We recently visited friends who lived in the Northern Neck of Virginia, and we used the occasion to visit some wineries in the area. (Would we pass up the opportunity? Of course not !) In fact, our friends, Bob and Jackie joined us on the wine trail. They prepared a lovely picnic lunch to bring along, and we headed off to Ingleside Vineyards for our first stop. We’ve been to Ingleside on several occasions, and we were anxious to try newer releases. Bob and Jackie were also eager to sample Ingleside’s numerous offerings, and we were all on a quest to find a wine that would pair with lunch!

We sampled several selections from three tasting menus—the Premium Wines, the Chesapeake Wines, and the Black Label Wines. Each menu offered something for everybody. The Premium and Black Label wines might be featured at dinner parties or black tie affairs; the Chesapeake Wines lend themselves to picnics, sunsets on the balcony, or summer concerts. With four different palates at the tasting bar, sampling from all three menus proved to be interesting.

Jackie tended to favor drier white wines and dinner-friendly reds. For her, the premium Chardonnay and the Black Label Sangiovese topped the charts. Warren concurred with these ratings. The Sangiovese presented notes of violet and plum with subtle smoky aromas. Cherry/berry flavors with a rustic, earthy charm made this one irresistible. Herb-crusted beef tenderloins would simply moo with delight when paired with this Sangiovese. And what if seafood is on the menu? Jackie’s preferred Premium Chardonnay would be just fine. Done in the classic French style, the Premium Chardonnay has a gentle toasty finish that suggests an appropriate oak treatment..

Jackie’s husband, Bob, likes his wines on the sweeter side. Two Chesapeake Wines struck his fancy—the Blue Crab Blush and the Sweet Virginia Rose. Both wines are done in the rose style and possessed bright strawberry flavors; pinkish colors suggest a sweeter style appropriate for the picnic table, poolside, or dessert! One Chesapeake Wine that did earn unanimous approval was the Blue Crab Blanc. The Blue Crab Blanc is a blend of white wine grapes, and the final product is not as sweet as its pinkish siblings. In fact, this off-dry selection would be quite lovely as a partner to light fare such as salads topped with crabmeat.

So what about Paul’s favorites? Surprisingly, the Black Label Syrah finished ahead of the Merlot! Paul was enticed by the leathery/spicy aromas and was then hooked with its dry fruit and peppery flavors. Warren detected more black cherry on the palate, but each palate is different, and no one argued with Paul’s gold star selection.

After our tasting, lunch was calling us from the trunk of the car. Jackie and Bob prepared sandwiches that included chicken salad, cheese and pimento, salad. and ham/cheese. Paul brought along various cheeses and nuts. Now our task was to find the right wine, and we actually selected two wines from our tasting options. One wine, the Rosato di Sangiovese, satisfied the dry wine lovers; the other, the Blue Crab Blush, pleased the sweet wine lovers. (Of course, we did not finish both bottles of wines, and leftovers came home with us!) At a loss for a wine for to serve with baked ham for the holidays? Try either of these wines.

We enjoyed food, wine and conversation amidst fall colors and crisp breezes that made us forget about the global warming autumn that characterized most of October. We all purchased bottles of favorite Ingleside wines and we bid our farewells. For those who plan a trip to the Northern Neck, do stop by Ingleside Vineyards and tell the tasting room staff that Virginia Wine sent you!