2024 Virginia-only Cabernet Franc Showdown

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

You might say that Cabernet Franc is a grape that ‘gets around’.

First off, it’s the most planted wine grape in Virginia. Just over 700 acres of Cabernet Franc is grown in the state – much more than runner-up Chardonnay and leaps and bounds more acreage than #3 Petit Verdot.

Second, Cabernet Franc is one of the parents Cabernet Sauvignon. Back in the 17h century, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc got feisty in a French vineyard and produced an offspring which took parts of both parents’ names. So even if you aren’t in love with Cabernet Franc, thank it for being a great parent.

Cabernet Franc possesses a lot of great qualities yet shows them in moderation, including good but not high tannin and acidity, medium body and alcohol, and a floral aroma. This makes it a versatile wine able to be paired with a variety of food options or enjoyed on its own.

It’s also a hardy grape in the vineyard, able to ripen in cooler weather, offers good disease resistance, and doesn’t need a long growing season. Virginia winemakers (and wine growers) constantly sing its praise.

I did a “Virginia Cabernet Francs vs The World” comparison last year with wines from Virginia, France, and the Finger Lakes, but this time around we did a round of 100% Virginia wines. Most were of the 2021 vintage but we had some variation in vintage year.

Tasting & Scoring Methodology

A group of friends & I blind tasted 9 wines in 3 flights. All the flights were bagged blind.

We didn’t have a sophisticated scoring system. The goal was to pick a ‘favorite’ in every flight, as opposed to rating them and determining which one we thought was the ‘best’.

The favorite of every flight went to a ‘finalist’ round. I took the extra step of hiding the ‘finalists’ with a second bag, so any biases of an earlier tasting hopefully didn’t carry over to the final round.

After finishing the final round, we unveiled all the wines and crowned the overall favorite of the day.

This group was composed of friends who are definitely Virginia wine aficionados, so all were very familiar with Cabernet Franc. Only one had industry experience, but the others were more than familiar with blind wine tastings.

The contenders:

2021 Glen Manor
2021 Pippin Hill
2022 Wolf Gap
2021 Pollak
2021 Greenhill
2020 Pearmund
2021 50 West
2021 Keswick
2020 Stone Tower

Flight #1

Bottle #1: 2021 Glen Manor (round winner)
Bottle #2: 2021 Pippin Hill
Bottle #3: 2022 Wolf Gap

We were immediately struck by how different all of these wines were. #1 leaned into elegance while #2 was fare more traditional. #3 was probably too young for this lineup.

Bottle #1 / 2021 Glen Manor. Earthy nose, but also light and clean. On the plate people mentioned notes of spice and coco. It was velvety and tannic; firm tannins were mentioned. Astringent but in a good way.

Bottle #2 / 2021 Pippin Hill. Green pepper on the palate, white pepper on the nose. There initially was a mustiness to it but that went away as the wine opened up. Someone mentioned notes of tart cherry, and the term ‘mocha’ got some traction. Several used descriptors of balanced and smooth. Velvety; maybe a little oaky. One person mentioned too peppery

Bottle #3 / 2022 Wolf Gap. This was our ‘easy drinking wine’. Smooth, but the nose and palate weren’t aligned. Some mentioned notes red pepper and maybe vanilla on the finish. Others mentioned white pepper, or even evergreen and pine on the nose. Soft tannins.

Votes:

Ann 1/3/2. Liked the astringency and body of #1, but thought #3 was easy drinking
Ashley 2/1/3. Liked the complexity and spice of #2, but also enjoyed the balance of #1
Brandon: 1/2/3
Frank: Tie between #1 and #2, with #3 a more distant third.
Emily: 2/1/3
Isabel: 1/2/3. Thought #1 was spicy but bold, with some nice black pepper
Martha: 2/1/3
Matt: 1/2/3. I thought #1 was an easy favorite here, for its overall elegance.

Flight #2

Bottle #4: 2021 Pollak (wild card advance to next round)
Bottle #5: 2021 Greenhill (round winner)
Bottle #6: 2020 Pearmund

This round was the complete opposite of the previous one. If the 1^st round wines were strangers, this round was like seeing triplets, or at least close brothers. This round reminded me more of the Loire than Virginia.

This was also our favorite round of the day (outside of the winners round). While #6 / Pearmund lagged behind in votes, many felt it was easily was the equal to the best of the previous or subsequent flights.

Bottle #4 / 2021 Pollak. Nice complexity; good fruit qualities. Notes such as vanilla, liquorish, or barnyard were thrown out. Others mentioned notes of coco and elderberry on the palate. Acidic and dry.

Bottle #5 / 2021 Greenhill. Complex and rich were the key descriptors. Very light in color but complex on the palate. If the previous wine was fruit forward, this leaned into the dark fruit. This also had a more ‘traditional’ coco nose as Cab Francs go. Notes of sweet cherry or ripe red cherry were mentioned.

Bottle #6 / 2020 Pearmund. Light color. More vegetal nose, but definitely not in a bad way. Tart cherry was mentioned. Notes of cranberry and dry fruit, plus some tartness.

Votes:

Ann: 5/4/6. Seemed torn between #4 and #5, as both were complex, lively, and balanced
Ashley: 5/4/6. Liked the dark fruit of #5
Brandon: 5/4/6.Thought “#5 had everything”, but especially liked its complexity
Frank: 5/4/6. Thought #4 was complex and balanced
Emily: 5/6/4. “Liked everything going on” for #5, but appreciated the fruit on #6
Isabel: 5/4/6. Focused on the ripe cherry notes of #5; also mentioned its smoothness
Martha: 5/4/6. Liked the nose on #5
Matt: 4/5/6

Flight #3

Bottle #7: 2021 50 West
Bottle #8: 2021 Keswick (round winner)
Bottle #9: 2020 Stone Tower

If the previous round were near-triplets, these were brothers. It was also our big & bold group.

Bottle #7 / 2021 50 West. This wine had higher levels of sugar and alcohol than we expected, yet was also on the lighter and peppery side. Sesame nose, notes of tart cherry were mentioned. Mildest nose of the flight. Dark fruit on the palate… maybe plumb? Someone mentioned it was ‘vibrant’.

Bottle #8 / 2021 Keswick. Someone mentioned a ‘beeswax nose’. Regardless, that nose was divisive, with some loving it but others not so much.

But after it opened up, people’s opinions changed. We found it to be fruit forward, with rich raspberry notes. Smooth and lush was also mentioned. Of all the wines we tried, this one needed the most time to reach its full potential. I suspect several people changed their votes once it did.

Bottle #9 / 2020 Stone Tower: Tannic. One person mentioned a barnyard-y nose, while another said it had a liquorish, earthy nose. Musky, hints of vanilla. This was a classic, more fruit-forward Virginia Cab Franc. My favorite descriptor is this was a “big stud” of a wine.

Votes:

Ann: 8/7/9. Thought #8 was bold and has musty nose, but that softened out. Vibrant.
Ashley: 9/7/8. Though #9 had a liquorish nose
Brandon: 8/7/9. Thought #8 was barnyard-y but that mellowed out. It was also the earthiest of the bunch (I wonder if he was referring to #9 and I got this wrong?)
Emily: 9/8/7. Thought #9 had a nice warming sensation; cozy and toasty. Also was fruit forward with a peppery aroma.
Frank: 8/7/9 complex. #8 had a bell pepper note, and was lush and easy drinking
Isabel: #8 and #9 were tied, then #7. Felt #8 had earthy and berry notes, while #9 had a tobacco character
Martha: 8/9/7. Liked the nose and finish of #8, felt it was well balanced
Matt: 8/7/9. The nose really stood out on #8

Finalist Round

Bottle #1 / 2021 Greenhill (Bottle #4 in the 2^nd flight) Event Winner
Bottle #2 / 2021 Glen Manor (Bottle #1 in the 1^st flight) Runner Up
Bottle #3 / 2021 Pollak (Bottle #5 in the 2^nd flight) Third Place
Bottle #4 / 2021 Keswick (Bottle #8 in the 3^rd flight)

Normally I only pick a single favorite of every flight, but in this case Flight #2 was so universally loved, I picked a ‘wildcard’ to advance to the winning round (turned out to be our 2021 Pollak).

I didn’t take many notes on this round. But after some deliberation we went with the 2021 Greenhill Vineyard Cabernet Franc as the favorite of the day.

No surprise at the top winners here; all of these were elegant, smooth wines. The event-winning 2021 Greenhill Cabernet Franc was just great example of how Cabernet Franc can be light on the palate yet be rich and complex.

The runner-up 2021 Glen Manor Cabernet Franc leaned into that elegance even more. That was my personal favorite of the day, but I wouldn’t argue with either.

Votes:

Ann: 2/4/3/1. Went with Glen Manor because of its balance and spice note
Ashley: 2/1/4/3. Thought the Glen Manor had body but was also clean and complex
Brandon: 1/4/3/2
Emily: 1/4/3/2. Loved Greenhill because it was cozy and balanced
Frank: 1/2/4/3. Thought Greenhill had the lightest style
Isabel: 1/2/4/3
Martha: 1/2/4/3. Loved the nose and palate of the Greenhill; soft
Matt: 2/4/3/1. I gravitated towards Glen Manor because of its richness

Lessons Learned:

First off, all of these wines had ‘Virginia’ written all over them. That’s because Cab Franc is very terroir-influenced, plus it’s so widely grown that different winemakers have different signatures. You can have 9 wines and have 9 very different flavor profiles, yet all of them are recognizably ‘Virginia’ in style.

That said, very broadly this group tended to be divided between more traditional ‘Virginia style’ wines that leaned into the earthiness and pepper notes, and a set of lighter, more refined ‘Loire’ style wines. In this case, the Loire-style wines won the day.

I think the 2020 Stone Tower and 2021 Glen Manor were great examples of this spectrum. The former was a ‘big tannic brute’. The later was more of a ballerina. The 2021 Greenhill and 2021 Pollak were likewise examples of these more refined style.

I’ve seen a trend which focuses on the former, but I’m hopeful we’ll keep seeing the later.

Revisiting The Norton Grape

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

Have you tried wine made with the norton grape lately? If you say, “I had it a few years ago and wasn’t a fan,” you’re missing out.

Earlier this year, Chrysalis Vineyards’ 2021 Locksley Reserve became the first norton to ever receive a Gold medal from the Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition. On top of that, The Omni Homestead Resort now hosts an annual Norton Cup Challenge, and competition organizer Fred Reno has devoted a series of podcasts dedicated to this grape. These accolades are the direct result of winemakers treating Norton as a ‘serious wine’.

Norton’s high acidity and unique flavor profile makes it a love-it or hate-it wine amongst consumers. Growers, however, are willing to overlook these issues due to norton’s ability to endure difficult weather and its natural disease resistance, minimizing the need for chemical sprays.

Norton at Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyard

Therein is the reason why norton is underappreciated, wrote Jason Murray of Arterra Wines.

“Just because norton is tough doesn’t mean it doesn’t require care. Many winegrowers tend to take their norton for granted, neglectfully managing the crop and canopy, or planting it in the worst spots in the vineyard.”

The growing number of extreme weather events is another reason why many growers are giving norton a second look. In describing norton’s place in his vineyard, owner Scott Elliff of DuCard Vineyards used a football analogy.

“Think of an NFL draft. Do you draft based on their current performance despite having a limited ceiling, or on their long-term potential? Smart owners do a bit of both. Our vinifera have great potential, but sometimes they’re like a star athlete that’s injury prone. But norton is reliable year-after-year.”

While its sustainability is perhaps norton’s greatest strength, it’s unfair to assume norton growers are simply hedging their bets in the vineyard. Winemakers are also learning to tease out its best expressions in the cellar, making today’s nortons better than ever.

The Origin of “Virginia’s Grape”

Few realize norton was the original rockstar grape of the Virginia wine industry.

According to the book The Wild Vine, norton was ‘born’ in 1821, in a Richmond nursery owned by horticulturalist Dr. Daniel Norton. Norton became one of America’s most prominent grapes over the following decades, largely due to its immunity to the phylloxera louse which was then devastating vineyards around the globe. In 1873, a norton made near St. Louis was declared the “best red wine of all nations” at a worldwide competition in Vienna.

There’s still debate on where to place norton amongst the various species of grapes. Is it a ‘hybrid’; aka the child of Vitis aestivalis (American) and Vitis vinifera parents? Or should it be referred to as an ‘American’ grape? While it’s still sometimes referred to as a hybrid, most experts feel norton’s resiliency strongly suggests it’s far closer to its American DNA than any European relatives.

Despite its early popularity, by the early-20^th century norton had disappeared. Growers discovered grafting American grape rootstock on vinifera vines allowed them to survive phylloxera, leading to a renaissance in vinifera plantings. The advent of prohibition doomed Virginia’s remaining norton.

Fortunately, the grape survived in Missouri, and returned to its ancestral home thanks to Dennis Horton of Horton Vineyards. Norton was further popularized by Jenny McCloud of Chrysalis, which today owns the single largest norton planting in the world.

The story of DuCard’s norton vines demonstrates both how this grape has often been treated, and how growers are finding ways to improve its quality.

According to a recent podcast interview with Fred Reno, Scott planted norton at Dennis’ recommendation. During a visit, Dennis pointed to a block at the bottom of a swale and told him, “Just put the norton down there. It won’t care; it’ll do perfectly fine. You won’t have any trouble with it and it will be a consistent producer.”

By Scott’s own admission, his first few norton vintages were rough. Its wines were too acidic, too ‘untamed.’ Since adjusting grapes in the cellar wasn’t DuCard’s style, Scott looked for a solution in the vineyard.

DuCard winemaker Julien Durantie hypothesized that moving to a unique modified open lyre system resulted in better chemistry in the grapes. Their experimentation must have paid off, as DuCard’s 2017 Norton was selected as the winner of the inaugural Norton Cup in 2022.

Winemaker Chelsey Blevins of Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyard likewise noted the impact proper care has on wine quality. During her own interview she explained to Fred, “I think why nortons have gotten a bad rap is people have been planting it in not ideal locations, and not necessarily giving it the TLC it needs in the vineyard. They’re like, ‘oh, it’s a hybrid, it can handle this.’ But I think if you give it a little extra love and attention out in the vineyard and winery, you’re going to make a better wine out of it.”

Many of Virginia’s most acclaimed norton producers have also learned to smooth their wines, usually with a bit of blending. The Lockley Reserve is 80% norton, but the remainder is tannat and petit verdot. DuCard adds cabernet franc to its norton.

Chelsey takes norton blending a step further. Since 2021 she’s released a wine named Arrowhead, which usually hovers around 70% chambourcin and 30% norton.

Arterra takes a different tactic. One of Jason’s experiments has been to age his 2020 “Büyükbaba” in a clay amphora, giving it an Old World vibe. While he’s happy with the result, Jason readily admits he doesn’t think the winemaking is nearly as important as the growing conditions. “Good fruit, given time, will make great wine and will not require correcting anything,” he told his audience at a blind tasting of different nortons.

Try any of these nortons and tell them what you think!

Walsh Family Bar Takeover With Domaine Finot and Domaine Fortier

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

How many Walsh Family Wine Bar Takeovers have I been to? 25? 30? More? I’ve lost track.

Let’s just say that between all the creative ‘side-project’ wines crafted from well-known Virginia winemakers, wines from new businesses that don’t have tasting rooms, collaborations between Nate Walsh and one of his friends, and ‘friends of Walsh Family’ visiting to share their wine…Walsh Family Wine has showcased a lot of guest brands.

This latest Takeover was likewise a hit, since it featured an old favorite and what I expect to be a new one.

Bar Takeovers can get really busy, so I arrived early to chat up Stephen Fortier and Jennifer Volk-Fortier before things got hectic. I waved to Matthieu Finot as I parked, gave a hug to Kathy Wiedemann, and got a glass of Walsh Sauv Blanc while I chatted up the tasting crew.

Matthieu’s Domaine Finot VA set up shop near the main tasting area while Domaine Fortier was in the ‘Garden Room’. Matthieu joked he couldn’t start serving until 4 PM because he’s always late (fashionably late; he’s French after all) so wouldn’t pour until the stroke of 4. Eventually he relented and we got started.

Matthieu Finot (left), Stephen Fortier (center), Jennifer Volk-Fortier (right)

Domaine Finot

The name Matthieu Finot should be very familiar, given he won the most recent Governor’s Cup for his 2019 Meritage with King Family Vineyards. Less known is his personal label, Domaine Finot.

It’s unfair to say that King Family doesn’t allow Matthieu creative license in his winemaking (check out their ‘Small Batch’ series). But here’s the thing with many established wineries; they have a ‘brand’ to protect, so prefer most of their wines stay ‘on brand’. This has resulted in a number of established winemakers establishing ‘side-gigs’ where they can flex their creative muscles.

Domaine Finot is where Matthieu has free reign to do what he wants, and his focus is to create ‘natural wine’ using 5 acres of fruit from Turk Mountain, located in the Afton region of Charlottesville.

Matthieu explained his wines are as ‘minimal intervention’ as you can get while still using vinifera, which (sadly) require at least some spraying in Virginia. Or, as he explained, ‘natural wine…basically.’

Natural wine isn’t legally defined in the United States, hence there’s some ambiguity regarding what the term actually means. For Matthieu, his approach is to use natural yeast and no sulfur, usually making his wines unfiltered, and occasionally using whole-cluster fermentation. His Malbec is made using carbonic maceration.

That also means these wines get to be what they want to be. While Matthieu would have preferred his most recent vintages come out with lower levels of alcohol, he shrugged and said, “Well, that’s minimal intervention”.

Matthieu served 4 wines; a Petit Verdot Pét-Nat, a 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, a 2021 Cabernet Franc, and his brother’s 2022 “Tracteur Rouge” red blend, made from Domaine Finot (Virginia)’s ‘brother’ label, Domaine Finot (France).

The Pét-Nat was arguably my favorite of the lineup. I didn’t ‘want’ a bottle, I ‘needed’ a bottle. No tasting notes; I just enjoyed sampling it on the spot (and came back for a 2^nd taste).

2022 Sauv Blanc: Made as an ‘orange wine’ (wine made from a white grape but made in the cellar using the same process given to red grapes). Cloudy. It had a pithy-tart/grapefruit note to it; almost like an IPA. Super expressive and interesting.

The 2021 Cabernet Franc was the runner up favorite. “Big” as Cab Francs go, made with whole cluster fermentation.

Tracteur Rouge: Grown in a parcel in the Alps by his brother Thomas; owner of Domaine Finot (France). Like its Virginia counterpart, Thomas farms with a high degree of sustainability. I remember liking this wine, but tasting notes are hard to write when holding your glass out in a crowd.

Domaine Fortier

The other guest winery was Domaine Fortier, owned by Jennifer and Stephen Fortier. Based in Lovettsville, the Fortiers had become so engrossed by the Virginia wine scene they decided to ‘pursue the dream’ of becoming vintners, on top of their successful careers and raising a family.

To help make the dream come true they turned to Nate Walsh, who is producing their wines at Walsh Family Wine and tutoring Stephen in winemaking. Nate was a natural choice, since he’s local and specializes in small-batch winemaking like this.

While the Fortiers bought grapes during their first few years of operation, in the future their wine will be made using fruit from 10 acres on their own property (a mixture of Cab Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Tannat, Petit Manseng, Chardonnay, and Norton).

I got the feeling the Fortiers are one of those couples that need to constantly stay busy. Stephen is a defense contractor while Jennifer is a patent attorney with an engineering background. Like many who catch the ‘wine bug’ they didn’t have any background in viticulture, but neither did they let that stop them.

According to Stephen, originally they were aiming for 5 acres of vines but decided ‘go big or go home’, picking a 34-acre property in Lovettsville. Vines were planted in 2020, and they are aiming for about 3,000 cases/year. Eventually Domaine Fortier will have a tasting room, but for now they will serve their wine at pop-ups events.

Jennifer explained they are focusing on providing a more ‘elevated experience’ with their wines. One problem Virginia wine has is its wine is often sold young, as vintages sell out quickly. To avoid this, the Fortiers took a methodical approach to building up the brand, opening only when they could sell wines that had some age.

Their strategy was working out before they even ‘opened’, because their 2017 Cabernet Franc earned Gold as the prestigious San Francisco Chronical wine competition.

Originally we kicked off with five wines, but we convinced them to sneak in a bottle of white Merlot to the lineup. While everything was well made, I’d say the whites were the real stars.

2023 Albariño: Or “sunshine in a bottle” as Jennifer called it. This grape does great in Virginia. Expressive; not quite as much saline as a Spanish wine but one of the better Albariño I’ve had lately – and I drink a lot of Albariño.

2020 Petit Manseng: The knockout wine of the day. Fruit forward with tropical notes. Made in a dry style, it was so rich it could fake you out into thinking it was sweet. This was the first bottle my group opened at our table near the fireplace.

2020 Chardonnay: Lightly oaked

2020 Le Pivot: Sorry, no notes on this one!

2017 Cabernet Franc: 85% CF/15% Tannat, made using barrels from the old Northgate Winery (which is now Walsh Family Wine). Gold at the SF Chronical.

Sipping The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association’s Top Wines With The Congressional Wine Caucus

Posted on March 23, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

It’s not often you get to sip local-ish wine at a semi-formal event at the US Capitol, but that’s exactly what I was able to do this past week.

The event in question was the annual Jefferson Loving Cup Trophy award ceremony, sponsored by the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association (ASWA) and hosted by the Congressional Wine Caucus. Guests were able to enjoy light bites and tastings of over 45 wines, including the ASWA’s 2023 Best of Show and Best of Category winners.

It would be easy to poke fun at Congress for taking time off for a wine event on the eve of a shutdown, but for this event I’ll give them a pass. After all, the wine industry contributes an estimated $276 billion to the U.S. economy annually and creates the equivalent of almost two million full-time jobs. That’s a lot of $$$, especially for enterprises that are often based in rural areas.

More importantly for me, these particular wines all hailed from the east coast; specifically the 14 states that touch the Atlantic, plus Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia. Altogether, this area produces around 45 million gallons of wine annually.

That sounds like a lot, but it’s still just over 6% of total US wine production. That’s a splash compared to the west coast’s 90% market dominance – and exactly why the ASWA’s role is important.

West coast brands hog up much of the wine world’s shelf and advertising space, so east coast regions need an organization to advocate for them. Bonus points for how the ASWA highlights grapes that would otherwise be overlooked (hello petit verdot and petit manseng).

Mike Thompson (D-CA) stopped in for a few minutes and joked how the Congressional Wine Caucus was one of the largest such caucuses, in no small part because it’s far easier to negotiate over a glass of wine than behind a desk. After a few remarks, we kicked off the “Best in Class” awards.

We were lucky to have a number of local growers in attendance. I didn’t catch everyone’s name, but I did get to see Jason Murray and Sandy Gray-Murray of Arterra Wines, Shannon Horton of Horton Vineyards, Mark Ward of Pearmund Cellars/Effingham/Vint Hill, Jeremy Ligon of Barrel Oak Winery, and Emily and Kenny White of Chateau Merrillanne, amongst others.

I know the Pearmund ‘family’ must have been exceptionally excited that three separate wines won Best in Class in their categories; their 2022 Petit Manseng and 2022 ‘Celebration’ from Effingham, and the “Misty” from Vint Hill.

Mark joked that one of his hardest jobs is to decide if he should make wine that he likes vs what the public likes. His palate preferred drier wines, but these would make those with a sweeter palate happy.

One winemaker that was new to me was Tom Shelton of Bordeleau Winery, located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Bordeleau won not just Best in Class for their “Lot Number 3” Non-Vintage Petit Verdot, but it went on to win the overall “Best in Show”.

This PV is a rare example of a non-vintage wine. Tom explained he recognizes that Maryland’s variable climates creates ‘peaks and valleys’, making it difficult to produce stylistically-similar wine year after year. To get around that, he makes all of his wines non-vintage, with the exception of a few whites.

This particular PV used fruit from 2016, 2017, and a bit from 2019. I was struck by its smoothness and complexity; it had just enough fruit to make it pleasant but it still had a tannic backbone. This was their 3^rd petit verdot.

My other favorite wines were Horton’s 2019 Albariño, the 2021 Chardonnay from Fox Run, Herron Hill’s 2020 Pinot Noir (both in the Finger Lakes), plus several sparklings (of course).

I also got to try Fifty-Third Winery’s 2021 Norton, which I had just written about. Norton is a love-it-or-hate-it grape but I was pleasantly surprised by its smoothness, so I can understand why it was awarded “Best Norton” at the separate Norton Cup event last year.

While Bordeleau Winery’s Petit Verdot was the star, plenty of other wines were recognized. The 2023 ASWA competition awarded 33 “Best of Class” wines from amongst 455 entries.

In addition to popular categories such as Best of Class Bordeaux-style wine, chardonnay, and sparkling, they also had winners for various categories of mead, sweet wine, fruit wine, cider, hybrids, and other vinifera wines.

Here is an abbreviated roster. To see ASWA’s entire medal list, check out the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association’s press release, or visit https://aswawines.org.

Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association Best of Class Winners (abbreviated)

Albariño 2019 Albariño Private Reserve by Horton Cellars Winery, VA
Bordeaux-Style Red Blends 2021 Founded 1734 by Chateau MerrillAnne, VA
Cabernet Franc 2021 Cabernet Franc Reserve by Fifty-Third Winery & Vineyards, VA
Chardonnay 2020 Chardonnay by The Winery at Sunshine Ridge Farms, VA
Merlot 2015 Reserve Merlot by Ospreys Dominion Vineyards, Ltd., NY
Other Red Vinifera Varietals 2021 Tannat by Arterra Wines, VA
Petit Manseng 2022 Petit Manseng by Effingham Manor Winery, VA
Petit Verdot NV Petit Verdot by Bordeleau Winery, MD (Best in Show)
Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio 2022 Pinot Gris by Harvest Ridge Winery, DE
Riesling 2021 Semi-Dry Riesling by Fox Run Vineyards, Inc., NY
Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Landmark Sauvignon Blanc by Boordy Vineyards, MD
Seyval Blanc 2021 Seyval Blanc, Barrel Oak Winery, VA
Sparkling Vinifera Wines 2022 Sparkling Riesling (String of Pearls) by Idol Ridge Winery, NY
Viognier 2022 Viognier by Ashton Creek Vineyard, VA

Dining at Mount Ida For Charlottesville Restaurant Week

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

It’s tough to pick a single theme when discussing the Mount Ida Reserve Tasting Room & Taphouse, simply because there’s a lot to talk about. I visited to interview Executive Chef Jabari Wadlington, but chatting with him was just one part of my visit.

I easily could have spent more time talking about the wine. Mount Ida has 27 acres of mostly Bordeaux varietals, divided between three vineyards. While the winery is around 30 minutes south of Charlottesville, they are still part of the Monticello American Viticultural Area (AVA) that Wine Enthusiast called the 2023 “Wine Region of the Year”.

I could also talk about how stunning the property is. The business covers 3,500 acres divided between a number of smaller venues, including the wine tasting room/taproom, event centers, lots for private homes, and a number of home rentals (including a building that dates to the 1700s).

There’s also the brewery. Mount Ida is one of only a handful of Virginia wineries that has a fully integrated taproom, and is probably the only one of those with a full farm-to-table restaurant. On top of all of this, last year they started offering trail rides.

But for this trip, I was focused on the food. I’ve been on a mission to interview the Executive Chefs who work in Virginia wine country. Given how Mount Ida’s restaurant is an integral part of the overall experience, meeting Jabari was high on my list.

I was fortunate to schedule my visit at the end of Charlottesville’s Restaurant Week, which for the first time included Mount Ida as a participant. Jabari was especially proud of his Restaurant Week menu, which he used as an opportunity to test out dishes for the winery’s own 2024 menu.

Before we met up I also learned some background about the winery part of the operation. Frantz Ventre is their full time winemaker, although the production is done at Michael Shaps Wineworks. While Frantz is a native of France, he’s been part of the Virginia wine scene for about two decades, with a resume that includes Sweely Estate (before it became Early Mountain), Jefferson Vineyards, and Grace Estate.

Elevating “New Southern” Dishes

After a quick look around I met up with Jabari, who told me his story.

While Jabari was born in L.A., he moved to Virginia in 1996. As someone who grew up watching the Blue Angels at airshows and describes himself as ‘obsessed with planes’, it’s no surprise he originally planned on becoming an Air Force pilot. That led Jabari to study engineering at Tuskegee University and participating in their Air Force ROTC program.

While becoming a pilot is still on the bucket-list, Jabari eventually realized flying for the Air Force wasn’t in his future. He transferred to Johnson & Wales University to study the culinary arts, which led to an internship in New Orleans under Tom Wolfe.

From there, Jabari described a veritable roller-coaster of different experiences. For years he jumped around different east coast restaurants, ran a catering business, cooked for celebrities and executives in D.C., all the while learning the ins & outs of operating a kitchen. The birth of his son encouraged him to seek greater stability, which led him to Charlottesville.

“I’ve always felt the reason I chose the culinary arts is it’s the only art form that uses all of your senses. Food just has a lot of power in bringing people together, and that’s what I love the most.

My niche is probably ‘New Southern’. That’s not just your typical soul food – fried chicken, mac n cheese, collards, and those kinds of things. Its food that uses ingredients that goes to the root of what makes cuisine what it is now, while being versatile enough to reach a wide group of people.

As I got older I started opening more restaurants, including two in Charlottesville. I’ve always focused on community, farm-to-table settings, but more focused on the ‘community’ part than the fine dining aspect. Doing events at different farms also helped me build relationships.”

Finding Mount Ida And Appreciating Sustainability

Eventually Jabari interviewed for the Executive Chef position at Mount Ida – and was offered the job that day. “I didn’t take the position right away since I hadn’t seen the property. But when I came and saw the view I was like “Yes…I’ll take it!”.

While Jabari still uses his local contacts, the farm at Mount Ida has much to offer.

“We try to be as sustainable as we can. The property has 3,500 acres and around 150 cattle. We chop down trees for smoking our pork belly and get wild mushrooms from along the ridge. All the malt and barley we use for our brewery is used as feed for the cattle. It’s a magical place to work.

Having the cattle gives us a unique niche in the market. Our meat really stands out because we use the entire cow, so our burgers include ribeye and sirloin. Even the short ribs we have for restaurant week were from our cows. We can put a filet on the table and not charge $42-48 like other locations.”

Being a chef also gave him an eye for wine pairings, which are put to good use at the tasting room. Jabari’s four-course Restaurant Week menu recommended their chardonnay to go along with the rich options of his first course, the petit manseng to pair with the seafood and salad-heavy second course, the petit verdot to soften the fatty dishes of the third, and a port-style wine to compliment the dessert.

My dining companion & I tried his winter parfait & butternut squash soup for our first courses, the fire roasted oysters and jumbo shrimp for the second, and short ribs and mushroom tagliatelle for our mains.

“I use my dishes to offset where the wine is on your palate. I like using our cabernet franc and petit manseng, but I really think viognier stands out as a Virginia staple. I’m also a fan of our red blends, and pairing our port-styles with our desserts. Pairings are where I get to have fun.”

Jabari also praised Mount Ida’s beer. Last summer he took their stout and reduced it into a syrup, which was made into a ‘beer ice cream’. He also used Mount Ida’s rosé as a base for their sorbet.

Picking a favorite dish is a difficult job, especially given how he’s always mixing-up the menu. Yet a few staples, like their pizza, are always available. “I get bored with food, and always want to try something that other restaurants aren’t doing. But we have our own pizza ovens, so during the season we sell a lot of pizza!”.

Mount Ida is open seven-days a week. While you might not see Jabari in the dining room, fans of his cuisine can watch reruns on The Food Network and see him compete.

Virginia Winemakers Excited Over the 2023 Vintage

Posted on February 17, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

2023 is likely to go down as a banner year in the Virginia wine industry. Warm, dry weather provided ideal growing conditions for much of the state, resulting in what many local winemakers are calling some of the best fruit they’ve seen in a decade. It’s what romantics might call, ‘a good vintage’.

But what makes a good vintage? In a state as geographically diverse as Virginia, defining this may be harder than you think.

Virginia’s main wine growing regions usually have unique seasonal variations. There are years where central Virginia suffers from late-spring frost, while northern Virginia skates by without a hitch. Yet the following year, NOVA vineyards with grapes still on the vine may suffer from late season rain, weeks after Charlottesville wineries have mostly finished harvest. Meanwhile, the Shenandoah Valley asks, “What rain?”.

Different styles of wine also have different needs. Those who prefer classic, cool-weather expressions of Chardonnay may grumble over a hot season’s high alcohol levels, while neighboring winemakers who like bold reds are positively ecstatic.

Fortunately, the 2023 growing season is one of the few years that’s received almost universal praise across the state.

According to Jason Murray, owner & winemaker of Arterra Wines in Delaplane, “Simply put, overall 2023 was an outright ideal vintage for us. We had ideal spring rains for initial growth, and then it went very dry.

We had just the right amount of rain at just the right moments to keep the vines on a quality path, while just barely averting significant vine damage. 2023 achieved the same intensity and concentration as 2019, without the excessively high alcohol levels. It’s an impressive vintage, with what I would call ‘perfect’ fruit.”

Rough Start To A Great Year

While the season turned out great, it didn’t start off easy. An abnormally warm winter meant vineyards were hitting ‘bud break’ ahead of schedule. This makes them susceptible to a late frost, which kills fragile shoots just as they are emerging from the bud. Several vineyards encountered frost snaps as late as May, inflicting losses to early ripening grapes such as Chardonnay.

Once summer hit, things moved quickly. Data from NOAA show the summer of 2023 ranks as the 15^th hottest on record in the United States. As heat speeds a grape’s maturation process, it forced winegrowers to harvest their grapes at a record speed.

“2023 was a wild ride, with one of the most condensed seasons I’ve experienced,” shared AJ Greely, winemaker for Hark Vineyards. “We ran our wind machine to keep the cold air off our vines 12 times in the spring, and kept a serious eye on the temperature more than double that number.

When harvest came we picked and processed every other day, with a one week break to catch our breath. Then we picked and processed for another 10 days!”

While frost singed some vineyards, the lack of rain was ultimately a more pressing issue. Drought stress caused ripening to stall for some varieties, and also caused alcohol levels to spike while reducing cluster weight.

However, dry weather also has its advantages.

“2023 was an abnormally dry growing season in Virginia, although it also makes life in the winery easier,” explained Robert Muse of Muse Vineyards.

“Rain is the chief catalyst for mildew infections in the vineyard. Winemakers can use sulfite to combat them in the cellar, which eliminates bacteria that impair the quality of the wine. Unfortunately, these sulfite additions are inadvertently harmful to the yeast necessary for a thorough fermentation. To avoid these issues, clean fruit is essential.

A grower can ensure clean fruit with a meticulous spray program in wet years, or he/she can relax by the pool knowing a dry sunny ripening season is taking care of most disease issues in the vineyard. 2023 was such a year.”

Wineries Expecting Lower Quantities But Much Higher Quality

While the overall tonnage for the 2023 vintage might be lower than normal, the wines should make up for it in quality, said Toni Kilyk of Granite Heights Winery.

“Our grapes are smaller than normal size to begin with, but this year they were even smaller. We had close to the same number of grape clusters but with very little juice inside, hence our harvest weights were much lower than normal. That said, less juice means a higher skin-to-juice ratio, so we’ll have more potent wine.”

Many winegrowers echoed her assessment, and were particularly optimistic about their red wines.

“I’m excited about tannat and cabernet franc this year,” wrote Doug Fabboili of Fabbioli Cellars. “You can count on these grapes to make great wine almost every year, but this year’s can be outstanding!”

Virginia’s weather is normally hot and humid, and grapes that require dry weather often struggle. But dry climate varieties may be the 2023 vintage’s sleeper hits. A number of winegrowers expressed excitement how normally difficult-to-ripen varieties such as cabernet sauvignon, malbec, sangiovese, tempranillo, and petite sirah would turn out.

“I don’t ever want to jump the gun, but I’m very excited about the 2023 vintage wines,” Toni continued. “They are aging nicely, and I think we’ll see wines that easily compare with 2010/2017/2019 vintages in terms of quality.”

Alexandria Welcomes Negus Winery, America’s First Ethiopian Honey Wine Tasting Room

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

When Negus Winery opened its doors, it wasn’t just the start of Alexandria’s newest winery. It was owner/winemaker Gize Negussie’s way to introduce Tej, or Ethiopian honey wine, to the world.

Honey wine is a cultural staple in Ethiopia, with a history going back to the Queen of Sheba. While it’s an alcoholic beverage related to mead, don’t expect to taste something you’d find at a renaissance festival.

“Think of Tej as a cousin of mead”, Gize explained. “To make an Ethiopian honey wine, you need the right kind of honey and yeast.

The fermentation process is also different. Mead gets a lot of its flavors from fruits and spices, but we don’t add anything to our honey wine, not even sulfites. If you ask members of the Ethiopian community if Tej and mead are the same, they’d disagree.”

While Ethiopia has tasting houses dedicated to this beverage, Gize is proud to say Negus Winery is the first such establishment in the U.S. But the road to opening his own tasting room was a winding one.

Originally from Ethiopia, Gize arrived in San Francisco in 2011. His time in California exposed him to the wine industry.

“I grew up in a business-oriented family. I started a tour & travel company which explored California wine country, and that allowed me to make connections in the wine business. Winemakers encouraged me to introduce Tej to the United States, since it’s completely different.”

Gize first opened a brewery in D.C., which included a honey wine on the menu. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit and the business didn’t survive.

Speaking with his family, Gize came up with an idea that was both new yet familiar; opening a honey wine establishment in the D.C. area, with beverages using his family’s recipe.

“When we celebrate in Ethiopia, honey wine is a must-have on the table. It used to be reserved for royalty but now every family makes it. My recipe came from my mother, but we modernized the production process.

I knew if I opened a tasting room here, people will fall in love with it. While there are other honey wine producers in the United States, none of them have their own tasting room. So far we’re the only one.”

Negus produces three kinds of honey wine; semi-dry, semi-sweet, and non-alcoholic. In keeping with tradition these are served in a “berele”, a colorful Ethiopian flask-like vessel.

While these are Negus’s flagship beverages, guests have additional options.

“I don’t want to close the door to people who want to try something else”, Gize explained while pouring another serving of honey wine. “We wanted to support local, so we also serve several grape wines made in Loudoun County. Hopefully next year I’ll be making wine on premise.”

Negus Winery is located at 5509 Vine St Suite A, Alexandria. Extra parking is available behind the building.

Visitors are welcome to bring their own food or enjoy snacks purchased on premise. A food truck will be available in the spring.

Virginia Petit Verdot Blind Tasting Showdown: The 2019 Vintage

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

This event was something of a ‘first’. I’ve made steady progress in writing comparative tastings for most of Virginia’s major varietals, and only occasionally felt the need to revisit a grape. Yet this didn’t stop me from doing my 3^rd comparison of Petit Verdot; the most I’ve ever done with a single variety.

For those not familiar with Petit Verdot, the ‘little green’ (the English translation of ‘petit verdot’) is one of Virginia’s signature grapes. A high-acid variety, PV can retain that acidity despite Virginia’s hot summers. It’s also fairly weather resistant, making it popular for vineyard managers.

PV also provides color and tannin to blends. In many ways PV has become a blending replacement for Cab Sauv, which is a difficult grape for Virginia to grow. That the two most recent Virginia Governor’s Cup winning wines were PV-heavy isn’t a coincidence.

These traits have allowed PV to become the 3^rd most planted grape in the state, widely used both as a stand-alone varietal and a blending partner. PV’s main drawback is its berries are small, so there’s not a lot of tonnage (as one would expect from a grape with the name ‘petit’ in it).

My first PV comparison only used PVs from Virginia’s 2017 vintage. The second was a multi-vintage (and multi-state) PV comparison. Arterra’s 2017 and DuCard’s 2017 PVs won each of their respective events, so I decided to move on to a 2019-vintage comparison.

Most wineries would agree that 2019 was a good to excellent vintage, particularly for reds. It was a hot summer so alcohol levels were slightly on the higher side, but it also delivered on ripeness.

Just as importantly, doing a horizontal tasting of 2019 vintage wines meant the only differences came from the vineyard and winemaker, which evened the playing field.

I can’t confirm that every bottle was 100% PV but I strongly suspect they were.

Tasting & Scoring Methodology

A group of friends & I blind tasted 9 wines in 3 flights. All the flights were bagged; even I didn’t know which-was-which, as I bagged them randomly.

We didn’t have a fancy scoring system. The goal was to pick a ‘favorite’ every round, as opposed to rating them and determining the one we thought was the ‘best’.

I will say this was one of the most even playing fields I’ve ever had. We had bottles from 9 exceptional wineries from an exceptional vintage. EVERY one of these wines were good-to-excellent.

Moreover, by the end of the night there was a lot of people who insisted their favorite wine of the night didn’t make it to the ‘finalist’ round. Although my selection process forced us to choose a ‘favorite’ every round, that’s not to say the final ones were “everybody’s” favorite. More than a few excellent bottles simply got out-voted by our group of 7.

The Contenders:

DuCard Vineyards 2019 Petit Verdot (100%)
Chateau MerrillAnne 2019 Petit Verdot (100%)
Arterra Wine 2019 Petit Verdot (100%)
Wisdom Oak Winery 2019 Petit Verdot (100%)
Ingleside Vineyards 2019 Petit Verdot
Linden Vineyards 2019 Petit Verdot (100%)
Cave Ridge Vineyard 2019 Petit Verdot (100%)
Hark Vineyards 2019 Petit Verdot (100%)
Pollack Vineyards 2019 Petit Verdot

Round 1 / Flight #1:

Bottle #1: DuCard Vineyards
Bottle #2: Chateau MerrillAnne (Round winner)
Bottle #3: Arterra Wine

This arguably was my favorite round, and it demonstrated how hard it was for us to pick a ‘favorite’. I’m convinced #1/DuCard could easily have been the best of the day, but the randomness of these tastings put it against the wine that went on to win the event. Even so, I was tempted to give #1 a “Wild Card” advance.

In terms of coloration #2 was the lightest and #3 was the darkest. #1 and #2 opened up nicely as the round went on. None of them were overly expressive on the nose; the nose opened up a little but PV isn’t an overly aromatic variety.

We spent a lot of time on wine descriptors during this round, just go get people comfortable speaking their mind.

Bottle #1 DuCard Vineyards: Lots of tasting notes, if only because the group was opinionated, and this bottle was speaking to us.

On the nose I got lots of violet. On the palate the most popular descriptors were dark fruit (especially cherry or strawberry), pepper, spice notes, plus grippy tannin. Someone mentioned notes of cedar.

It was a very drinkable and balanced wine. #1 opened up nicely about halfway through and the fruit became more pronounced, which made it REALLY hard for me to not pick it as my round favorite.

Bottle #2 Chateau MerrillAnne: On the nose people mentioned notes of tobacco, blackberry or black fruit in general. On the palate, red fruit.

I also heard someone say it had a “Dr. Pepper” note to it. Another said there was some heat on the nose, plus maybe notes of mocha. Overall, it was a balanced, complex wine.

Bottle #3 Arterra Wine: We didn’t realize it at the time, but at 16.5% this was the highest alcohol wine of the day. That percentage gave #1 the perception of sweetness, despite zero RS. This would have rocked with a spicy dish though.

The color was especially dark. Of the trio, we felt it had the least amount of oak treatment. The group mentioned notes of black cherry, chocolate, or blueberry, plus tartness on the back end. My favorite descriptor was it was smokey, or even had a ‘old library’ note.

This soon became a contest between #1 and #2 for round favorite, and most voters only narrowly went with #2. The general consensus (but with two exceptions) is while people liked #3, the high alcohol made it a ‘one glass’ wine, while #1 and #2 were wines you could more easily enjoy.

Votes:

Alex: 2/1/3. Mentioned the #1 (DuCard) reminded him of a Russian River Valley pinot.
Ashley: 2/1/3.
Brandon: 2/1/3. Felt #2 (Chateau MerrillAnne) was the most complex.
Emily: 3/1/2. Felt #3 (Arterra) was ‘cozy’ and stood out, and especially liked the aroma.
Frank: 2/1/3. Felt #2 was the most complex, reminded him of a cigar box.
Isabel: 3/2/1
Matt: 2/1/3. Was torn between the complexity of #2 or fruit-forward notes of #1, which once it opened up was very lovely.

Round 1 / Flight #2:

Bottle #4: Wisdom Oak Winery (Round winner)
Bottle #5: Ingleside Vineyards
Bottle #6: Linden Vineyards

What I liked about this round is how different these bottles were from the previous one. It was a real demonstration of the diversity of Petit Verdot. Even the coloration was different.

#4 and #5 quickly became the favorites. Once it opened up we liked #6 more, but it was in a tough group.

This round also showed me how difficult it would be to do a ‘wild card’ advancement, because guests kept talking about how much they loved #5 (we had the same issue with #9). I couldn’t advance “all” the great runner-ups, so I went with what we had.

Bottle #4 Wisdom Oak Winery: Most fruit-forward and acidic of the group. I found notes of tobacco and earthy, backed by some bright red fruit.

Other notes included “jammy chocolate” (one of my favorite descriptors of the day), black fruit and cherry (with hints of raspberry), hint of spice on the palate. “Smokey cedar”, with grippy tannin.

Bottle #5 Ingleside Vineyards: Lots of notes here!

I thought the earthy nose really stood out. Bright; notes of red fruit, although it tended to have more tertiary flavors. Someone mentioned dark chocolate, chewy, ‘plush’. Another said notes of bell pepper, cardamom, even cinnamon stick.

Bottle #6 Linden Vineyards: Violet or tobacco on the nose. Notes of dark chocolate, mushroom, forest floor. Another said they found a plum note.

It was also soft and the least acidic of the group (perhaps because it was made in steel, not oak).

Votes:

Alex: 5/4/6. Liked the tobacco and tannin profile of #5 (Ingleside)
Ashley: 5/4/6. Liked the long finish of #5, beautiful complexity on the nose and palate. Noted the nose and palate didn’t line up but that was a good thing.
Brandon: 4/5/6. Liked the fruitiness an tartness
Emily: 4/5/6. Thought #5 was ‘sultry’ but chose #4 (Wisdom Oak) for the fruit profile.
Frank: 4/5/6. Liked the layers of flavors on #4.
Isabel: 4/5/6
Matt: 4/5/6; liked the fruit on this one.

Round 1 / Flight #3:

Bottle #7: Cave Ridge Vineyards (Round winner)
Bottle #8: Hark Vineyards
Bottle #9: Pollack Vineyards

This was our ‘classic’ round, at least on the nose. As our palates got tired we had fewer notes, but that doesn’t mean we enjoyed the wines less.

Bottle #7 Cave Ridge Vineyards: We felt it was one of the higher alcohol wines of the grouping (unfortunately I couldn’t find the alcohol level on the bottle).

The nose was savory. Not an especially fruit-forward wine (except maybe cooked fruit); it was more about the body. Someone mentioned it has a ‘meaty’ note on the nose. Descriptors of musty and savory kept being thrown out. Another said it had a chili note.

Bottle #8 Hark Vineyards: For several participants, “vegetal’ was the key descriptor on the palate. Maybe notes of asparagus? Someone mentioned they found a pine tree/evergreen note. The vegetal characteristics diminished the next day, when I finished it up.

Another participant found notes of blueberry on the nose, maybe licorice.

Bottle #9 Pollack Vineyards: Alcohol on the nose but an overall complex wine. Notes of red cherry or dark chocolate were mentioned. Smooth; balanced.

Votes:

Alex: 9/7/8. Thought #9 (Pollack) was smooth and drinkable
Ashley: 7/9/8. 7 (Cave Ridge) and 9 were almost tied, but thought #7 had more body
Brandon: 7/9/8. Thought it was balanced and liked the funky notes to it.
Emily: 7/9/8. Thought #7 was ‘very Virginia’
Frank: 9/8/7. Favored the red fruit and thought it was less oaky.
Isabel: 9/7/8. Thought #7 was very drinkable and had more body.
Matt: 7/9/8. Was really torn between #7 and #9.

Finalist Round:

Bottle #2: Chateau MerrillAnne (Event Winner)
Bottle #4: Wisdom Oak Winery (Runner Up)
Bottle #7: Cave Ridge

We took a food break after the first 3 rounds before moving to the ‘finalist’. I didn’t do a round-robin of tasting notes. People spent some time with this trio then went to judging.

As we had so many great wines that could have advanced, I took the extra step of asking people what their favorite wine of the entire event was. That was enlightening; it showed how many of people’s personal favorites didn’t make it to the last round.

In the end Chateau MerrillAnne’s 2019 Petit Verdot was the favorite of the day. I reached out to them and learned this bottle was 100% PV, saw 16 months in oak, 33% of which was new French oak w/ medium+ char. Made by Michael Shaps using fruit from Honah Lee vineyard.

Perhaps best of all – the winner is still for sale at the winery (at least as of January 2024)

I also insisted they save me a bottle for when I visit next (hopefully soon).

Ashley: 2/4/7. Liked the heat and complexity of #2 (MerrillAnne) but still thought #5 (Ingleside) was her favorite of the day.
Alex: 2/4/7. Thought #2 was the most complex and had the greatest depth of flavor. But ‘favorite’ of the day was #2 or #5.
Brandon: 2/4/7. Thought #2 was ‘sexy’, and thought it was his overall favorite of the day.
Emily: 7/4/2. Thought #1 (DuCard) and #7 (Cave Ridge) were great.
Frank: 2/4/7. Thought #2 had complexity and layers of flavor, but still thought #9 was the best of the day.
Isabel: 4/2/7. Still thought the ‘slutty’ #9 (Pollack; and yes, that was the term) was her favorite. But thought #4 (Wisdom Oak) had character.
Matt: 2/7/4. I still think my favorites were an almost even toss-up between #1 and #2. I hogged the DuCard towards the end of the night, when we were socializing.

Lessons Learned

I kept emphasizing that I don’t pretend that my events identify the ‘best’ wine; only the consensus favorite of a large group. On another day or with a different group, I’m certain the results would have been different.

That statement is always true but seemed especially true this time. I think my format of 3 flights of 3 followed by a ‘finalist’ round is fair but it also leaves out some excellent bottles, as not all rounds showcase equally good wines (they are bagged blind, after all). I sometimes try to even that out by advancing the ‘favorite runner up’ as a ‘wild card’…but #1, #5, and #9 were so liked, ANY of them could have been a wild card.

If there’s a ‘lesson learned’, it was that Petit Vedot has range. We had 9 wines and all of them were different. While #3/#6/#8 didn’t get as much attention as the others, that’s not to say we didn’t enjoy them as well.

Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley Sparkling Wine Blind Tasting Showdown

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

As I’d recently written an article on Shenandoah sparkling wines, I felt it only proper I do some in-depth ‘research’ on the topic.

Many Virginia wineries offer a sparkling wine, but no other Virginia wine region has embraced bubbly with the same vigor as the Shenandoah Valley. Around half of the valley’s wineries make a sparkling wine, many using the same méthode champenoise (aka the traditional method) process found in Champagne.

Sparkling wine pairs well with the region’s terroir. Shenandoah Valley vineyards are often located at relatively higher altitudes, which allows for greater diurnal temperature shifts. This allows grapes to maintain their acidity, one of the key components of sparkling wine.

Shenandoah Valley vineyards also benefit from what Linden winemaker Jim Law would call a strong ‘water to vine relationship’. Virginia vineyards often struggle with excess moisture, which not only lower wine quality but spark disease pressure. But grapes grown in the Shenandoah benefit from well-drained limestone soils, as well as lower overall rainfall (thanks to surrounding mountains which block incoming rainclouds).

Tasting & Scoring Methodology

A group of friends & I blind tasted 9 wines in 3 flights. All the flights were bagged blind.

We didn’t have a fancy scoring system. The goal was to pick a ‘favorite’ every round, as opposed to rating them and determining the one we thought was the ‘best’. Often the best indicator of a favorite was simply seeing which bottles people selected first for refills.

The favorite of every round went to a second ‘finalist’ round with the top 3 wines. After finishing the finalists, we unveiled all the wines and crowned the overall favorite of the day.

While all my events include wine lovers, this particular one was something of the “A Team” of my wine-tasting friends. All had extensive industry experience, or at a minimum a very experience palate.

That said, only a few had a deep familiarity with Virginia wine, and even fewer were familiar with the Shenandoah Valley in particular. That made for an exciting tasting since I specifically wanted to see how Virginia wine would fare in an audience who might not otherwise have tried these bottles.

This time I changed up my usual format by pre-selecting all the wines myself (almost half were gifted by their respective winery for this event; thank you Briedé Family Vineyards, Rockbridge Vineyard, Muse Vineyards, Jump Mountain Winery, and Cave Ridge Vineyard) instead of asking by guests to bring something.

My guests only knew an overview of the theme of the day. Except for our starter wine from Cave Ridge, everything we tried was made in the traditional method.

The Contenders:

Barren Ridge 2019 Blanc de Blanc (Chardonnay) ($35-40?)
Ox Eye NV Blanc de Blanc (Chardonnay) ($35)
Bluestone 2017 Blanc de blanc (Chardonnay) ($34.50)
Rockbridge 2020 Blanc de Noirs (Pinot Noir) ($35)
Briedé 2020 Sparkling Winchester (Cayuga) ($57).
Jump Mountain 2021 Grüner Veltliner ($30)
Muse NV Blanc de Blanc (Chardonnay) ($35?)
CrossKeys 2019 Blanc de Noirs (Pinot Noir) ($38)
Midland Wine 2018 “Zero” Blanc de Blanc (Chardonnay) ($45)

We also kicked things off with a Cave Ridge NV Sparkling Riesling, made in the Charmat method. Very bright & tart! Lots of apple notes.

Round 1 / Flight #1:

Bottle #1: Barren Ridge 2019 Blanc de Blanc
Bottle #2: Ox Eye NV Blanc de Blanc
Bottle #3: Bluestone 2017 Blanc de blanc (Round winner)

By coincidence, we had three Blanc de Blancs back-to-back. As I had a newer group I kept the tasting dialogue going on for longer than I normally do, so my notes in this round are more extensive than later ones.

In terms of style and especially color, all three were fairly closely matched.

This round became a duel between smoothness (#2/Ox Eye) and complexity (#3/Bluestone). Eventually, Bluestone’s complexity won. That said, the first one from Barren Ridge was also well enjoyed, so being most people’s 3^rd pick wasn’t an indication people didn’t like it.

Bottle #1: Barren Ridge 2019 Blanc de Blanc: Our tasting notes were largely centered on citrus notes, especially lemon and green apple. Someone mentioned it had some Malo, which made sense as another taster commented they got some slight butter notes.

There was disagreement about how much minerality it had, with some not being able to detect it and others saying it was there. An overall pleasant wine.

Bottle #2: Ox Eye NV Blanc de Blanc: Someone noted this may have been the most champagne-like of the lineup. Some weight and toastiness; notes of lemon, green apple, and orange peel were mentioned. One person mentioned grapefruit pith, another said it was “grippy”, even a little tannic. It may have had a little RS.

Notes on acidity were all over the place with some saying it was round and others saying it was acidic. My favorite descriptor was it tasted like an ‘abstract painting’.

Bottle #3: Bluestone 2017 Blanc de Blanc: Lots of fruit on the nose and palate. Someone mentioned it had a jolly rancher quality to it but not sweet, perhaps even bretty. Another participant said they found an herby-spice note. The general consensus was this was the most complex of this lineup.

We didn’t know it at the time, but this was the oldest vintage of the entire event. You could tell the difference in the complexity.

Votes:

Alex: 3/2/1: Thought #3 was the most complex, while #2 was the smoothest.
Chrisa: 2/3/1: Liked the complexity of #3 but gravitated towards #2.
Kathy 2/3/1: Thought all of them were clean. Thought #2 was well balanced but #3 was complex.
Lieven: 3/2/1. Thought #3 had the most depth; found notes of butter toast, peaches, and white blossom. Thought #1 was subdued but also found citrus notes.
Matt: 2/3/1:
Richard: 3/1/2: Liked the fruit and brioche notes of #1 but liked the brightness and acidity of #2.
Sharneen: 2/1/3. Gravitated towards #2 as it was the most champagne-like and felt it was easy sipping.

Round 1 / Flight #2:

Bottle #4: Rockbridge 2020 Blanc de Noirs (Round winner)
Bottle #5: Briedé 2020 Sparkling Winchester (Cayuga)
Bottle #6: Jump Mountain 2021 Grüner Veltliner

This round was our most diverse lineup of the day, as we had a Pinot Noir, Cayuga, and Grüner Veltliner side-by-side.

People kept coming back to the color of the Rockbridge Blanc de Noirs, which was possibly the prettiest wine of the day. I contacted winemaker Shep Rouse and learned it was all from the initial press.

As you might expect from a diverse lineup, our tasting notes were all over the place. It didn’t help that I overly-chilled these wines, so they took extra-long for our bottles to warm up (note to self; don’t leave your sparkling in the fridge too long).

Bottle #4: Rockbridge 2020 Blanc de Noirs: Too many different notes to capture! We were very curious what it was as it had one of the prettiest colors of the day. For the most part, the nose followed the palate.

Nose reminded someone of daffodil; a few mentioned it had a lovely toastiness with some orange peel. Others got some caramel and honey butter. Maybe there was a little RS here. One person mentioned ‘dissected red apple’.

Bottle #5: Briedé 2020 Sparkling Winchester (Cayuga): Lot of notes here as well, although leaning more towards herbal notes than fruit ones. Being served overly cold didn’t do it any favors. One of the highest acid wines of the day.

“Chicken bullion” nose. Thin; maybe some herbs including thyme and ginger. Notes of yellow flower and chamomile. “Ripping acidity”. Maybe notes of Myer lemon.

Bottle #6: Jump Mountain 2021 Grüner Veltliner: “Intriguing” was often used. More approachable on the palate than the nose. I felt it needed food and time to open up.

Various descriptors included a brioche nose; notes of vanilla, almond, and lime were also mentioned. A few felt it had a Riesling-like petrol nose (which was close; Riesling and Grüner are related). Another person said it had an apple juice quality to it (but in a good way).

Votes:

Alex: 4/5/6. Felt #4 was ‘artisanal’
Chrisa: Thought #4 was delicious and complex but preferred it on its own, not with food.
Kathy: 4/5/6 but it was a close call.
Lieven: 4/6/5. Thought #5 was too herbal for him.
Matt: 5/6/4. Liked the acidity on #5
Richard: 5/4/6
Sharneen: 4/5/6. Loved the color of #4, although #5 opened up over time

Round 1 / Flight #3:

Bottle #7: Muse NV Blanc de Blanc
Bottle #8: CrossKeys 2019 Blanc de Noirs (Round winner)
Bottle #9: Midland Wine 2018 “Zero” Blanc de Blanc

This round took us back to Chardonnay, with the CrossKeys Blanc de Noirs added in.

Loved the nose of #9/Midland, but people’s favorites were all over the place. This being the last round my notes were getting shorter and shorter.

Bottle #7: Muse NV Blanc de Blanc: Had an herbal nose, maybe with some mushroom and minerality. Little reductive. Musty barnyard quality to it (PS – this isn’t a negative; that’s an official tasting note!).

Bottle #8: CrossKeys 2019 Blanc de Noirs: Notes of candied apple, more RS. Palate different from the nose. Little reductive but people didn’t treat that as a negative. Nice minerality and salinity. High acid, apple tart nose. Others said they found “orchard fruit” notes.

Bottle #9: Midland Wine 2018: There were many compliments about its nose. Good complexity, although the nose and palate were different. Good ‘muse’. Notes of fennel, apple, pear. Some bitterness.

Votes:

Alex: 9/8/7. Found some creaminess on #9.
Chrisa: 8/9/7
Kathy: 8/9/7. #8 was simple but enjoyable.
Lieven: 7/8/9
Matt: 8/7/9. 8 had the best palate but 9 had the best nose.
Richard: 8/9/7
Sharneen: 8/9/7. 8 improved as it opened up and liked the salinity.

Finalist Round:

Bottle #3: Bluestone 2017 Blanc de blanc (Runner Up)
Bottle #4: Rockbridge 2020 Blanc de Noirs
Bottle #8: CrossKeys 2019 Blanc de Noirs (Finalist)

No new tasting notes here, as we had plenty of notes from earlier. Now that the wines had time to warm up, we were able to enjoy them more.

#3/Bluestone and #8/CrossKeys were generally the favorites, although “where did this color come from?” on #4/Rockbridge seemed to elicit the most discussion as it was the most ‘intriguing’ for several participants, not just for the color but overall tasting profile.

The top two were generally ‘classic’ in profile and was almost a toss-up, and we went with CrossKeys’ 2019 Blanc de Noir as the day’s favorite.

Alex: 3/4/8. Liked the creaminess of #3.
Chrisa: 8/4/3. #8 was round, liked the candied apple notes, acidity and balance.
Kathy: 8/ 3 & 4 tied.
Lieven: 3/4/ 8. #3 was more classic, #4 was intriguing.
Matt: 8/3/4. Thought #8 was the most complex.
Richard: 8/3/4. Chose #8 but was tempted to go with #4 because thought #4 was the most interesting and artisanal.
Sharneen: 8/4/3. #8 was better as it opened up.

Lessons Learned

I wouldn’t say there were a lot in terms of ‘lessons learned here’. The entire point was to taste wines from the Shenandoah Valley side-by-side as opposed to comparing it to a different wine region, as well as giving exposure to these wines to some local industry folks.

But if there was a ‘surprise’ of the day, it was the Rockbridge Blanc de Noirs. I asked several people what wine ‘most surprised them’, this was often the most mentioned bottle. That color just stood out, plus the tasting notes kept people talking.

The overall favorites of the day were either CrossKeys 2019 Blanc de Noirs or the Bluestone 2017 Blanc de Blanc; not surprisingly these were the #1 and #2 choices in our tiered tasting.

The Bluestone was 100% Chardonnay, 4 years en triage (the stage where a still wine slowly converts into a sparkling one), made in all stainless. Lee explained how the first time he made his sparkling he had assistance from Veritas for the disgorging, but now he does everything by hand.

That the CrossKeys Blanc de Noirs was the favorite is hardly surprising, as this was selected by Atlantic Seaboard Competition as their 2022 Best in Show. This wine was fermented and aged for 8 months in barrel with continuous lees stirring then fined, filtered, and bottled, then aged in bottles for another 16 months to develop mature.

This is also one of the relatively few vineyards that grow Pinot Noir (2.5 acres) in the state, which makes it extra special for a Virginia wine lovers.

The 2023 Virginia Wine Year In Review

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Matt Fitzsimmons

My latest ‘Virginia wine in review’. To see my other ‘Years in Review’, check out my 2020, 2021, and 2022 articles as well.

I did my best to identify the major trends and most interesting stories from the last year. Honorable mentions go to the expansion of breweries in wine country, reporting on the spotted lanternfly, and greater diversification in the industry (PS – around 17% of head winemakers in the state are female, and we now have several Black head winemakers and owners).

As 2023 closes, Virginia currently has 276 wine tasting rooms, 33 cideries, and 13 meaderies, plus 25 wine brands, cideries & meaderies that lack tasting rooms. Here is a link to my winery roster:

The Virginia Winery Roster

This article is entirely my personal opinion and doesn’t reflect the Virginia wine marketing board or any other entity or person.

2023’s Major Trends and Events

1. Openings and Closings: 12 new wineries and 2 meaderies joined the industry this year, and 4 left the business.

While Crimson Lane, Commonwealth Crush, and Southwest Mountain Vineyard probably made the biggest splash, also joining us are Dobbins Hollow Winery & Cidery (Pilot), Good Spirit Farm (Round Hill), Haunted Hills Winery (Jetersville), Mattapony Reserve (West Point), Rassawek Vineyards (Columbia), River Dog Winery (Richmond), Seven Lady Vineyards at Dover Hall (greater Richmond), The Vines at Oakdale (outside Richmond), and the return of Oakencroft Farm & Winery (Charlottesville).

Two new meaderies also joined the fun; Funktastic Meads (Midlothian) and Negus Winery (Alexandria).

Four locations closed; Aspen Dale, Merriweather Vineyards, Maggie Malick Wine Caves, and the Capitol Hive meadery.

2. 2023 Vintage. Put simply, this vintage looks outstanding. A few owners have gone so far to say, “Perhaps our best ever”.

Sure, we’ve heard this story before. Every year there’s a fair bit of booster-ism, not to mention it’s tough to make an overarching pronouncement on a state as geographically diverse as Virginia.

Even so, it’s hard to ignore the almost-universally positive feedback. The least enthusiastic description of the quality of this year’s fruit was “very good”, while many long-time growers say it’s rivaled only by the superb 2009 or 2012 vintages, which likewise featured warm, dry summers.

If there’s one negative about this year’s vintage is it’s not quite as bountiful is it could have been. The Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia suffered spring frost damage which reduced yields. Even more vineyards suffered drought stress, causing the vines to shut down. You know it was a dry year when vineyards that normally complain about too much rain wished for a few more inches of it.

3. Softening economy & changing consumer tastes: From 2018 to 2022, the Virginia wine industry saw 16-21 new wine, mead, or cider tasting rooms open per year.

That market growth slowed in 2023, which saw 14 such openings.

It’s tough to say if this slowdown is due to market saturation or the economy; probably a mix of both. But if Carlo DeVito’s predictions of a market correction in the craft brewery industry are on target, then wineries may be up for its own correction, or at least a prolonged slow-down in new openings.

Add to this how Millennials and Generation Z are abandoning wine in favor of mixed drinks, seltzers, or abstaining all-together, it’s a tough near-term forecast for the local wine industry.

4. Grape glut: It’s with no small degree of irony that praise for this year’s vintage is also coupled with an understanding that Virginia is growing more grapes than it can sell (at a profit, that is).

Virginia has long seen volatility in grape supply and demand, as anyone who saw crop losses to 2018’s rain and 2020’s frost can attest to. But more recently, several good harvests in a row have given many vineyards too much of a good thing.

Vineyards that rely on selling fruit will feel the worst of this pinch, especially smaller producers that sell 100% of their harvest. Yet the impact will be felt across the spectrum, especially when coupled with falling demand.

5. Wine Incubators: Over the past year or so Virginia has recently seen the opening of two ‘incubators’; Commonwealth Crush and Eastwood Farm.

This term probably requires a bit of explaining. The start-up costs to winemaking are high and serve as a bar for new entrants. These incubators provide the equipment, make it easier for new winemakers to get started. Given how some of my favorite winemakers don’t even have a tasting room (looking at you, Joy Ting and Jake Busching) I hope such incubators will give micro-producers a chance to join in, sparking greater creativity and diversity in the industry.

6. Wine bars/Urban tasting rooms: The Virginia wine experience is very much tied to visiting scenic locations in the countryside. But in 2023 a trio of VA wineries, namely Bluestone’s ‘Rootstock’ wine bar in Harrisonburg, Rogers Ford Winery’s ‘Curio’ in Fredericksburg, and October One’s Leesburg-based tasting room, bucked this trend.

The first two provide a mix of Virginia and non-Virginia wine. October One serves as that business’s only tasting room, plus offers wine from several other Virginia wineries. Until this year, only Morais’s “Aroma” and Lost Creek’s ‘Echelon” urban wine bars/tasting rooms offered Virginia flights.

I’m hopeful this concept gets traction. Virginia wine is somewhat limited to those who are adventurous enough to drive a good hour or so to visit wine country. These locations make it easier for your average consumer to drink local wine without traveling far to find it.

7. VA Wine in the News: This was a good year for raising Virginia wine’s national profile. Wine Enthusiast magazine designated Charlottesville as its 2023 Wine Region of the Year. If that’s not enough, they also listed Keswick Vineyards’ 2021 Chardonnay and Barbourville’s 2019 Octagon as amongst their Top 100 wines.

Press like this not only raises the profile of these individual wineries, but the Virginia wine scene as a whole. I’m hopeful this will show that Virginia isn’t an ‘emerging’ region; in terms of quality, it’s well-established.

One not-so-great news item was how the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (which runs historic Monticello and neighboring Jefferson Vineyards) dismissed “Virginia’s Wine Godfather” Gabrielle Rausse this past October, claiming ‘his position was eliminated’.

8. Winemaker musical chairs: Every year you see winemakers come and go, although this year this seems especially prevalent.

Rappahannock Cellars’ Theo Smith purchased Capstone Vineyards and is now making wine there. That allowed…

CrossKeys Vineyards winemaker Steve Monson to move to Rappahannock, which in turn allowed…

DelFosse‘s Andrew Bilenkij to take Steve’s head winemaker job at CrossKeys. Which allowed an opening for…

Keswick Vineyards winemaker Stephen Barnard to move to DelFosse (now Mountain and Vine).

Got that? Because I had to review this 3 times to make sure I got it right!