Category: Events

Unique Tasting Experience

/ Paul / Leave a comment

Over the weekend, Warren and I had the chance to participate in the first John Marshall Tasting Experience at Oak Hill: unique pairings of extraordinary wines with savory snacks designed to bring out the very best in each wine. Oak Hill Estate is the property that used to belong to Chief Justice John Marshall. John Marshall was born in Fauquier County in 1755 and his parents bought the property and built the house in 1773. Brian and Sharon Roeder (owners of Barrel Oak next door) purchased the property in 2010 with the idea of opening the house to the public for the unique tasting experience.

This weekend the John Marshall Tasting Experience will begin for the public at Oak Hill Estate. Tasters can select one of the five flight options available on the menu. From the Oak Hill Estate website:

“The John Marshall Tasting Experience offers our guests the unique opportunity to try rare wines in a historic country setting. Our wine list not only includes our signature label, Chief Justice Cellars, but a sampling from the best wines that Virginia –and indeed the entire world – has to offer.

Each select wine will be paired with an entirely unique food item designed to bring out the extraordinary impact of each vintage. This curated collection of wines juxtaposes, compares and contrasts New World winemaking styles with those of the Old World.
Your tasting choices will range from $25 to $75 and includes a diverse variety of wines and food pairings. All wines sampled will be available for sale in the John Marshall Tasting Experience shop.

Upon completion of the tasting, participants can continue their experience with a picnic on the grounds on Oak Hill. A selection of gourmet meats, cheeses, and crackers will be available for purchase.

Wines will be paired with fine cheeses, charcuterie and fresh fruits; all locally sourced, when in season. In honor of the Great Chief Justice, our wine tastings are named after components of the American judicial structure.

Circuit: Enjoy the local flavor with off-dry and semi-sweet wines of the Virginia Piedmont.

Superior: Savor the unique terroir of dryer reds and whites from the Virginia Piedmont region.

Appellate: Taste the best of Virginia with the most noteworthy award winners.

Supreme Reds: Virginia’s best red wines compared and contrasted with the best examples of world class wines. Bordeaux and Napa will need a good defense.

Supreme Whites: Virginia’s best white wines take the stand as the star witness against New Zealand, Burgundy and the Rhinelands.

All flights will begin with a refreshing sparkling wine, and close with a sampling of fine Madeira.”

I selected the Superior flight and Warren selected the Appellate flight. The last two flights weren’t available during our visit but will be available when they open to the public this weekend.

The Superior flight included the 2010 Desert Rose Hitch Hollow Chardonnay, the 2008 Naked Mountain Raptor Red, the 2010 Philip Carter Meritage, and the 2010 Rappahannock Cellars Cabernet Franc. The Appellate flight consisted of the 2011 Rappahannock Cellars Viognier, the 2010 Jefferson Vineyards Cabernet Franc, the 2008 White Hall Vineyards Cuvee Des Champs, and the 2009 Barrel Oak Petit Verdot. We have tasted and mentioned many of these wines in the past, so we will won’t be including detailed tasting notes at this time. Our tasting took place in what looked to be one of the parlors in the main house. Tastings were being conducted in almost every room of the original home. Each of our tastings included tasting nibbles paired with each wine. They were delicious and paired nicely with each wine. During our tasting we were able to speak with Brian Roeder about the experience and the history of the property. One of the rooms is set up as a purchasing area. Tasters can purchase the wines they enjoyed during the tasting. In the future, wines will be produced under the Chief Justice Cellars label and be offered as part of the tasting experience.





The John Marshall Tasting Experience is definitely unique. Not only will tasters get to taste several Virginia wines in one place, tasters can also enjoy wines from all over the world along side outstanding Virginia wines. When you add in the historic house and the history of John Marshall, the experience becomes even more special. If you are looking for a tasting experience different from the tasting experience you enjoy at most Virginia wineries, consider checking out the John Marshall Tasting Experience at Oak Hill. We’re sure you’ll find as unique as we did. And tell the Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Summertime Fun at Virginia Wineries

/ Warren / Leave a comment

Summertime presents opportunities for wine lovers to spend vacation time at local wineries. In recent weeks, we’ve taken advantage of free time and longer daylight to do just that!

Chrysalis Vineyards: The VIP pickup party was held this past Saturday evening, and the event showcased new releases: the 2011 Chardonnay and the 2008 Red Reserve. However, club members were also able to enjoy a complete wine tasting of current releases. Pizzeria Moto provided the evening’s food to pair with a favorite Chrysalis wine. (These guys make great pizza!) Our wine partner for the evening was the crisp 2011 Albarino, and it proved to be the perfect match with my pizza topped with pancetta and goat cheese. Fans of Kluge Estate wines will be pleased to know former tasting room manager Tammy Cavanaugh is now tasting room and sales manager at Chrysalis Vineyards. (We had a wonderful time catching up with Tammy!)



Gadino Cellars: We’re big Wolftrap fans and attend many summer concerts there; of course, we sit on the lawn so that we can bring our own picnic foods and wine. Of course, that means stocking up on favorite summer wines from Virginia wineries, and that quest found us at Gadino Cellars. We enjoyed the 2011 Pinot Grigio that is blended with a small amount of Petit Manseng. Pineapple and citrus notes with a refreshing crispness suggest a perfect wine for summer. A sweeter option is the 2010 Sunset, a blend of Traminette and Chardonnay with 3% residual sugar; however, our favorite was the 2011 Moonrise, a blend of Nebbiolo, Cabernet Franc and Petit Manseng. Bright berry flavors and spicy finish make for a versatile wine that would be at ease with a host of picnic foods; a semi-dry finish makes for a refreshing pour on warm evenings. We ended up purchasing each of the above to bring along to our Wolftrap concerts!


Tarara Winery: Tarara Winery continues its summer concert series, and we’ve already attended one show that featured a Journey tribute band. (We were Journey fans in the 1980s.) Before the concert though, we were able to sneak in a tasting thanks to wine educator Kerry Ann. The 2011 white wines were all bright and fruity with an acidity that most 2010 Virginia white wines seemed to lack. Particular favorites were the 2011 Barnyard White, 2011 Petit Manseng (my favorite), and the 2011 Viognier (Paul’s favorite). We were also treated to a sneak sample of the 2011 Rose, a Provence-style rose with strawberry and faint herbal elements. In fact this one ended up being our wine to enjoy at the concert. And what foods partnered with the rose? Pizza from Pizzeria Moto! Did I mention that these guys make great pizza? They will be at many local winery events this year, so it’s worth checking out any event where Pizzeria Moto will be serving the food. Great wine, great pizza, and a trip down memory lane with songs we knew from high school made for a memorable evening.



Be sure your summer plans include visits to Virginia wineries; check out the events to see if you can plan a day of wine, food and music. At the very least, visit the wineries mentioned in this post to stock up on summer wines. Please mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.

Reserve Cabernet Vertical

/ Paul / Leave a comment

On Saturday evening we joined some of our wine friends to attend the Gray Ghost Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical tasting and dinner. After Al, Cheryl, and Amy Kellert spoke, we began the tasting. We tasted vintages from 1993 to 2008. They were all wonderful vintages but a few stood out for us. We really enjoyed 1993, 1998, and 2001. We enjoyed wonderful dishes prepared by Cheryl Kellert with each vintage. Here are some photos from the evening:





Celebrating 250 Years!

/ Warren / Leave a comment

Philip Carter Winery celebrated the 250th anniversary of winemaking in Virginia. A black tie event kicked off the celebration on Friday, May 25 and then continued into Saturday with more casual events that included carriage rides, barbeque, fencing, and live music.

The black tie event featured a “history through tasting” that showcased wines from some of the state’s oldest wineries. These included Barboursville Vineyards, Horton Vineyards, Jefferon Vineyards, Philip Carter Winery, and Williamsburg Winery. However, we attended the Saturday event, and while Paul was anxious to wear his period clothing (powdered wig included), we enjoyed a very warm afternoon in our summer attire. In addition to celebrating an important milestone, we also took advantage of an opportunity to sample the latest releases from Philip Carter Winery.

I’ll get into the wines first. I’ve always been a fan of Philip Carter’s Chardonnay, and I really enjoyed the 2011 Chardonnay that was released on the anniversary weekend. Like its 2010 sibling, the 2011 vintage exhibited a creamy texture on the mid-palate due to malo-lactic fermentation; however, a partial blending with Chardonnay from stainless steel tanks also provided a degree of crispness. It presented ripe pear and citrus characteristics with a nice acidity that we increasingly associate with the more positive elements of the 2011 vintage. Just in time for summer, the 2011 Governor Fauquier is a blend of Vidal Blanc and Chardonnay; done in stainless steel, it is full of bright apple flavors.

Of the red wines, I enjoyed the 2011 Cabernet Franc. This is the first bottled red wine that I’ve experienced, and it met my expectations for the 2011 reds. Fruity and lighter bodied, this Cabernet Franc is blended with Petit Verdot (10%) and Tannat (9%) and then aged for nine months in both French and American oak barrels. I noted lots of cherry aromas and flavors with a peppery finish. The smoky 2010 Meritage, though, presented a more complex pour. This blend of Cabernet Franc (42%), Petit Verdot (32%), Cabernet Sauvignon (21%) and Merlot (5%) exhibited elements of dark fruit, sweet tobacco, and black pepper with a notable tannic presence to suggest that an age-worthy wine. Serve now but decant; better yet, buy now and wait to enjoy at its peak.

Other new releases included the full-bodied 2011 Sabine Viognier, a first-ever release of a Viognier from Philip Carter Winery and the fruity 2011 Late Harvest made from Vidal Blanc. The 2011 Rose was also poured, and we’ve written about it in an earlier post; I do think it is a very good Rose and made sure to purchase a bottle for the summer.

In the midst of our tasting, we met up with Philip Carter Strother, owner of the winery. It was certainly a proud day for Philip Strother, whose ancestor, Philip Carter, acquired the original deed to the property on which the first vineyards in Virginia were planted. In fact, Strother can now exhibit both the originial charter and a recent legislative proclamation that recognizes the Carter wine legacy. Strother also shared with us the bottle for the soon to be released port called 1762. Wine expert Richard Leahy was also on hand to help with the celebration, and Richard was available to chat about Virginia wine and to sign copies of his newly released book, Beyond Jefferson’s Vines.

We completed the anniversary celebration with a glass of the 2011 Chardonnay, and an outdoor seat beneath a shady umbrella allowed us to watch antique-style carriages drawn by horses and ponies taxi riders about the vineyards. Fencers in full attire made lunges toward each other, and Paul bemoaned a missed opportunity to wear his velvet knee-britches, buckled shoes, and powdered wig. I assured him that there is always Halloween! We made certain to purchase our favorite Philip Carter wines. Be certain to celebrate the 250th anniversary of wine making in Virginia with a visit to Philip Carter Winery, but be sure to mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.