On a recent Saturday we met our wine friends, Steve and Joe at Chester Gap Cellars for some wine tasting and some catching up.
As you travel down the driveway to the tasting room, you can’t miss the gorgeous views. Of course visiting in fall makes it even more colorful.
We decided to do the self-guided flight tasting. We tasted the 2017 Viognier, the 2020 Rosé, the 2017 Petit Manseng, the Lighter Side of Red and the 2017 Cabernet Franc. While we enjoyed them all, the 2020 Rosé and the Lighter Side of Red were our favorites. The 2020 Rosé reminded us of warmer times. It’s light and crisp and strawberry and melon flavors stand out. The Lighter Side of Red is perfect for lighter meals like pizza, pasta, sandwiches or even on it’s own. It’s a good starter red for those who aren’t red wine drinkers.
After our tasting we had a chance to chat with Jeff Seese, the winemaker and one of the owners. He let us taste several other wines that were not on the flight tasting. One standout was the 2019 Roussanne. I haven’t been a fan of Roussanne in the past but this one was different. It was light and fruity and didn’t have the oily, petrol aromas sometimes associated with roussanne. Jeff informed us it was aged in stainless steel. That certainly explained the crisp lightness of this one. It would be a perfect sipper on a warm day or the wine to go with some lighter meals that call for a white wine.
We finished our visit with some nibbles and a bottle of the 2017 Vintner’s Red. Before leaving we secured half a case to bring home. If you haven’t visited Chester Gap Cellars recently, it’s time to plan a visit soon! And when you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!
Once we reached Warrenton, we checked in to our hotel and then went to 
It does appear that there is a rainbow on the horizon after the Covid storm disrupted our lives. The resulting isolation and then socializing within bubbles may be bursting as vaccines make us all less wary of resuming our pre-Covid lives. Paul and I are now reconnecting with friends who have been seen either through computer screens or messaged via chats. It was therefore a welcome relief to meet up with our friend Erica Johansson, who is also a Virginia wine aficionado. This also gave us the opportunity to reconnect with the Virginia wine trails to discover new (to us in some cases) wineries, and this was the case with a visit to 
As we tasted through our flight of wines, Ken filled us in on Williams Gap story. Virginia wine lovers may recognize the Williams Gap designation from the red blends poured at Delaplane Cellars. Those grapes do indeed come from the Williams Gap Vineyard. Owner Jack Sexton planted the vineyard on the Williams Gap site in 2006 and sold the grapes to area wineries including Delaplane Cellars. Sexton decided that Williams Gap would pursue its own rather recently, and 36 of the 200 acres of Williams Gap property is currently planted with vines. Additional plantings of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc will result in another 14 acres of vines planted. Current case production is 1300, and wine production takes place under the skilled direction of Rob Cox at Paradise Springs. Expect to see a Rosé to be released in June. The tasting room has been open since the end of April.
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!