Author: Paul

Busy Weekend

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We had a weekend full of wine and friends in the Charlottesville area. On Saturday we visited Pollak Vineyards and King Family Vineyards. In the afternoon we met many other Virginia wine bloggers and others for a very special sparkling tasting hosted at Keswick Vineyards. The attendees were:

Swirl Sip Snark
John Witherspoon, Wine Cellar Wine Shop
John & Jean Haggarty, Haggarty On Wine
Stephen Barnard, Keswick Vineyards
Joel Timmons, Virginia Wine Snob
Richard Leahy, Richard Leahy’s Wine Report
Frank Morgan, Drink What You Like
Rick Collier & Nancy Bauer, Virginia Wine in Your Pocket

On our way home on Sunday we went to Blenheim Vineyards and had a great visit with Kirsty Harmon. We then stopped at Barboursville to check out some new wines. In the days and weeks to come we’ll be posting about all these weekend events. Stay tuned!

Friday Pours

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Our evening sipper was the 2009 Pinot Gris from Pollak Vineyards. On the nose we noted peach. In the mouth we also noted peach but noticed a nice creamy mouth feel. Warren noted some apple as well. We paired this with white cheeses and crackers. It was a perfect sipper before dinner.

For dinner we had the 2008 Viognier from Jefferson Vineyards. On the nose we noted light mineral or stone. In the mouth we found honeysuckle, peach, and white pepper. This one also had a nice creamy mouth feel. We paired this one with grilled chicken a simple white wine sauce and rice. The viognier paired well with our meal.

Piedmont Vineyards

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Recently we stopped at Piedmont Vineyards to visit with our friend and winemaker Gerhard von Finck. We always enjoy catching up with Gerhard and tasting his latest releases. This time he also treated us to some barrel samples!

The current lineup of white wines consist of three different chardonnays. Piedmont is known for chardonnay and this lineup doesn’t disappoint. We started with the 2009 Hunt Country Chardonnay. This one is unoaked and presents a crisp edge with fruit all around. This one received my gold star. Next up was the 2009 Native Yeast Chardonnay. Warren noted this was a complex wine with creamy notes. The final chardonnay is the 2009 Special Reserve Chardonnay. This one was aged nine months on the lees in Hungarian oak. It is a nice round, buttery chard with hints of oak and a long finish. This one received Warren’s gold star.

We started the reds with the 2008 Hunt Country Red. This one is merlot based. We noted ripe, red fruit, with an easy finish. I think this one would go well with pizza. Next up was the 2009 Cabernet Franc. This one is 100% cab franc and spent nine months on oak. We noted a raspberry nose and big, smooth raspberry notes on the tongue. This one became our gold star winner for the reds. Warren and I both enjoyed this one. Next up was the 2006 Merlot. This merlot spent 30 months in oak yet has enough fruit left to sit nicely on the tongue. The last red was the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. We noted some earthy elements, cedar, and nicely integrated tannins.

After our tasting Gerhard took us to the barrel room. We were able to sample a few wines still in barrels. We were able to taste chambourcin that was going through ML (malolactic fermentation) and was quite yeasty. However, you could see the direction it was going. We also tasted a cabernet sauvignon and a merlot. Both of these were really developing well in the barrels. I really enjoyed the merlot and look forward to it being bottled. It’s always fun to see wines in the process and attempt to figure out what they’ll be like when bottled.

Once we finished the sneak peek from the barrels, we selected the 2009 Cabernet Franc to have with lunch. We had a prosciutto and mozzarella roll with crackers for lunch. Gerhard joined us and chatted about wine the whole time. What a great afternoon! Plan a trip to visit Piedmont Vineyards soon and tell Gerhard Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Celebration Wines

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Last night we had some friends over to help celebrate Warren’s birthday. I’m not a cook so Warren created a wonderful meal. Of course we had to serve Virginia wines with the meal.

We began the evening with white cheeses, baked shrimp wontons, and fruit. We paired these items with the 2008 Durant White from Pollak Vineyards. We enjoyed the crisp, fruity, mineral nature of this wine. It went perfectly with our food choices.

Warren then served a garden salad with a lemon vinaigrette. We paired the salad with the 2008 Sarah’s Chapeau from Aspen Dale Winery. This is a blend of vidal blanc and sauvignon blanc. The fruity, off-dry nature of this wine paired well with the salad.

For the main course Warren prepared a hearty beef stew with carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, and fresh thyme. We selected the 2008 Petit Verdot from Pollak Vineyards. We noted blackberry and plum notes and an earthiness. We poured the last two bottles I had on my rack. Unfortunately the Petit Verdot is sold out and I won’t be able to get any more. I’m looking forward to the next vintage!

We finished the evening with a very moist, chocolate birthday cake. I selected the 2009 Nebbiolo Ice Water Bent Barrels from the Cellar Selection from Breaux Vineyards. The delicious sweet strawberry notes complimented the chocolate cake. Everyone mentioned how much they enjoyed this one.

At the end of the evening we all decided that the 2008 Petit Verdot from Pollak Vineyards should get the gold star.

Warren and I continued his birthday celebration today by visiting Gray Ghost VIneyards, one of our favorite wineries. We are very familiar with their wines but always enjoy a tasting. We also enjoy chatting with Al, Cheryl and Amy about all things wine.

After our tasting we enjoyed some lunch nibbles with a bottle of the 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. What a wonderful bottle of wine. We noted dark fruit, tobacco, ash, and a lingering finish. We can always count on a great time at Gray Ghost.

If you visit any of these wineries anytime soon, please tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!