Month: October 2010

Dinner Wines

/ Paul / 1 Comment

To begin our evening we had the 2009 Blenheim Chardonnay. While dinner was being created we enjoyed this chardonnay with crackers and white cheese. On the nose we noted pear, melon, and citrus. It was very crisp. In the mouth we noted pear, citrus, and a hint of minerality. It complimented our cheese and crackers quite well.

For dinner we had the 2008 Malbec from Corcoran Vineyards. I always enjoy this one. We had it with pasta and red meat sauce. We must say we ran this one through the Soiree to help decant it immediately. On the nose we noted dark cherry, and spice. In the mouth we noted similar jammy characteristics with a spicy edge. It proved to be the perfect pairing with our meal. We understand DrinkWhatULike had the same wine for dinner this evening.

Dinner Party and Virginia Wines

/ Warren / 2 Comments

This past weekend I invited friends over for dinner. On occasions when I am serving several courses, I tend to “cull the herd” on my wine racks, and I like to present wines produced from all over the world. However, since it is Virginia Wine Month I opted to serve only Virginia wines with each of my courses. These are wines that we’ve reviewed as favorites in the past, so I’ll just provide the menu with wine pairings here:

First Course: Appetizers
Soft and hard goat cheeses with baguette slices; grapes and almonds
Wine Pairing: Ingleside Vineyards 2009 Pinot Grigio

Second Course: Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup
Wine Pairing: Gray Ghost Vineyards 2008 Reserve Chardonnay

Third Course: Grilled Louisiana Andouille served over Mixed Greens tossed with Balsamic Vinaigrette and topped with crumbled Feta Cheese
Wine Pairing: Linden Vineyards 2007 Claret

Entree: Garlic and Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin served with Potatoes au Gratin and roasted Green Beans and Carrots
Wine Pairing: King Family Vineyards 2006 Meritage; Chrysalis Vineyards 2006 Special Reserve Red

Dessert: Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Dessert Wine: Gray Ghost Vineyards 2009 Adieu

This was quite a rich, hearty menu! And how did my guests react to Virginia wines? The most priceless reaction came from Don who had only experienced Virginia wines at a festival that he attended two years ago. He did not have a favorable opinion of the festival wines that he sampled and forgot all about Virginia wines ever since. However, Don was blown away by the quality of wines that I poured during the evening, and he has now concluded that Virginia does indeed produce some outstanding wines. This reaction is what we enjoy most about promoting Virginia wines. We see ourselves as educators, and the best lesson plans are those that involve wine drinkers who actually get to taste Virginia wines. Hands-on is the best learning experience! Of course, we then write about it all in our own cyber-textbook.

Planning a dinner party? Consider serving Virginia wines. Visit the wineries mentioned in this post and mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.

Taste Live Event

/ Paul / Leave a comment

Last night we participated in the TasteLive event showcasing wines from the Monticello Wine Trail. There were bloggers and wine writers as well as winery representatives all on the TasteLive system. We tasted the wines and tweeted our thoughts and impressions of the wines. Below you’ll see the wines we tasted and the tweets associated with each wine. Read the tweets from the bottom up since they appear oldest to newest in the timeline.

The 2007 SP Rose from Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard

The 2009 Viognier from Keswick Vineyards

The 2009 Chardonnay Reserve from Jefferson Vineyards

The 2009 Gewurztraminer from Afton Mountain Vineyards

The 2009 Seven Oaks Merlot from Blenheim Vineyards

The 2008 Wooloomooloo from Mountfair Vineyards

Besides a few glitches on the website (losing some of our tweets, having to refresh the browser to have the next hashtag added to our tweets, and the clunky layout) we had a great time and enjoyed all the wines. We really enjoyed sharing our impressions with others from across the country. It was great how so many people were finding the same characteristics in the wines. We hope this experience exposed many people to Virginia wine. It has always been our goal to promote Virginia wine. We would recommend any and all of these wonderful Virginia wines.

A big THANKS to Virginia Wine and Dezel for putting this event together!