On Sunday Warren, his parents (flew in from New Orleans), and I went to Gray Ghost to help harvest the chardonnay grapes. We’ve harvested several years in a row now and always have a good time. I was so distracted by the harvesting that I forgot to take some video of the actual harvesting. However, I did shoot some video of the process after picking the grapes. Here’s a short video of what happens to the grapes after they are harvested.
Month: September 2009
September Tasting Roundup
September Tasting Roundup
Our past posts featured festivals and the wineries that participated. Of course, we had a great time and tasted some nice wines. However, we did get out to other wineries in the course of the month but did not write about them. In this post, I briefly touch upon these wineries, and they include Pearmund Cellars, Hiddencroft Vineyards, and Notaviva Vineyards.
Pearmund Cellars always offers an extensive tasting menu, and this time was no exception. Paul and I split a combination of the classic and reserve tastings. Of the white wines, we both favored the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc with its citrusy characteristics. Paul also fancied the medium-bodied 2007 Lisa’s Merlot. My own favorite was the bolder 2007 Ameritage Reserve with its flavors of dark plums, black cherry, and anise.
We always look forward to an update from Clyde and Terri Housel at Hiddencroft Vineyards. We both favored the 2008 Traminette with its spicy nose and pineapple notes. The 2008 vintage does include a blending of 10% Vidal Blanc. We also concurred with our favorite red wine, the Cabernet Franc Reserve that included tobacco notes along with dark berry fruit flavors.
Notaviva Vineyards continues to expand its offerings, and these include award winning wines produced from grapes grown in their own vineyards. Its selection of wines is called the Music Series with each wine “named after musical terms to represent the emotions they inspire.” Our favorite here was the Vincero Viognier which is done in stainless steel and presents stone fruit and white pepper. Pleasant acidity and a refreshing crispness made for a “passionate” pour. The 2007 Cantabile Cabernet Franc was our favorite red wine. Raspberry and pepper notes with a subtle tobacco presence present a symphonic blend in the mouth!
So as fall makes its arrival, we bring our September tastings to a close. Plan a trip to Pearmund Cellars, Hiddencroft Vineyards, and Notaviva Vineyards, and be sure to mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!
Event
2009 VINTAGE OF NORTH END WINE CLUB TO BE “UNCORKED” AT SURF CLUB OCEAN GRILLE WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
Sample and Enjoy 20 different Wines for Only $10 Per Person
WHAT:
The North End Wine Club at the Surf Club Ocean Grille is resuming. Twenty wines– reds and whites – will be available for sample from Surf Club’s exquisite collection. (Customers have the opportunity to
purchase bottles of wine — with special pricing — to take home for later enjoyment.)
WHEN:
Wednesday, September 23, 2009, begins: 7 PM
COSTS:
$10 per person (plus tax & gratuity)
WHO:
Open to the Public ~ NEWC membership not required
WHERE:
Surf Club Ocean Grille
Adjacent to the Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront
5700 Atlantic Avenue
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
HOW:
Please call 757-425-5699 to R.S.V.P. or for more details.
*The North End Wine Club is limited to 100 people so call today to reserve your spot.
Great Grapes Festival at Reston Town Center
On Sunday Warren and I had the opportunity to attend the Great Grapes Wine, Arts, & Food Festival at Reston Town Center. There were 15 wineries in attendance and many vendors and food booths at the festival. The weather was perfect for the occasion.
General Motors sponsored the event and had several new Buick LaCrosses parked at the event for people to check out and learn about. There were many representatives there offering cool Buick wine bottle stoppers for answering a few questions about the new Buick LaCrosse. Warren and I both answered the questions correctly and walked away with our own wine bottle stopper!
We made our way around the event visiting many of the 15 wineries. Here are some of the wineries we visited and which wines got our gold stars.
Cooper Vineyards-We had the chance to taste Cooper Vineyards wines back in July when they appeared at Hartwood Winery. It was good to see some familiar faces. Our gold stars went to the 2008 Coopertage Blanc and the 2008 Petit Verdot. We walked away with bottles of both of these.
Chateau Morrisette-I once called this winery the Disneyland of Virginia wineries but my opinion has changed somewhat. We have tasted their wines for a long time and this time our gold stars went to the Viognier and the Cabernet Franc.
Fabbioli Cellars-We love all the wines that Doug produces. We always enjoy talking with Doug as well. While we do love all the wines, the gold stars went to the 2008 8 Chains LoCo Vino and the 2008 Cabernet Franc.
Vino Curioso-We have only ever tasted these wines at festivals. We know they are planning to eventually have a tasting room but until then we’ll continue to learn about their wines at festivals. Our gold star here goes to the Yesterday which is a sauvignon Blanc.
Chateau O’Brien-We haven’t visited Howard in a long time so we need to plan a trip there soon. It was nice to see some familiar faces at the booth though. Our gold stars here go to the 2007 Northpoint Rose and the 2008 Virginia Apple Wine.
First Colony-Our gold stars went to the 2008 Viognier and the 2006 Late Harvest. Both very nice wines.
After visiting all the winery booths we got some lunch and then wandered around enjoying all the vendor booths. I had to buy some kettle corn and some peanut brittle. It was really good. We also enjoyed the live music at the event. We even picked up some reusable shopping bags from the Giant booth.
It was great day and the weather was perfect. We enjoyed all the wine, food, and vendors. We even considered getting a Buick LaCrosse at one point! If you happen to visit any of the wineries mentioned please tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!
