The last time we visited Stephen and Shannon Mackey of Notaviva Vineyards was March 2006. At that time they were concentrating on the vineyards. They had viognier and cabernet franc planted with plans to expand in the future. The plans for the tasting room were set and things were in motion to begin the construction. Since that time the tasting room has been built; in fact, they have bottled their first vintage of viognier! They have also planted an eighth of an acre of petit verdot. The 2007 Vivace Viognier will be available for purchase later this spring. Plan to purchase this one upon release, because it's very good!


After chatting with Stephen about all the hard work they've been through over the last few years, we got down to tasting some wine. (Even though it was a rainy, chilly Sunday, it was warm and cozy inside the new tasting room.) We tasted the 2007 Vivace Viognier. Notable descriptors like crisp, grapefruit, and honeysuckle came to our minds, and it was a lovely first effort from a promising winery.

Notaviva is currently selling red wines from Fabbioli Cellars until they are able to produce their own reds. Their own 2007 Cantabile Cabernet Franc will be coming out late this fall. We anticipate this release. While we weren't able to taste the 2007 Cantabile Cabernet Franc, we were able to taste the Fabbioli wines. These included Fabbioli's Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Tre Sorelle, and his Raspberry Merlot. Doug's reputation as a skilled winemaker is well known, and his wines that we sampled at Notaviva are top quality!


After our tasting we selected a bottle of the Cabernet Franc for lunch. We enjoyed the wine and our food while enjoying the views from the beautiful tasting room. Below you can see a video of tasting room. We think you'll agree it's beautiful. In the video you'll see the three levels of space. The very top level will be a performance area for music. The tasting room is nicely equipped with the latest in technology. There are HD TV's, a large HD rear projection screen, wireless internet and more speakers than we could count. The sound in the tasting room is amazing. Before leaving Notaviva, we purchased a few bottles of wine and were able to chat with Shannon and Stephen a bit more. They informed us that HGTV will be airing the series, Dream House, about the building of the tasting room at Notaviva. The series begins on July 5th at 7:00 AM. Be sure to check out the show and see what went in to creating this beautiful space. Notaviva is just one of several new wineries opening in Virginia. Plan a visit to Notaviva soon and mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Click on the picture below to see a short video.
Please give the video time to load.

Last weekend it was time to harvest the vidal blanc grapes at Gray Ghost Winery. Here's a short video of our harvesting experience.

Click on the picture below to see a short video.
Please give the video time to load.

Last week we went to visit Warren's family in New Orleans, Louisiana. Besides all the damage we saw from hurricane Katrina, we made time to visit Pontchartrain Vineyards. There are very few wineries in Louisiana and Pontchartrain Vineyards is the only one right now with a tasting room. Our goal was to try their Cynthiana Norton and see how it compares with the Norton from Chrysalis. We will be writing more about this comparison in an article for the Daily News Record.

Until then, enjoy this short video from our visit to Pontchartrain Vineyards. Click on the image to see the video. You will need QuickTime 7 to view the video.

On Saturday we were in Charlottesville visiting wineries and one on our list was Oakencroft Winery. We visited Oakencroft in August 2005 and really enjoyed our visit. We decided on this trip to Charlottesville we must stop at Oakencroft to see what new wines have been released.

Oakencroft produces wonderful wines. We did a tasting and chatting with our tastress about the current offerings and those to come in the future. After our tasting, we decided to enjoy a bottle of their 2003 Merlot. Even though 2003 wasn't the best year for grapes, their 2003 Merlot was quite good. Unfortunately the 2003 is no longer available. While we were there they sold their last bottle. They are now offering the 2004 Merlot. We sat out on their patio and enjoyed the Merlot with some sandwiches and chocolate. Before leaving, we purchased the 2004 Merlot as well as the 2002 Merlot Reserve. Thanks to Lorraine, the manager of the tasting room, and our tastress for providing a superb experience.

Here is a video from our visit to Oakencroft Winery. Click on the image to see the video. You will need QuickTime 7 to view the video.

Today we went to Linden Vineyards to enjoy their cellar tasting. During the special cellar tasting you get to compare wines from different vintages. We began with the 1999 Hardscrabble Chardonnay (one of our favorites) and got to compare it with the 2001 Hardscrabble Chardonnay. We then moved on to the 2000 Glen Manor Red and were able to compare to the 2001 Glen Manor Red. And finally we tasted the 2003 Late Harvest and compared it with the 2000 Late Harvest. All the wines were exceptional and Margaret, our tasting specialist, was very knowledgable. We then enjoyed a bottle of their Claret with sausage and cheese on their enclosed deck. The scenery at Linden is breathtaking and shouldn't be missed. If you have considered a visit to Linden, we highly suggest you plan that trip.

Here is a video from our visit to Linden Vineyards. Click on the image to see the video. You will need QuickTime 7 to view the video.

Hillsborough Vineyards is one of our favorites. A relatively new winery on the Virginia wine scene. Their wines are well-crafted. Today we tasted all of their wines, and these include Opal (Chardonnay and Viognier blend), Garnet (Bourdeaux style Red), and Ruby(Tannat and Touriga blend). We had the 2004 Garnet for lunch, and it was a very good pour. Cabernet Sauvignon prevails here, and black cherry/oak/pepper flavors dominate; however, Merlot rounds out this wine. It can be sipped but should be enjoyed with food. I would have this with anything that "moos". The Garnet will be best appreciated if laid down for a few months, but it's yummy now, too!

Here is a video from our visit to Hillsborough Vineyards. Click on the image to see the video. You will need QuickTime 7 to view the video.