as well.

After enjoying the samples we decided to enjoy the library carafe of the 2013 Avenius Red – it’s in a good place! You can enjoy it now or later. We noted savory flavors and less fruit.

We enjoyed a bottle of the 2017 village Chardonnay with our lunch items of Mediterranean pasta salad, olives, various cheeses, crackers and flatbreads. Warren noted the 2013 Avenius red paired well with his Mediterranean pasta salad. We had a nice relaxing lunch and even had a chance to chat with Jim Law. He told us all about the new solar field they recently installed. You can’t miss it as you enter the parking lot. It’s a great addition to the vineyards.

Jim informed us the wines on the tasting menu will be changing soon. We look forward to returning to taste the new offerings. We left with our favorites to add to the wine rack. We always enjoy visiting Linden! If you visit them soon, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Dinner Wine

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Recently we had a wonderful dinner of filet mignon topped with port reduction sauce served with sautéed potatoes sprinkled with tarragon. Of course it was delicious but we needed a wine that could stand up to such a dish. Warren selected the 2014 Meritage from King Family Vineyards.

We noted Blackberries, currants, a whiff of cedar on the nose. It was well balanced and elegant. Warren noted it had the acidity characteristic of the 2014 vintage. It paired nicely with our meal. It’s always fun to find a gem from years ago. We are finding that we are really enjoyed the 2014 reds right now.

If you travel to King Family Vineyards we’re sure you’ll enjoy all their wines. While there, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

2021 Governor’s Cup Winner

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Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of Governor Ralph S. Northam

Virginia’s Barboursville Vineyards Takes Home 2021 Governor’s Cup® with 2015 Paxxito

~ Dessert wine from storied Virginia winery joins 11 other gold medal-winning wines in 2021 Governor’s Cup Case® ~

RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam awarded the Virginia Wineries Association’s 2021 Governor’s Cup® to Barboursville Vineyards for their 2015 Paxxito. The winning wine was revealed tonight during the annual Governor’s Cup Celebration, which was held virtually this year. Eleven other wines received top honors, comprising the Governor’s Cup Case®.

The Virginia Governor’s Cup, hosted by the Virginia Wineries Association in partnership with the Virginia Wine Board and the Virginia Vineyards Association, is one of the most stringent wine competitions in the United States. A panel of 22 judges, directed by Jay Youmans, one of only 53 Masters of Wine (MW) in the United States, reviewed the record-setting 544 wines entered into the competition this year, conducting a blind sampling and scoring the wines in multiple rounds over a four-week period to confirm the winner. Last week, gold medals were awarded to the 96 wines that scored 90 points or higher. All wines in the Governor’s Cup competition must be made from 100 percent Virginia fruit.

“Virginia’s history as a wine region has close ties with Barboursville Vineyards, and I am pleased to recognize Luca Paschina and his team with the Governor’s Cup for their continued innovation in winemaking,” said Governor Northam. “The wines in this year’s Governor’s Cup Case are a testament to the passion and pioneering spirit from which Virginia’s wine industry thrives. As we celebrate these high-quality and distinctive Virginia wines, we also honor the resilience of the farmers and winemakers who grow and craft them across our Commonwealth.”

Underscoring its Governor’s Cup win, two additional Barboursville wines received honors in the competition, giving the vineyard a total of three wines in the Governor’s Cup Case® this year. Under the leadership of winemaker and general manager Luca Paschina, Barboursville wines have now earned five Governor’s Cup awards including their 1988 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, 1997 Cabernet Franc, 1998 Cabernet Franc Reserve and 2009 Octagon. Located in Virginia’s Piedmont region, industry leader Gianni Zonin founded Barboursville Vineyards in 1976 as a wine estate and was an early pioneer of the Virginia wine industry, eventually helping to set the standard for a region that is now home to more than 300 wineries.

Virginia ciders also are eligible to enter the Governor’s Cup competition, and this year a new “Best in Show Cider” award was introduced to recognize achievements in the category. Lost Boy Cider’s “Comeback Kid” was recognized with the 2021 award with three other ciders receiving gold medals in the competition.

“Wine and cider are an important agricultural product and economic driver in our Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring. “In light of all the challenges the industry faced this year, the Governor’s Cup is a welcomed opportunity to celebrate the fantastic wines produced in our region.”

Alongside the Barboursville Paxxito, the 11 wines included in the 2021 Governor’s Cup Case are:

Barboursville Vineyards Octagon (2016)
Barboursville Vineyards Vermentino Reserve (2019)
Bluestone Vineyard Petit Manseng (2019)
Breaux Vineyards Meritage (2016)
Breaux Vineyards Nebbiolo (2016)
Carriage House Wineworks Petit Verdot (2019)
R.A.H. Wine Company Series 1 (2017)
King Family Vineyards Mountain Plains (2017)
Michael Shaps Wineworks Meritage (2015)
Trump Winery Brut Reserve (2014)
Veritas Winery Petit Verdot (2017)

Within the Governor’s Cup Case, there is wide representation from Central Virginia as well as the Shenandoah Valley and Northern Virginia—areas that are putting Virginia on the map as a globally recognized wine region. The broad geographical diversity of wineries and wines in the 2021 competition highlights Virginia winemakers’ ability to listen to their land and navigate the Commonwealth’s varied landscape and conditions.

According to the Virginia Tourism Corporation, more than 2.2 million tourists visited Virginia wineries in 2015. Today, the Virginia wine industry generates $1.37 billion in economic impact and 8,218 jobs for the Commonwealth. Nationwide, Virginia is in the top six states in number of wineries and wine grape production.
Additional details about the Governor’s Cup competition, a complete list of previous winners, and information about the Virginia wine industry can be found at virginiawine.org/governors-cup.

This information was provided by the Virginia Wine Board.