Category: Wine Trail

Visiting Cana and Old Farm Winery

/ Paul / 1 Comment

Shortly after the Governor’s Cup winner was announced we headed over to Cana Vineyards and Winery with some friends to taste the winning wine and the current line up of wines.

We decided to start with tasting flights of some of their wines. Jill and I selected the white wine flight which consisted of three of their current whites. We both agreed the 2021 Rhapsody in White was our favorite. We thought it was a perfect white for warm afternoons with light fair. The tropical notes were particularly delightful. I also liked the 2020 Chardonnay. I noted lemon curd, apple notes and a creamy ending. I thought it would pair nicely with some fish dishes or even oysters.

Warren and Michael picked a flight that consisted of one white wine and two reds. They both liked the zesty nature of the 2020 Albariño. Michael really enjoyed the 2019 Petit Verdot. He tends to like bigger reds and noted the cherry and chocolate notes of this one. The tasting room manager, Don treated us to a few more tastes. We tasted the 2021 Rose of Cab Franc. We enjoyed the strawberry notes. We also appreciated the dry, crisp and refreshing nature of this one. Our next taste was the 2019 Melbac. It had a nice dark color, a fresh fruity palate. Don told us it was blended with some petit verdot. Our final taste was the 2019 Le Mariage which was selected for the Governor’s Case and won a gold medal. This one is a Bordeaux blend with cabernet sauvignon making up 43% of the blend. This was the most complex red we had tasted at this point in our tasting. We noted plum, black cherry, a hint of spice and ended with some soft tannins. We saw why it was selected for a gold medal and a member of the Governor’s Case.

After our tasting we decided to splurge and share a bottle of the Governor’s Cup winning 2019 Unité Reserve with our lunch items. The 2019 Unité Reserve is a blend of 65% Petit Verdot, 29% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot. Dark fruit notes were present with vanilla and oak notes and moderate tannins. It paired nicely with our roast beef slices and hard cheeses. Warren thought it would pair nicely with his famous leg of lamb. What a nice bottle of wine! We added this one to our list of wines to bring home.

Since we were in Loudoun County we decided to visit a new winery after our time at Cana. We selected the Old Farm Winery at Hartland.

From their website:

Open since November 6th, 2021, Old Farm Winery at Hartland lies on 35 acres of preserved 18th century farmland and newly-planted vineyards in Aldie, Virginia, with a charming renovated 19th century farmhouse and barn, outdoor bar, and expansive outdoor seating area. We bring an authentic working farm winery experience just one hour away from the hustle and bustle of Washington, DC. Old Farm Winery at Hartland is located in the heart of historic “hunt country” of Loudoun County and is rich with colonial and Loudoun’s famous fox hunting history.

Old Farm Winery is the sister winery to the Winery at Bull Run.

Our tasting associate, Bill Ellis expertly walked us through the six wines on the tasting menu. The 2020 Rosé was our favorite of the whites side of the tasting sheet. We noted lots of berry notes and Warren picked up some mint as well. He also thought it would pair well with lamb chops. Bill also let us taste the 2021 Tally-Ho – a white blend with stone fruit notes, white pepper and ginger.

We then moved on to the reds. The 2020 Meritage is a Bordeaux blend finished in American oak barrels. We noted smoke, red fruit notes, plum, spice and medium tannins. I put a star next to this one. Bill also let us taste the 2018 Meritage – another Bordeaux blend with seed berry notes and bigger tannins. While it was very nice, we did prefer the 2020. We also enjoyed the 2020 Petit Verdot. It’s one of my favorite grapes. We noted some nice fruit up front, tart cherry and savory notes at the end. Warren wrote down sage. Another really nice red.

After our tasting we shared a bottle of the 2020 Meritage with some hard cheeses and crackers. It was nice to get to add another winery to our list of wineries visited. This is number 198. Before leaving we picked up a few bottles of our favorites and thanks Bill for a wonderful tasting experience. If you are looking for a new winery to visit, think about Old Farm Winery at Hartland. Of course plan to visit Cana and pick up a bottle of the Governor’s Cup winner while supplies last. And when you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Virginia Wine Month Weekend

/ Paul / 1 Comment

We are continuing to celebrate Virginia Wine Month! We started our Virginia Wine Month weekend by heading to Glen Manor Vineyards. It had been a year since our last visit so it was time to taste some new wines and find out how things are going at Glen Manor.

Jeff White’s wines are so popular that there weren’t many wines in stock to try. We should have visited sooner. We missed the Sauvignon Blanc, the Rosé and the Cabernet Franc. We were able to enjoy flights of the wines they did have available. We tasted the 2015 and 2016 St. Ruth, the 2014 Hodder Hill, the 2017 Petit Verdot and the 2017 and 2019 Petit Mansengs. All of the wines we sampled were wonderful but the 2014 Hodder Hill stood out as a favorite.

For lunch we enjoyed a bottle of the 2015 St. Ruth with different cheeses, crackers and prosciutto. It paired nicely with our lunch items. After lunch it was off to the Skyline Drive to view the fall colors but not before picking up a case of our favorite wines.

After our drive along the Skyline Drive, we headed to Gray Ghost Vineyards. We needed to pick up a case of Reserve Chardonnay we had on order and taste some new wines. It’s always great to see Amy, Cheryl and Al and catch up. We chatted about all kinds of things while enjoying a tasting of their current line up. Before leaving we enjoyed a glass of the Reserve Chardonnay. It was perfect with the beautiful weather. We also picked up that case of Reserve Chardonnay and then headed to Warrenton.

Once we reached Warrenton, we checked in to our hotel and then went to Claire’s at the Depot for dinner. We love the Claire’s! We both selected beef for dinner and Warren selected the 2016 Hardscrabble Red from Linden Vineyards to enjoy with our meal. The pairing was perfect and so was the meal! We recommend Claire’s if you are looking for a great place to eat in Warrenton.

The next day we headed to Muse Vineyards to meet some friends. It was another gorgeous day so we were able to sit outside on the second floor deck. Our fiends are club members so they made reservations in advance. Muse doesn’t serve flights on Saturdays so the group decided to order a bunch of food items for lunch and a couple different wines to pair with the food items. We selected the 2020 Gamay and the 2019 Urania. Both are reds with the Urania being an Italian blend of Teroldego, Sangiovese, Aglianico and Merlot. We found both wines to be very nice and paired well with our food. We were also quite surprised by the 2020 Gamay. It was bright and fruity and finished smooth. It was also just slightly chilled. It was the favorite among the group. We did not realize the winemaker is Tim Rouse. That explains the amazing wines at Muse.

After an amazing weekend of Virginia wine and fall foliage, it was time to head home. We left Muse with half a case of our favorites and headed home. It was a great Virginia Wine Month weekend! If you haven’t been to these wonderful wineries, we suggest you plan a visit soon! And tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Remembering Summer 2021

/ Warren / 1 Comment

We continued to celebrate reunions and meetings with friends and family throughout the summer of 2021.  As we look forward to the golden leaves of autumn, I thought it would be appropriate to recall our fun times with family and friends during this past summer.  Of course, Virginia wineries were our gathering places!

Paul and I were excited to catch up with our friend Bob who lives on the Northern Neck of Virginia.  Bob introduced us to two new wineries in that area, and we were able to add two new wineries to our growing list of wineries that we visited.  These included Monroe Bay Winery and Backporch Vineyard.  In addition to tastings at those wineries, Paul and I were also able to sneak in a tasting at Ingleside Vineyards and The Hague Winery.

Monroe Bay Winery

Backporch Vineyard

Ingleside Vineyards

The Hague Winery

Williams Gap Vineyard has quickly become a favorite winery of ours, and we scheduled a tasting that introduced our friends Steve and Joe to their well crafted wines.  Bridgette Smith skillfully guided us through our tasting as we nibbled on charcuterie and cheeses.  In turn, Steve and Joe invited us to join them at a tasting of one of their recent favorite wineries, Forever Farm and Vineyard.  This was also a new winery visit for us, and we enjoyed our tasting with live music!

Williams Gap

Forever Farm and Vineyard

My parents were able to escape the chaos of Hurricane Ida after she blew through New Orleans, and a trip to Delaplane Cellars offered the perfect opportunity to view lovely mountain scenery as we tasted some excellent wines.  We also used the occasion to toast their 61st wedding anniversary!  We finished our afternoon of wine tasting with a visit to Barrel Oak where we were treated to a sample of their current lineup of wines and their excellent dessert wine.

Delaplane Cellars

Barrel Oak

Now we look forward to seeing the gold and crimson colors of fall leaves as they decorate the autumn skies.  We know that we will include Virginia wineries in our afternoon excursions to appreciate the gorgeous season.  Please decorate your fall wine collection with visits to the wineries mentioned in this post, after all October is Virginia Wine month! Be sure to mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Media & Industry Experience and the Monticello Trail

/ Warren / 5 Comments

Paul and I were honored to be included in the Media & Industry Experience, an event planned by Frank Morgan and Nancy Bauer, to showcase wines produced in the Monticello area. The event happened to coincide with a vacation that we had already planned to the area, so our next posts will also feature our own winery experiences.

The event opened on August 1 with a lunch prepared by chef Michael Clough of Palladio restaurant located on the Barboursville estate. Attendees were treated to a an exquisite food and wine pairing that included:

Barboursville’s winemaker, Luca Paschina, provided a summary of his history in the Virginia winemaking industry with an emphasis on his own evolution as a winemaker in a state that can challenge even the most skilled winemaker. Readers may know that Paschina is from Italy and began his work with the Zonin family over 30 years ago. For Paschina, his task in the 1990s was to discover through trial and error what grape varieties grew best in Virginia and then how to craft the grapes to present wines that expressed a sense of place. In that time, Paschina has experimented successfully not only with grapes known to show well in Virginia such as Cabernet France but also Italian grapes such as Nebbiolo, Vermentino, Fiano, and Falanghina. One example of success was the 2018 Nascent, a blend of Viognier, Vermentino, and Falanghina that presented a fuller, expressive palate with elements of white flowers, tropical fruit and citrus to pair nicely with the main entree, a grilled tuna served atop panzanella salad.

We were then given a brief but informative vineyard tour after lunch by Luca. It was evident to us that the 2021 growing season has been excellent due to ideal summer weather conditions.

A wine tasting and barbecue dinner was the evening’s event and it was hosted by Afton Mountain Vineyards. How odd that both Paul and Frank Morgan wore the same Hawaiin shirts for the festive occasion. Was this a coincidence? As they marveled at the coordinated fashion statements made by these two, attendees were able to sample wines from:

Afton Mountain Vineyards
Blenheim Vineyards
Flying Fox Vineyard
Hark Vineyards
Jefferson Vineyards
Keswick Vineyards
King Family Vineyards
Michael Shaps Wineworks
Pollak Vineyards
Veritas Vineyards
Wisdom Oak Winery

Craig Hartman of The Barbecue Exchange provided pulled pork and chicken with an array of sauce options.

The Media & Industry Experience concluded on August 2 with a series of seminars on Virginia wines that included Petit Manseng, Cabernet France, and “others”. We were able to attend the session conducted by Frank Morgan that featured Cabernet Franc. Winemakers Kirsty Harmon, Tim Gorman, Luca Paschina, and Stephen Barnard were on hand to educate attendees and to answer their questions. They each also provided pours of their own Cabernet Francs, and these ranged from lighter-style productions more common from the Chinon region of France to fuller-bodied styles. The panel agreed that Cabernet Franc best expressed Virginia as a wine region. All agreed that vineyard management and making critical decisions regarding harvest time were key to making excellent Cabernet Franc. This seminar was followed by a lunch hosted by King Family Vineyards and prepared by chef Laura Fanner.

Nancy Bauer moderated the final seminar of the day and featured second labels and “side hustles” of Virginia winemakers who, in addition to crafting wines for established wineries also produce wines under their own personal labels. These winemakers included Jake Busching (Jake B Wines), Caitlin Horton (Gears & Lace), Matthieu Finot (Domaine Finot), and Tim Rausse (Vino Dal Bosco).

Paul and I learned so much from the Media & Industry Experience, and the key take away was that Virginia continues to evolve as a wine region of note because excellent winemakers understand what it takes to create Virginia wines that express a sense of place. Please visit the wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail, and mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!