Monticello Cup Winners

Tuesday, April 26, 2022 / Paul / 1 Comment

This evening I attended the Monticello Cup Wine Competition Awards ceremony in Charlottesville. It was held at the Common House. Laura and Jason Lavallee of Wisdom Oak Winery won the 2022 Monticello Cup for their NINETEEN, a Bordeaux-style red blend. I was able to taste the winning wine. It’s a nice red blend but will benefit from some time in the bottle.

Frank Morgan of Drink What You Like, organized the event and was on hand to announce the winners. He announced the top 3 red and white wines of the Monticello Wine Cup Competition as well as the cup winner.

The top 3 reds were the Wisdom Oak 2019 NINETEEN, the Cardinal Point Vineyard and Winery 2019 Clay Hill Cabernet Franc and the Jefferson Vineyards 2019 Merlot Reserve. The top 3 whites were the Michael Shaps Wineworks 2019 Petit Manseng, the Jefferson Vineyards 2019 Chardonnay Reserve and the Trump Winery 2017 Blanc de Blanc.

During the evening I was able to say hello and catch up with many of the wine makers from the Monticello Wine Trail. I was also able to enjoy tastes of many of the wines submitted to the competition. The Common House provided some wonderful appetizers to enjoy with the wines.

It was a great evening to enjoy some wine and celebrate the winners of the competition. If you haven’t been on the Monticello Wine Trail lately, plan a trip soon! And when you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Media & Industry Experience and the Monticello Trail

Wednesday, August 11, 2021 / Warren / 5 Comments

Paul and I were honored to be included in the Media & Industry Experience, an event planned by Frank Morgan and Nancy Bauer, to showcase wines produced in the Monticello area. The event happened to coincide with a vacation that we had already planned to the area, so our next posts will also feature our own winery experiences.

The event opened on August 1 with a lunch prepared by chef Michael Clough of Palladio restaurant located on the Barboursville estate. Attendees were treated to a an exquisite food and wine pairing that included:

Barboursville’s winemaker, Luca Paschina, provided a summary of his history in the Virginia winemaking industry with an emphasis on his own evolution as a winemaker in a state that can challenge even the most skilled winemaker. Readers may know that Paschina is from Italy and began his work with the Zonin family over 30 years ago. For Paschina, his task in the 1990s was to discover through trial and error what grape varieties grew best in Virginia and then how to craft the grapes to present wines that expressed a sense of place. In that time, Paschina has experimented successfully not only with grapes known to show well in Virginia such as Cabernet France but also Italian grapes such as Nebbiolo, Vermentino, Fiano, and Falanghina. One example of success was the 2018 Nascent, a blend of Viognier, Vermentino, and Falanghina that presented a fuller, expressive palate with elements of white flowers, tropical fruit and citrus to pair nicely with the main entree, a grilled tuna served atop panzanella salad.

We were then given a brief but informative vineyard tour after lunch by Luca. It was evident to us that the 2021 growing season has been excellent due to ideal summer weather conditions.

A wine tasting and barbecue dinner was the evening’s event and it was hosted by Afton Mountain Vineyards. How odd that both Paul and Frank Morgan wore the same Hawaiin shirts for the festive occasion. Was this a coincidence? As they marveled at the coordinated fashion statements made by these two, attendees were able to sample wines from:

Afton Mountain Vineyards
Blenheim Vineyards
Flying Fox Vineyard
Hark Vineyards
Jefferson Vineyards
Keswick Vineyards
King Family Vineyards
Michael Shaps Wineworks
Pollak Vineyards
Veritas Vineyards
Wisdom Oak Winery

Craig Hartman of The Barbecue Exchange provided pulled pork and chicken with an array of sauce options.

The Media & Industry Experience concluded on August 2 with a series of seminars on Virginia wines that included Petit Manseng, Cabernet France, and “others”. We were able to attend the session conducted by Frank Morgan that featured Cabernet Franc. Winemakers Kirsty Harmon, Tim Gorman, Luca Paschina, and Stephen Barnard were on hand to educate attendees and to answer their questions. They each also provided pours of their own Cabernet Francs, and these ranged from lighter-style productions more common from the Chinon region of France to fuller-bodied styles. The panel agreed that Cabernet Franc best expressed Virginia as a wine region. All agreed that vineyard management and making critical decisions regarding harvest time were key to making excellent Cabernet Franc. This seminar was followed by a lunch hosted by King Family Vineyards and prepared by chef Laura Fanner.

Nancy Bauer moderated the final seminar of the day and featured second labels and “side hustles” of Virginia winemakers who, in addition to crafting wines for established wineries also produce wines under their own personal labels. These winemakers included Jake Busching (Jake B Wines), Caitlin Horton (Gears & Lace), Matthieu Finot (Domaine Finot), and Tim Rausse (Vino Dal Bosco).

Paul and I learned so much from the Media & Industry Experience, and the key take away was that Virginia continues to evolve as a wine region of note because excellent winemakers understand what it takes to create Virginia wines that express a sense of place. Please visit the wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail, and mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!

More on the Monticello Trail

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 / Warren / Leave a comment

So in this roundup, I’ll review our experiences at King Family Vineyards, First Colony Winery, and Virginia Wineworks.

King Family Vineyards: Mathieu Finot is one of Virginia’s premier winemakers, and this was confirmed earlier this year when King Family’s 2007 Meritage took the Governor’s Cup. Mathieu joined us for our tasting today. And we were treated to a sample of the newly release 2009 Chardonnay. This was my gold-star winner for the white wines. Fermented and aged in French oak barrels, it presents aromas of lemon and pear with similar flavors in the mouth. A creamier mouth feel and a longer finish were noted, too. For summertime, it’s hard to beat the Crose 2009 done in a dry Provence style. We stock up on this classic rose, because it is a versatile pour throughout the year. The red wines were all well-crafted, and it was hard to select only one for our gold-star award. The 2009 Cabernet Franc reminded us of the Chinon-style, and it was rich with bright red fruit and spice elements that are typical of Cabernet Franc. However, Paul gave his gold-star nod to the 2008 Merlot with its dark cherry, smoke and mocha characteristics. I almost concurred with Paul until I tasted the 2008 Meritage with its complex aromas and flavors. Dark fruit, violets and licorice made for an enticing nose, and layers of dark cherry, black plums, spice and vanilla revealed themselves in the mouth. A lengthy finish suggests aging potential, too. Port lovers should also try the brandy-fortified Seven 2008 which is made from Merlot; a hunk of blue cheese and/or a cigar should provide nice partners with this one.

In the midst of our tasting, Mathieu confirmed what other winemakers have noted—the 2010 harvest will be much earlier than usual for Virginia with white wine varieties either already harvested or about to be harvested very soon. He also sees the 2010 harvest as a year for potentially complex, robust red wines.

First Colony Winery: We reached a split decision with the white wines. Paul favored the floral 2008 Viognier with its tropical fruit characteristics, but I preferred the 2008 Chardonnay Reserve which is aged in Hungarian oak barrels for nine months. Pear flavors end with a subtle toasted almond finish. (In the past, we’ve enjoyed the Chardonnay Reserve at Kinkeads, the much-heralded seafood restaurant in DC.) We did, however, concur on a favorite red wine—the yet-to-be released 2008 Merlot. Dark cherries, plums and dried herbs with some chocolate at the end make for a more complex wine. Early September is the scheduled release date for the 2008 Merlot. Of course, it’s still grilling season, and steak lovers might want to sample the earthier 2006 Tannat.

Virginia Wineworks: It’s always a pleasure to sample the latest releases by Michael Shaps, and it’s equally hard to find favorites since all of Shaps’ wines are well-crafted. It’s hard to beat the Michael Shaps Viognier 2008, and we’ve written about this one in the past. However, I was more intrigued with the Burgundian-style Michael Shaps Chardonnay 2008 with its apple and pear characteristics and toasted almond finish. A creamier mouth feel and lengthier finish make for an elegant pour. Paul’s vote remained with the 2008 Viognier, and that was fine with me! Of the reds, Paul favored the Michael Shaps Cabernet Franc which was aged for 15 months in French oak barrels. He observed elements of dark cherry, plums and anise that finished with a smooth tannic presence. I gave my gold star to the Michael Shaps Petit Verdot 2008 which presented dried fruit characteristics, tobacco and black pepper.

We were able to chat with Michael for a bit, and his next experiment will be “bag in the box” wines that are currently catching on in Europe. Finding alternatives to cork enclosures has led to these developments, and quality products are being poured from the “bag” containers. We’ll check in with Michael to see how this innovation is progressing!

Want to read more about our finds on the Monticello trail? Don’t despair—more will be posted in upcoming articles. With a very hot summer winding down, be sure to plan a visit to these wineries on the Monticello trail. Be sure to mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.

Monticello Trail Roundup

Friday, October 30, 2009 / Warren / 2 Comments

I’m going to present a general review of other wineries that we visited during our Columbus Day weekend trip to the Monticello area. (We wrote about these wineries in August, so visit our posts from the summer to get more detail.)

Blenheim Vineyards: Always a treat to see winemaker Kirsty Harmon. It was near closing time when we arrived, but we were treated very well by the tasting staff. We enjoyed a glass of the excellent 2008 Viognier, and I got to join Kirsty and the harvest crew at the sorting table to pick through Chardonnay grapes. Since we had just harvested at Gray Ghost, I felt like a trained pro!

Jefferson Vineyards: Looking for fall/ winter pours? You can’t go wrong with the 2008 Chardonnay Reserve and the 2008 Viognier. Prefer reds? Give the 2007 Cabernet Franc and the 2007 Meritage a try. We noted that guest critic Michael Tyler would like the semi-dry Vin Blanc with its 1.5% residual sugar and Riesling-like profile.

Pollak Vineyards: See the video posted earlier! We always enjoy a trip to Pollak Vineyards. This time we got to meet with winemaker Jake Bushing who gave us a tour of the barrel room. Paul ended up purchasing a case of white wine, and these included five bottles each of the 2008 Durant White and the 2008 Viognier. A bottle each of the 2007 merlot and 2007 Cabernet Franc were tossed in the case, too.

Virginia Wineworks: We just had to have second sample of the superb 2007 Michael Shaps Viognier. I also enjoyed the 2007 Michael Shaps Chardonnay. The 2007 Michael Shaps Cabernet Franc should be considered for the holidays, and the seductive Michael Shaps Merlot just begs for a warm fire place, a romantic steak dinner, and a special someone!

As fall colors begin to fade and nature takes on the winter landscape, consider a wine tasting trip to the Monticello trail. If you visit any of the wineries listed in this post, be sure to mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.