October Is Virginia Wine Month!

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As summer finally transitions to fall and harvests begin in earnest in the area, it’s time to celebrate Virginia Wine Month! In fact, this year is the 20th anniversary of Virginia Wine Month, and there is much to celebrate. Twenty years ago, it might have been almost impossible to imagine that over 130 wineries would one day call Virginia home. Virginia is now one of the top wine-producing regions in the country, and winemakers from such renowned areas as California and France have come to Virginia to contribute to this ongoing success story. It’s no wonder that Virginia wines continue to place well in national and international competitions.

Looking for ways to celebrate Virginia Wine Month? Consider visiting Virginia wineries this month. Find out if local wine shops are tasting Virginia wineries. Ask your favorite restaurants if they pour Virginia wines, and order them if they do. The Virginia Tourism Corporation can offer many other ideas—just click the links below:

Click here to learn more about state-wide festivals and events.

Click here to see a video about Luca Paschina, the general manager and winemaker of Barboursville Vineyards.

Click here to see 20 getaway ideas in celebration of Virginia Wine Month.

Make a point to celebrate Virginia Wine Month in October. And whether you’re tasting Virginia wines at a winery, wine shop, or restaurant mention that Virginia Wine Time suggested that you try Virginia wines!

Viognier Shines at Pearmund Cellars

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My Mom and Dad were in town this past weekend, and we took them to Pearmund Cellars for a wine tasting. My Dad likes wine and always looks forward to sampling Virginia vintages. His favorite at Pearmund Cellars was the 2007 Viognier, and we both agreed with his selection.

We arrived at Pearmund Cellars on a very busy day, but we were promptly greeted by the tasting staff. We opted for the Reserve tasting which includes the classic tasting as well. Now this was a loaded tasting with over ten wines to taste, but we were not afraid to dump or decline along the way. However, we did compare notes and awarded gold stars accordingly. We all enjoyed the 2007 Riesling with its floral nose and peach flavors. I noted some subtle lime too. We also got to sample the recently released 2006 Lisa’s Merlot. I enjoyed this one but noted that it was a bit tight. Some earthy aromas were evident but dark cherry/berry flavors opened up with some aggressive swirling. Buy now but store for later—you won’t be disappointed.


Now onto the Reserve wines and our unanimous favorite—the 2007 Viongier. My Dad likes fuller-bodied white wines, and this quickly earned his gold-star award. We both concurred with this choice. This Viongier is done in the Condrieu style which means it is given some oak treatment as evidenced by its vanilla finish. Tropical aromas and flavors abounded with a full mouth feel. A classic! We opted to treat Dad (and ourselves) to a bottle of this one to enjoy at the winery while enjoying a late summer afternoon. Mom preferred the 2008 vintage Diet Coke, but she did sneak a few sips of our stellar Viognier.

Dad also liked the 2005 Ameritage. I documented his simple assessment, “It tastes like a licorice stick.” I had already jotted “anise” in my notes and I added “barnyard” to the list. A lighter-bodied meritage blend, this one is friendly with cheeses, pizza, and steak but can be appreciated on its own.

Planning a visit to Pearmund Cellars? Be sure to try the 2007 Viongier and mention that Virginia Wine Time (and Warren’s Dad) sent you!

So Back To California . . .

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Sorry I’ve been absent from the blog lately; however, a return to work and preparation for HVAC replacement in my home has left me with little time to write. Anyway, I do have other insights to share about our recent trip to Napa. I’ll continue with the best/favorite ratings.

Best Chardonnay: Given Napa’s reputation for being a prolific producer of big Chardonnays, we were a bit surprised to find out that almost all of the wineries produced only one white wine and then all reds. The whites tended to be either Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. I like big Chardonnays; Paul does not like Chardonnay unless it has not hibernated in an oak barrel.

Best “Big” Chardonnay: You all know these kinds: buttery, nutty, toasty, honey-textured, etc., I like them, and I don’t care if it’s out of style (This coming from someone who went to a 1980’s reunion concert tour! Anyone remember Flock of Seagulls? Go-Gos?)

Cali 351 2006 Chardonnay: A California classic with a nice nutty nose and butter/honey mouth feel yet generous with the grilled pineapple and pear flavors. Full bodied indeed yet not so over the top that it could not be sipped on its own. In fact, I did sip a glass of this one after the tasting with a nice St. Andre’s cheese, almonds and baguette. Paul declined a sip of this one even when offered—go figure!

Rombauer Chardonnay: Another Cali classic and hard to beat if you like this style of Chardonnay. Salmon, crab cakes, lobster with butter sauce—all would pair nicely. I thought of my Dad when I tasted this one—he really like a nice, bold Chardonnay and appreciates it even more when it is not too chilled.

Best “Other” Chardonnay: Here we get into Paul’s favorite Chardonnay—those with minimal or no oak treatment. Hard to find on this trip, but Paul did like the Christopher Creek Winery’s 2006 Sapphire Hill Vineyard Chardonnay. This one is indeed given some time on oak, but aging is “sur lies” with minimal malolactic fermentation. “Fruity and round” were Paul’s notes, and he even purchased a bottle to brint home.

Favorite Sauvignon Blanc: We both reached similar conclusions here—the 2006 Sawyer Cellar Sauvignon Blanc. Another sur lie aged wine, this one had a nice citrus/hay nose with lemony/flinty flavors. Sawyer Cellars credits the quality of this pour to the vines grown on Rutherford soil. At $19.00, it was also quite a bargain for the quality.

Quirkiest Wine Tasting Experience: OnTheEdge wines sampled in a beeswax candle shop in Calistoga. Tasters are first directed to a closed cabinet which, when opened, reveals a colony of swarming bees. Have no fear—the bees are enclosed behind a glass wall behind the cabinet doors. From there, we went to the tasting bar where our tasting associate took up her knitting needles and continued an undeterminable project. She definitely was not knitting a scarf, socks, sweater, or anything obvious to the eye. Anyway, we got two free “splashes” of wines on her tasting menu. I tried the California native Charbono and did like it. Charbono’s profile might be more similar to a Sryah with its spicy/earthy characteristics.

Most Disappointing Wine Tasting Experience: I hate to write about these experiences as we rarely encounter them; however, sometimes it happens. I love Rombauer’s wines, but the tasting room experience was truly dreadful. No interaction with the tasting associate who was easily distracted with other things—and I mean very easily distracted. We were given dollops of wine in our glasses and then left to our own devices. Our questions were met with terse phrases or one word answers. Jammed-packed tasting room, and our car was parked by a valet due to the crunch. Still, the lack of any interest by the tasting room staff left us feeling let down because the wines were really very good. In fact, after the tasting we simply left with glasses in hand. No one asked us if we had any questions or if we wanted to purchase any wine.

So these were our most memorable wine tasting experiences in California. Now we renew our focus on Virginia wines as the 2008 harvest is about to commence. Going to any wineries any time soon? Whether in California or Virginia, remember to mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Virginia Wine Showcase

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Last weekend we went to the Virginia Wine Showcase held at the Dulles Expo Center. There were many wineries in attendance and we visited many of them. We tried to focus on those we had not visited before or were too far away to travel to in a weekend.

We were able to visit and taste the current wines from:

Davis Valley Winery
Tomahawk Mill Vineyard and Winery
Delfosse Vineyard and Winery
Vino Curioso
White Fences Vineyard and Winery
Valhalla Vineyards
Rebec Vineyards
Williamsburg Winery
Bright Meadows Farm
Lake Anna Winery
New Kent Winery

Writing about each booth experience would make this post too long so we’ll just point out a few things we wrote down in our notes.

At the Valhalla booth we were able to do a reserve tasting. They had a separate area set up just for the reserve tasting. We walked up to the booth and saw our friend Susan. She was already tasting the reserve wines. We joined her and thoroughly enjoyed the wines Valhalla had on their reserve list for the day. It’s always fun to run into an old friend and enjoy some wine and conversation.

We tasted wines at the Vino Curioso and noticed a basket full of M&Ms, Skittles, lollipops, and goldfish crackers. We talked with one of the owners, Mike Matthews. We asked what this was about and he explained that they feel wines should be paired with fun things to eat as well as nice meals. Of course we spent a little time enjoying the wines with the pairings. It certainly made the tasting more fun.

One of the last booths we visited was New Kent Winery. We had heard of them before but have not had the chance to visit. We talked with Pete Johns about the concept and their wines. We heard previously that Tom Payette was working on a White Norton. We were pleased that we could taste this wine. The New Kent website describes the White Norton as follows and we couldn’t agree more. This is one that shouldn’t be missed.

“This unique Virginia rose wine was gently handled in a proprietary fashion unlike any other Virginia winery has done. Cool fermentation in stainless steel and blending finesse has made this light Virginia rose wine extraordinarily complex and sought after.”

The Virginia Wine Showcase always gives us the chance to taste wines we wouldn’t normally get to taste. Remember this the next time you are looking to sample many of Virginia’s finest wines.

Here are some pictures from the day.

More Napa Experiences

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So here are our assessments of more California wine country experiences:

Best Big Reds: Not difficult to find monster reds in California, but here were a couple of faves:

Goosecross Cellars 2005 Syrah:  Dense, inky color with dark currant and berry flavor with dark chocolate and earth for good measure; smoke on the nose, too!  Heavy meats with this one. Not a deck sipper by any means.

Twomey Cellars 2002 Napa Valley Merlot:  Our tasting associate made us aware of the optimal weather conditions for the merlot harvested from the Soda Canyon Ranch vineyards.  Concentrated is the word here with a dense color and jammy berry flavors.  Mocha appears at the end.  Very, very long finish. Paul loves merlot, but he had to admit that this one was too big to just sip.  We love steaks, so that’s not a problem!  However, this one will be for a special occasion; at $75.00 it was my splurge purchase!

Best Approachable Reds:

A tall order in this neck of the woods; however, there were a couple of reds that I thought were ready to drink now.  (These can also be kept on the wine rack for a bit longer).

Christopher Creek 2005 Zinfandel: This winery was the closest comparison to an experience in a Virginia winery’s tasting room.  Several wines to tastes including a Viognier and a Chardonnay.  Very friendly tasting associate and a very unpretentious tasting room made us feel right at home.  The Zinfandel exhibited bright berry flavors—I noted strawberry and red currants; Paul jotted down cranberry and red currants.  We both noted spice, too.  More medium bodied than other California Zins.

Limerick Lane 2005 Pinot Noir:  Already described in the last post.  Just divine.

Summers 2006 Zinfandel:  The most full bodied of the wines in this category, but I really liked sipping this one in the tasting room.  More extracted flavors than the Christopher Creek with vanilla on the finish and a nice acidity.  I guess my thoughts were barbeque sauce and steaks on the grill or even a pasta with tomato sauce.  The alcohol content was 14%—a bit more manageable than the 15% firewater we experienced at other wineries.

Vincent Arroyo Winery 2005 Nameless:  A real gem of a winery that does tastings in its barrel room.  Only three wines to taste, but by far the easiest drinker was the Nameless.  So called because it really has no name and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.  Garnet color with bright red cherry flavors and spice.  Drink now—and a true sipping red from California.  However, don’t miss the 2006 Petite Sirah, my own personal favorite.  This one had much in common with a Virginia favorite, Norton.  I note d some of the grapey characteristics of the Norton grapes here with perhaps a bit more depth.  (I  have a feeling Jenni McCloud would have like this one!)

Clos Pegase Winery


Best Wines for the Price:Clos Pegase Vin Gris:  A vibrant rose made from merlot grapes.  Strawberry and watermelon characteristics makes this one a crowd pleaser.  Versatile pour.  At $14, this was a real bargain.

Clos Pegase 2004 Merlot:  From Mitsuko’s Vineyard, this was Paul’s easy drinking merlot.  Big cherry nose and flavors with some spice.  This is actually blended with  small amounts of cabernet franc and malbec.  Ready to drink now, and at $24 a bottle a good deal.  Paul made off with two bottles!

Cali 351 2006 Chardonnay:  For those who like the buttery Chardonnays but don’t like the sticker price, this Chardonnay is a winner.  Bolder bodied chardonnay here with buttery characteristics but still delivers nice pear flavors.  Visitors to the Napa area may remember this winery as Silver Rose; Silver Rose was recently sold to new managers and the wines now bear the Cali 351 label. At $27, a lovely Chardonnay without the big price tag.

We’ll post maybe two more California entries, and then it’s back to Virginia wines—we promise!  Until then, visit Virginia wineries while summer warmth still has its arms wrapped around us, and mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Recent Releases at Gadino Cellars

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This past weekend we decided to get back on the wine trail and taste some new finds. We made a trip to Gadino Cellars to find out what was new on the tasting menu.

Bill and Aleta conducted our tasting. We enjoyed catching up with them and talking about what’s new in the Virginia wine business. On the tasting menu we found two wines we had not tried before. The first was the 2007 Pinot Grigio. The grapes for this wine come from Tollgate farms, a local vineyard that provides the Gadino’s with quality grapes. The 2007 Pinot Grigio has a light floral nose with subtle orange notes. As the tasting notes describe, the pinot grigio has a “luscious mouth-feel” and we agree with this statement. The pinot grigio also has a nice grapefruit finish. Warren noted melon on the palette. This one would be great for sipping on a warm afternoon.

The second new wine we had not tried before was the 2007 Dolce Sofia. Named for Bill and Aleta’s granddaughter, the Dolce Sofia is a sweet desert wine created by blending late harvest petit manseng and vidal grapes. This wine has 11% residual sugar but isn’t syrupy sweet like many others. It has a light mouth feel with peaches and honey on the palate. The finish is described as macadamia nut. We noted a nutty finish but could not place the nut. We guessed maybe almond on the finish. This one would be perfect with pound cake.

Plan on visiting Gadino Cellars soon and be sure to check out the new releases and tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you. And when you visit your local wine shop and you don’t see Gadino wines on the shelves, ask for them!

California Wine Country

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We’ll be posting a couple of entries about our experiences in the Napa Valley region.  We tasted lots of wine, but we tended to stay away from the big guys like Coppola, Berenger, Sterling, etc.,  Not that we had anything against these wines, but Coppola wines can be sampled and/or purchased at any wine shop and supermarket in the country.  We decided to optimize our stay in Napa and opted to focus on small, boutique wineries that offered limited-production, quality wines (and knowledgeable staff!)  Most of the wineries that we visited tended to produce less than 5000 cases of wine; needless to say, these were not wines that could be purchased at the local wine shop or Safeway!


I’ll break up my experiences into “favorite” or “best” categories, and today I’ll feature our tasting room experiences:

Best Tasting Room Experiences:

Envy Wines: Comfortable tasting counter complete with bar stools.  Michael, our tasting assistant, expertly guided us through the full range of wine offered on the Vine Haven, Envy, and Carter labels.  The Carter wines are considered premium wines and routinely score in the 90s in Wine Spectator; they are also quite expensive so if you consider a splurge here, have a special occasion in mind.  We even got a barrel tasting of the upcoming Merlot.  The wines were also excellent.  My own favorites were the 06 Sauvignon Blanc, 05 Chardonnay, and the 06 Petit Sirah.  Paul also favored the 06 Petit Sirah as well as the 05 Merlot.

Limerick Lane:  Located in Sonoma, this winery is a must try for anyone looking for California wines that are more balanced than some of the bigger fruit/oak bombs found at other California wineries.  Only four wines on the tasting menu, but all were exceptional.  The 06 Orsi Vineyard Pinot Noir is done in a classic Burgundian style—soft, approachable and nuanced with strawberry/cherry flavors and velvety tannins.  It was my immediate favorite until I tried the 05 Zinfandel.  Lots of fruit and spice here without  a punch in the mouth—well balanced that could be sipped or enjoyed with food.  Paul starred the 06 1023, a blended red wine that offers a denser color and intensity with a long finish.  Our tasting was also accompanied by expert commentary from the associate who conducted our tasting.  We learned that the secret to Limerick Lane’s award winning wines is the complexity and intensity provided by grapes grown in various Sonoma vineyards.

Sawyer Cellars: This was actually the first winery that we visited and is located in the vaunted Rutherford Appellation.  Sawyer is a family owned operation, and we even got to meet owner Charles Sawyer.  Though three wines were listed for tasting, our tasting assistant offered two extras—a vibrant Rose and a very complex 04 Cabernet Sauvignon.   Sawyer Cellars grows all of its own grapes on 50 acres of land.  It only produces 4200 cases of wine.  Paul’s faves were the classic 06 Sauvignon Blanc with its citrus and flinty flavors and the 04 Estate merlot.  Though young, it exhibited big cherry and earthy flavors.  I tended to favor the complex 04 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.  Dark currants and berries here with nice tannins. We learned that its complexity was the result of cabernet grapes picked from four different lots on the property.  It also earned 90 points in Wine Enthusiast and is considered a classic.

We’re Back!

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We just got back from our trip to California wine country, and we’ll be writing about our experiences while there. Right now, we have to unpack our suitcases, and then we’ll compare our notes and start writing. We had a great time! Grape vines are everywhere in California!