Tag: horton

Virginia Wine at Whole Foods

/ Paul / Leave a comment

vwm25smallOn Friday night we went to the Whole Foods Market Tysons for their weekly Fab Five Fridays. The wine pairings for the evening were all Virginia wines. We thought this would be another great way to celebrate Virginia Wine Month. We posted about it Twitter and Facebook and were pleased to see some of our readers turn out to taste some Virginia wine. Neche Harris from the Marketing Team asked us to be on hand to answer questions about Virginia wine while tasters went from station to station. We were happy to promote Virginia wine!

The first course was arugula salad with Idiazabal cheese, apples, and caramelized walnuts. It was paired with the Barboursville Pinot Grigio. This is one of our favorites and we thought it paired nicely with the salad.

The second course was a spicy Italian sandwich with fresh mozzarella. It was paired with the Horton Norton Red Blend. I am not a huge fan of Norton but Warren thought the fruity notes helped calm the spicy nature of the sandwich.
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The third course was Alfredo and penne pasta. It was paired with the Horton Viognier. This was my favorite pairing. I really enjoyed the penne pasta and thought the viognier was a good pairing with the cheesy Alfredo sauce.
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The fourth course was spaghetti bolognese. It was paired with the Crosskeys Petit Verdot. Petit Verdot is one of my favorite grapes. I have several different Virginia Petit Verdots on my rack. Besides the spaghetti being delicious, the wine was very nice as well. This petit verdot had just the right tannin structure to balance the bolognese sauce.
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The fifth and final course was a pumpkin roll with cream cheese. It was paired with the Pearmund Riesling. The sweetness of the wine paired nicely with the spice and cream cheese of the pumpkin roll.
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While tasting the different courses we were able to chat with many people about Virginia wines. It was great to chat about Virginia wine and info people about wineries, wines, and destinations available in Virginia. We had lengthy conversations with Kerry and Danielle and Tom and Anna.
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Whole Foods Market doesn’t always showcase Virginia but Friday night Pearmund Cellars was pouring several of their wines and Albemarle Ciderworks was tasting several of their ciders. We were so pleased to see and hear such great things about Virginia Wine (and cider). We’ve attended many of the Fab 5 Fridays in the past but no more. Starting Thursday October 31st (Halloween) Fab 5 is moving to Thursdays. So be sure to check out the Fab 5 on Thursday now and when you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Dinner Wines

/ Paul / Leave a comment

Last night we had the 2008 Viognier from Horton Vineyards as our sipper. We had a very buttery brie with crackers. We notice its light straw color. On the nose we noted pear, citrus, and melon. In the mouth we picked up grapefruit and lemon zest as well as the characteristics we noted on the nose. We thought this was a very nice pairing with the cheese an crackers.

For dinner we had the 2008 Jen’s Jambalaya from Breaux Vineyards. We had ham steaks with green beans and mashed potatoes. The wine went well with our meal. We noted floral notes and mango on the nose and pineapple, melon, and peach in the mouth. We know this wine is a blend of whites but we’re just not sure which whites. Warren noted it was alsatian style with maybe vidal, traminette or gwurtztraminer. Either way, it was very nice. I was sad to see my last bottle go but it was the perfect pairing with our meal.

Monticello Wine Trail Day One

/ Paul / 2 Comments

We are in Charlottesville! Today we visited Barboursville, Horton, Keswick, Jefferson and Blenheim. Here’s a quick recap of the gold stars we handed out and a few notes we made during our visits.

At Barboursville I gave my gold star to the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and Warren awarded his to the 2008 Viognier Reserve. For the reds I gave my gold star to the 2008 Sangiovese and Warren gave gave out two gold stars. One to the Octagon 2005 and one to the Cabernet Franc Reserve 2007. All the wines at Barboursville are strong. We enjoy them all. However, something must be done with the flow of the tasting room. Big crowds slow things down and hamper the tasting experience. It might be time to consider a different plan or layout for tasting. There’s got to be a better way to conduct their tastings. Just a thought.

It’s always an adventure at Horton Cellars. They have so many wines to choose from. We have to be selective or we’ll have to get a driver. We did try a few of the whites and a few of the reds. This time our gold stars went to the same wines. We awarded the 2008 Viognier a gold star and the 2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve a gold star. We purchased a few bottles before leaving.

Our next stop was Keswick Vineyards. We always enjoy our tastings there. They had six wines to taste this time and they were all new to use. I gave my gold star for the whites to the recently released 2009 Verdejo and my gold star for the reds went to the 2008 Cabernet Franc. Warren selected the 2008 Chardonnay Reserve and the 2008 Consensus for his gold star winners. After our tasting we enjoyed a bottle of the 2008 Cabernet Franc. Warren noted currents, plums, dried herbs on the nose and similar qualities on the palate. He said, “It tastes like it smells.” We enjoyed it with some delicious white cheddar cheese and crackers.

Our next stop was at Jefferson Vineyards. Jefferson was packed! It was a very popular place today. We found a spot at the tasting bar and began our tasting. We met some nice ladies from California next to us and enjoyed chatting about wine with them. Once again our choices for gold stars were split. It’s probably a good thing we like so many different Virginia wines. I gave my gold stars to the 2008 Pinot Gris and the 2007 Meritage while Warren gave his gold stars to the 2008 Viognier and the 2007 Merlot. Usually Warren likes the meritages and I like the merlots but we mixed it up this time. The weather was beautiful today so we shared a glass of the 2008 Viognier on their deck.

Trying to make the most of the beautiful weather and squeeze in as many wineries as we can on this trip, we finished the day at Blenheim. Kirsty Harmon is doing some wonderful things at Blenheim. It’s another winery that has become very popular. Our tasting associate, Pete, guided us through the current offerings at Blenheim. There were two new wines on the list: White Table Wine and Painted Red 2008. The Painted Red 2008 intrigued us with his big fruity nose and flavors. We described it as beaujolais style. Warren and I both gave our gold stars to the 2008 Viognier but for the reds we were split again. I gave mine to the Blenheim Farm Petit Verdot 2008 and Warren gave his to Painted Red 2008. After our tasting we enjoyed a glass of the Painted Red 2008 on the deck. Kirsty came out and joined us and we chatted about wine of course. We always have a great time at Blenheim.

That was our first day in Charlottesville. A lot of wineries, I know but we have to make the best use of our time. Tomorrow we are headed to three more wineries. I’ll update you then with our findings. If you find yourself at any of these wonderful wineries, please tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!