Category Archives: Wines

Two Meals, Two Wines

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As is often the case, Warren and I don’t exactly agree on what’s for dinner. Friday night Warren made crab cakes for himself and tilapia that was breaded and spiced with parmesan cheese for me. I don’t happen to like shell fish so having the tilapia solved that problem. We also had bow tie pasta tossed with parmesan cheese and herbs. But what wines to pair with our meals?

Warren likes big buttery chardonnays but I prefer lighter crispier white wines. He selected the 2009 Reserve Chardonnay from Gray Ghost to accompany his meal. He noted ripe pear, subtle grilled pineapple, and a toasty lingering finish.


I opted for the 2009 Viognier from Rappahannock Cellars. It had crisp tropical notes, honeysuckle, and a delightful fruity ending. Warren picked up some spicy elements.

Both wines complimented both our meals. Of course I’m partial to the crisp whites and voted the 2009 Viognier as the winner. Warren voted for the 2009 Reserve Chardonnay. If you visit Gray Ghost or Rappahannock Cellars anytime soon, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Wine and Landscapes at Delaplane Cellars

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Paul and I have always been impressed with the wines produced by Jim Dolphin at Delaplane Cellars, and since our last visit to the winery, Delaplane Cellars has earned numerous accolades of wine critics. Feature articles in newspapers and magazines added to the demand for wines from the relatively new winery in Virginia. And if the wines were not enough to visit Delaplane Cellars, the incredible mountain views offer further incentive.

Success has been wonderful to Delaplane Cellars; in fact, it has been too good. On this particular visit, most of their wines were sold out! This includes the heralded Honah Lee and Maggie’s Viogniers as well as the acclaimed Syrah. Four wines were available for tasting, and two were from Delaplane Cellars—the full-bodied 2010 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay and the complex red 2009 William’s Gap. To fill in the gaps, two offerings from Vintage Ridge were also available tasting, a 2008 Merlot and a 2009 Cabernet Franc. I favored both Delaplane wine, especially the Chardonnay; Paul enjoyed the Merlot as well as the Chardonnay.

As we tasted, our tasting associates updated us on the upcoming releases. Look forward to red wine releases in late winter, and these will include a Syrah, the blended Cinq, and a Tannat. An off-dry Petit Manseng will also be released at roughly the same time. Viogniers? Bottlings from the Honah Lee and Maggie’s Vineyards should be available in the late spring.

From the tasting bar, the winter landscape beckoned, and we shifted our attention to wine, food and gazing. We opted to enjoy a lunch of soft, creamy white cheese with warm bread and a bottle of the 2010 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay. We appreciated its flavors of apples, pears and honey; its full-bodied mouth feel complemented the creamy texture of the cheese. As we sipped and nibbled, we appreciated the often under-appreciated winter landscape that allowed us to view blue-tinted mountains on a very sunny afternoon.

We will be certain to visit Delaplane Cellars in the spring and summer to sample upcoming releases. In the meantime, enjoy the quiet of wintertime with a trip to Delaplane Cellars. Be sure to mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.

Dinner Wines

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The holidays are finally over and we’re back to a regular posting schedule. We visited some wineries this weekend and will be posting about them soon but until then here’s what we enjoyed Saturday evening for dinner.

We began the evening with the 2009 Annefield White from Annefield Vineyards. We enjoyed this one with cheese and crackers before dinner. We really enjoyed the crisp edge with a slightly sweet hint. We noted kiwi, melon, and tropical flavors. Warren described as a tropical fruit salad. We visited Annefield Vineyards in the summer and left with a case of wine. The 2009 Annefield White garnered two spots in the case box. We’ll need to plan another trip to Annefield to stock up again soon.

For dinner we had oven baked buttermilk chicken with roasted red potatoes and veggies. At first we thought we’d be having another white wine but Warren perused my wine rack and selected the 2008 Malbec from Corcoran Vineyards. This one is light enough to not overpower the chicken but give us a fruit structure strong enough to compliment the chicken. And it did just that. As you may remember, I’m a huge fan of the 2008 reds and this one lived up to that expectation. Lots of fruit characters on the nose and tongue. We noted lavender wood and blackberry on the nose. We picked up dark fruit like raspberries in the mouth. The smooth finish went well with the chicken dish. We will say that its time to enjoy this wine now. I wouldn’t keep it on your rack much longer. And the 2009 Malbec is out there so get some of that and enjoy the 2008 now.

Two more perfect selections for our dinner wines. If you happen upon Annefield Vineyards or Corcoran Vineyards anytime soon, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you! We know we need to visit both soon!

Verticals at Breaux Vineyards

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This past weekend we headed to Breaux Vineyards to pick up my latest Cellar Club selections. While there we decided to do a tasting to see what had been added to the tasting menu. We were treated to a few vertical tastings of new wines and some classics. While we enjoyed all of the Breaux wines, I’ll only inform you of the wines that were included in our vertical tastings.

We began with merlots. Breaux is now tasting the 2005 and the 2006 at the tasting bar. Our favorite tasting associate Silvia, walked us through our tastings. The 2005 Merlot is a wonderful wine. We noted cherry, chocolate, dark fruit, and finish that was smooth. We thought this one could be enjoyed on its own or with food. The 2006 Merlot presented early, herby characteristics with acidic notes. We noted spice, plum, and cherry. We think this one needs another year or two to be a superb wine. We suggest you purchase it now and let it sit on your rack to enjoy in the years to come.

Our second vertical consisted of the cab sauvs from 2005, 2006, and 2008. Warren and I were split on our gold stars for the cab sauvs. I preferred the 2008 with its fresh, fruity, sweet nose with bright berries and light tannins on the tongue. The 2008 was a perfect example of the fruity characteristics I expect from a 2008 red. Warren selected the 2005 for his gold star. He described it as a classic cab sauv. He noted dark cherry, pepper, coffee and chocolate and noted the subtle oak would accompany food rather well. We both thought the 2006 presented a green characteristic (not green pepper though) with wet wood notes. We both think this one will get better with time.

Our final vertical included the 2006 Nebbiolo and the 2008 Barrel Select Nebbiolo. Our gold star went to the 2008 Barrel Select Nebbiolo. We noted a fruity nose with blackberry and dark currants in the mouth. We noted the chewy quality of this wine. The 2006 Nebbiolo presented herb, spice, tobacco, tar, and coffee. This one also had a chewy quality to it.

We really enjoyed our chance to taste so many vintages. We were excited about the Cabernet Sauvignons. So much so we are planning to attend the Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical tasting on January 14th. If you are planning to attend the event, let us know so we can all sit together. And if you visit Breaux Vineyards anytime soon, be sure to tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Virginia Wine For The Holidays

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Yes, it is the holiday season, and readers may have noticed that we have not been on the wines trails. Holiday fun and mayhem have left little time for weekend treks to the wineries; however, rest assured that we have been enjoying Virginia wines whenever possible.

We always enjoy holiday movies at this time of year, and a recent holiday film night featured two favorites, The Bishops Wife and Christmas in Connecticut. What wines to enjoy with these seasonal classics? With a nice chunk of manchego cheese on the chopping block, we poured the 2008 Claret from Linden. It offered notes of dark fruit and dried herbs with similar flavors. Medium bodied, it finished with a splash of vanilla. Easy to drink, it was perfect with the gaminess of the manchego cheese. By the time we sipped through this one, Dudley the Angel turned the sour Agnes Hamilton into an angel herself, and Santa brought Elizabeth Lane a handsome soldier who used the old Magoo to charm the ladies.

Virginia wines are always on the menu when we have friends over for dinner, and this past weekend we poured the 2009 Rose from Linden. (Yes, Linden again, but who can blame us?) Crisp with grapefruit notes and flavors of strawberry and citrus, it proved to be a versatile pour that paired well with a salad of marinated roasted beets, orange slices and chives.

And imagine our pleasant surprise when our friends, Dorothy and Laura, brought us a bottle of wine to enjoy with dinner. Their wine of choice? The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from Barboursville Vineyards. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he regularly delivers Virginia wines to good boys and girls. (Well, good friends sometimes are the Santas, and they have the good taste to give Virginia wines as gifts!)

We hope that readers are enjoying this holiday season, and we know that favorite Virginia wines are being poured. It is not too late to visit these Virginia wineries before Christmas, but time is running out. If you do plan to make a visit, mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.