Va Wine Top 20 List – An Analysis

Virginia Wine Top 20 Summary and Analysis – What Does All This Opinion Goodness Mean (if anything)?

As a follow up to my previous post and the current ‘top 20′ post-a-thon going around the Virginia wine blogosphere, I’ve done a little analysis on the data to highlight a few items I found interesting.  (NOTE:  Post Updated – During my original recap/summary, I missed two other Top 20 Virginia Wine lists – from Kurt at Wine About Virginia, and from Nancy & Rick at Virginia Wine In My Pocket.  My apologies.)

Since the source data for this analysis only includes ten discrete inputs I realize this is far from scientific, but I do feel this data provides a reasonably accurate representation of larger views on Virginia wine.   Included in the raw data for this analysis are ten different ‘top 20 Virginia wine’ lists from:

• Virginia Wine Diva at Swirl, Sip, Snark
• Grape Envy Guy also from Swirl, Sip Snark
• Frank The Tank from Drink What You Like
• Allan from Cellar Blog
• Tarara winemaker Jordan Harris
• Chris who posted his Top 20 at Swirl, Sip, Snark
• Paul & Warren from Virginia Wine Time
• Kurt from Wine About Virginia
• Nancy & Rick from Virginia Wine In My Pocket

The information presented below is simply a cursory analysis of the available data.  No doubt, more time can be spent analyzing the raw data for more interesting corollaries and conclusions.  I look forward to others sharing their analysis on the data.

Most Popular Winery:
The most obvious result is the fact that Linden wines represented about 10% of all wines in the top 20 lists.  Breaux Vineyards was the second most noted winery with 12 wines listed, followed by Glen Manor 11 wines listed.  Collectively, these three wineries represent 20% of the all the wines included in the ten Top 20 lists (41 wines out of a total of 200 wines listed).  There are over 180 wineries in Virginia, yet three wineries represent 20% of ten wine enthusiasts most favorite list.  Interesting.  (An example of the Pareto Principle?)  

The Jim Law Effect:
The fact that Linden finished well ahead of all other wines is interesting, but not surprising, and worthy of further study and discussion.  What do these arbitrary rankings say about Linden wines (if anything)?  On the whole, are Linden wines better than offerings from other Virginia wineries? Does this small sample size provide enough data to conclude that Jim is the ‘best’ winemaker in Virginia?  Note:  Obviously this is impossible to determine no matter how much data we have.

If a large group of wine enthusiasts with a reasonable level of familiarity with Virginia wine were sampled, I feel strongly that Linden would be at the top of most lists. Informal discussions with other Virginia wine enthusiasts have indicated that Linden wines are at the top of most ‘favorite Virginia wine’ lists, and Jim is at the top of many ‘top winemaker’ lists.

Since I know next to nothing about farming and winemaking I’m not the best source for a conclusion on this subject, but my opinion is that Jim does poses one of the best overall skill sets in the Virginia wine industry.   ‘Best overall skill set’ defined as experience with his land, serious knowledge of agriculture, benefit of many vintages, and raw knowledge of the process.

Given all of the amazing talent in the Virginia winemaking crowd, ‘I’ do not feel that Jim is the ‘best’ Virginia winemaker.  Again, this would be impossible to reasonably conclude.  However, someone could make the case that the popularity of his final product – Linden wines – does suggest that he is one of the very top winemakers here in Virginia, if not the top (either that, or he’s been very lucky for a long time).  I do feel Linden wines, on the whole, are one of the top two wine lineups in the state (Chester Gap being the other).  This is simply ‘my’ opinion – feel free to disagree.

The Jim Law effect reaches further than just Linden wines – he has worked with (trained?) a number of the winemakers represented on this list.

Most Popular Wines (without vintage):
Linden Hardscrabble Red, 5
Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay, 5
Glen Manor Sauvignon Blanc, 5
Delaplane Honah Lee Viognier, 4
Chester Gap Viognier, 4
Chrysalis Albarino, 4

Most Popular Varietal:

• Viognier was the most popular varietal with 26 different listings (representing over 10% of all wines listed).
• Petit Verdot wines were noted 13 different times.
• Cab Franc wines were noted 17 different times a well.
• There were nearly 35 red blends listed.
• Eight Virginia sparkling wines were listed.
• Chambourcin wines were listed five times.
• Somehow Norton found it’s way on the list six separate times.  Ugh. My own personal disdain for Norton prevents me from making any further comment regarding this weed, er, um, grape.  Repeating, I respect the opinions of others, I respect the opinions of others, I respect the opinions of others…

Random Odds and Ends:

• I was disappointed to see that only one wine from Virginia’s Eastern Shore was represented on the lists – the Chatham 2009 Steel Fermented Chardonnay.
• Jordan Harris made the most notable and declarative statements of this ranking exercise with the following, ‘Delaplane Syrah 2007 – possibly the best wine ever mad in Virginia.‘   Wow – this is a very, very strong statement, and a huge endorsement from a talented winemaker like Jordan.  I clearly need to taste this Syrah.  I’ve tasted a few of Delaplane’s wines, but clearly missed this one.

In reading other’s lists, I’m motivated to get out on the wine trail and revisit several wineries – King Family and Chrysalis in particular.  And, of course taste that Delaplane 2007 Syrah.

At the end of the day, all of this information is just a bunch of opinions – that’s it!  Doesn’t much matter what wines I like, or what wines Paul or Warren or Jordan like.  What matters is what wines ‘you’ like – Drink What You Like!

_________________________________

Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

__________________________________

 

 

Is Virginia Wine Overpriced?

Virginia wine is overpriced.  I hear this refrain often during discussions with some of my local wine friends when asked why they don’t drink more Virginia wine.  Like all wine regions, Virginia does have its share of crappy, overpriced wine, but I feel the ‘good’ Virginia wines provide an excellent value for the dollars spent.

When I hear ‘Virginia wine is overpriced’ I wonder if people are really referring to the value a particular wine provides, or, are they really saying the wine is overpriced solely because it’s from Virginia.  I have a wine friend who has held the opinion that ‘Virginia wine is overpriced‘ as long as I’ve known him.  I believe he thinks Virginia wine is overpriced just because it’s Virginia wine (sound familiar).  To test him – and to prove a point – I setup a mini-blind tasting (3 flights, 3 wines per flight) and my friend selected a Virginia wine as his favorite in two of the three mini-flights as I suspected he would.  I concede that this mini-blind tasting was far from scientific, but it did prove a point – when compared to similar priced wines from more notable regions; Virginia wines match up very well.

The topic of the price of Virginia wine came up during a recent conversation with Andy Regan, winemaker at Jefferson Vineyards that began as a result of a comment by someone on Twitter during a live tasting.  We both lamented about these Virginia wine is overpriced comments, and talked about a comparative tasting at some point. The day after our conversation I received an email from Andy about the tasting – a blind comparative tasting with similar priced wines from across the world and Virginia.

In his initial email, Andy noted that the intent of the tasting would not be about determining the ‘best’ wine in each flight (which would be impossible to do), but more about providing an opportunity to evaluate Virginia wine relative to comparably priced wines from around the world.

As a passionate wine enthusiast and huge advocate of the value and quality of Virginia wine, I jumped at the chance to participate in such a tasting.  In addition to other bloggers including my friends from Swirl, Sip, Snark, Andy had an excellent group of tasters for the event: Bruce Zoecklein, Virginia state enologist and enology Professor at Virginia Tech; Jim Raper, wine writer for The Virginia-Pilot newspaper; Stephanie Williams from flavor Magazine; Stephen Barnard, winemaker at Keswick Vineyards; Kat, also from Keswick; Kath Younger from Kath Eats blog, as well as several other wine enthusiasts.

Stephen Barnard (Keswick Vineyards), Me, Andy Reagan (Jefferson Vineyards)

The tasting included 14 tasters/scorers evaluating each wine on seven criteria – aroma, fruit, acidity, tannin, mouthfeel, finish, and overall complexity along with our opinion on whether or not the wines were priced reasonably based on the quality.  Each taster was also asked to identify the region/country of each wine.  For me, the Virginia and French wines were easy to identify, but I had a more difficult time identifying the wines from California, South Africa and Argentina.

Tasting setup at Jefferson Vineyards barrel room.

Flight One: Pinot Gris (price range of $18 to $22):
Eola Hills Pinot Gris 2009 Oregon
Pollak 2009 Pinot Gris Estate (Virginia)
Jefferson 2009 Pinot Gris  (Virginia)
Charles Schleret 2005 Alsace Pinot Gris (France)
Adelsheim 2009 Pinot Gris Willamette Valley Oregon

Though I am not a fan of Pinot Gris (moonlights as Pinot Grigio in Italy), and typically only drink it by accident or when included in formal tastings such as this one, I gave this flight my all, but couldn’t muster true interest.  All of these wines would definitely be at the very high end of what I would be willing to pay for Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio. Thankfully there were only five entries in this flight. Finishing at the top of my tasting sheet – the Jefferson 2009 Pinot Gris.  The overall group of 14 tasters scored this flight as follows: 1. Jefferson, 2. Pollak, 3. Eola Hills, 4. Charles Schleret 5. Adelsheim.  The Eola Hills Pinot Gris is the only wine in this flight outside the price range, with a retail price of $13.99.

Flight Two: Viognier (price range from ~$18 to $30)
Jefferson 2009 Viognier Reserve Monticello (Virginia)
Keswick 2009 Viognier Estate Reserve (Virginia)
Francois Villard De Poncins 2006 Condrieu (France)
Blenheim 2009 Viognier (Virginia)
Porter Creek 2007 Viognier Russian River Valley Timbervine Ranch (Calif.)
Yalumba 2009 Viognier (South Australia)
Chateau Camplazens Vin de Pays D’Oc 2007 Viognier (France)
Terra Blanca 2005 Viognier Yakima (Washington State)

As I’ve noted here many times, Viognier could be the future of Virginia white wine (if you happen to disagree, it’s ok, you’ve probably been wrong about other things as well ).  Given the quality of Virginia Viognier, this was the most anticipated flight of the tasting for me, and Virginia did not disappoint.  The Jefferson Viognier Reserve and Blenheim Viognier finished at the top of my score sheet with a slight edge going to the Jefferson.

Though the price range for this flight was roughly $18 to $30, Andy did include a lower and higher priced offering as well.  Interestingly the most expensive Viognier in the flight – the $75 Francois Villard from Condrieu – finished at the bottom on my score sheet, and didn’t fare too much better in overall group scoring.  Though I don’t want to Monday morning quarterback, I would have liked more vintage consistency in this flight, and perhaps another round of eight Viogniers with more regions represented.  I have no doubt Virginia Viognier would still have finished atop a flight of 16 Viogniers as well.  One could argue that some Virginia Viognier may be underpriced relative to Condrieu and California in terms of price-to-quality.  I often wonder why people pay the $50 – $75 price tag for Condrieu for such little quality relative to the price (amazing what a French name on the label will do for rationalizing high price of wine).  The overall group ranked this flight as follows: 1. Jefferson Reserve, 2. Keswick, 3. Porter Creek, 4. Blenheim, 5. Francois Villard Condrieu, 6. Yalumba, 7. Terra Blanca, 8. Ch. Camplazens Vin de Pays d’Oc. Each of the three Virginia Viogniers in this flight were stellar, no surprise they took three of the top four spots.

Viognier Flight

Flight Three: Chardonnay (price range $18 – $29)
Jefferson 2009 Chardonnay Reserve Monticello (Virginia)
Champy 2009 Pouilly Fuisse (France)
Catena 2009 Chardonnay Mendoza (Argentina)
Hamilton Russell 2009 Chardonnay Hemel-en-Aarde Valley (South Africa)

Boring. Snorefest.  I respect the fact that Chardonnay is a global workhorse, but I simply cannot get into this varietal.  I realize there are many amazing Chardonnays throughout the world, but I would not consider any of the wines in this flight ‘amazing’ examples of Chardonnay.  Overall scoring in this flight was very close – group rankings as follows: 1. Jefferson, 2. Tie Hamilton Russell and Champy 4. Catena

After three white flights, we moved on to the much-anticipated reds beginning with Cabernet Franc, followed by Merlot, and finishing with red blends.

Flight Four:  Cabernet Franc (price range $18 – $35)
RAATS 2008 Cabernet Franc Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Jefferson 2008 Cabernet Franc Reserve Monticello (Virginia)
Lang & Reed 2008 Cabernet Franc North Coast (California)
Blenheim 2009 Cabernet Franc (Virginia)
Keswick 2009 Cabernet Franc Monticello (Virginia)
Frederic Mabileau 2005 Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil Eclipse (France)

Like Viognier, Cab Franc thrives here in Virginia so I fully expected the home team to sweep this flight.  When the bottles were revealed, I was surprised by the origins of my top scorer – the RAATS 2008 Cab Franc from South Africa.  In looking through my tasting notes from the last two years and plumbing my memory, I believe this is the first time I’ve had a Cabernet Franc from South Africa, and certainly will not be my last. Finishing second in my ranking was Keswick followed by the Jefferson Reserve.  For our next tasting, this flight should be expanded to include more regions like Chinon and Long Island.  No doubt Virginia Cab Francs would finish at or near the top of an expanded flight.  The overall group ranked this flight as follows:  1. RAATS, 2. Keswick, 3. Jefferson, 4. Frederic Mabileau, 5. Blenheim, 6. Lang and Reed.

Cab Franc Flight

Flight Five: Merlot (price range ~ $20 – $35)
Jefferson 2007 Merlot Reserve Monticello (Virginia)
Thelema 2006 Merlot Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Keswick 2009 Merlot Monticello (Virginia)
Sbragia 2007 Merlot Dry Creek Home Ranch (California)
Di Lenardo 2006 ‘Just Me’ Merlot IGT Venezia Giulia (Italy)
Mauvais Garcon 2006 Bordeaux (France)
Blenheim 2009 Merlot Virginia
Te Awa 2004 Merlot Hawkes Bay (New Zealand)

Considering how the Sideways Effect has impacted Merlot prices in many regions, I worried if Virginia would be able to compete with equally priced Merlots from other regions. Once again Virginia wines showed well when tasted alongside similar priced wines from around the world.   The Sbragio Merlot from Dry Creek Valley was my top scoring merlot followed by the Keswick Merlot. The overall group ranked this flight as follows: 1. Di Lenardo, 2. Keswick, 3. Thelema, 4. Jefferson Reserve, 5. Sbragia, 6. Mauvais Garcon, 7.Blenheim, 8. Te Awa.

 

Sniffing - Merlot flight. Jim Raper of The Virginian-Pilot to my left.

Flight Six: Bordeaux Blends (price range ~$24 – $34)
Bodegas Benegas Don Tiburcio 2006 Mendoza (Argentina)
Keswick 2007 Heritage Monticello (Virginia)
Chappellet 2008 Mountain Cuvee Napa (California)
Jefferson 2007 Meritage Monticello (Virginia)
Mulderbosch Faithful Hound 2006 (South Africa)
Chateau Cambon La Pelouse 2005 Haut Medoc (Bordeaux, France)

Bordeaux type blends are yet another area Virginia is excelling and turning out great wines at reasonable price points.  The only exception to the $24 – $34 price range was the Don Tiburcio at $13, which finished as my top rated wine of the flight.  I liked the character of this wine – eucalyptus and dark fruits along with light vegetal components throughout. Excellent QPR at only $13/bottle.  Tied for second were the Keswick Heritage and Jefferson Meritage. The overall group ranked this flight as follows:  1. Keswick Heritage, 2. Chappellet, 3. Jefferson Meritage, 4. Bodegas Benegas Don Tiburcio, 5. Mulderbosch, 6. Cambon La Pelouse.

* In the spirit of full disclosure I should note that I was able to pick out the Virginia wines – from familiarity of the aroma/flavor profile, or, perhaps a good random guess – in each of the blind flights, with only one exception.  It’s possible, but not likely, that my familiarity of these wines subconsciously weighted my scores in Virginia’s favor.

Once the wines were unbagged and the scores were tallied – Virginia wine was the clear winner (not that this tasting was about winners or losers)! Virginia wine finished atop three flights on my score sheet, and near the top in every flight. In overall scoring, a Virginia wine finished atop four of the six flights.  Not only did a Virginia wine receive the most votes in four of the six flights, Virginia wines also consistently finished in 2nd or 3rd place in most flights.

I realize this one tasting does not prove that Virginia wine is reasonably priced or overpriced or whatever.  There is no way to definitively conclude that Virginia wine is overpriced, or not, because we all have different economic circumstances that determine our wine budgets; we have different preferences, and of course different definitions of value.    What I hope this tasting proves to those who feel ‘Virginia wine is overpriced’ is that Virginia wine can go head-to-head with similar priced wines from more notable regions.

Having taken part in many blind tastings, this was one of the best I’ve participated in – a big THANK YOU to Andy for organizing and hosting an amazing event! I appreciate being included in the tasting with such a great group of wine enthusiasts.  Photo Credit:  All photos courtesy of Kat Schornberg Barnard – thanks Kat!

 

A big ol thanks to Andy for bringing out the great Riedel Th:Jefferson inscribed stemware for the tasting. Nice!

__________________________________

Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

__________________________________

GSM in Virginia – Really?!

Virginia GSM… Really!(?)

In continuing with the Virginia winemaker interview series, today we hear from Jordan Harris, winemaker and General Manager at Tarara Winery – a beautiful 475-acre farm in Leesburg, VA along side the Potomac River.  Jordan came to Tarara in 2007 from his native Canada, where he is considered a wine rock star.  I learned first-hand how highly thought of Jordan is in Canada during a Canadian Wine Tasting in Toronto – winery folks at nearly every booth I visited knew (or knew of) Jordan.  Several of the Canada wineries asked us to send him back.  Tarara is lucky to have someone with Jordan’s talent and great reputation.

During a recent conversation about what’s new and interesting in Virginia wine, Jordan mentioned that he believes GSM could be a future contender in the Tarara lineup.  My response… silence (a rarity for me).  Huh?  GSM as in Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre… in Virginia?

Being a fan of the Rhone, I asked Jordan to expand on his thoughts on a Virginia GSM via a guest post.  Below are Jordan’s thoughts on GSM at Tarara:

Jordan Harris at Tarara.

Virginia wine’s domestic and international momentum is generally due to a few key varietals that are growing well in some of the best sites throughout the state.  Most people think of Virginia wine as being synonymous with Viognier and Cabernet Franc, but can’t some other varieties grow well in select sites? Well sure they can!

Virginia is a massive area and to assume that each corner has a similar terroir is absurd.  There are some varieties that grow better at higher altitude rockier sites in the Piedmont – like Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay – or Merlot on the sandy soils of the Northern Neck and Eastern Shore.  At the northern tip on low-lying limestone rich vineyards along the Potomac, maybe there is another train of thought, more Rhone varietals!

In the Nevaeh Vineyard, Tarara Winery’s estate vineyard, we are finding that Syrah has started to shine as the number one red variety for quality and consistency.  Considering how well another popular Rhone varietal – Viognier – has done here, it makes sense that Syrah would flourish as well.

In many areas of the world these grapes grow side-by-side enjoying similar climates and often similar soils.  If you look at the distance between Condrieu and Ampuis of Cote Rotie, one realizes it is about the same distance apart as Leesburg and Middleburg, and they are essentially on the same range of hills.  They both have great East and South facing slopes and often wineries are producing both.  In Cote Rotie, most of world class Syrah being produced actually contains a small amount of Viognier as part of the blend from the vineyard.  Upwards of 20% is actually allowed by law.

Tarara’s first Syrah was produced from Nevaeh Vineyard in 2007 and sold out well prior to release through barrel samples and a futures program.  The wine contained 9% Viognier in the classic style and showcased true varietal notes of smoked meat, plum, and blueberry but also had Nevaeh’s signature minty and minerally tones.  As of the 2008 vintage the Syrah is produced with a bigger style in mind after understanding the potential.  We plan to age in barrel for 38 months, like the La La wines of Guigal in Cote Rotie.

The wines are tasted weekly to ensure that the regime will be suitable for the Nevaeh terroir, but all signs seem to be good for the extended elevage.  That said, the Syrah is also now used as a blend component at Tarara.  The two planned wines to contain a good portion of Syrah are the Nevaeh starting with the 2009 vintage and the new GSM starting with the 2010 vintage.

The GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) is meant to be a take on the Southern Rhone styles instead of the more Northern Rhone Syrah dominated reds.  Can the Grenache and Mourvedre succeed in Northern Loudoun County as well as its Rhone counter-parts Syrah and Viognier?  Well…the jury is still out.

There is a small portion of each Grenache and Mourvedre planted in Nevaeh Vineyard, just enough for a few hundred cases of GSM potentially, but the 2010 vintage is the first harvest.  The fruit is wildly different then anything else grown in the vineyard.  The Grenache has almost Pinot Noir like larger berries with thin skins, but it needs about 4-6 weeks longer to ripen.  The color is somewhat light and would classically show velvety tannins, lovely floral aromas and loads of berry fruit with beautiful elegance but is probably the last to ripen in the vineyard.

The Mourvedre has clusters of all sizes with small intense berries with thick almost leathery skins and deep color.  The wines are typically known for their power, gaminess, color and being extremely masculine.  In 2010 both varieties made it just to the point of ripeness.  The only characteristic that was left in need was the seeds in the Mourvedre were still slightly green; not completely browning so could extract meaner tannins.  The sugars were well above 26 brix, the flavor wonderful and the color exactly as it should be.  The problem is 2010 is the warmest and richest vintage we could have imagined.  If they just met their ripeness potential in 2010, will they be able to mature in future years – which is why the jury is still out.

The beauty of having Grenache and Mourvedre planted in Nevaeh is that even if they can not make it to their full potential as red wines in future vintages, Tarara will be set for making some truly classic Rose.  Grenache and Mourvedre are of course, the backbone of the fine Rose’s of Provence and Tavel.  With the limestone rich soils of the Pond block where they sit these grapes will be the backbone of something superb for years to come at Tarara whether for world class Rose’s or for massive, concentrated reds blended with their flagship Syrah.

In the end, there are not yet any right or wrong answers for the varieties in Virginia as a whole.  Some regions have shown better promise then others for certain varietals and we should be open to seeing what can thrive in an area that still needs an identity.  In Northern Loudoun County there has been great promise shown with blended reds including the Bordeaux reds, and Tannat but none have been proven on their own yet.

One could make the argument that Viognier is the only varietal in Northern Loudoun that has proven itself as a single varietal attempt ‘year in year out,’ so why not look at what traditionally may be beside it, the other Rhone varietals.  Why not see how Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre show?  We now know at Tarara Winery that the Nevaeh Vineyard is great with Syrah having now four vintages of it being the shining start, but will Grenache and Mourvedre follow.  We will see.

We will see indeed.  I will be keeping an eye on the Tarara GSM, and can’t wait to try it.

The next time you find yourself in the Loudoun County area, be sure to visit Tarara Winery:
13648 Tarara Lane
Leesburg, VA 20176
www.Tarara.com

__________________________________

Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

__________________________________

Va Winemaker Interview Series – Virginia’s Grape – Part III

This post marks the final part in this Virginia Winemaker Interview Series – What Grape Works Best In Virginia.

As I noted in Part I and II, this series is a follow up of sorts to the ‘Thomas Jefferson was right: The grapes that work best for Virginia’ session at the Drink Local Wine Conference last month.  Since the session resulted in such robust discussion, this series is intended to provide a forum for more Virginia winemakers to share their opinions on what grape they feel works best in our climate (or works best in their micro-climate).

Part I of the Virginia Winemaker Interview Series featured:

• Stephen Barnard, Winemaker, Keswick Vineyards
• Emily Pelton, Winemaker, Veritas Vineyard & Winery
• Jordan Harris, Winemaker, Tarara Winery

Part II featured:

• Derek Pross, Gadino Cellars
• Sébastien Marquet, Winemaker/Vineyard Manager, Doukenie Winery
• Jason Burrus, Winemaker, Rappahannock Cellars

Today, in Part III, we hear from:

• Matthieu Finot, King Family Vineyards
• Andy Reagan, Winemaker, Jefferson Vineyards

_______________________________

Matthieu Finot, Winemaker, King Family Vineyards

What grape do you feel is ideally suited for the Virginia climate?  Why?

Chardonnay:  Classical grape, easy to grow and I think can make very good wine, better balance in VA than CA (I think) but doesn’t have the best reputation (a little bit like merlot).  If we’re careful to not over oak the wine and keep a balance with the acidity, it will make great wine.

Viognier: Very aromatic varietal became VA white signature wine and I think it is justified.

Albarino: More suitable than Sauvignon Blanc to produce fresh aromatic white wine.  This varietal likes heat, clay and doesn’t need lot of difference of temperature between night and day to maintain freshness.  Not widely planted but probably one of the white varietals with the best potential in Virginia.

Petit Manseng: Perfectly suited to produce desert wine – high brix with low pH and high acid, tough skin, and good resistance to rot.

Merlot: Despite the ‘Sideways’ effect I think merlot is great for Virginia (at least in central Virginia) and can produce wines more Bordeaux style.  Same thing as the chardonnay, we can keep a better balance with the acidity, we can have the phenolic ripeness without having the flat “sweet” overripe jammy merlot.

Petit Verdot: If we’re looking for big bold wine this is it – small berries produce dense, dark, tannic wine.  Can sometimes be a little too simple or monochrome, but with good acidity.  Perfect for blending but can overpower the blend – It can also stand by itself quite well.

Tannat:  Tannat is tannic and produces high brix with good acidity (like the petit manseng in white).  This varietal likes clay, and if it’s grown properly can do very good in VA – very hedgy varietal that needs to be ripe to be good but can produce outstanding wines.

What grape would you say is not well suited for our climate?  Why?

The very hot and humid climate – not lot of difference of temperature between night and day – and clay soil can be a problem for some varietals.  Although I do not like to name what doesn’t grow well here in Virginia because I am sure that somebody will prove me wrong.  Here’s a list of varietals that I would not plant in central Virginia for myself (it doesn’t mean that we can not make good wine with them):

Pinot Noir:  Too sensitive to rot doesn’t like hot weather.

Sauvignon Blanc: Difficult to keep a good acidity, like cool weather to keep sauvignon flavor.

Cabernet Sauvignon:  Will make good wine on very good year, when it can get very ripe, the other years it will make only average wine.

Riesling and Gewurtz: Cool weather varietals.  We’re loosing too much acid.  Riesling is very sensitive to rot.

_______________________________

Andy Reagan, Winemaker & Vineyard Manager, Jefferson Vineyards

What grape do you feel is ideally suited for Virginia’s climate?  Why?

With all of the advances in root stock, and clone selection, it is hard to single one variety out.  I would have to go with Petit Verdot, it seems no matter how rainy the season, if cropped properly and well maintained even in the wet years you can have a well-ripened PV.

Conversely, what grape would you say is not well suited for our climate?  Why?

I would have to go with Pinot Noir, with the exception of really high and cool sights in the Valley, the heat and humidity and length of the growing season really inhibits the development of any real structure, color or tannin.

_______________________________

Thank you Matthieu and Andy for taking time to participate in this Virginia Winemaker Interview Series.

_______________________________