Hyperdecanting (sacrilege wine behavior), VA Wine Month and the $625 cookbook

Hyperdecanting as sacrilege wine behavior, Virginia Wine Month, and the $625 cookbook

Since 1988, October has been recognized as ‘Virginia Wine Month.‘  As a fan and advocate of Virginia wine, each month is Virginia Wine Month for me, but October provides an opportunity for Virginia wineries, restaurants, other associated businesses, and even bloggers to shine a brighter spotlight on the wines from the Commonwealth.

My wife and I kicked-off Virginia Wine Month by opening a bottle of Virginia Cabernet Franc — one of the state’s most promising varietals, and the third most planted grape in the state with 282 acres under vine — and a wine experiment.

Our wine of choice to kick-off the month-long celebration of Virginia wine was the Mountfair 2009 Cabernet Franc ($20, 12.5% abv) tasted three ways, one of which included a new method of decanting wine called hyperdecanting (well, new to me).

Though I would love to take credit for being the originator of a term like ‘hyperdecanting,’ I was just introduced to this aggressive alternative to utilizing a ‘rather pathetic tool‘ like a normal decanter.  In the September 22 issue of the periodical formerly known as Business Week, Nathan Myrvhold, ex-Microsoft Chief Technology Officer and author of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking — a five-volume, 2,348 page cooking tomb priced at $625 — explains the practice of hyperdecanting.  Before you rush off to Riedel.com to order the newest crystal hypderdecanter, please note that hyperdecanting is also known as decanting wine in a blender.

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

Though the practice of decanting wine in a blender seemed (seems) like wine sacrilege, I decided to give this a try because hypderdecanting, or hyper-oxygenating actually, does make logical sense.

To avoid any bias, Myryvhold suggests using a “triangle test,” which is a scientifically rigorous way to test for a perceptible difference between wine prepared two different ways.   Since I have a terminal case of multiple biases — I am partial to Virginia Cab Franc, and am a fan of Mountfair’s wines — I decided to keep this experiment simple with no blind tasting component or multiple tasters other than my wife.  Instead, I poured three glasses of the Mountfair 2009 Cab Franc — one straight from the bottle, the other from a regular decanter (decanted about an hour), and finally a glass from the blender.

To make this less-than-scientific, non-triangle test appear as scientific as reasonably possible without working too hard at it, I made every effort to ensure that one-third of the bottle was devoted to each of the three parts of the.

Glass #1 – From Bottle to Glass:  Dark purple in color, the aromas of this glass were muted at first with basic dark fruits and pepper, followed by notable oak component in the mouth.  At the risk of sounding like an aromatically dyslexic dolt, I’m noticing a trend in Virginia Cab Franc — a move to more concentrated dark fruits with less of the herbaceous (in a good way) and peppery components that I appreciate (vintage dependent, of course).

Glass #2 – From Decanter to Glass:  The glass poured from the decanter, after about an hour decanting, was alive with aromas of blackberry, plum, cedar, earth, hints of green vegetables, and still showing that oak on the palate, but less than the glass poured directly from the bottle.  Nate (I can’t imagine any of his team at MS calling him Nate) refers to decanting wine in a traditional decanter as a rather pathetic tool.  Not sure I fully agree with this, but sometimes really bright people try to overcomplicate simple things.

Glass #3 – From Blender to Glass: To carry out the blending portion of the experiment, I used our faux stainless steel, lowest-price-on-the-middle-shelf-at-Target, Black & Decker blender.   After a 60-second whirl in the Black & Decker, the glass poured directly from the blender was, well, weird.  The dark purple color tinted with a gray hue in the glass poured from the hyperdecanted glass.  This is what a glass of darker cab franc would like if a thin, slightly gray translucent film were floating on top of the wine.  The aromatics were muted and seemed off.  In the mouth, the wine was softer, missing some of the acidity and tannin present in the other two glasses.  I was expecting a more vibrant expression of this wine given the oxygenation in the blender.  Pathetic way to decant wine: 1.  Hyperdecanting for the sake of trying to be clever: 0.

How does this thing work again...

Fortunately we had two-thirds of non-hyperdecanted bottle left to enjoy.  For now, I plan to stick with the rather pedestrian practice of using a traditional decanter.  I may break out the blender the next time our wine group gets together for a more enthusiastic and rigorous test.

For those in search of a random wine experiment, conducting this test in a more controlled environment  — blind, with a couple different decanters, an aerator like the Wine Soiree, and a respectable blender — along with a group of wine friends would make for a fun evening.

Remember, October is Virginia wine month!  If you are able, please support the Virginia wine industry this month — pick up a bottle from your local shop, order a bottle while dinning at your favorite restaurant, or, if you are not within the confines of the Commonwealth, please consider ordering a bottle online.

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

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The Case Against Screw Tops

There are many polarizing topics in the wine industry – the three-tier distribution system, indigenous vs. designer yeasts, new vs. old world, and of course real cork vs. crappy synthetic cork vs. screw top closures.

One notable trend here in Virginia is the growing use of screw top closures.  As of right now, I believe there are just two Virginia wineries that use screw top closures for all of their wines – Blenheim Vineyards and Tarara Winery – but there are several other wineries, like Lovingston Winery, moving in that direction.

I don’t much care for the term screw top (or screw cap) – instead I prefer the term ‘rotating closure.’  I first heard the term ‘rotating closure’ from someone at Keswick Vineyards, but I’ve now assumed full credit as the originator of the term.

I have had the ‘traditional cork vs. rotating closure‘ discussion with a number of winemakers, and the most often cited reason for the use of rotating closures is the fact that wines with screw cap closures are not susceptible to cork taint.   Although I have not found an absolute, definitive source for the percentage of wines that are corked, a number consistently thrown around is 3% – 5%.  This is Bovine Excrement!  As an avid opener of wine bottles, my personal experience is no more than 1% of the wine bottles with traditional cork closures that I open are corked.

Though this post began as a rant against the use of screw top closures for red wine, it has morphed in to multi-part series to address both sides of this topic.  In part I of this two part series, I present the opinions of several respected winemakers who are using screw top closures.  Part II in this series will provide my opinions and those of winemakers who prefer traditional cork closures.

My opinions on this subject are simple – I like cork. I don’t like rotating closures. I prefer my red wines sealed with a cork closure.  Cork closures represent a long-held tradition that I like, and there is something romantic to the sound of a cork being pulled from a bottle of wine.  I personally do not feel there is enough real research (i.e. – aging) to opine on the ability of screw top closures to really allow a wine to age gracefully.

In today’s post – the case for screw top closures – I’ve asked three Virginia wineries that are ahead of the screw top trend to weigh in on this subject: Kirsty from Blenheim Vineyards, Jordan from Tarara Winery, and Stephanie from Lovingston Winery.

Since Blenheim Vineyards is just one of two Virginia wineries that uses screw top closures for all of their wines, I asked winemaker Kirsty Harmon to share her thoughts on why she uses all screw top closures:

At Blenheim we use screw cap closures because of consistency and quality. Screwcap closures deliver the wine in a more consistent manner. The fact that screw caps are usually cheaper than corks ($0.18-$0.25), look cool, and are easier to open is bonuses.

I feel that wines are delivered to consumers more reliably and consistently when screw cap closures are used. Since corks are natural objects, each and every cork is different and will let an unpredictable and different amount of oxygen pass through it into the wine. Even though it might not be obvious at first, as the wines age, each bottle will become more and more different and not necessarily taste like what the winemaker intended. As most winemakers will agree, we are perfectionists and all work hard to get the wine to a point we are happy with – it seems kind of crazy to me that it is the cork that will ultimately dictate what a wine tastes like.

Corks can also harbor a compound called TCA (2,4,6 -Trichloroanisole) that can make the wine taste musty and moldy. There is no way to predict which corks have this problem and there is no way to totally avoid the problem if corks are used. While using good corks and reliable suppliers can minimize the occurrence of TCA, there is still a chance that this problem will exist.

I use screw caps on both red and white wines. All of the good things that happen during aging, like softening of tannins happen without oxygen. While the wines at Blenheim are made to be drank young, I would still use screw caps if I were going to let the wine age for a while. When I was in New Zealand, I met with numerous winemakers who were all eager to show me comparison tastings of the same wine from the same vintage bottled with either cork or screw cap. Each and every time, the wine bottled using screw caps was brighter, tasted cleaner, and a better expression of the fruit. The wines bottled with cork were tired, dull and overall less interesting. The comparison favored screw caps on everything from Riesling, to Chardonnay and Pinot noir. It was a pretty dramatic difference, and one that convinced me without a doubt to stay away from corks.

I don’t think that screw caps will be the best solution to close wine bottles in the future, but for me, they are the best solution right now.

Blenheim Vineyards
31 Blenheim Farm
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902

Although I do agree with Kirsty that screw caps will not be the last solution, I do disagree with her that these annoying little closures look cool.  I personally do not like the look of rotating closures (just one mans opinions).  I would certainly like to participate in a comparative tasting of cork vs. screw cap to ‘experience’ the difference between the two.

Last weekend, I visited Tarara Winery along with Paul and Warren from Virginia Wine Time, and the use of screw top closures was a topic of much discussion.  Jordan has made a number of wine-related changes at Tarara, one of which was converting to 100% screw top closures for all wines.

The fact is that every closure has issues and benefits.  I prefer Screw tops because their issues can be dealt with in the cellar.  I know when I bottle with screw tops that it will create a very anaerobic environment which if not careful can create reductive characters similar to Hydrogen Sulfite.  That is created by a lack of oxygen, which will create the sulfites in a wine to reduce down as opposed to bind in the simplest terms.  Reduced sulfites smell bad.  So, here at Tarara the actions we take are simple – we have a more oxidative wine making style with multiple rackings of our big reds and mostly barrel ferments on our whites.  This helps to climatize and bind any unstable sulfites in the wine prior to bottling so they have less risk of reducing.  We also simply don’t add as much sulfites to our wines and try to stay away from any later additions close to bottling.

I can talk about the advantages and disadvantages all day to almost any closure, but for our wines that have heavy extraction on the reds and bigger style whites I prefer screw tops.  Most of the wines I have encountered issues with are varietals like Sauvignon Blanc after a year or two because most of the winemaking is very anaerobic.

I don’t thing there is a problem with using any closure for the right wine.  I think Synthetic corks, Zorks, or Tetra Packs are great for a wine that is meant to be consumed young (like less then 2 years, less then 1 for tetra pack).  Since 95% of all wine is consumed inside 24 hours of purchase, these closures tend to make a lot of sense.  I do like to think that our wines will age gracefully (many of them anyway) and that is why I use screw tops.  If the elevage is correctly done (ours is also quite long before bottling) then you should be safe and the wine will age very well.  They will age differently however, but as I said on Saturday, any two wines with cork will age differently.  There is no consistency.  I do also like a lot of the glass closures, but they are hard to open for some, expensive and you require a staff person from their company to be here for the first couple bottlings to ensure they are placed properly.

As far as other pieces that come into play, including – price, ease of opening, process, it is all over the board.  Screw tops are more expensive then synthetics, Zorks, but cheaper than high quality 49mm corks with custom tin caps.  Here is the average pricing for what you will see to close a bottle:

• Synthetic Corks $0.05-$0.10 each
• Zorks $0.25 each – largely dependent on volume and incredibly labor intensive to place
• PVC Capsules – $0.02-$0.05 each
• Tin Capsules – $0.12-$0.20 each
• Traditional Corks – $0.20 – $1.00 depending on size and sorting procedures.  Buying corks is actually quite complicated, but it is all for aesthetics and has nothing to do with TCA risks.
• Screw-Tops – $0.35-$0.45
• Agglomerate Corks – $0.05 each or so with huge TCA issues. – Note: Diam corks look like Agglomerate corks but are apparently TCA free, I haven’t done too much work with them.

A cool thing that we have noticed as a cost savings is that our labor per bottle is about 20 seconds less for opening.  Might not seem like much but the value at the end of the year is a few thousand dollars.

Tarara Winery
13648 Tarara Lane
Leesburg, VA 20176-5236

Lovingston Winery is one of the Virginia wineries using screw top closures for just their white wines as of right now, but will soon include reds as well.  I recently had the chance to catchup with Stephanie Wright, one of the proprietors of Lovingston to solicit her thoughts on the use of screw top closures and why their winery is expanding the use of the closures to their red wines.

We currently use screw caps for all white wines – our Wahoo White, Seyval Blanc (currently waiting for our new vines to give us a harvest), and Petit Manseng.  We don’t use them for reds as yet, but we’re producing a red this March that will use them.

We have several reasons for using screw tops. First, the way we make our whites – all stainless, with occasionally some residual sugar, and very refreshing – makes screw tops a no-brainer.  We want the freshness to remain as long as possible on our wines, and do not really want them to change at all in the first year we’re trying to sell them/consume them.  In fact, on our Seyval and the Wahoo White, we have captured a little CO2 at bottling on purpose for that slight textural, fizzy quality, and the screw cap maintains that aspect quite well.

Second, the price aspect is huge; especially since we use the highest quality corks possible and tin capsules in our reds.  The price difference of those two items vs. a single screw top is significant, and one of the reasons we’re trying screw caps out on one of our new reds being released in early 2011.  This new red is going to have a small amount of residual sugar and be quite fruity as well as retail for somewhere around the $10 range.  Using a traditional cork closure for this wine does not make sense for this wine since this wine will not be for aging.

Third, screw tops are gaining ground in popularity with people in the restaurant industry.  I have discussed it quite a bit with wait staff in the past few months during random conversations, and they love the simple twist off of a bottle rather than having to go through the show with uncorking a bottle tableside.  And if you’re a bartender in a crowded bar/restaurant, and someone orders a glass of wine, it takes a lot less time and effort to unscrew and re-screw that bottle than it does with a cork.

As far as quality control, we had an instance in our first year of bottling where we bought two different levels of corks – the top end and the second tier – one for our higher end reds and one for our more mainstream, less expensive ones.  We had major issues with the second tier cork…they were too dry at bottling (although the cork company denied that) and would either snap in two halfway out of the bottle or they never made it into the bottle in the first place and we discovered several cases worth of uncorked, yet encapsulated, wines.  No fun.  From that point on, we have only used the top tier corks for safety’s sake.  Thus, when it comes to price differences in using all cork or some screw top, especially for a $10 wine, we can save money without sacrificing quality.  We have yet to have any issue with our screw tops.

Lovingston Winery
85 Freshwater Cove Lane
Lovingston, VA 22949

Stephanie makes a great point for screw tops in terms of ease of use in a restaurant.  This is a biggie to consider for those wineries interested in more restaurant business.  I wonder if restaurants consider rotating closures a benefit? (I’ll leave this to other peeps looking for content ideas.)

Although I have a great deal of respect for both Kirsty at Blenheim, and Jordan at Tarara, I do question their decision to use screw tops for 100% of their wines – especially reds.  I will certainly keep buying wines from both wineries, but I’m not on board with the use of screw tops for red wines (yet).  Perhaps we can convince Stephanie at Lovingston to bottle this new red in screw top and cork for an interesting comparative tasting.

I would like to thank Stephanie from Lovingston, Kirsty from Bleheim and Jordan from Tarara for providing their thoughts and opinions on this subject.  The next post in this series will provide my opinions and those of winemakers who prefer traditional cork closures.

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

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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

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

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California Bloggers and Virginia Wine

‘Introduction to Virginia Wine’ Tasting – Sonoma, CA

One of the few upsides of chronic travel is a vault of hotel points and airline miles, which means a nice trip to wine country each year (makes all the crappy 6am flights and travel-induced insomnia worth it, I guess).  Since our annual trip to Sonoma happened to fall during Virginia Wine Month coupled with the fact that Charlottesville, VA will serve as host to the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference, I thought it would be a great idea to organize an ‘Introduction to Virginia Wine‘ tasting for a group of wine bloggers while we were there.

Having hosted several other Virginia wine tasting events while on travel (here, here and here), I’ve learned the hard way to plan early, plan often, and plan some more.

In the spirit of early planning, immediately after solidifying the date of our trip, I contacted friend and fellow 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference alum, Marcy Gordon, with the idea of a Virginia wine tasting while I was in California.  Thankfully, Marcy graciously offered to host the tasting at her home.  The venue was easy – the challenge was the guest list.  I wanted a group of blogging friends who had little or no experience with Virginia wine and who will likely attend the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference.

In total, 18 blogging friends attended the tasting, including – Thea (@WineBratSF) from Luscious Lushes, Jason (@20DollarWine) from 20 Dollar Wine blog, John from John On Wine, William (@SonomaWilliam) from Simple Hedonisms, Marcy (@MarcyGordon) from Come for the Wine, Fred & Eva (@NorCalWine) from NorCalWine, Sherry (@SLHousman) from Wine with SLHousman, Joel and Cailyn (@Cailynq) from Taste Live, Brian & Michelle (@NorCalWingMan) from NorCal Wing Man blog, and Mike (@MWangbickler) from Caveman Wines.

Out on Marcy's deck for the tasting - everyone looks busy taking notes. Photo courtesy of Marcy Gordon.

 

Eva checking out William's iPad, Jason and Thea on the couch with the best view.

Not only do the guests attending these tastings need ample advance notice to work events in to their calendars, I’ve learned that wineries also appreciate advanced notice – especially during harvest.  Since August and September are crazy busy months for everyone in the Virginia wine industry, I worried that the wineries might ban me for contacting them during this hectic time.

I’m grateful for the positive response from each of the Virginia wineries I contacted – Thank you! True to form, the wineries were more than eager to share their wines with the California blogger group.

Given the amount of Twitter activity about the event, several other Virginia wineries contacted me to send wine for the tasting in the week leading up to the tasting.  Since I actually planned ahead for this event (planning ahead for me is just a few weeks) our slate of wines filled up quickly. I truly appreciate each winery that offered to send wine to support the event, especially during the crazy busy month of September!  I will be back in Sonoma in a couple of months and plan to have a tasting for another group, and will be back in touch before the tasting.

I would like to sincerely thank each of the following Virginia wineries that provided wine for the event:

• Breaux Vineyards (@BreauxVineyards)
• Keswick Vineyards (@KeswickVineyard)
• Rappahannock Cellars (@rcellars)
• Gabriele Rausse
• Mountfair Vineyards (@MFVvinotweets)
• Kluge Estate (@KlugeEstate)
• Doukenie Winery (@DoukenieWinery)
• Fabbioli Cellars (@FabbioliWines)
• Blenheim Vineyards (@BlenheimWines)
• Foggy Ridge Cider

Virginia wines lined up for the tasting... (note - those plastic red cups were provided to each person as a spit cup, not for drinking Photo by Marcy Gordon.

 

Since I spent most of the event pouring wine, providing an overview of each wine, and answering questions, I had little time to take notes.  Instead, I wrote one or two word thoughts on each wine as noted below.  (I copied the tweets below from the Twitter #VaWine feed, and lengthened several tweets by spelling out abbreviations when appropriate.  In the spirit of brevity, I’ve only included a few tweets for each wine.)

We kicked off the tasting with the Kluge Estates Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine:

JohnOnWine Lively carbonation, bright acid, steely fruit, lemon lime, 7up, Clean crisp citrus nose leads to decidedly citrusy mouth with tart green apple.

MarcyGordon Starting with @KlugeEstates bubbles dry & yeasty. @drinkwhatulike our host #VAWines

norcalwingman @KlugeEstate blanc de blanc 100% Chardonnay yeasty and crisp #vawine

SLHousman #VaWines really enjoying this Kluge Estate Blanc de Blanc Sparkling lots of citrus gr8 floral nose

SonomaWilliam #vawine tasting Kluge Estates blanc de blanc nice citrus, lemon. Very effervescent in mouth #wine nice

CreativeFurnace #vawine Kluge Blanc de Blanc delicious. Nice toasty yeast bright fruit

mwangbickler Enjoying #vawine with some of my favorite wine peeps.

20dollarwine @klugeestate blanc de blanc has interesting notes of citrus and minerals. #vawine

After the Kluge Blanc de Blanc, we moved on to the Virginia white wine flight staring with Viognier, followed by Chardonnay.  As I’ve stated many times here on this site and via Twitter, I feel Viognier can put Virginia on the global white wine map (if only more wineries would focus on this varietal and plant more of it of course).

The Virginia wine white flight (not shown, Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay and Kluge Estate Blanc de Blanc)

 

Rappahannock Cellars 2009 Viognier:

DrinkWhatULike Very nice tropical fruit.

JohnOnWine Really interesting fruit and spice nose. Oddly hollow mouth. Mouth does not deliver nose’s promise. Tart underipe pear.

norcalwingman @rcellars 2009 Viognier tropical fruits backed by Hubba Bubba bubblegum #vawine

MarcyGordon #vawines @rcellars Rappahannock Viognier peaches and cream bit of apricot.

SonomaWilliam 2009 Rappahannock Cellars Viognier lots of citrus and acidity; lemon in mouth not as floral or flabby as many others. #wine #vawine

20dollarwine Nice balance on @rcellars 2009 Viognier #vawine

Breaux Vineyards 2009 Viognier:

DrinkWhatULike Lots going on in this one. One of my favorite Viogniers.

JohnOnWine Floral and mown hay, just right, medium sweet edge. Steel citrus and crushed pineapple. Mouth watering acidity.

cailynq @breauxvineyards just tried the 09 viognier as part of #vawine west today…

MarcyGordon 09 Viognier from @BreauxVineyards citrus and lime tropical flavors. Bit thin on my palate. Need some thai spring rolls. #vawines

SLHousman Wow @DrinkWhatULike is putting on an awesome Pre WBC11 tasting of #VaWines Thanks Frank ( :

20dollarwine 2009 @breauxvineyards Viognier nice melon and lemon notes …also a bit too sweet #vawine

SonomaWilliam 2009 Breaux Vineyards again high acidity and citrus. I like the non flabbiness but not very viognier like #wine #vawine

Jefferson Vineyards 2009 Viognier:

DrinkWhatULike Apricot all over. Crowd pleaser.

JohnOnWine notes: Bigger nose than previous wines, sweeter wine. Much more apricot and pear fruit, and honeysuckle floral sweetness. Caramel.

MarcyGordon Jefferson Vineyards @ th_jefferson 09 Viognier. Unctuous smooth richness Silky soul of Viongier. #VaWines http://twitpic.com/2ug938

CreativeFurnace #vawine bubblicious with good acidity.

SonomaWilliam 2009 Jefferson Vineyards viognier more traditional nose, honey, stone fruit, nice finish. Wish was dry, slight RS, nice overall #vawine #wine

Linden Vineyards 2007 Hardscrabble Chardonnay:

DrinkWhatULike One of my favorite Chards. Werthers candy. Nice.

JohnOnWine Over barrel fermented, burnt crème brule caramel and green apple.

MarcyGordon Linden Vineyards 07 Chardonnay juicy and toasty I like the balance. Would pair this with S’Mores. #vawines

SonomaWilliam 2007 Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay nose of stone fruit, great acidity; oak and ml; very well balanced, nice finish #wine #vawine

norcalwingman Linden vineyards Chardonnay funky and oaky light and crisp acid finish #vawine

Doukenie Winery 2009 Chardonnay:

DrinkWhatULike Pineapple. Like the acidity.

JohnOnWine Lighter pineapple and cream, bright acid, off nose. Lemon and vanilla cream mouth. Acidic finish.

20dollarwine chard with little oak from @doukeniewinery #vawine

SonomaWilliam 2009 Doukenie Chardonnay tropical from oak comes thru on nose, + slight off smell; cellar to let oak integrate #wine #vawine

Blenheim Vineyards 2008 Chardonnay:

JohnOnWine Very drinkable, most familiar, similar to Chardonnays regularly enjoyed. NOT a barrel fermented malolactic monster, nice apple fruit expression, tartness, nice acid balanced by vanilla cream.

norcalwingman Dave Mathews @Blenheim Chardonnay soft and easy, light oak to no oak and decent minerality #vawine

marcygordon 08 Chardonnay @BlenheimWines appley and pineapply fruity creamy finish. Not too oaky. #vawines

SonomaWilliam 08 Blenheim Chardonnay fave wine so far; light straw, apple, stone fruit, balanced, great finish, kudos! #wine #vawine

Rappahannock Cellars 2008 Chardonnay:

DrinkWhatULike Love the tropical fruits!

JohnOnWine notes: Nice nose, fleshy tropical fruit. Lemon orange citrus.

cailynq 2008 Rappahannack cellars Chardonnay mellow and buttery…#vawine @rcellars

marcygordon Rappahannock 08 Chardonnay lemmony and fresh but my heart belongs to their Viognier @Rcellars #vawines

norcalwingman @rcellars 2008 Chardonnay very tropical on the nose surprising for a chard #vawine

mwangbickler Queen and King of the #vawine tasting in Cali. http://twitpic.com/2ughqy

SonomaWilliam 08 Rappahannock Chardonnay fragrant nose nice acidity w lemon, citrus in mouth, bit odd finish, cellar a tad? #wine #vawine

After finishing the white wine flight with four Chardonnay’s, we moved on to the red blends.  Although I feel Virginia could gain more recognition on the global wine stage by focusing on Cab Franc and Petit Verdot (just my opinion), the bordeaux style blends coming out of Virginia wineries are excellent, and easily comparable to other more notable regions.

 

Virginia wine red flight. Photo by Fred Swan.

Keswick Vineyards 2007 Heritage Reserve (Cabernet Sauvignion/Merlot):

DrinkWhatULike Violet (?), cedar. Nice. Got steak?

JohnOnWine Oak, fruit on nose. Slightly closed, yet nice cedar and berry burst comes through. Could be pretty good with a host of foods if allowed to open a little more.

marcygordon Keswick 07 cab/merlot nice nose of fruit and lavender. Chewy mouth and tabbaco notes, need some time with this one @KeswickVineyard #vawines

cailynq @keswickvineyard thanks for sending Heritage to the #vawine west fest

norcalwingman @keswickvineyard cab/merlot: tight and smoky sour cherry fruit comes out finish hints of the future #vawine

SonomaWilliam 07 @Keswickvineyards Keswick Cab, unfined/unfiltered nose of spice, red fruit, nice fruit mid palate, tad tannin on finish #wine #vawine

Rappahannock Cellars 2007 Meritage (63% Cab Sauvignon, 33% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot, 2% Malbec):

SLHousman #VaWines I’m really liking this @rcellars 07 Meritage Gr8 aromas full of dry fruit! Yum!

JohnOnWine Willy wonka cherry flavored Lik-m-aid sugar powder and oak. Nose is more complex than mouth.

marcygordon Rappahannock @rcellars 07 Mertiage– blast from the past grape & cherry Pixie Stix flavor. Makes me want to jump on a Sip n Slide. #vawines

20dollarwine Diggin the @rcellars 2007 . Structure, balance. Gimme a grass-fed steak frites #vawine

norcalwingman @rcellars meritage, interesting fruit notes on the nose reminiscent of Zinfandel light tannins eh… #vawine

SonomaWilliam 07 Rappahannock meritage vibrant dark red; soft in mouth, bright Red fruit but not Jammy, great finish, well done. #wine #vawine

Fabbioli Cellars 2008 Tre Sorelle (65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petite Verdot):

JohnOnWine Blackberry and chocolate nose, lush, not overpowering mouth, nice acidity, cedar, tannin. Berry and plum fruit taste. Good food wine.

marcygordon 07 Fabbioli tre sorelli blend elusive nose with less structure than expected for this blend. @fabbiolicellars #vawines

norcalwingman @fabbiolicellars dry red wine. Reminds me of Alexander valley cab, me likey! #vawine

SonomaWilliam 08 Fabbioli meritage tad funky nose (blew off) bit thin, good acid #wine #vawine

Breaux Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve:

JohnOnWine Loved the nose, was surprised by the aggressive mouth. Dry tannic cedary wood. Others like it more than I do, but Can Franc is one of my least favorite varietals. 16.4% alc, we had to check the label twice, it didn’t seem like an alc bomb.

marcygordon @BreauxVineyards Cab Franc sweet as baby’s breath. Like to eat some duck with this. #vawines

norcalwingman @breauxvineyards cab franc, big tannins and big licorice with healthy backing of black fruits #vawine

cailynq @breauxvineyards jenn..congrats on the little one! Wish we had more 07 cab franc @drinkwhatulike s west #vawine event

DrinkWhatULike Moving on to reds – @BreauxVineyards 07 Cab Franc Res a big hit at ‘Intro to #VaWine ‘ tasting…

SonomaWilliam 07 Breaux Vineyards Cab Franc classic nose, lush mouth, bold Rex fruit,tad sweet mid palate, offset by slight tannin on finish #wine #vawine

Rappahannock Cellars 2008 Cabernet Franc:

JohnOnWine Dusty cocoa and dry berry fruit. Vegetal and ripe blackberry. Vinuous.

marcygordon 08 Rappahannock Cellars Cab Franc string Green pepper and wheat grass element to nose. Palate a vegans dream. @rcellars #vawines

norcalwingman @rcellars cab franc smoky if not burnt overbearing on the red fruit #vawine

SonomaWilliam 08 Rappahannock cab franc, tad bell pepper on nose (softens); aerate to expose fruit, clean finish #wine #vawine

Gabrielle Rausse 2008 Cabernet Franc:

JohnOnWine notes: Less forward nose than other Cab Francs. Candied fruit berry flavor and drier oaky notes.

marcygordon Gabirele Rausse Cab Franc rose and blueberrys on the nose, escapes the norm & the form for a Cab Franc to my palate but I like it. #vawines

SonomaWilliam 08 Gabriele Rausse cab franc 13% alc (bravo) black fruit on nose, approachable, moderate red fruit, pair well w many foods #wine #vawine

Mountfair Vineyards 2008 Wooloomooloo (Petit Verdot 60%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 10%):

DrinkWhatULike This wine has character, character, character.

JohnOnWine Just when I note a nice round plum note, it clashes with a green woody note. So close to love, but too green.

norcalwingman #vawine@mfvvinotweets I think I’m getting to know the character of this AVA smoky and green tannins w/ red fruits

marcygordon Mountfair Vineyards Wooloomooloo 2008 Petit Verdot 60% Merlot 30% Cab Franc 10% & a dash of Wooly Mammoth w pepper @MFVvinotweets #vawines

20dollarwine Really liked @mfvvinotweets 2008 Wooloomooloo Bordeaux blend #vawine

Linden Vineyards 2006 Petit Verdot:

DrinkWhatULike Tight. Some funk on the nose.

JohnOnWine Not what I expected, sour cherry note. Not lovin’ it.

marcygordon Linden Petit Verdot from @drinkwhatulike personal stash. Complex nose w a deep coco puffs & earthy palate. I’m cucko for coco puffs #vawines

SonomaWilliam 06 Linden petit verdot funky nose, not my Fave varietal solo anyway. Others liked it me not so much #wine #vawine

To complete the tasting, we finished with one of Virginia’s premier hard apple ciders – the Foggy Ridge Cider.  I believe we should have started the tasting with this cider, but wanted to save until the end as a refresher.  The consensus was big thumbs up for this cider with pure, crisp green apple flavors. Interesting to note how many wine enthusiasts are also avid cider fans.  (To learn more about Virginia hard apple cider, please see ‘Virginia Cider 101‘ written by Diane Flynt, proprietor and cider maker at Foggy Ridge Cider).

 

Marcy kept us with a great cheese platter for the event. Thanks Marcy! Photo courtesy of John Cesano.

Overall, the group was very enthusiastic about trying Virginia wines and the wines were very well received.  I would like to thank each of the wineries that provided wine for this tasting, to each of the attendees who took time out of their Sunday afternoon to join us, to William Allen for providing stemware for the event, and especially to Marcy and Roger Gordon for opening their home to host the tasting.  John Cesano also posted a great recap of the tasting as well here.

 

Richard Dreyfuss stopped by for the tasting as well. By day, he goes by John Cesano.

The Wings chillaxin.

William and Mike - they look ready for Virginia wine...