Taste Live

As part of Virginia Wine Month and with the support of The Virginia Wine Board, we’ll be participating in the TasteLive event focused on Virginia Wines on Monday, October 25th. Wine writers and bloggers from across the country will be participating in this tasting. We’ll be tasting wines and tweeting our impressions on the TasteLive website. Our tweets will also show up on our Twitter feed. We will be tasting six wines from wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail in the Charlottesville area. The wines we’ll be tasting are:

The 2007 SP Rose from Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard
The 2009 Gewurztraminer from Afton Mountain Vineyards
The 2009 Chardonnay Reserve from Jefferson Vineyards
The 2009 Viognier from Keswick Vineyards
The 2009 Seven Oaks Merlot from Blenheim Vineyards
The 2008 Wooloomooloo from Mountfair Vineyards

We are excited to participate in this unique tasting experience. We haven’t been part of the TasteLive website before so we are curious to see how the whole thing works and how it will be received. Be following our Twitter feed on Monday evening between 8:00 and 9:30 Eastern time.

P. S. Have you seen the article this week in the Washington Post about Virginia Wine? Check it out!

Wine and Dine at Potomac Point Winery

To celebrate the arrival of fall, we donned our favorite sweaters and took an afternoon drive to Potomac Point Winery. It was a gray day for sure, but the temperatures were cool and the breeze was crisp. As we made our approach to the winery, we were certain that we would enjoy a lunch ordered from the winery’s care with whatever wine we favored at the tasting bar. Of course, that required tasting wines first—oh well!

Tasting fees are paid up front, and tasters can choose from options that include a basic tasting or a premium tasting that includes all white wines, red wines and dessert wines. We opted for the premium tasting. Of the white wines, I favored the gold-medal winning 2008 Chardonnay Reserve that was fermented in French oak barrels. Pear and melon characteristics prevailed with subtle almond flavors at the end; it gave a buttery mouth feel, too. A classic! Paul preferred the crisp 2009 Chardonnay that was aged in stainless steel yet possessed the mouth feel of an oak-aged Chardonnay. An interesting dessert wine was created with the Petit Manseng varietal. The 2007 Vin de Paille was produced from Petit Manseng grapes that were wind dried for 45 days, and the result was an amber colored, sweet wine that presented aromas and flavors of honey, dried apricots, and almonds.

On to the red wines, and we reached a unanimous decision. Our gold-star winner was the smoky 2008 Petit Verdot. Tobacco on the nose with fruit characters of dark plums, and black cherries were noted with a splash of anise to boot. Buy now but serve later—it’s certainly age worthy. Norton lovers might prefer the jammier 2009 Norton with its violet nose and spicy edge. However, red wines need not be bold and complex; they can be lighter and more forward with the intent to enjoy now. That was the case with the 2009 Abbinato which was a blend of Sangiovese and Touriga Nacional. It too presented a smoky nose with cherry and herbal notes to suggest a bistro-style wine to be served with pizza, burgers, picnic fare, or a variety of cheeses.

With our tasting done, we were ready for lunch. The winery features an on-site restaurant that serves cheese plates, tapas, or fuller entrees. Seating arrangements include an indoor setting complete leather sofas, patio seating, and a second-floor veranda. We were determined to enjoy the cool yet refreshing autumn breezes while out on the patio, and we ordered a deli platter that included spicy pepperoni, baguette, and an assortment of cheeses. Our wine of choice? Any of the reds would have paired quite well, but we deemed the 2009 Abbinato to be the most versatile with our plates and palates. An easy sipper, it complimented the variety of flavors and food textures on our plates.

So fall is in the air, and it’s also Virginia Wine Month. Celebrate with fall colors and Virginia wine with a trip to Potomac Point Winery. Mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Afternoon Sipper

Our late afternoon sipper today was the 2009 Vidal Blanc from Hume Vineyards. We had it with Cowgirl Creamery Buckaroo cheese with Gallettine Tuscan Crackers from Whole Foods. This vidal blanc is slightly off dry (1% RS). We noted a nice floral nose with peach and melon as well. On the palate we noted melon, apricot, a hint of lime and a touch of sweetness. It went very well with the cheese and crackers. Nice job Hume! We need to return to Hume Vineyards soon to see what’s new.

The Wine Festival at The Plains

On Saturday we went to the Wine Festival at The Plains. Great Meadow is a beautiful location for a wine festival and the weather made it even more perfect. The event is always held under huge tents so even if there was a threat of rain, it wouldn’t stop anyone from tasting some wonderful Virginia wines. Besides all the Virginia wineries that attended the event, there were several food venders as well as booths full of items for shopping. And you can’t forget the Polo!

Of course we attended the festival for the wine. We stopped at many of the winery booths and tasted lots of Virginia wine. Here are some wines we made note of from the festival:

Cooper Vineyards-Chardonnay and the Petit Verdot

Loudoun Valley Vineyards-Pinot Grigio and the Vinifera Red

White Fences-Meteor Glow and the Meteor Bright Red

Bright Meadows-Rebellion Red

Fabbioli Cellars-Tre Sorelle, Rosa Luna, and the Cab Franc

Gadino Cellars-Barrel Select Chardonnay (NICE!), the Cab Franc and an extra star for the Dolce Sofia

Delaplane Cellars-Emerald Lake Viognier

Miracle Valley-Chardonnay and the Cab Franc

Aspen Dale-Mary-Madeleine’s Rose and the Rockawalkin’ Cabernet Sauvignon

Kluge Estate-the Viognier and the Blanc de Blanc sparkling

delFosse-Rose, Merlot, and the Cuvee Laurant

We always have a fun time at the festival and enjoy catching up with many of our wine friends. We encourage our readers to check out all these wines. And we hope you’ll plan to attend the next Wine Festival at The Plains. Here are a few photos from the day.