SummerWind has an adorable little tasting room right outside Norfolk. As you drive up you’d think it’s someone’s home – which at one point, it was! They are also one of the newest wineries in the state, opening their doors in 2018.

The Norfolk area is a challenging place to grow wine. But owner Kim Pugh explained the key to success was using a strict regimen of canopy management to deal with the humidity. Except for their Chardonel all their 11 acres of vines are vinifera – which tells me they’ve been working extra hard in their vineyard.

Kim’s daughter Meagan took me through a tasting while Kim knocked out some paperwork. Meagan explained Michael Shaps is their winemaker, but the ladies are in close consultation with him to ensure their wines are crafted according to the styles they prefer.

With Shaps on their side, you know the wines are well crafted. They make 1500 cases/year, mostly drier styles. A few are ‘fun’ porch sipping wines but others have some really good aging potential.

For the white wines, we started with the Petit Manseng and the Chardonnay/Viognier; the former was citrusy, while the later was tangy with notes of white peach and apricot. Next were a pair of Cabernet Sauvignon-based roses, including a sparkling which I particularly liked.

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For reds, I was surprised how light the 2017 Cabernet Franc was in both color and taste, without losing its pepperiness. Next up was the 2017 Merlot that had notes of black cherry. The semi-sweet “Pagan” blend (Merlot/Chambourcin/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon, named after a local river) was a good porch-sipping wine – and their biggest seller.

But my favorites were their Merlot-heavy “Tormentor” Bordeaux blend, and their Petit Verdot. The Tormentor (again named after a local river) had a nice smoothness to it, balanced by acidity and earth notes. The Petit Verdot was still my #1 pick though.