Monthly Archives: December 2024

The 2024 Virginia Wine Year In Review

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I wrote my first “Year In Review” in 2020, mostly as a way to summarize my favorite articles of the previous year and post the latest winery openings & closings. Over time I added new material to these yearly updates, focusing on events and themes that stood out.

To see my other ‘Years in Review’, check out my 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 articles as well.

Five years in, it’s hard to write these annual blurbs without revisiting topics I’d previously mentioned. But that’s ok; topics such as climate change, diversity, and sustainability won’t ever go out of style, and there are always new events to keep things interesting.

Virginia ended 2024 with a total of 278 wineries, 36 cideries, and 12 meaderies, plus 30 wine/cider/mead brands that lack tasting rooms. Here is a link to my winery roster.

This article is entirely my personal opinion and doesn’t reflect the position of the Virginia Wine Marketing Board or any other entity.

2024’s Major Stories and Trends

1. Industry Still Expanding Despite Closings Creeping Up, Including Oldest Winery in Virginia

2024 Winery Openings and Closings:

  • 15 New Wine/Cider/Mead Tasting Rooms Opened: Blue Wall Cider and Wine, Domaine Fortier, Eagle Zen, Fallen Tree, Farm De Vine, Hermitage Hill Cider at Stable Craft Brewing, Muddy Paws, Private Label Cellars, Reitano Vineyards, Roslyn Farm and Vineyard (who for now, only sells other VA wine), Squabble State Hard Cider & Spirits, South Paddock Winery, Three Leg Run Brewery, Winery, and Meadery, Loudoun Cider House, and Thistle Rock Meadery.
  • 6 New Micro-Labels Started: Cavalier Wine, Delve Wine, Holmes Wine, The Parallax Project, Prelude Wines, and Wound Tight.
  • 10 Winery or Meadery Tasting Rooms Closed: AmRhein Wine Cellars, Blacksnake Meadery, Chapelle Charlemagne Vineyards, Forever Farm, Leo Grand Vineyard, Mountain Cove, Plumb Creek, Preston Ridge, and Spring Run (still open for events but not selling their own wine). Aspen Dale advertises itself as ‘mostly closed’ so I count it here, although it’s occasionally open to sell the winery’s remaining inventory. While not yet closed, Stanburn Winery will likely follow suit soon.

In summary; older, more rural wineries suffered the most in 2024, while new businesses generally chose to stay small rather than invest in a high-priced venue. For wineries who did open a tasting room, they nearly always opened in established wine regions.

The closure of Mountain Cove is an especially hard loss, as this was the oldest operating winery in Virginia (having purchased the land in 1973 and opening in 1977). That title now goes to Shenandoah Vineyards.

A total of 9 wineries closed. Notably, all were smaller venues located away from major wine trails. Economics almost certainly played a role in their closings, but other factors did as well.

Several had been open for years, even decades. But wine is a hard business, and eventually owners want to retire. Those who didn’t sell the winery may have simply decided to close shop and move to their next chapter.

Fortunately, new openings (surprisingly?) outnumber closings.

You’d think in a time of declining wine sales I’d be reporting that the number of new winery openings is shrinking. While 15 new venues represent a slower pace than the breakneck over ~20/year openings seen during the 2010s, it’s still comparable to an ‘average’ year in Virginia.

But there’s a catch. While the raw number of new wineries that opened in 2024 is strong, these businesses tended to be smaller in scale (both production capacity and tasting room size) than wineries that opened in previous years. If you measure only wine production, 2024 almost certainly represents a slowdown compared to 2023.

Moreover, some new businesses are forgoing tasting rooms all together. 2024 saw the opening of 6 ‘micro wineries’ (brands that sell their wine via pop-ups instead of a tasting room). This was a new record for this model, which I partially attribute to the success of ‘wine incubators’ (more on that later).

Even larger wineries are not immune to economic trends. Paradise Spring was set to open a new tasting room in Afton but decided to hold off for the time being, while Michael Shaps is selling his “Wineworks Extended” tasting room in downtown Charlottesville (but keeping his main location).

2. The 2024 Vintage & Another Year of Extreme Weather

In the words of one winemaker, “The 2024 vintage was…weird”.

It started off strong. Spring didn’t inflict serious frost damage, and the summer was especially hot and dry. These conditions allow vineyards to produce fruit with high-intensity berries, suitable for making powerful wine.

Alas, the drought was so harsh that winemakers actually wished for a few inches of rain. Yet when it finally came, it was a deluge. What could have been an awesome 2023-like vintage was knocked down a peg or two in many places.

Late-ripening reds such as cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot most likely suffered the most as they either had a hard time drying out or growers were forced to pick them prematurely. Fortunately, many vineyards brought in excellent merlot and cabernet franc earlier in the season, and their white grapes came in well before the rain.

Of course, this is a generalization. There are wineries that were extremely happy with their fruit and others that were less so. While uneven phenolic ripening due to the accelerated growing season may pose a challenge, most winemakers seem satisfied with the quality (but not the quantity) of the 2024 season fruit.

Some may label this as a year of ‘extreme’ weather, given multiple records for early harvesting were broken. But given how the last several years were crazy in their own unique ways, I think this proves that ‘extreme’ weather has become something of the norm.

3. A Good Year For Diversity and Inclusion

2024 was a triple win for diversity and inclusion, with well-deserved callouts to Pride in the Vines, Virginia Women in Wine (VWIW), and The Oenoverse.

Loudoun County’s ‘Pride in the Vines’ hosted its second wine trail this past June for Pride Month. Not part of the trail but thematically connected was Culpepper Pride, hosted by Mountain Run Winery. Pride flags are now flying in towns that didn’t welcome them even a decade ago.

Next up is Nancy Bauer’s VWIW, which launched its inaugural event in August. The necessity of this organization is driven by how two-thirds of the local wine industry workforce are female, yet women are severely underrepresented in industry leadership positions. The VWIW’s mission is to close this gender gap, offering opportunities for networking, leadership development, and highlighting the industry’s female trailblazers.

Blenheim Vineyards’ Oenoverse (Ee-Nuh-Verse) isn’t new, but this wine club/wine community/access & opportunity program has been ‘in the news’ in 2024 as co-founder Reggie Leonard received national recognition for his outreach to historically underrepresented communities.

Oenoverse-related events in 2024 included the Two Up Wine Down wine festival, which highlighted a number of BIPOC winemakers/owners. It also partnered with The Veraison Project, which hosted an immersion program aimed at members of historically underrepresented consumers & industry professionals.

4. Banner Year For Media Recognition

In 2023, Wine Enthusiast selected Monticello as their “Wine Region of the Year”. Since then, there has been a notable uptick in national recognition of the Virginia wine industry.

Major outlets which showered praise on Virginia wine include The Wall Street Journal, Decanter, Vogue, Southern Living, Travel & Leisure, and Men’s Journal (to name just a few). While Virginia wine has been recognized in the press before, it’s fair to say Wine Enthusiast supercharged the press circuit.

Hopefully, this will normalize Virginia as an ‘established’ region known for its quality wine, rather than constantly be identified as an ‘up & coming’ area to watch out for.

5. Small-Batch Wine and Eastwood Farms’ “Virginia Wine Collective” Project

The number of small-batch wine labels has grown significantly over the past decade, with six micro-brands opening in 2024 alone. This has given rise to ‘wine incubators’, which provide a space for these tiny enterprises to grow.

While such spaces aren’t new, Eastwood Farm’s “Virginia Wine Collective” may be the most innovative.

Eastwood plans on renovating the current Michael Shaps Wineworks Extended tasting room in Charlottesville, creating individual spaces that can be licensed separately. This allows the winemakers operating in these spaces start-to-finish control over their wine. This also sets Eastwood apart from other “incubators,” as their lack of separately licensable spaces prevents these entrepreneurs from operating heavy equipment because of insurance liability.

Owner Athena Eastwood hopes this facility will encourage fresh talent to enter the industry by lowering the startup costs encountered by new winemakers. Yet this facility isn’t just for new winemakers; many small-batch operations will operate from here.

Athena explained the goal is to create a joint tasting room for Eastwood’s participating “Wine Collective” members, which include local wine luminaries such as Jake Busching, Joy Ting, and Matthieu Finot.

6. Invasion of the Spotted Lanternfly

If 2023 saw scouting parties, then 2024 saw the full invasion of the spotted lanternfly (SLF).

It’s hard to visit a winery in NOVA without the little buggers flying all around you, and they’re now being spotted in the Shenandoah Valley and Charlottesville.

The SLF sucks the sap out of vines, potentially causing vascular damage. They also excrete a sugary substance that attracts nuisance insects. This ‘honeydew’ also creates a difficult to remove sooty mold that inhibits photosynthesis.

The only good news is Pennsylvania wineries (ground zero for the invasion) are reporting SLF populations have started to collapse, indicating nature is bringing things back into balance. Until then, vineyard managers will have to lean on their spray programs to control the infestation.

7. RdV Vineyards purchased by Château Montros

This June, RdV announced it was purchased by Château Montrose, a “Second Growth” winery in Bordeaux. This is the first time a high-powered French château has established itself in the eastern United States.

This acquisition is a huge vote of confidence in not just RdV, but the future of Virginia wine as a whole. Founder Rutger De Vink has already moved to Oregon, passing the reins to the Bouygues family. RdV will now be led by Charlotte Bouygues, who plans to split her time between NYC, Paris, and Virginia.

Charlotte explained this purchase was motivated by a desire to find a location abroad that stylistically fits with their Bordeaux wines. Locating a business where the existing team was willing to stay on, especially Winemaker Joshua Grainer, also encouraged them to make this move.

At some point in the near-future the winery will be renamed Lost Mountain, after RdV’s flagship wine and hilly location.

8. Norton (and Hybrids) Getting Well Deserved Recognition

Climate change is also causing winemakers to take a fresh look at American and hybrid grapes. Norton especially seemed to get some long-overdue respect this year.

This November a number of wineries joined together to form the “Norton Network”, giving special tastings to highlight this grape. Fred Reno has an entire podcast series on Norton. Even Lucie Morton is getting in on the action, raising funds for her film “Odyssey of Forbidden Wines” and testing if Cynthiana and Norton are the same or different grapes (she suspects the later).

Native and hybrid grapes are surprisingly not increasing as a percentage of total grapes planted, according to recent Virginia grape grower reports. I suspect this will change in the next few years, especially as more vineyards such as Briedé Family Farm plant a next-generation of hybrid grapes.

Honorable Mentions:

  • Passing of Paul Armstrong: This August, Virginia lost a huge advocate and amazing person with the passing of Paul Armstrong, half of the Virginia Wine Time team. Virginia Wine Time was Virginia’s first wine blog and an inspiration for my own. We miss you, Archer.
  • Low/No Alcoholic Wines Gaining Traction: I wrote an article in January 2024 about Low/No Alcoholic wines in Virginia, and it became my most viewed article of 2024. I can’t help but think there’s a huge, untapped market for Low/No beverages, and wineries had better take note of this consumer trend.
  • Frank Morgan Shakes Up the Governor’s Cup: 2024 was the first year that Virginia Wine guru Frank Morgan managed the Governor’s Cup, the state’s most prestigious wine competition. His changes include bringing in a slew of new judges and limiting wineries to 6 entries. Additionally, sweet wines are now excluded from the Case, a previous change that took effect this year.
  • New Tasting Spaces for Bluestone, Lost Creek, and Ramulose Ridge. Lost Creek Vineyards closed its Lucketts tasting room and will use its Echelon Wine Bar will serve as its de-facto tasting room until further notice. Ramulose Ridge opened tasting rooms in Staunton and Natural Bridge. Bluestone winemaker Lee Hartman opened the Rootstock wine bar in Harrisonburg in December 2023, which sells an assortment of wine and hosts Virginia wine events.

Walsh Bar Takeover With Jake Busching Wine and Wound Tight

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I think Jake’s Busching’s initial ‘bar takeover’ at Walsh Family Wine many years ago was the reason I started going to these events, and I still count it as my favorite ‘independent wine brand’ (a wine that doesn’t have a tasting room, that is). I visited Jake earlier in the year at Commonwealth Crush to try some of his wines in barrel, and since then had been looking forward to him pouring them at Walsh this December.

But as the commercial goes…“But wait…there’s more!”

In addition to Jake Busching Wine, Walsh also hosted Corry Craighill’s Wound Tight, her personal wine label. Corry is Septenary Vineyard’s winemaker but Wound Tight is where she gets to play around with different winemaking techniques. Together, Jake and Corry were a great double-header.

JBW and Wound Tight are two of the many ‘small batch’ independent wine brands that are making some of the most exciting wine in Virginia. While many wineries prefer their winemakers stick with what’s popular and conventional, these smaller brands have the flexibility to experiment as they see fit.

Jake Busching Wines

Jake’s been around the Virginia wine scene since 1997, first at Jefferson Vineyards but jumping around different places in the Monticello AVA. While working at Michael Shaps he had the opportunity to make wine under his own label, leading to the first vintage of “Jake Busching Wine”.

While he’s a longtime winemaker, Jake thinks of himself as a ‘dirt guy’. Jake consults all around Virginia, helping new vineyards get started.

That role gives him a leg-up on finding exciting new vineyard sites to source from. Jake has especially high praise of Beacon Tree and Belle Fox vineyards, but those are just two of the many sites he works with.

These sites were on display tonight. Jake brought with him three wines; his 2017 Tannat (from Honah Lee), his “Cheninquisition” Chenin (from Beacon Tree Vineyard), and his “2B” (Beacon Tree and Belle Fox Vineyard).

  1. 2017 Tannat: Jake’s tannat is always a favorite of mine, and he has high praise for how this grape does in Virginia. Tannat needs time to express itself, but even at 8-years this wine has not yet reached its peak.
  2. 2023 “Cheninquisition” Chenin: While Jake called this his entry-level wine, there was nothing simple about it. Lots of texture here. Chenin is tough to grow, but apparently Beacon Tree is one of the few local places that can do it well. I also love the pun-y name; why didn’t something think of this before?
  3. 2021 “2B” (red blend): The name is inspired as a follow-on to “F8” naming convention, and that fact that two vineyards that start with “B” were the sources of this fruit. Notes of spice and jam. It was still young, but that also means it will have time to get even better.

PS – 2B was sold out when I tried to buy it, so I’ll have to track Jake down for more. But besides tasting wine, we also had the chance to talk about the future.

Understanding “The Winemaker’s Collective“

Jake’s independent brand makes him something of a ronin, but he’s ‘settling down’ in the near future. While he was pouring, he described a project he’s closely involved with; the “Winemaker’s Collective”, organized by Eastwood Farm and Winery.

This ‘Collective’ is set to play an important role in the Virginia wine industry by providing a home for small-scale wine businesses that lack a tasting room or production facility. While new winemakers may especially benefit from Jake’s consulting expertise, it’s really for any label that lacks a permanent home.

For a winemaker to have front-to-end control of their winemaking, they need have their license parked at a facility. That’s challenging for many smaller operations, since operating a winery requires a huge up-front investment they just don’t have.

To get around that challenge, many startups borrow space at a separate facility. Yet there are problems in this approach as well. Due to liability issues, only the license holder can operate the equipment necessary to fully execute the winemaking process. That means the guest essentially loses creative control over their own wine.

What makes Jake excited about the Winemaker’s Collective is it solves this problem by creating a production facility designed to allow multiple licenses to operate at the same time. Not only that, but this building will also have a joint tasting space.

According to owner Athena Eastwood, Eastwood Winery is refurbishing the current Michael Shaps Extended facility to create this dream production building/tasting space. When complete, participating “Wine Collective” members Joy Ting, Jake, and others will be pouring wine under the same roof.

Wound Tight

Corry Craighill has been at Septenary Winery outside the Afton area of Charlottesville since 2020, having previously worked at Sunset Hills (where she started right after Nate Walsh). Ironically, only recently have her own reds been hitting the tasting room, since the owners at Septenary prefer extended aging on their bottles.

She and Nate previously collaborated on a pair of wines called “Sun Room”, which proved something of a precursor for this project. Wound Tight is the next step forward, with bottle art designed by her husband.

She created Wound Tight because she wanted to try something different from Septenary, which sticks with more conventional blends and styles. Those wines are great, but Wound Tight wines are definitely more creative.

The name comes from her dad’s nickname for her, but they also reflect the life cycle of every grape, which start of ‘tight’ in the bud. All told, she only makes 24 cases of wine from each batch, and aiming at 100 cases/year in 2025.

Low intervention and the use of natural yeast is prevalent here, but it’s more than that. She uses a mostly different set of grapes than what visitors to Septenary may be used to, including saparavi and chardonel.

  1. Root Chatter (Saparavi): A rare grape for Virginia, source from a farm outside Lynchburg. Juicy and bright, with earth notes and spice overtones.
  2. Little Light (Sauvignon Blanc): To make this wine, she dried SB stems for 2 days, wrapped them in cheesecloth, and steeped them in the wine for 10 days, like a tea. It wasn’t ‘sauv blanc-y’, although it did share the same zesty-ness. Think of a sauv blanc but with bite. LOVED this wine.
  3. Free Lens (Saparavi/Chardonel blend Rosé): Co-fermented; notes of lemon rind.

2024 Finger Lakes Trip

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I wrote in the opening sentence of my 2022 Finger Lakes blog that “The Finger Lakes is a region I can continually return to.” Well, 2 years later, I was back for my 3rd trip.

For this trip, I was the ‘tour guide’ to a group of 4 friends, none of whom had visited the area. The entire trip was 5 days, including a travel day of travel to get there, 3 full ‘winery days’, and departing the morning of the 5th day. We ended up visiting places on Days #1 and #5 as well.

To give my group their best bang-for-your-buck, I created an itinerary that mixed-in what I considered the Finger Lakes ‘greatest hits’ and added a few places that I hadn’t been to before. A total of 16 locations were visited.

Day 1: Keuka Lake

Living Roots Finger Lakes: Since this was our travel day, we only had time to visit Living Roots on our way to our Air B&B. This was someplace I’d wanted to visit, plus it didn’t close until 6 PM.

Living Roots easily had one of the prettiest tasting rooms of the trip, with a fantastic view of Keuka Lake. It also had more of modernistic aesthetic, as opposed to the rustic barns that most other wineries had.

They also had the greatest meet-cute story I heard on the entire trip. The owners had this parcel of land overlooking Keuka but no long-term plans on what to do with it. While their daughter was in Australia she met up with a local guy, fell in love, and they eventually got married.

The property turned out to be a great place for vines. They turned it into a winery, with their new son-in-law as their winemaker. They also import some wine from Australia, a nod to his heritage.

The wines were uniformly good, with my favorite was their pet-nat riesling. I sat back to enjoy gazing at the lake with a glass of it, plus got a bottle to go.

Day 2: South-West Seneca/Keuka

Stop #1: Herman J Wiemer

As one of the Finger Lake’s most famous wineries, Herman J shouldn’t require any explanation. It was one of my favorite wineries during my previous trip, and I wanted my group to likewise enjoy a visit.

Reservations are definitely recommended, but not necessarily required. Since we didn’t have reservations we sat in their open-aired barn with a space heater. It was OK for the early fall but not something I’d want on a cool day.

Herman J’s tastings are actually self-guided flights where you pick the wine and they are served in mini flight bottles. Since we had a large group this turned out to be a good deal, as we were able to pick out a bunch of wines and share them.

My favorites were the Magdalena Cabernet Franc and Magdalena Riesling. The former had all the traditional cab franc notes, with nice fruit and earthiness. The riesling was smooth, lemony, and had a great mouthfeel.

We also tried their Grüner, Reserve Riesling, Dry Riesling, Semi-Dry Riesling, and an Extra Brut sparkling.

Stop #2: Kemmeter Wines

One of the few stops I absolutely insisted on. Owner/winemaker Johannes Rienhardt did a great lineup against a backdrop of classical German music. One of the top visits of the entire trip.

Visits to Kemmeter aren’t just about wine tastings; they are about education. Johannes even will avoid tasting notes during a tasting because he doesn’t want to bias your opinion what to expect. Johannes also told us he was planning to start using cork for his wines in the future, since they preserved his wine more effectively.

He also took us through an impromptu comparison of two rosés; one of which had been opened for 24 hours and another he just opened. The consensus was most people enjoyed the one that had been opened longer, because the oxidation brought out a different flavor profile.

We tasted 4 wines; a rosé (0.2% sugar but didn’t taste like it), his “2014 Vines” riesling (more on the savory side), his “2016 vines” (off dry, more fruit-forward), and a pinot blanc (amazing color, felt even drier than it was because of its thickness). The cab franc and blau will likely be non-vintage blends, so he can get the best fruit from each year.

Turns out he’s also planting zweigelt, cab franc, and blaufränkisch in the future, and he was long sold-out of his limited pinot noir. I left with a bottle of rosé and one of the rieslings.

Make sure to order the Sans dumplings in advance!

Stop #3: Weis Vineyards

Weis was another high-priority stop. The winery was really busy, but we waited on the balcony until we were able to get a spot in the tasting room. Reservations definitely recommended!

We tried six wines, but my favorite were the very full and lush “Special K” and their Terroir Riesling “Limestone”. I also liked their 2023 Perele sparkling, which for $22 was a great buy.

Stops 4 and 5: Keuka Lake Vineyard and Dr Frank

Not a lot of notes here. I insisted on a stop to Keuka Lake Vineyard because I really wanted their vignoles pet-nat and their 2021 Riesling. Extra Points for being dog friendly.

By the time we made it to Dr Frank, it was too late to do a tasting so we just got a glass.

Dinner: Glenora Wine Cellars/Veraisons

A little on the expensive side but it was our 2nd night in town, so we decided to treat ourselves.

The Aurora Borealis also showed up this evening!

Day 3/Saturday: Eastern Seneca and West Cayuga

We started with a morning hike at Watkins Glen State Park, which is a must-visit for anyone. You can go as far as you want, or make it a short trip. An hour was good enough for us.

Stop #1: Boundary Breaks

This was easily one of the prettiest visits of the trip, since it had a great view of the lake. It helped they had a food truck that served lobster rolls, which we dined on while drinking sparkling and lounging on Adirondack chairs with a view of the lake. 55 acres of vines planted.

No one wine spoke to me, but we enjoyed several. They had a Bordeaux blend that was on the softer side and a dry gewürztraminer that I liked.

But the highlight were their three sparklings, with the “356” dry sparkling riesling being my favorite.

Stop #2: Forge Cellars

This was easily one of the top 3 visits of the trip, with a strong argument for the #1 spot for overall quality of wine. Definitely had the best reisling selection of the trip.

The main tasting room was being used for harvest, but we still were able to hang out at the ‘salon’. While it’s not on the lake, the views still impressed. Loved the laid-back vibe.

The assortment of vineyard-specific options here is impressive. There are too many to taste on your own, so bring friends to share! On top of that they also do a lot of club-only wines, a few of which I was fortunate to sample.

My favorites:

  1. Willow Riesling: At first I thought it had some tropical notes, but those faded fast
  2. Caywood Chardonnay: Herbal notes; just ok
  3. Tango Oaks Riesling: Very fruit driven, citrusy. Bought a bottle
  4. Breakneak Riesling: Salty and minerally; really good. I think this was a club bottle but snagged a taste. Bought a bottle.
  5. Liedenfrost Pinot: On the young side, lots of red fruit
  6. Tout Nu: A red wine brought in from the Rhône. Notes of graphite and earth, with a long finish.

Stop #3: Standing Stone Vineyards

We originally tried visiting here before Forge but it was so busy we had to get a later reservation. Fortunately our table was ready for us when we were done with Forge.

Julian was our server, and the dude was awesome. He gave us a great deal of education, including bringing out refractometer and some grapes in the later stages of noble rot. Julian also explained how Herman J now owns the winery, purchased in large part because their vineyard is on a warmer spot that is especially good for reds.

We kicked things off with sparkling, including a sparkling rosés and a Blanc de blanc made in the traditional-style. The later was excellent; with the lees giving it some weight.

For reds, we tried a cab franc and their saparavi. The later had great color; earthy but soft. The chardonnay was OK.

We also had a few dessert wines. Nice late harvest; like a lighter Sauternes. We also enjoyed a very rich port-style.

The favorite here was the Timeline Riesling. Very complex and weighty.

Stop #4: Silver Thread Winery

A smaller winery that we tried since it was close by. 10 acres planted but they purchase more fruit. They make 3000 cases/year.

I liked the vibe a lot. They really lean into sustainability, and their owner/winemaker was our server.

My favorite was their Blanc de Blanc riesling, that I got a bottle of to enjoy that evening. I also thought their estate riesling was good.

Day 4/Sunday: NE Cayuga and NW Seneca

Stop #1 Hearts and Hands Wine Company

Another highlight of the trip, so much so I wrote a separate blog about them rather than make them one of many entries in this trip report. One of my Top 3 visits of the entire trip, top place for service, and had the best blanc to blanc out of 16 places visited.

The quick version is since they are on east side of Cayuga, Heart and Hand is less crowded. The downside is a visit needs to be planned out, since they are further away.

Heart and Hands Wine Company

The name “Hearts and Hands” is a reference to a Claddagh ring, which is an Irish symbol of love. Co-owner Susan Higgins did our tasting, and was kind enough to open a little early since we were trying to make the most of our day.

What makes H&H’s growing location so great is their vineyard is on a limestone slab, which gives them somewhat different growing conditions. They make lots of sparkling, including a blanc de blanc which was one of the best wines of my trip.

That said, picking a favorite of ANYTHING was tough since everything was exceptional. My crew took maybe 2 cases worth of wine. I suspect this visit resulted in the single biggest haul of the trip.

Stop #2: Quarry Ridge Winery

Quarry Ridge wasn’t on our original itinerary, but since it was next to Heart & Hands we figured it was worth a shot.

It’s a shame that we visited when it was pouring rain, because the tasting room had a fantastic view of Cayuga Lake. On a nicer day, I’d have happily stayed longer on one of the Adirondack chairs and just enjoy the scenery. It helped that the tasting room was stunning as well.

Owner Gary Cuthbert saw my group come in and he came over to say ‘hi’ and tell us about his property. Turns out, the name was inspired by the limestone soil the vineyard is planted on, just like nearby H&H. Such soil is somewhat of a rarity in the Finger Lakes and is great for making high-quality fruit. They have 28 acres of vines are planted.

Several flights were available, but since we had a big group we were able to order all of them and share. All told, we shared samples of 9 wines.

I thought their dry Riesling was good, and the 2022 “11S” Pinot was nicely balanced and fruit-forward. But I thought the real standout was his cask Riesling, which was very dry yet ‘full’, with notes of mango.

Stop #3 Ravines Wine Cellars (Barracks Road)

This place was busy! We had to wait for a table to open up but eventually got one. Reservations are definitely recommended. Even so, those tables were pretty small for the number of people they are supposed to accommodate.

I thought their 17 Brut had a great brioche nose, and their ‘regular’ Riesling was really good. Kudos also to the Maximilian red blend and the very earthy Cab Franc.

The tastings and food were not cheap, but wine was good. Reservations definitely recommended.

Stop #4: Fox Run Vineyards

Too tired for notes at this point!

Day 5: Red Tail Ridge Winery

I had wanted to visit here earlier, but timing didn’t allow. Fortunately I was able to convince my driver to swing by on the way home. Red Tail does reservations, but this early it was unnecessary.

Kristin Evans did our tasting and gave us a lot of great info in a short time. I’d say Red Tail had the widest and best overall selection of sparkling of the entire trip, although the dry wines were both good and interesting. We also got to meet their winemaker, Nancy Irelan.

A number of flights were available, including one of ‘Innovative’ wines. I leaned into the sparkling options. Fortunately, with multiple members of my group available, we were able to get a wide selection and share.

Many in my group put this visit in their Top 3 of the 5-day/16 winery trip. Personally, I say they were tied for #3, maybe just below Forge and Heart & Hands, but tied with Kemmeter.

  1. 2019 Sekt (Traditional Method): Very nice, bright; orange notes
  2. “Perpetual Change” NV Sparkling (Traditional Method): Interesting, but in a great way
  3. 2019 Blanc de Blanc (Traditional Method): Bought a bottle home! Lots of brioche notes
  4. 2018 Blanc de Noir (Traditional Method): Tarter, also had lots of brioche.
  5. 2021 Miscreant. An interesting gewürztraminer blend/orange wine
  6. 2018 Sparkling Rosés’: Fruity and refreshing
  7. Riesling Pet-Nat: Pineapple notes; not lee-sy at all.
  8. Pinot Noir Pet-Nat: Juicy
  9. 2023 Pinot Noir: Young
  10. 2020 Langrine: Lots of depth and tannin

Next time I’ll have to try Once Finger wine bar, and revisit Heron Hill.

Heart and Hands Wine Company

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When planning my 2024 Finger Lakes trip, I made a list of old favorites and places that I’d heard good things about but never been. Heart & Hands was part of the later category. But it wasn’t until I heard rave reviews from a pair of friends who visited them months earlier that I decided they were a ‘must visit’.

Considering this turned out to be on of my Top 3 visits (along with Forge and Kemmeter) on a 5-day, 16-winery trip, I’d say I chose well.

Heart and Hands is located on the NE side of Cayuga, which added a good 30-minutes to our Day #4 trip itinerary. I know that seems far, but it’s worth the extra time. Not only did we avoid the crowds, it was some of the best wine of the trip.

The name “Hearts and Hands” is a reference to a Claddagh ring, which is an Irish symbol of love. Co-owner Susan Higgins did our tasting and was kind enough to open a little early since we were trying to make the most of our day.

When I asked Susan what they have planted, she said “Lots of fun things! We are a nerdy winery.” They concentrate on pinot and riesling, but also have some aligoté, langrein, petit arvine, and a little chardonnay.

Most of their fruit is estate, although they do source some from nearby vineyards. Heart & Hand makes between 2,500-3,000 cases/year, mostly (and increasingly) based on their 11 acres of vines.

During most of my Finger Lakes visits, people talked a lot about the lake’s importance in reflecting heat on the shoreline vineyards. That’s true at Heart & Hands, but a lot of credit also goes to their limestone soil that’s rare to this area. Limestone drains well, and minimal water retention is important to keeping the vines healthy.

The tasting room is small, but that’s fine with me. Heart & Hands didn’t design the winery to entertain masses of visitors; it’s all about the wine.

Susan walked us through multiple side-by-side comparison tastings, either from different years or different growing sites for the same grape. They make lots of sparkling, but plenty of dry wines as well.

My tasting notes:

  1. 2015 Blanc de blanc (traditional): Very nice; one of the best sparklings I had on the trip. Not tried was a blanc de noir.
  2. Sparkling Riesling; also very nice; wonderful nose
  3. 2019 Auxerrois: This grape is a cross between pinot noir and gouais blanc. Interesting, but not a favorite.
  4. 2020 Chardonnay: French oak; somewhat lees-y.
  5. Pinot comparison #1: 2021 H&H Pinot (estate and local fruit), vs their 2021 Nutt Road Vineyard Pinot. The ‘standard’ pint had lots of bright fruit, while the vineyard-specific one had fruit but was earthier. I took home a bottle of the ‘standard’.
  6. Pinot comparison #2: 2021 Hedrick Pinot, which had 20% stem inclusion for extra tannin. It was a great balance between fruit and tannin. Paired against it was a 2021 Estate Pinot (forgot the specific name), which was heavier, had a longer finish, and more tannin. 100% stem inclusion on the later.
  7. Riesling comparison: The 2022 was drier, with more petrol notes. The 2021 was more layered, with notes of tangerine.

This was certainly one of the best sparkling wineries I’ve visited in the Finger Lakes, alongside Red Tail Ridge. My tasting crew took almost 2 cases worth of wine between us in what was the greatest single-winery haul of our entire 5-day trip.

I confined myself to buying a blanc de blanc and pinot noir, but I’ll be back for more.

Linden Vineyards December Library Tastings

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Linden recently hosted what might be my favorite event of the year – a pair of Friday-only library tastings. Being an overachiever, I went to both.

Jim Law produced his first vintage in 1987, so it’s fair to say that Linden has a considerable number of older bottles to choose from. He’s often spoken about the need to hold on to bottles for the future, be it comparative tastings or just for his own education. Even now, Jim’s older bottles often portend the direction his current releases are going.

Linden used to do Library tastings every December until COVID hit, so this is something of a return to norm. I was really impressed that Linden charged the same price for this library tasting that they do for their regular tastings. I attribute that to Jim being a ‘wine educator’ at heart, and he wants to make the study material available to everyone.

Both days included a pair of comparison flights of a 2009 and a 2017, which Jim selected because stylistically these are similar vintages. He also threw in a few extra bottles during both days.

Comparative flight #1: 2009 Avenius Chardonnay, 2017 Avenius Chardonnay, and ‘bonus’ 2007 Avenius Chardonnay

The first flight included a 2009 and 2017 Avenius Chardonnays. Both were especially warm and dry years; arguably 2 of the best in the past 15 years. The 2009 was considerably darker compared to the 2017.

I bought a number of bottles from the 2017 vintage, so I know it’s great. Yet compared to the 2009, the 2017 just paled in comparison. It really didn’t seem fair to put 2009 compared to anything else, since 14 years of age just gave it so many extra layers.

By comparison, the 2017 was still tight, even if it was excellent. If in 8 years it turns into the 2009, then I’d be very happy.

On top of these bottles, Jim brought over a sample of the 2007 Avenius Chardonnay to make this flight a trio.

The 2007 was considerably softer but still provided plenty to savor. My friends who joined me for my 1st visited debated which was better. Some preferred the 2007 for its complexity, while the 2009 ‘was more delicious’.

I ended up getting a glass of the 2009 Avenius to enjoy in the members room.

Comparative flight #2: 2009 Hardscrabble red and 2017 Hardscrabble red

To be fair, the 2017 Hardscrabble red is one of my all-time favorite Virginia wines ever. I’ve used it in blind tastings and wine professionals (including one born and raised in Bordeaux) insisted this was a Bordeaux wine. This bottle had maybe a tiny bit of brett in it, but only in a way that added to its complexity in a good way.

The 2009 was more leathery, no fruit but plenty of power. The rim was a little watery but it didn’t present as an ‘old’ wine.

“Bonus flight” #1: 1991 Merlot and 2001 Reserve

Neither of these bottles were on the original tasting. But when Jim opens a ‘bonus’ tasting, you just sit back and enjoy.

While drinking the 1991 Merlot I learned a new wine descriptor; ‘sanguine’. It directly translates as ‘bloody’, and is a reference to not just the color but the iron notes it exudes.

To me, if a red wine could be minerally, this is it. It also had some history to it, since the red label came from a finger painting of Jim’s daughter Sam (who now works at Linden full time).

Jim explained the 2001 Reserve was an example of him chasing the current trends of the time. He designed it to be all power, no finesse. It also seemed to predate his focus on vineyard-specific wines. Shockingly, it still had some fruit notes to it.

“Bonus flight” #2: 2005 Avenius Chardonnay, 2006 Avenius Chardonnay, and 1997 Reserve

During my 2nd visit I was able to get a new trio of wines; flight of 2005 and 2006 Avenius Chardonnays, and a 1997 Reserve.

The 2005 had very little fruit left; it was like biting into an old lemon that was becoming a husk. The 2006 was livelier. Of course, neither held a candle to the 2009 Avenius.

The 1997 Reserve was perhaps the best ‘old Virginia wine’ I’d ever had. There was still some fruit there, despite being 27 years old. Earthy but still drinkable.

Turns out Jim only made 2 ‘Reserves’; one in 1997 and one in 2001. Both were precursors to today’s Hardscrabble reds.

I enjoyed one last glass of the 2009 Chardonnay, then off to Walsh Family Wine.

Holmes Wine

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Holmes Wine a micro-wine project owned by Jackie Moriarty, who’s currently selling her trio of wines at the Ashburn Wine Shop. I had the chance to catch up with her when she was pouring her label this Saturday.

Jackie described herself as a “Traveling Winemaker”, although for now she’s staying put in Virginia. The term sounds cliché, but it’s actually very common.

Jackie explained how she started her winemaking career working at Bluemont Vineyard, then traveled the world. Like many winemakers, she would work a harvest in the southern hemisphere at the beginning of the year (where it’s summer/fall), then travel back to the USA for another harvest at the end of the year.

This strategy gave her exposure to different regions and winemaking styles. It also allowed her to meet her future husband Gonçalo while they were both working in New Zealand. Now that they have a baby on the way, they decided to (at least temporarily) settle in Virginia.

The brand includes three wines; a cabernet franc and two red blends. The fruit is purchased from Williams Gap and October One, while the wines are made at Lost Creek. Meanwhile, Gonçalo makes a separate set of wines at a winery he’s associated in the Douro Valley, Portugal.

Jackie’s wines tend to be fairly low-intervention, with a restrained use of oak and a focus on natural yeast fermentation. We started with her 2020 cabernet franc, made from Williams Gap fruit. It was on the lighter side, with some peppery notes.

Next up was the first of her 2021 reds, a 58%/42% blend of merlot and cabernet franc. She explained she made it with a ‘hard press’ to extract a different set of phenolics from the fruit.

Last was her 2nd 2021 red, a blend of 50% merlot/40% cabernet franc/10% petit verdot. Her she took the opposite direction than the first blend, with this being a much lighter press, almost to the verge of using free run juice. This was my favorite of the day, with notes of dark cherry and some earthy notes. I got a bottle to go.

Since they plan to eventually move back to Portugal, Jackie isn’t planning on opening a tasting room. But her wines will be in local distribution, and can be found at the Ashburn Wine Shop.