The Good Wine Guru » Virginia Wine

Blenheim Vineyards Seven Oaks Merlot 2009

George — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:00:19 +0000

Varietal: 100% Merlot
Region: Virginia – USA
Cost: $18

Winemaker’s Notes: A nose of chamomile, toasted marshmallow, and campfire entice the nose. Hints of red plum, dried apricots, anise, and soft cedar combine for a smooth, lingering finish.

My Review: I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m a big fan of Blenheim Vineyards and the wines that their winemaker, Kirsty Harmon, is making. So it should probably come as no surprise that during my last visit to the vineyard while hitting some vineyards with my wife that I grabbed a couple of bottles, including the 2009 Seven Oaks Merlot.

In the glass the wine was a medium light color, pushing on being garnet in color. On the nose I got an herb note that I enjoyed, and that I would find again on the palate. In the mouth I got the red plum flavors, some cedar, and a eucalyptus note on the finish that I really enjoyed, which surprises me since I’m not usually a fan of eucalyptus in anything – bad childhood memories.

Paired with a dinner of some seasoned chicken it was light enough to match up well with the seasoning I used, but had enough body that it didn’t disappear against the food either. After the food was gone, the medium-light body on the wine made it great for sipping on while watching some TV and relaxing after a long week at work.

I’d be lying if I said you shouldn’t just go out and buy everything that Kirsty is making, and I’m not quiet about trumpeting my enjoyment of their wines. If you’re in the area I recommend stopping in at their beautiful tasting room, and if not, you can visit their website at BlenheimVineyards.com and order some to have shipped to you.

2011 Virginia Governor’s Cup for White Wine

George — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:00:30 +0000

Wednesday night was the announcement of the 2011 Governor’s Cup winner for white wines. Back in February I was invited to attend the media tasting for the red wines, so I was pleased to see I was invited back for the whites.

The entire event was held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), with the media portion of the evening (which I continue to be surprised to be considered a part of), being held on the outdoor terrace of Amuse, a restaurant within the museum. There we had the opportunity to sample the 7 gold medal winners that were vying for the Governor’s Cup. They were:

2009 New Kent Winery Reserve Chardonnay
2010 Bluestine Vineyard BLUE ICE
2008 Prince Michel Vineyard Mt. Juliet Petite Manseng
2010 Willowcroft Farm Vineyards Claire
2009 Barren Ridge Vineyards Harmony
2010 James River Cellars Vidal Blanc
2010 North Gate Vineyard Viognier

2010 Willowcroft Farm Vineyards Claire

This dessert wine was made from 90% Petite Manseng and 10% Vidal Blanc and was the gold medal winner in the Sweet Petite Manseng category. Featuring 7.1% Residual Sugar, I got some melon and honey a wine that was definitely syrupy and would really need some dessert to do anything more than a tasting with it.

2009 Barren Ridge Vineyards Harmony

The winner of the gold medal for Proprietary White, this wine is a blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Traminette, and Riesling. I’m not positive the percentages I have are correct, so I don’t want to post them here. Floral notes with notes of citrus (lemon/lime) on the palate made this wine nice and refreshing, with just a hint of sweetness on the finish.

2010 Bluestone Vineyard BLUE ICE

Made from100% Traminette, this winner of the gold medal in Dessert Traminette features 11.7% residual sugar and leaves no doubt that this is supposed to be an ice wine. A deep golden color gives hints of the honey to expect on the nose and in the mouth, with the wine being syrupy and probably quite good poured over some desserts to add a hint of sweetness.

2010 James River Cellars Vidal Blanc

The winner of the gold medal in Vidal, this 100% Vidal Blanc has 1% residual sugar with notes of peach, grape, light citrus, and I got a touch of petrol on the finish that wasn’t actually a deal breaker for me. There’s not much sweetness coming through on this wine and it was actually my second favorite of media tasting.

2009 Prince Michel Vineyard Mt. Juliet Petite Manseng

Winner of the gold medal in Dry Petite Manseng, I got light citrus with a dry, crisp finish to it and just a hint of pith as well. This would be a good choice to pair with some richer seafood.

2010 North Gate Vineyard Viognier

Steel fermented and oak aged, this winner of the gold medal in Viognier was slightly darker in the glass than a steel Viognier (which was my first hint that it’d been barrel aged) and gave off a more robust floral note on the nose than Viognier that hasn’t seen oak. A nice round finish with notes of pineapple, this wine would be a good pairing with some seasoned chicken.

2009 New Kent Winery Reserve Chardonnay

The winner of the gold medal in Barrel Chardonnay, and the winner of the 2011 Governor’s Cup for White Wine (congrats), this wine was actually my favorite of the tasting and my pick to win the Cup. Aged for 2 years in American oak, the wine has all the tell-tale notes of butter and oak on the nose and in the mouth. A good amount of citrus in the mouth stops this wine from being too heavy, but the good rounded finish made me want some seafood in a cream sauce. I know not everybody likes oaked Chardonnay, but if you do, this one was quite impressive.

After the media tasting we all moved downstairs where we were joined by the non-media types to taste 30 different Virginia wineries, all pouring one wine – some red, some white, along with food pairings for each. It was a great way to sample some wineries I hadn’t had the chance to check out yet, and to say hello to some that I’ve become acquainted with through the years.

Eventually a string of Virginia politicians made their way on to stage, culminating with Gov. Bob McDonnell coming up to announce the winner of the Governor’s Cup (New Kent in case you missed it above).

This was a great event. The VMFA has a beautiful facility and did a great job of hosting. A thanks to the Virginia Wine Girls (Amy, Annette, Mary Catherine) for including me on the invite list – I had a great time. Finally, congrats to New Kent Winery on your big win – you deserved it.

October is Virginia Wine Month, so if you’re reading this and live in the state, check with your local restaurants, wine shops, and vineyards to see what special things they’re doing to celebrate a month of Virginia’s wine.

Virginia is for Wine Lovers

George — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:00:03 +0000

Virginia is for Wine Lovers

Sure I just spent some time in California, but at the end of the day I live in Virginia, and while I don’t write exclusively about it, I certainly do try to promote it as much as possible because, well I live here. For those that aren’t aware, October is Virginia Wine Month, and with that in mind, the Virginia Tourism Board is going to show some love to a Virginia Winery.

While you can read all of the details by clicking on this link (http://pressroom.virginia.org/pressroom/release.asp?id=304), what it really boils down to is that on September 21st, between 8am and 5pm, on Facebook, you can vote for your favorite Virginia Winery. The winner will get the LOVE statue (pictured above) at their winery during Virginia Wine Month.

In case you were wondering I will be voting, but I won’t tell you who I’ll vote for, but I do recommend anybody and everybody go out and vote and support Virginia Wine. If you don’t want to read the press release, here’s a direct link to the Facebook page to vote: http://www.facebook.com/VirginiaisforLovers

Day 2 and 3 Recaps of the 2011 North American Wine Bloggers Conference

George — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:00:04 +0000

So the first day of the Wine Bloggers Conference was insane, I think my first post did a good job of pointing that out. So how were the second and third day? Much like the first, with so much to do and experience. Here’s a recap:

Early Morning Speeches

I was disappointed in the 9am conference about the Geology, Business, and History of Virginia Wine. Not in the speakers, who were great, but in the low attendance. I know we all partied the night before, and I certainly woke up with a headache and wondering where a few bottles of wine had come from, but I still managed to drag myself to the conference – and I wasn’t even staying in the hotel where the conference was being held.

That being said, the speakers were great and it was educational even for somebody that lives in Virginia. Anybody that didn’t make it missed out.

Wine Country Buses

As a rider on Bus 3 (the “Fun-vee”, not the “HumDrum-vee” according to the 1WineDude), I had a great time. We stopped in at Virginia Wineworks, run by Michael Shaps, which I had not been to before, but had on my list to visit as I live his Bag in a Box wines that are incredibly approachable and affordable. After that it was on to First Colony which offered up a couple of interesting reds, but some kinda disappointing whites. Finally it was on to Blenheim and Kirsty Harmon, which I think everybody knows I love. A great tasting, a great walk around the vineyard, and an amazing lunch were a great way to wrap up the tours.

My only complaint with the tasting was that we didn’t get to have more time at Virginia Wineworks, especially when we ended up with more time than we needed at First Colony. A lot of this had to do with First Colony not originally pouring as many wines as was expected, but given that WineWorks is literally right past First Colony, it was still a bit of a let down.

Taking a Breather

After the wine tours there was a keynote speech by Eric Asimov, but quite frankly I needed a break, so I headed back to my hotel room and took a shower, got changed, and then headed back. I did catch the second half or so of his keynote, but as I didn’t catch the first part I was kinda lost. This drove home the need for the conference to factor in some break time during each day so that everybody could catch some lunch or just grab a nap.

Live Wine Blogging – Reds

I had done the speed tasting/dating with the whites and rose’ wines, so I felt compelled to do it with the reds. It wasn’t quite as insane as the night before, and honestly overall I enjoyed the wines from the night before better, though granted I only got to try 12 each night so it’s a crap shoot either way.

Cognac Before Dinner?

There was a cognac tasting before dinner that I just couldn’t get through. I tried one sample and it got me so warm that I just had to walk away. May have worked better if it wasn’t July or after dinner.

Dinner & Wine Blog Awards

I appreciated the speed with with the Wine Blog Awards were handled. They didn’t drag it out or milk it. Would have been nice had more of the winners been in house, so maybe telling them ahead of time so they show up in the future is something to consider.

The meal itself was excellent, and I in fact asked for a second helping of the second course, a sweet corn chowder. While there were some logistical hiccups, considering they had to serve more than 300 people 5 courses with wine pairings in just over an hour, the Omni staff handled it as well as could be expected and deserves some praise.

After Hours Party

I couldn’t make myself do the Rioja crawl, partly because I knew I would have the bad luck to win the trip to Spain that was being offered and that I wouldn’t be able to go since it conflicts with an already planned trip I have.

I did enjoy a room party with several other Virginia wine bloggers and went back to my room well after midnight.

The Final Day

My thoughts on the final day are brief since it was a half day. The Blogger Lead Discussions could have been handled better. Maybe it was just the one I jumped into, but it felt aimless and was basically dominated by a few people not even talking about the Future of Wine Blogging like we were supposed to.

The Ignite Wine! seemed like a good idea, and maybe it worked well in years past, but this year it was something I felt I could have missed and lived through.

I was happy to see Oregon getting the 2012 Wine Bloggers Conference and British Columbia get a soft commitment for 2013, hopefully I can attend one or both. Overall this was a great weekend as I got to make new friends and meet people I had been talking to for years. If you’re a wine blogger and have never been it’s never too late to at least try it out. There is always room for improvement, and hopefully the conference will take our suggestions to heart, but all in all I had a great weekend and don’t regret going.

Wow we did a lot over the weekend. I’m sure in the coming days and weeks events from the conference will spark more posts, but for now, I think I need a vacation.

The Final Countdown

George — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:00:39 +0000

We are inside the 24 hour mark for the start of the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference and for those that are unfamiliar with what’s going to happen, click on the previous link and you can see the agenda for the weekend.

I’ll be live-blogging several events through-out the weekend, so if there was ever a time to make sure you have me in your RSS feed or in a bookmark/favorite section of your browser, this is it.

I hope everybody has a great weekend and I look forward to sharing my experience this weekend with everybody.

No related posts.

Virginia Viognier Tasting

George — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:00:47 +0000

On Thursday, as something of a lead up to the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference, I participated in a tasting of Virginia Viognier along with several other bloggers, all of us sharing our thoughts on Twitter as we tasted. I would, however, be remiss if I didn’t share my thoughts on here as well.

We started the tasting with a Horton Vineyards Sparkling Viognier (SRP $25). I’d never had a sparkling Viognier before and given my recent increased interest in all things bubbles, I was certainly looking forward to trying it when I got the bottle. The most notable note on both the nose and in the mouth was green apple, and the wine itself was crisp with big bubbles. I loved this wine and it was probably my favorite of the night and one that was quickly gone.

Next up was the 2010 Blenheim Vineyards Viognier (SRP $19). I got a bit of honey on the nose with some orange blossom on the palate and a rounded finish that was unexpected until I looked at the tasting notes and saw that some of the wine had spent time in French barrels.

Third was the 2010 King Family Vineyards Viognier (SRP $25). Honeysuckle on the nose with candied fruit in the mouth with a subtle minerality that I wasn’t expecting. This wine was also oaked, but in neutral barrels and the finish was less rounded than the Blenheim.

Fourth was the 2009 Barboursville Viognier Reserve (SRP $22). I got a slight bit of petrol on the nose and grapefruit in the mouth. The Barboursville had more acid on it than any of the others though not much in the way of floral notes. That being said I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Finally we opened up the 2010 Cooper Vineyards Viognier (SRP $23). I got subtle floral and honeysuckle notes on the nose with pineapple in the mouth and soft, butter/oak finish which didn’t surprise me given that 40% of the wine had been aged in second-year barrels. This was probably my favorite of the still wines, which actually surprised me.

There was a sixth wine, the 2010 Deleplane Viognier (SRP $24), but my shipment got lost and I wasn’t able to taste it.

I want to thank the Virginia Wine Board and all of the organizers and vineyards for putting on a great tasting. Any time I talk with people not from Virginia I’m always talking up our Viognier, and events like this just give me more examples to show them.

White Hall Vineyards Viognier 2009

George — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 14:17:41 +0000

Varietal: 100% Viognier
Region: Virginia – USA
Cost: $17

Winemaker’s Notes: An opulent bouquet of ripe peaches, apricots, and honeysuckle is woven together with an intense palate full of orange, grapefruit, and subtle spice followed by a lengthy finish with bright acidity and hints of vanilla.

My Review: During a recent trip out to Virginia Wine Country my wife and I stopped in at White Hall Vineyards for the first time in some time and while there were several wines there that we enjoyed, we made a point of bringing home a bottle of the 2009 Viognier, which was opened up earlier this week.

While relaxing in our home on a hot day, my wife and I wanted something to sip on while she did some crafting for her Etsy page and I relaxed and watched some TV. Enter the White Hall Viognier.

On the nose I got the typical floral nose I associate with a Virginia Viognier. In the mouth I picked up honeysuckle and a rose/floral note and a hint of sweetness on the finish that made it a great wine for just sipping on, but would have made it a good pairing for something with a little spice to it – maybe something Thai.

During the summer I drink a lot of Virginia Viognier as it’s a nice refreshing wine with all the heat and humidity we get here in Virginia, and the 2009 Viognier from White Hall Vineyards is a great example of why I enjoy it so much – light, crisp, refreshing, and great by itself or with some food. Definitely one I recommend grabbing if you can get your hands on it.

Ingleside Vineyards Blue Crab Red

George — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:47:23 +0000

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon; Merlot; Syrah
Region: Virginia – USA
Cost: $12

Winemaker’s Notes: Our top-selling wine! Spice and fruit in the aroma give way to a soft, slightly sweet finish in this versatile red wine. Also great with BBQ and for picnics.

My Review: I’d nearly forgotten I had picked this bottle up at the Virginia Wine Expo back in February until this past weekend when my wife and I were looking for something to sip on in the evening while relaxing in our basement. Since we’d already started with some red earlier for dinner, we thought it would be a good idea to stick with it and popped this bottle open.

A good medium-dark red in the glass, the Ingleside Blue Crab Red offered up aromas of red fruit that carried through to the palate which was soft and fruity, though not overly fruity, with a hint of sweetness on the finish that was actually welcomed.

While I didn’t pair this wine with any food when drinking it, I agree with the winemaker’s assessment of pairing this wine with some BBQ or even a good burger. Either way, this is absolutely a summer grilling wine and a good value if you’re looking to take something to your neighborhood cook-out. Not overly complex or though provoking, the appeal of this wine is that you can sip it without feeling compelled to invest a lot of time analyzing the aromas or flavors, which was just fine with me.

Blenheim Vineyards White Table Wine

George — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:00:14 +0000

Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Region: Charlottesville – Virginia – USA
Cost: $14

Winemaker’s Notes: Aromas of honeysuckle, pineapple and citrus herald this clean crisp wine. Notes of caramelized pear, melon and peach are followed by a smooth, subtly sweet finish. Aged 5 months in French and American oak.

My Review: I don’t think it’s any secret by this point that I’m a fan of the wines produced by Blenheim Vineyards and their winemaker Kirsty Harmon. Because of that, during the Virginia Wine Expo back in February, my wife and I made sure to grab several bottles of wine from the Blenheim booth, and last night we opened up one of them to go with our dinner.

The Blenheim Vineyards White Table Wine is a 100% Chardonnay wine, though to be honest, if somebody told me it had some Viognier in there I wouldn’t call them a liar. In the glass the wine is a robust golden color, and on the nose you get floral notes and honeysuckle that you would associate with Viognier, but more robust and with a citrus edge.

In the mouth I picked up peach as much as anything, and on the finish I got just a hint of sweetness that again made me think that somebody dropped a little Viognier in here (though I believe Kirsty when she says it’s a single varietal).

Paired with a meal that involved sauteed chicken, peppers, onion, pasta, and cream cheese all done up in a southwest style it was a nice crisp note against the creamy nature of the dish which also featured just a hint of heat.

This is a great summer deck wine, or a good wine for whenever you’re looking for a nice versatile white wine. For the price it’s a good value and something you can pick up in bulk to use as your white table wine or to serve at parties as it will fit most palates in search of a white. As always I recommend going out to visit Blenheim if you have the chance, but at the least you should go online and order some wine from them at their website (http://www.blenheimvineyards.com).

A Memorial Day Weekend Trip to VA Wine Country

George — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:00:40 +0000

I hope everybody had a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend filled with friends, family, cookouts, and good wine. On Saturday my wife and I decided to jump on the Virginia Wine Trail and hit a few vineyards – some we had been to before and others we hadn’t visited yet. Four vineyards, several bottles, and a wine club membership later and we lived to tell the tale, and now I get to share it with you.

White Hall Vineyards

A shot from outside White Hall Vineyards

We started out our tasting at White Hall, partly because of the area we were looking to go tasting in, they were the first one open, but also because I we hadn’t actually been out to the tasting room in many years. On the Saturday morning we stopped in they were pouring 9 different wines and my wife and I were happy to sample them all.

We started out with two Chardonnays, the 2008 Chardonnay ($15) and the 2008 Chardonnay Reserve ($24). The stainless steel Chardonnay featured all the usual citrus and pear notes I would have expected, but had a smoother finish than I anticipated, though certainly not “oaky”. The 2008 Reserve featured a bit of oaky nuttiness on the nose and while it had the “oaked” finish I would expect, it was subtle and even my wife, who doesn’t usually care for oaked Chardonnay, preferred it to the stainless steel.

Next up was the 2009 Viognier ($17) which offered a good floral nose with rose and honeysuckle in the mouth with just a hint of sweetness on the finish. This is a great summer wine and my wife and I did actually bring a bottle of it home with us. Following the Viognier was the 2008 Pinot Gris ($17) which didn’t have much nose to it but was a nice dry wine with a good minerality on the finish. Our final white was the 2008 Petit Manseng ($16) which like the Viognier had a floral nose with tropical notes in the mouth. The best way to describe this wine is as a less floral and more sweet Viognier. A good dessert wine though.

Moving on to the reds. We started with the 2008 Merlot ($15) which had a smoky nose but was lighter in the palate with raspberry flavors. I really enjoyed this one and we made sure to grab a bottle to bring home. Following that was the 2009 Touriga ($18) with a jammy nose and soft tannins. The 2008 Petit Verdot ($20) was a stand-out for me. It was a dark reddish-purple in the glass with smoke and pepper on the nose that carried through to the palate to mix with raspberry and a nice soft tannic finish. This was arguably my favorite wine of the tasting and we made sure to grab a bottle to bring home.

We finished up the tasting with the 2007 Soliterre ($17), a dessert wine with floral and apricot notes on the nose and candied fruit on the palate. With 6% residual sugar you had better make sure to pair it with something, but I will say that had I not known how much residual sugar was in the wine I might have guessed less as it certainly wasn’t syrupy.

Our tasting complete and some wines purchased we moved on to our next stop.

Mountfair Vineyards

The entrance to the Mountfair tasting room

I’d be lying if I didn’t mention that Mountfair was a big reason we headed out to do some wine tasting. Everybody in Virginia that’s been there has nothing but good things to say about it, and what’s not to love about a vineyard that specializes in small-batch red wines?

We started off our tasting with a few sparkling wines from Thibaut-Janisson, the Blanc de Chardonnay and the Virginia FIZZ. Mountfair sells these wines for them as they don’t have their own tasting room. They were both enjoyable, one a champagne style and the other a prosecco style.

As for the actual Mountfair wines, we started off with the 2009 Merlot ($20) which is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. With a peppery nose I expected more of it in the palate, but the Merlot does a good job of smoothing it out and makes this a great wine for just sipping on. We grabbed a bottle of this as well, bringing our Merlot total up to 2 in as many vineyards. Next was the other of their single varietals, the 2009 Cabernet Franc ($20) which is the opposite of the Merlot at 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. The wine was heavier in the mouth than I expected with a subtle pepper and smoke finish with good cherry notes leading the way in. We didn’t buy this one, but mostly because it lost the coin toss against the Merlot.

Next was the 2008 Indigenous ($25) a blend of 50/50 Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc with a velvety pepper nose and a tart finish that I attributed to the Cabernet Franc. Finally we sampled the 2009 Engagement ($25) a blend of 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a great wine for grilled food with a lot of the Cabernet Franc notes coming through, but with more body thanks to the Petite Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

I really enjoyed Mountfair and before we left my wife and I even signed up for their wine club so that we’ll get shipments of their wine as their released. If you visit Mountfair or have at least tasted their wines I certainly recommend it as it’s a great value and a good way to get their signature wine, the Wooloomooloo, which pretty much sells out as soon as it’s released.

Pollak Vineyards

Inside the Pollak tasting room

My wife and I had visited Pollak a few years back just after they opened their new tasting room (which is beautiful and has a patio and deck area perfect for a picnic lunch), but wanted to head back now that the new vintages were out, especially since I enjoyed what of them I was able to taste back in February at the Virginia Wine Expo. We started out with the 2009 Chardonnay ($19) which had a creamy nose with citrus and vanilla notes on the palate and a soft, light oak hint on the finish.

Next was the 2010 Viognier ($20) with a nose of honey and peach and floral notes on the palate. This was a light wine that will be good on a hot day. Next was the 2010 Pinot Gris ($18) which was so light in the glass as to be nearly clear. This was a medium dry wine and the only thing I can really say about it is that it was so-so, and nothing to get too excited about. Next was the 2009 Durant White ($16) a blend of 60% Chardonnay, 30% Viognier, and 10% Pinot Gris. With a subtle floral nose and good tropical flavors this was easily my favorite white of the tasting and the only reason I didn’t grab a bottle to bring home is that I already have one.

Moving on to the reds we started with the 2009 Durant Red ($12) which is a 50/50 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Light red in the glass with pepper and a “meaty”, smoky aroma and a tart finish this is a good value wine, especially for those big cookouts that come up this time of year. Our next wine was the 2008 Cabernet Franc ($20) with a nose of pepper and generic red fruit with cherry on the palate.

Next was the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($24) with a nose full of dark fruit and a juicy palate with soft tannins on the finish. This wine is just begging for a grilled steak and I bought a bottle to take home for just that reason. Our final sample was the 2008 Meritage ($25) a blend of 44% Cabernet Franc, 43% Merlot, and 13% Petit Verdot that has a lot of dark fruit on both the nose and the palate with a nice smooth finish. It’s very “petit verdot-y” (according to my notes) and another great steak wine that we only didn’t buy because we decided to go with the Cab Sauv.

After staying at Pollak for a bit to eat some lunch on their deck area, it was on to our final stop.

Veritas Vineyards & Winery

Behind the Veritas tasting bar

I always have a soft spot in my heart for Veritas as my wife’s brother got married there and we had, quite frankly, one helluva time. Veritas lets you select either a white tasting or a red tasting, but since my wife and I were both there, we picked one of each and shared, starting off with the whites.

First was the Scintilla ($30) a French style brut sparkling wine with apple on the nose, big bubbles and a nice dry finish. Next was the 2010 “Saddleback” Chardonnay ($18) which is done in the Chablis style and has lots of tropical notes as well as some vanilla and apple. Following up that was the 2009 “Harlequin” Chardonnay ($25) which has spent 6 months in French oak. With a buttery/oak nose I was almost surprised at how much acid I found on the palate, though it certainly wasn’t a lot. That being said both my wife and I liked the “Harlequin” much better than the “Saddleback”.

Next we tasted the 2010 Viognier ($20). Floral and honeysuckle notes on the nose with peach on the palate and a slight hint of sweetness on the finish (.7% residual sugar) made this a very typical, but very enjoyable, Virginia Viognier. The 2009 Petit Manseng ($25) had kiwi on the nose and even with 10% residual sugar was sweet without being syrupy. The 2009 Kenmar ($35) is an ice wine style made from Traminette and offering rose aromas on the nose with honey and rose water on the palate. This is a very sweet wine, but a good dessert wine if paired correctly with something like pound cake.

Moving on to the reds, we sampled the Mousseux ($30) a sparkling wine using Merlot grapes with notes of strawberry and a tartness that I actually found rather refreshing. The 2010 Rose’ ($14) is made with 46% Cabernet Franc and 54% Merlot and features .5% residual sugar. A medium-light pink in color with a strawberry nose and a dry, slight pepper/spice note on the finish that makes this a good summer wine for pairing with something like grilled chicken.

The Red Star ($18) is a blend of 37% Cabernet Franc, 37% Merlot, and 26% Chambourcin. A nose of dark fruit and pepper and a palate of smoke and cherry make this a good wine to pair with burgers. The 2009 Claret ($18) is a blend of 55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Petit Verdot. The petit verdot really came through on this wine, with a nice juiciness to the wine and aromas of smoke and pepper that will make this another great wine for drinking with some gourmet burgers off the grill – which is why my wife and I grabbed a bottle.

Finally, the 2009 Vintner’s Reserve ($25) a blend of 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and 20% Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in mostly new French oak barrels. A smoky aroma with tons of dark fruit notes on the palate a nice soft tannic finish makes this a great wine to pair with a steak.

My wife and I had a great time tasting all these wines, and everybody that we dealt with at the vineyards was incredibly pleasant, knowledgeable, and friendly. If you have the chance to visit any of these vineyards I highly recommend it, and I’m already looking forward to another trip out to Virginia Wine Country to visit some other vineyards and taste some more wines.