Halloween At Hillsborough

Last year for Halloween we attended the annual Halloween Party at Hillsborough Vineyards. We had such a good time last year we decided to go again this year and invite Dezel and Niki. They agreed to meet us there for some fine wine and fun.

Hillsborough did an amazing job of decorating for the party and making the place look and sound spooky. Once inside they had lots of candy and nibbles to enjoy with some nice wines. They also had a DJ playing a good mix of music.


Before dinner we all shared a bottle of the lovely Garnet and the newly released Carnelian. We enjoy varies cheeses and crackers while watching other arrive with their often humorous costumes. For dinner we enjoyed a bottle of the Ruby Reserve with pork loin, green beans, acorn squash, and salad. It was all delicious!


After dinner the winners of the informal costume contest were announced and gifts of wine were passed out. At that point the dance floor was opened and everyone enjoyed a spin on the dance floor.


We had a great time at the Hillsborough Halloween Party and will probably attend again next year!

Cabernet Franc Tasting

Last Saturday evening we were invited to Dezel and Niki’s house for a special Cabernet Franc tasting. Dezel writes the blog Virginia Vine Spot. John and Megan from the Anything Wine blog also attended and other friends of Dezel and Niki volunteered their palates for the tasting. We must mention that John and Megan have their own winery, Woodland Vineyards; their expertise was certainly appreciated at the tasting!

Dezel and Niki provided a very warm atmosphere for the event, and they served an array of Cabernet Franc-friendly foods. Warren made a dash for the Muenster, and Paul indulged himself with harder cheeses and cheese flavored crackers. Dezel poured eight Cabernet Francs, but he first provided us with tasting sheets that required us to rate the wines on a point system. As we acquainted ourselves with the rating sheets, we also acquainted ourselves with each other. Soon enough, the wine began to flow, and Dezel guided us through our tastings; we must add that this was a blind tasting, but we did have tasting notes with each Cabernet Franc sampled. Of the eight, two were from Virginia, two were from California; one Franc hailed from Washinton, and two others were produced from the Finger Lakes. A final treat was a Cabernet Franc from Chinon, France.


After several rounds of swirling, sniffing, sipping, and savoring, Dezel calculated the points to come up with the most recommended cabernet franc from the group. The winner was the 2005 Dom Semellerie Chinon Cabernet Franc. This was not a surprise. At little more than ten dollars a bottle, this one is a real steal. Lovely red fruits with some spice and hints of tobacco make the Dom Semellerie Chinon a classic Cabernet Franc. Second place had to be California, right? Think again. A close second was the 2002 Waterford Vineyards Cabernet Franc; this one proved to be the surprise crowd pleaser that seemed superior for the price.


We must admit that we enjoyed all of the Cabernet Francs poured that evening; however, since we worked with a rating scale, somebody had to come in last place. The two Cabernet Francs that scored lowest on the list were the 2000 Edgewood Cabernet Franc from Napa, California, and the 2004 Willowcroft Vineyards Cabernet Franc from Virginia. The former was deemed too “hot” for many on our panel, and the latter proved to be a bit lacking in fruit characteristics normally associated with Cabernet Franc. However, both pours found homes that evening as Dezel graciously allowed the panelists to take home their favorite wines.


While tasting each wine, the participants attempted to guess which winery produced the Cabernet Franc being tasted. Megan, Paul and Warren guessed correctly 50% of the time, and we were able to get first bids on the wines to bring home. Paul quickly grabbed the Waterford Cabernet Franc. On top of the wonderful wines poured that evening, Niki treated us to Turkish cuisine that included lamb and beef; the featured Cabernet Franc with our meal was the Michael Schaps Cabernet Franc from King Family Vineyards.

We had a wonderful experience and enjoyed spending time with such a great group of wine enthusiasts. We left with ideas for other tastings in the near future. Thank you Dezel and Niki!

Cardinal Point

We left our readers in suspense at the end of the Barboursville article, and now we reveal the secret. Our next stop was to Cardinal Point Winery, and we were anxious to try the latest releases! Read on to discover more about our visit!

We had such a nice time there last time that a visit there had to be on the agenda for this weekend. Upon entering the tasting room, we scanned the room looking for Sarah Gorman. During our last visit, Sarah provided us with an informative tasting and provided a comprehensive history of the winery. We hoped to see her again; however, on that weekend, Sarah was representing Cardinal Point Winery at the Mount Vernon Wine Festival. Nonetheless, our surrogate tasting guide skillfully led us through each of the Cardinal Point wines. Of interest to us were the Quattro and the A6, and with the holidays coming up, seasonal fare would pare quite well with either of these two. Paul’s personal favorite was the Rockfish Red, and we enjoyed a glass of this light-bodied red with cheese and crackers out on the patio.


Warren at the tasting bar.

While on the patio enjoying our wine and cheese, we met Tad and Steven. They invited us to join them for another bottle of wine, and this time, indulged ourselves with the Quattro. This was a perfect accompaniment to light cheese, sausage, and crackers; the Quattro also proved to be a perfect wine to sip while meeting new friends.


Tad and Steven

We thoroughly enjoyed our second visit to Cardinal Point, and we await a third visit there sooner rather than later. In the meantime, we plan to enjoy Cardinal Point wines during the chilly months ahead! If you visit Cardinal Point, be sure to tell them you read about them on the Virginia Wine Time blog.

Wine Wine Wine at Barboursville

While visiting Charlottesville on the very wet Columbus Day weekend, our intent was to participate in a barrel tasting at Barboursville Vineyards. When we pulled into the parking lot there were two busloads of people entering the tasting room, and we knew that we were in for a busy afternoon at Barboursville Vineyards. We were excited nonetheless, and we opted to play the barrel tasting by ear. In the meantime, we enthusiastically joined the crowd for a sampling of Barboursville’s latest releases with an eye on the vertical tasting table that caught our attention. We made our way to the white wine bar and sampled the offerings. Of note was the 2005 Pinot Grigio and the 2005 Chardonnay; Paul found the Riesling especially enjoyable. Moving right along, we then reached the red wine bar; particularly pleasing was the latest Merlot with its rich cherry flavors. The gold star, however, had to be the Octagon 7th edition. This bolder red presents a Bourdeaux-style blend that is heavy with dark fruit, tobacco, and spice.

With the crowd getting even larger, we made the decision to spend more time with the vertical tasting at the expense of the barrel tasting—not an easy decision. However, we were not disappointed as the vertical tasting gave us an excellent opportunity to gauge just how far Virginia wines had come along over the past 15 years.. At the first table we were treated to a flight of Cabernet Sauvignons. The Cabernets began with the 1991 vintage and continued through 2003; an extra treat was the inclusion of a corresponding flight of Reserve Cabs. Of course, we started with 1991, and we must admit that these earlier vintages were not very good—good vegetable stock, but not good wine. However, we noticed that as we progressed through the vintages, the wines got better and better. The turning point seemed to be 1996, and the improved quality was most evident with the 1998 vintage shining very brightly at both the reserve and non-reserve tables. At the second table our tasting associat e guided us through a flight of Cabernet Francs, and here again, noticeable improvements were noticed as we progressed through the vintages. Warren’s favorite was the 1997 vintage. We took this experience as a affirmation that the quality of Virginia wines turned a dramatic corner in the mid-1990s.

At the final table we were able to taste a small flight of Pinot Noirs. Barboursville only produced Pinot Noirs in 1991, 1992, and 1993. They were still selling some of the 1993 vintage at the tasting table. The Pinot Noir was surely an experiment at Barboursville in the early 1990s, and we understood why they stopped producing it when we completed the tasting. Much of winemaking is trial and error, and we commend the attempt and the decision to stop production of Pinot Noir. These type of important decisions have allowed Barboursville to excel at other varietals such as the Barbera and Merlot.

From the vertical tasting tables, we made our way back to the tasting bar to sample the dessert wines. Phileo is always a treat to sample, and our tasting associate surprised us with an exclusive taste of the Barboursville Brut. The Barboursville Brut is a must try if possible and destined to delight guests at holiday parties. Nice apple flavors and a dry finish complement the effervescent bubbles in the glass; for the quality, the price cannot be beaten!

We will certainly attempt the barrel tasting another time. However, we enjoyed our time at Barboursville Vineyard, and with purchases in hand we hit the wine trail for our next stop. Check in later to see where we ended up!