Wine News

Tuesday, March 9, 2021 / Paul / Leave a comment

The big announcement comes today! This evening at 7:00 PM Eastern time on the Virginia Wine Facebook page the winner of the 2021 Virginia Governor’s Cup will be announced!

Because of COVID this will not be a live in person event. It will be announced on video. Be sure to log on to the Virginia Wine Facebook page at 7:00 PM Eastern to hear the announcement!

In a bit of sad news, it was announced this morning that Steven Spurrier passed away. A giant in the wine industry will be missed. You can read about it here.

Governor’s Cup Gold Medal Winners!

Tuesday, March 2, 2021 / Paul / Leave a comment

Virginia Wineries Association Announces 2021 Governor’s Cup® Gold Medalists
Nearly 100 Wines Awarded Gold Medal Distinction, New Cider Category Introduced in Acclaimed Wine Competition

Richmond, Va. (March 2, 2021) – The Virginia Wineries Association is honored to announce that 96 Virginia wines from 47 different wineries have been awarded gold medals in the 2021 Governor’s Cup® Wine Competition. Originating in 1982, the Virginia Governor’s Cup® is one of the most stringent wine competitions in the U.S.

Over the past four weeks, a panel of world-class judges have blind sampled and scored a record 544 wines that were submitted in this year’s competition. Wines awarded gold medals received a score of 90 or higher on a 100-point score range and are deemed “Outstanding” by the judges.

A testament to Virginia’s diverse terroirs and grape varieties grown in the Commonwealth, the gold medal winners include wines made from over 20 varietals produced across Virginia’s distinct winegrowing regions. With an increase in gold medal winners from last year’s competition, statistics from the 2021 Governor’s Cup® gold medal winners include:

59 Golds – Central VA
2 Golds – Chesapeake Bay
9 Golds – Hampton Roads
17 Golds – Northern VA
9 Golds – Shenandoah Valley

In recent years, Virginia wineries have cultivated more unexpected varietals in the region, such as Tannat and Petit Verdot. These grapes are well-represented among gold medal winners, indicating that experimentation in Virginia’s vineyards has proven fruitful. Bordeaux-style blends and hearty reds are stalwarts in the Virginia wine landscape and received the most gold medals in this year’s competition. A number of white wine varieties such as Chardonnay, Petit Manseng and Sauvignon Blanc rounded out the gold medal winners, for a diverse list taking center stage in Virginia’s booming wine industry.

Of the gold medal winning wines, the 12 wines that receive the highest scores will comprise the Governor’s Cup Case®, showcasing the best wines in the Commonwealth. The wine scored highest will be awarded the grand prize of the Governor’s Cup, which will be announced in a virtual celebration on March 9, 2021.

Virginia cider, a fast-growing segment of the Virginia agricultural industry, now has its own category in the Governor’s Cup Competition. Judges for the new “Best in Show Cider” award were selected based on their passion, experience and understanding of the category, and will award their favorite of 27 ciders that were entered.

The esteemed panel of judges was directed by Jay Youmans – one of only 53 Masters of Wine (MW) in the U.S. – who has overseen the competition for ten years. “The decade I’ve spent working with the Governor’s Cup Competition is evidence of the great evolution we’ve seen in Virginia’s wine industry – this year’s gold medal winners are nothing short of impressive. Awarding such a diverse range of wines and introducing a cider category showcases the transformation of the industry, and I’m proud to see the hard work of these winemakers pay off,” said Youmans.

Virginia’s vibrant wine industry – a 400-year-old “experiment” – has made it a significant agricultural sector in the state. Today, over 300 wineries in Virginia cultivate over 4,200 acres of grapes, making it the sixth-largest wine region in the U.S. The Virginia Wineries Association’s Governor’s Cup® Competition is done in partnership with the Virginia Wine Board and the Virginia Vineyards Association. Both the Governor’s Cup Competition and the resulting Governor’s Cup Case boost the visibility of the Virginia wine region through various marketing programs and exposure to top wine critics and tastemakers.

About the Governor’s Cup Competition
The judging panel ranks each wine based on a unified scoring system. Any wine made from 100% Virginia fruit is eligible for the Governor’s Cup® Competition (ciders, fruit wines and meads have their own categories). Entries must include an affidavit with a certification of 100% Virginia fruit and vineyard particulars, including grower names and location, as well as information on alcohol, acidity or basicity (pH) and residual sugar. The Governor’s Cup competition is a partnership among the gubernatorial-appointed Virginia Wine Board (VWB), the Virginia Vineyards Association (VVA), and the Virginia Wineries Association (VWA), which owns and manages the competition.

The Virginia Governor’s Cup® award winners will be announced during a live premiere on Virginia Wine’s Facebook on March 9 at 7 p.m.

For interviews and photo requests, please contact Annette Boyd at 804.402.1896 or Annette.Boyd@Virginiawine.org.

For more information about the Governor’s Cup or events, tours and tastings, please visit the Virginia Wine Marketing Office’s website at http://www.virginiawine.org/ or email information@virginiawine.org.

2021 Governor’s Cup® Gold Medalists
Winery Wine Vintage
Afton Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2017
Albemarle CiderWorks Harrison 2018
Albemarle CiderWorks Pomme Mary 2019
Barboursville Vineyards Octagon 2017
Barboursville Vineyards Octagon 2016
Barboursville Vineyards Paxxito 2017
Barboursville Vineyards Paxxito 2015
Barboursville Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2019
Barboursville Vineyards Vermentino Reserve 2019
Barren Ridge Vineyards Meritage 2015
Blue Bee Cider Firecracker 2019
Bluestone Vineyard Chardonnay 2017
Bluestone Vineyard Merlot 2014
Bluestone Vineyard Petit Manseng 2019
Breaux Vineyards Meritage 2016
Breaux Vineyards Nebbiolo 2016
Breaux Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2019
Carriage House Wineworks Petit Verdot 2019
Cave Ridge Vineyard Red Silk Barrel Select Cabernet Franc 2017
Chestnut Oak Vineyard Petit Manseng 2017
Chisholm Vineyards Chambourcin 2019
CrossKeys Vineyards Petit Verdot 2017
Cunningham Creek Winery Estate Petit Verdot 2017
Cunningham Creek Winery Meritage 2017
Delaplane Cellars Tannat 2017
Delfosse Vineyards and Winery Petit Verdot Reserve 2017
Delfosse Vineyards and Winery Screaming Hawk Meritage 2017
DuCard Vineyards Triskele 2017
Early Mountain Cabernet Franc 2019
Early Mountain Capstone Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2019
Early Mountain Eluvium 2017
Early Mountain Five Forks 2019
Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyard Vidal Blanc 2019
Gadino Cellars Petit Verdot 2017
Greenhill Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve 2019
Honah Lee Vineyard Petit Verdot 2017
Horton Vineyards Petit Verdot Private Reserve 2016
Horton Vineyards Tannat 2015
Ingleside Vineyards Albariño 2019
Ingleside Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve 2018
Jefferson Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2019
Jefferson Vineyards Jefferson’s Own Estate Reserve 2016
Jefferson Vineyards Viognier 2019
Keswick Vineyards Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc 2019
Keswick Vineyards Heritage Estate Reserve 2017
King Family Vineyards Loreley 2017
King Family Vineyards Mountain Plains 2017
Lake Anna Winery Petit Verdot 2017
Lost Boy Cider Comeback Kid 2020
Michael Shaps Cabernet Franc 2017
Michael Shaps Chardonnay 2018
Michael Shaps Chardonnay 2017
Michael Shaps Chardonnay 2016
Michael Shaps Meritage 2017
Michael Shaps Meritage 2015
Michael Shaps Petit Manseng 2019
Michael Shaps Raisin d’Etre White 2015
Michael Shaps Roussanne 2019
Michael Shaps Tannat 2016
Muse Vineyards Clio 2017
Narmada Winery Melange 2017
Narmada Winery Yash-Vir 2016
October One Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2019
Paradise Springs Winery Apres Rosé 2018
Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards Easton Blue 2017
Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards Easton Blue 2015
Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards Zero White 2019
Pollak Vineyards Meritage 2015
Pollak Vineyards Meritage 2017
Pollak Vineyards Mille Fleurs 2017
R.A.H Wine Co. Series 1 2017
Rockbridge Vineyard DeChiel Chardonnay 2018
Shenandoah Vineyards Reserve Red 2017
Silver Hand Meadery All Blues 2020
Silver Hand Meadery Black Velvet 2020
Silver Hand Meadery Dream By The Fire 2020
Silver Hand Meadery Raspberry Passion 2020
Silver Hand Meadery Soak up the Sun 2020
Silver Hand Meadery Strawberry Swing 2020
Stinson Vineyards Tannat 2017
Thatch Winery Block 8 Tannat 2017
Thatch Winery Merlot – Mount Juliet Farm Vineyard 2019
The Williamsburg Winery Petit Verdot Reserve 2017
The Winery at Bull Run Barrel Select Viognier 2019
The Winery at Bull Run Cabernet Franc Reserve 2019
The Winery at Bull Run Petit Manseng 2019
The Winery at Bull Run Reconciliation 2019
Trump Winery Brut Reserve 2014
Upper Shirley Vineyards Tannat 2016
Upper Shirley Vineyards Zachariah 2016
Veritas Winery Cabernet Franc Reserve 2017
Veritas Winery Petit Verdot 2017
Veritas Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2019
Veritas Winery Scintilla 2015
Veritas Winery The Momentarius Collection Monticello White Blend 2019
Walsh Family Wine Dutchman’s Creek Cabernet Franc 2019

About Virginia Wine
You can learn a lot about our wine just by looking at a map: Virginia sits halfway between Europe and California and our wines embody this unique position in the world. They are lush but structured; aromatic, expressive and beautifully balanced – blending the subtlety of the Old World with the boldness of the new. Like perfect French spoken with a slight southern drawl. Home to 312 wineries across ten wine regions and seven American Viticultural areas (AVAs), most Virginia wineries are family owned; the average size of a winery is 12.8 acres. This means Virginia wines aren’t massproduced – they are local, artisanal and tell a story shaped by Virginia’s diverse landscape and unpredictable conditions.

All the information in this post was provided by the Virginia Wine Board.

Virginia Wine Time Begins Its Phase 2

Friday, August 28, 2020 / Warren / Leave a comment

We continue to be a couple of weeks behind the rest of the local area in regard to venturing out; however, we are indeed getting back however slowly on the wine trails. Paul and I took a short vacation to the Charlottesville area recently, and we made full use of our time to visit several of the wineries there. We will capture our experiences in the next couple of posts.

*Disclaimer: This trip was taken almost three weeks ago; needless to say, we are behind in posting. Therefore, we avoided associated specific wineries with the practices described below since these protocols may have changed since then. The key words will always be “plan ahead.”

Our wine ventures to the Monticello AVA were scheduled for weekday visits to the wineries, and we do this to avoid crowds—-we like to maximize the distancing potential! The focus of this post will be a summary of how wineries in the area honored Phase 2 guidelines while offering optimal service to customers. Future posts will be more specific about wineries, wines, and our favorite pours.

We can report that wineries are indeed complying with state guidelines in regard to Phase 2 of reopening, and we know that these are relieved to be able to open the doors (and pours) once again. However, keeping winery staff and customers safe has added new layers to business practices; in particular, the tasting experience has had to be amended so that customers can taste wines before purchase and/or remain for an extended period of time beyond a tasting. Here is what we encountered:

Reservations: Some wineries required reservations but others did not. Plan ahead to avoid disappointment. Know which wineries you would like to visit and then either visit the websites or call to be certain in order to avoid disappointment. Also be aware that some wineries may be setting time limits on customers in order to accommodate a thorough cleaning of tables and other contact points prior to the arrival of the next guests. Time limits also allows the winery to accommodate a maximum number to guests; remember, wineries do need to distance consumers thus minimizing potential business if the winery is crunched for space. Do know that tastings will likely occur outdoors; however, most wineries offered seating arrangements beneath tents, umbrellas, or a canopy of trees. This offers a perfect opportunity to enjoy the lovely Shenandoah landscape!

Flights and Self Guided Tastings: Be prepared for alternatives to traditional tasting experiences at the wineries. Most wineries that we visited offered a flight of self-guided tastings. Some wineries offered a set flight of wines to taste while others presented a number of flights from which to choose. In the latter circumstance, Paul and I each selected a different flight which then offered an opportunity to sample a maximum number of wines. Flights were usually served in plastic cups on a tray which was labeled with the wines offered in the flight. However, some of the wineries did serve flights in glasses that were arranged either on a paddle or came to the table via a specialized hook to accommodate wine glasses. The library tasting at Barboursville, for example, offered this sort of service. At least two of the wineries served flights by presenting them in small bottles that the consumer could then pour into a cup or glass. Some tasters may balk at plastic cups; however, keep in mind that this minimizes contact between staff and potentially contaminated surfaces—-cups can be tossed into the trash by the customer after use. So if sipping wine out of a plastic cup is a bridge too far then either bring your own wine glass from home or request/purchase a logo glass from the winery. Pour from the plastic into the glass, and you’re ready to enjoy!

Glass/Bottle Purchases Only: A few wineries on our trip did not offer flights but did offer purchases that could be enjoyed on the property. Again, plan ahead to avoid disappointment if you were expecting something else. Tasting associates can direct you to a particular wine that may suit your palate. Sip on a glass of your favorite wine while appreciating spectacular mountain views, fluttering butterflies, or summer blooms. Bought a bottle? Remember that a bottle purchase can always be re-corked and brought home. And yes, you may be offered a plastic cup. See above—-bring a glass from home or purchase a logo glass from the winery and bring home a souvenir of your visit.

Masks: Yes—-wear them. Wear a face covering to converse with a tasting associate, to enter the building to use the restroom, or when you are not otherwise sipping wine. Masks may be removed when drinking or eating. Also, respect distanced seating arrangements and avoid moving furniture.

Future posts will provide a general review of wineries that we visited along with the wines that we enjoyed. I will admit to not keeping detailed tasting notes—-our aim was to enjoy our time away from seclusion of home. However, I will close with a teaser of one wine that we enjoyed with dinner recently, and that was the Michael Shaps Petit Manseng blended with a bit of Rousanne. Dinner included a plate of seared scallops topped with white wine sauce and capers then served beside mango relish and jasmine rice sprinkled with cilantro parsley.

Make plans to visit your favorite Virginia wineries and be sure to include one that you have not tried before. I emphasize the word plan—-planning avoids disappointments. Of course, be respectful of tasting associates and other wine tasters and follow safety protocols. Wherever you decide to go, please mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Romantic Rosé

Tuesday, August 4, 2020 / Paul / Leave a comment

On a recent Saturday we met some friends at Gray Ghost Vineyards to catch up, do a tasting and enjoy some lunch.

Marketing director Amy Payette conducted our tasting. We worked through all the whites and reds but were most interested in tasting the new Romantic Rosé. This is the first time winemaker Al Kellert has produced a rosé for Gray Ghost. We learned the rosé is made from three different red grapes. It’s a secret which red grapes make up the blend though. We tasted the rosé and were instantly excited to see it is a dry rosé. We love dry rosés. We noted strawberry and raspberry notes with an overall fruity palate. We know this will pair nicely with cheeses, light fair or sandwiches for lunch.

After our tasting we decided to enjoy some rosé with our lunch items. We were socially distancing from other guests at Gray Ghost while we enjoyed our lunch. It was a warm afternoon but the rosé made it cooler. Before leaving we secured a few bottles of the rosé plus some other favorites. Plan a trip to Gray Ghost Vineyards soon to get your own bottle of the new Romantic Rosé. You’ll be glad you did. When you do visit, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Oh, check out the video that Gray Ghost posted about the new Romantic Rosé and an update on the vineyards.