Category Archives: Winery

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.

Virginia Wines That Showcase Innovation

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The European wine industry is steeped in tradition, much of which is codified into law. Bordeaux famously regulates everything from the kind of grapes grown within its borders, the amount of irrigation its wineries can use, and even the level of alcohol.

While the Virginia wine industry isn’t bound by the kind of regulations found in Europe, winemaking traditions derived from the ‘Old World’ still dominate the state. It has taken Virginia wineries decades to appreciate that not everything that works in Europe can be replicated locally.

This gives leeway to innovators to redefine how wine should be made. Whether it be trying out new grape varieties, exploring new blends, or creating new twists on old favorites, local innovators are pushing the industry’s boundaries forward.

Dennis Horton might be Virginia’s foremost innovator. When he founded Horton Vineyards in the early 1990s, Virginia wineries were relying upon either popular but fragile grapes such as cabernet sauvignon, or tougher but less commercially desirable hybrid grapes. Not satisfied with either option, he planted a dizzying array of less famous vinifera including viognier, petit manseng, touriga nacional, and tannat.

Dennis discovered these grapes by researching which wine growing regions have climates similar to Virginia. He reasoned that if a place like Condrieu had hot summers coupled with cool wet winters, then a Condrieu grape such as viognier would work here.

Given the changing landscape of the wine industry, this out-of-the box thinking remains relevant. Many grape varieties are becoming vulnerable to climate change in places they long called home, while others are flourishing in new locations.

At the same time, the clientele the industry caters to is changing. Younger buyers prefer sustainability and affordability over a wine’s fancy classification. Such consumers are open to wines that ‘break the rules.’

For oenophiles who want to try something new, here are four options from wineries that lean into this spirit of innovation.

Artemisia Farm & Vineyard’s Mentha

Artemisia is one of a handful of Virginia farms crafting vermouth, an aromatized, fortified wine. Vermouth may seem an odd choice for wine lovers, but Artemisia is proving doubters wrong with an assortment of uniquely crafted options.

Vermouth is typically thought of as a cocktail mixer, but Artemisia’s bottles are finding an audience as a stand-alone drink with ingredients that emphasize their local nature. Co-owner Kelly Allen explained, “We want to capture Virginia’s terroir as an abstract essence”.

One vermouth that particularly shines is Mentha, a mint-rhubarb aperitif made with traminette. Mentha is aged in apple wood and pecan, bittered with dandelion and wormwood, and infused with Kentucky colonel mint, mojito mint, and spearmint. The last ingredient is especially prevalent, giving it a full, fresh flavor.

Artemisia Farm & Vineyard’s Mentha

Briedé Family Vineyards’ 2023 Arandell Special Reserve

Briedé Family Vineyards’ 2023 Arandell Special Reserve

Owners Paul and Loretta Briedé originally farmed their vineyard to organic standards. While harsh weather forced the Briedés to drop their organic certification, they continue to apply many of the same techniques.

One lesson they took to heart is organic farming requires grapes that are naturally disease resistant. That led them to plant a number of hybrid and native grapes, including cayuga, marquette, la crescent, and arandell.

That last variety deserves special mention. Arandell was created by Cornell University, which is developing a new generation of hybrid grapes that are as flavorful as they are hardy.

Arandell’s flavor profile combines earthiness and acidity, with a hint of tobacco. While many oenophiles tend to look down their nose at hybrid grapes, such snobbery is uncalled for. Arandell is a standout in the pantheon of hybrids and is one of the few hybrid wines to earn a Gold medal at the 2024 Shenandoah Wine Cup competition.

Chateau O’Brien 2019 Arinarnoa

The French wine industry is notorious for being a stickler for tradition. This means when arinarnoa was announced as one of a handful of varieties now authorized for planting in Bordeaux, the wine industry took notice.

Arinarnoa is a cross of tannat and cabernet sauvignon, making it suitable to both Virginia’s and Bordeaux’s increasingly warm climate. Chateau O’Brien is the first winery on the east coast to plant this grape.

Owner Howard O’Brien explained, “I got the idea to plant arinarnoa during one of my trips to Uruguay, where they plant it next to their tannat. In the vineyard, it has characteristics from both of its parents. Arinarnoa has a leaf structure like tannat, berries like cab sauv, ripens like cab, and its growing season is very similar to tannat. I only do 1-3 tons an acre, but it crops very well.”

Howard’s arinarnoa showcases a nice balance of earth and mushroom notes on the nose, with soft tannin and some dark fruit on the palate.

Chateau O’Brien Arinarnoa

The Parallax Project What’s This? and What’s That?

The Parallax Project is a collaboration between winemakers Ben and Tim Jordan and owners Lance Lemon and Reggie Leonard. The Jordan brothers already have a flair for unusual blends, but these wines topped even their wildly creative imagination.

The project’s name was inspired by what’s called “The Parallax Effect”, which is “a difference in the apparent position of an object when viewed along two different lines of sight”. That name was inspired by how these two wines were crafted.

While What’s This? and What’s That? were both made using vidal blanc, chardonel, tannat, petit manseng, traminette, and albariño, they are very different wines. What’s This? is a white wine that leans more heavily on vidal and chardonel, giving it citrus notes and a floral aroma. “What’s That?” is a juicy red made with 83% tannat, yet it’s low on tannin and highly aromatic.

The Parallax Project

Welcome To the Oenoverse

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Comic book films have popularized the idea of “shared universes,” where heroes from multiple worlds join together. It’s great movie fodder, but it wasn’t until Reggie Leonard described the breadth of the wine club/wine community/access & opportunity program he co-founded that I realized why this initiative refers to itself under a similar moniker.

I say this because the “Oenoverse” (Ee-Nuh-Verse) is all of those things and more.

Reggie’s passion for wine began in 2015 when he took a job at the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science. An urge to meet people and try something new led to the discovery of free tastings at Market Street Wine in downtown Charlottesville. Little did he realize these tastings would introduce him to an entirely new community.

Photo credit: Kori Price

“I’m an ambivert; an introvert but in an extroverted way,” Reggie said over the phone. “I knew that community is important to me, and I wanted to make sure that I found a community that allowed me to be extroverted.

At first I didn’t understand any of the terminology used at these wine tastings. But over time, I surprised myself by starting to remember different names, recognizing different tasting profiles.

I connected to wine more than I realized, and through that realization I eventually discovered a Black Wine Lovers Facebook group.”

Learning the terminology of wine is difficult enough. But Reggie was encountering another barrier; the world of wine isn’t easily accessible to people of color.

The lexicon of wine relies on Eurocentric descriptors and food pairings that the BIPOC community doesn’t always relate to. On top of that, the lack of other Black faces made the experience more daunting.

“When I experienced wine, it didn’t mirror the rest of my life, since the traditional wine experience wasn’t built with me in mind,” he explained. Reggie didn’t realize it at that time, but this realization must have triggered an idea. If there wasn’t a community for those outside their comfort zone to learn about wine, he’d help build one.

Building a Community

In late 2020 Market Street Wine approached Reggie about hosting virtual events. One of the participants was Blenheim Vineyards Sales/Marketing Director Tracey Love. The two eventually connected in-person, leading to a collaboration with Blenheim.

Tracey encouraged Reggie to host an event to talk about his wine journey. That led to further discussions how they could replicate this theme of ‘community’, all along the backdrop of wine.

Reggie Leonard

The “Oenoverse” was born.

According to its website, Blenheim’s Oenoverse Club is “dedicated to expanding opportunity and perspective through Virginia wine for people who have never joined a wine club or are seasoned professionals.” While outreach to members of historically underrepresented communities is a key part of its mission, the club is open to everyone. Members are also encouraged to share their wine tasting experience during their events.

Yet the Oenoverse doesn’t exist by itself; it’s part of an ecosystem of similarly-minded organizations. Among them are Charlottesville’s Ethos Wine & Tea and RichWine, an online wine club based in Richmond. Both businesses focus on low-intervention, sustainable wines.

Probably their most active partner is The Veraison Project, which co-hosts the Two Up Wine Down music festival and Oeno Camp. The former takes place every November at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, while the latter is a three-day Virginia wine immersion program for historically underrepresented consumers and industry professionals.

Lee Campbell
Kindra Dionne
Seidah Armstrong

Showcasing Non-Traditional Grapes and Styles

The Oenoverse’s advocacy for the underrepresented goes beyond outreach to communities of color; it showcases other parts of the wine industry that are often overlooked.

“What else can wine look like?” Reggie asked rhetorically. “Historically, we’ve only paid attention to vinifera wine. But who doesn’t like more options?”

Reggie and Lance Lemon, owner of RichWine, were deeply inspired by Jahdè Marley’s “Anything But Vinifera” wine movement. Jahdè’s desire to spotlight hybrid and non-traditional grapes encouraged the two to found their latest initiative; The Parallax Project.

Lance Lemon and Reggie Leonard

Several years ago, winemakers Ben and Tim Jordan of Commonwealth Crush reached out to Reggie and Lance to explore ideas for a partnership of their own. At the end of that conversation, the quartet came up with the idea of making a small-batch of wine, produced at Commonwealth but under Reggie and Lance’s direction.

The project’s name was inspired by what’s called “The Parallax Effect,” which is “a difference in the apparent position of an object when viewed along two different lines of sight.”

Lance and Reggie applied this principle to their two wines, both made with a mix of vinifera and hybrid grapes. While one is a red and the other is a white, both were made using nearly the same grapes but blended in different proportions and made using different winemaking styles.

Reggie summarized his myriad of projects with this; “We are building a space for something that has not been built for. That’s not just for people of color but other aspects of wine, like hybrids and lower-alcohol wine.

If we do that, we can bring in customers that weren’t part of the market before.”

Lessons Learned as a First Time Grape Sorter at Linden Vineyards

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I’d never thought I’d write a blog about sorting grapes at a winery – but here we are.

2024 was an odd year for Virginia wine. We had an abnormally hot and dry summer, to the point many winegrowers were openly hoping for an inch or two of rain to relieve their parched vineyards. While dry conditions will reduce the volume of wine they produce, it gifted vineyards with intensely flavored berries which (we hope) will result in high-quality wine.

Yet when the rain finally came, it came in torrents. Tough decisions had to be made whether to let the fruit hang on the vine in hopes of achieving additional ripeness, or bring it in, else risk the grapes falling apart in the vineyard.

Hardscrabble Vineyard

Owner/winegrower Jim Law would have preferred to let his Cabernet Sauvignon hang for another week or two. But Mother Nature wasn’t cooperating, so it had to come in.

I had planned on making last Friday a leisurely wine-tasting day, but Linden Vineyards put out a last-minute request for assistance in sorting grapes that were being harvested that morning. They were short-staffed, the regular vineyard team was busy in the field, and Fridays are a tough day to get volunteers. I alerted a few like-minded friends about the opportunity, and we offered our services.

I told myself, “I’ve harvested grapes before; sorting them could be fun. How hard could it be?”.

It turns out – a lot.

So on a Friday morning, Linden harvested 10 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon from their estate ‘Hardscrabble’ vineyard. The harvest team was on the top floor with their destemmer, which separates vines and stems from the grapes. Those grapes would drop through a chute to the ground floor into a conveyor belt, where the rest of us stood ready to pick out bad grapes and smaller organic matter before they went into the grape bins.

If it sounds very “I Love Lucy at the Chocolate Factory”, that’s not too far off.

What is Sorting?

Sorting isn’t a sexy job, but it’s an important one. Alex Wilde, Jim Law’s son-in-law and newly-minted apprentice winemaker, related a story from one of Linden’s harvest interns. This intern asked Jim what was his most-important lesson-learned in improving wine quality during harvest.

Jim’s answer? ‘Good sorting’.

Alex gave us a quick lesson on what to look for. Priority should be given to tiny green berries (far too tart). Second priority were lightly colored berries (still too under-ripe to be helpful). Also watch out for the occasional grape with white-ish coating which indicated noble rot (good in some white wines, but not good for red grapes), grapes with insect punctures (they are also probably rotting), and grab any bugs that went along for the ride (be careful of yellow jackets!).

I tossed some bad grapes, but the vast majority of stuff we removed during sorting was green matter. This included tiny branches, some leaves, and stem fragments still attached to the grape which Alex called ‘stem jacks’. All of these contribute tannin; something important in small doses, but not the style Jim likes in his wine.

Alex assured us that there was no way we’d get 100% of this detritus, as there was simply too much even a group of 6 people (occasionally dropping to 3-4 people) working in concert could grab. Just do what you can, and don’t chase any grapes that gets away.

Since I’m a big fan of Linden’s Hardscrabble red blend, I had a vested interest in doing a good job. I’d quickly scan for objectionable material and toss the offender into the bucket next to me. Ideally, I’d remove stem jacks from the grape and send the grape back on its way. Occasionally, the pace was so fast it was easier to toss the entire berry out. Grab-yank-drop and repeat, usually for an hour on end.

We had 6 bins of grapes come down the line, each with fruit that usually aligned to a different vineyard block. Seeing the fruit first-hand was a lesson in what Jim calls the ‘vine-soil relationship’.

Older blocks have deeper root systems, which generally protects them from rainwater penetrating the ground. By contrast, younger vines get their nutrients closer to the surface, which makes them more likely to absorb surface water. This meant younger block fruit was sometimes water-logged and sloppy, while fruit from older vines were fairly clean and dry.

Not every winery performs this labor-intensive task. While nearby RdV has a fancy optical sorter, most Virginia wineries (if they bother at all) rely on humans for the job. ‘Human optical sorters’, Alex joked.

Once the grapes dropped into the bin, they were off to the cellar to begin their transition into wine.

While I complained about how much my back hurt afterwards, you always learn something when talking with the team at Linden. Plus, helping out gives you a deeper respect for the hard work that goes on ‘behind the curtain’. Everyone who loves local wine should volunteer at a winery, even if only once.

Over the years I’ve poured wines at festivals, planted a new vineyard, harvested grapes, and now helped sort them. Anybody need a junior apprentice winemaker?

Bordeaux vs Virginia Blind Merlot

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“Fcking” Merlot is arguably the least-appreciated wine in Virginia. Petit Verdot and Petit Manseng are the rising stars people like to talk about, while Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay are vineyard workhorses. Yet for some reason, Merlot doesn’t get the same level of attention.

A look at Virginia’s recent wine competitions doesn’t help its case. Merlot has earned a grand total of 8 Gold medals in the past three Governor’s Cup competitions. Not bad…but that pales compared to 49 Golds for Petit Verdots and 24 for Petit Mansengs in the same space of time. Heck, even Albariño has earned 10 VA Governor’s Cup Golds recently, and that’s with a fraction of the plantings Merlot has.

This would seemly indicate Merlot doesn’t have the same luster enjoyed by other well-known varieties. Yet that statement defies logic, for two reasons.

First, Merlot is the 2nd most planted grape in the entire state, according to a 2024 survey of Virginia grape growers. This isn’t what you’d expect from a variety that’s unappreciated. It helps there is lots of clay (this variety’s preferred soil) in Virginia, enhancing Merlot’s suitability for the state’s terroir.

Second, Merlot is a key component of a number of Virginia’s most iconic Bordeaux-style wines (looking at you, King Family, Barboursville, and Michael Shaps, to name a few). In many of them, Merlot is often their largest contributor.

Merlot’s most famous expression is found on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, although arguably that’s somewhat an unfair statement as these wines are blends. That’s a big difference to Virginia Merlots, where 100% expressions are the norm.

So when I decided to do a Merlot comparison, it wasn’t a straight-up comparison. All four bottles from Virginia were 100% Merlot, while only one of the French bottles was 100%. The remaining three Bordeaux were anywhere from 80%-88% Merlot, and finding bottles with that high a percentage was difficult.

Tasting & Scoring Methodology

I picked the Bordeaux bottles in advance, selecting ones that were anywhere from $35-$45 and composed of least 80% Merlot. I paired the French and Virginia bottles according to vintage age as best as I could.

I felt ~$40 was a sweet spot price-wise since the French bottles would largely be at the same price point as their Virginia counterparts. I assume I was getting more export-oriented bottles (France tends to keep its best stuff, or put it outside my price point), but such is Bordeaux’s esteem that even ‘budget-friendly’ Bordeaux wines punch above their weight.

I also took the unusual step of decanting all of my wines. Young Bordeaux are notorious for taking time to open up, so I made sure they all received a good 2 hours in my decanters. The Virginia wines usually got an hour.

A group of friends & I blind tasted 4 comparison flights, each consisting of one French and one Virginia wine. All the flights were bagged blind. It wasn’t planned that way, but it turned out the odd numbers were always Virginia and even numbers were France.

Every round my guests picked a favorite, and also told me what region they felt it came from. After we sampled all of them, we did a vote to decide the top 3 wines of the day, then revisited the top wines for a 2nd tasting.

The contenders:

1. 2022 Greenhill Vineyards Merlot

2. 2020 Chateau Dragon de Quintus – St. Emilion (84.7% Merlot, 15.3% Cabernet Franc; roughly $40)

3. 2019 “Russ Mountain” Walsh Family Wine Merlot ($42)

4. 2019 Chateau Belles Graves – Lalande de Pomerol (88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc; $46)

5. 2019 Chateau O’Brien Merlot ($69)

6. 2020 Troplong Mondot – St. Emilion (100% Merlot, roughly $40)

7. 2021 Bluestone Vineyard Merlot ($27.50)

8. 2020 Chateau Tour St Christophe – St. Emilion (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc; $35)

Flight #1

  • Bottle #1: 2022 Greenhill Vineyards (4 votes)
  • Bottle #2: 2020 Chateau Dragon de Quintus (4 votes)

This was a tough round to judge. The results were evenly split, with #1/Greenhill generally being described as more smokey/spicy while #2/Dragon de Quintus was more tannic/punchy, with notes of dark fruit and forest floor. We didn’t do a great job identifying the correct region, as Greenhill really came off as ‘old world’.

Bottle #1 / 2022 Greenhill Vineyards (Virginia). The first wine (Greenhill) was a shade lighter, had some earth notes, but didn’t present as ‘New World’ to me. Our tasting notes generally focused on how it was more smokey/spicy, smooth, with reminders of autumn. 

Bottle #2 / 2020 Chateau Dragon de Quintus (France). This wine was definitely the earthier and bolder of the two. I felt #2 was France, but I wasn’t completely certain of that call.

Most of the tasting descriptors listed #2 as more tannic/punchy, with notes of dark fruit; blackberry specifically. The higher level of alcohol (15.5%) was a turn-off for some people.

Votes:

  1. Matt: Voted #1, felt it was Virginia.
  2. Dominick: Voted #1, felt it was VA. Detected a woodsy, barrel-y char to it. Felt #2 had darker fruit, a more cranberry nose, and was tannic.
  3. Hailey: Voted #2, felt it was VA. Described #1 was smoky and peppery, while #2 had more cloves and forest floor.
  4. Ann: Voted #2 and thought it was Virginia. Felt #1 was ‘woodsy’. Felt #2 was bolder, with a blackberry note.
  5. Emily: Voted #1, felt it was from VA. Thought #1 had a cherry nose, ‘autumnal spice’ notes on the palate. Thought it was nicely balanced. Thought #2 was ‘punchy’ (it did have 15.5% alcohol), was more fruit forward, and notes to blackberry and cherry.
  6. Brandon: Voted #1, thought #1 was VA. Thought #2 was higher in tannin.
  7. Ashley: Voted #2, thought #2 was France. Thought #1 had notes of coco and detected smooth tannin, maybe cherry coco on the notes and some pumpkin spice, nutmeg on the palate. Thought #2 was more caramelized, maybe a bit of brett and notes of liquorish.
  8. Mica: Voted #2, thought #2 was France. Thought #1 was ‘mustardy’ (maybe spicy?), peppery.

Flight #2

  • Bottle #3: 2019 “Russ Mountain” Walsh Family Wine Merlot (6 votes)
  • Bottle #4: 2019 Chateau Belles Graves – Lalande de Pomerol (2 votes)

I immediately liked this round much more than the previous one, even if both came off as somewhat barnyard-y. Again, the Virginia wine was lighter in color. I wasn’t a fan of #4 (Lalande de Pomerol) although by and large it was enjoyed by the table. #3/Walsh was almost universally pinned as our Virginia wine, if only because #4 was so unmistakenly France.

Bottle #3 / 2019 “Russ Mountain” Walsh Family Wine Merlot. I was surprised how many notes of ‘barnyard’ came out; having tried this in the past I don’t remember that at all. There were fruit notes here, but you had to look for them. Some noted notes of jamminess with that fruit.

Bottle #4 / 2019 Chateau Belles Graves. 13.5% alcohol but some felt it was higher. If #3 was barnyard-y, this was VERY barnyard-y with a side of funk. More than a few guests said they detected notes of green pepper and overall ‘earth’ notes.

Votes:

  1. Matt: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. I felt it was the far more balanced of the two, while #4 was rather monolithic to me (ironic because #3 was 100% Merlot while #4 had some Cab Franc).
  2. Dominick: Voted #4, thought #4 was Virginia. Detected notes of thick jam, specifically strawberry in #3. Detected more green pepper on the nose and some on the palate of #4.
  3. Hailey: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. Felt #3 had a longer finish, more tart cherry, black pepper, with some barnyard characteristics. Felt #4 was more vegetal.
  4. Ann: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. #3 had a petrol nose, more fruit forward, floral, grippy and jammy.
  5. Emily: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. Thought #3 was very funky and barnyard-y on the nose. Thought #4 had higher alcohol and more green pepper notes.
  6. Brandon: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. Thought both were funky, but #4 was more so. #4 also had more alcohol.
  7. Ashley: Voted #4, thought #4 was France. Thought #3 had notes of barnyard on the palate. Was tannic, notes of green pepper, ‘pesto sauce’. #4 was earthier.
  8. Mica: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. Thought #3 was ‘mildly memorable’, had a pepper tang, was earthy. #4 was more acidic.

Flight #3

  • Bottle #5: 2019 Chateau O’Brien Merlot (6 votes)
  • Bottle #6: Troplong Mondot – St. Emilion (2 votes)

This was perhaps my favorite round of the day, and the group agreed these wines had two of the nicest finishes of the entire lineup.

Bottle #5 / 2019 Chateau O’Brien. Lots of great descriptors, with fruit notes of black or tart cherry, blackberry, blueberry, clove. “Fun” and “Vibrant” were my two favorite tasting descriptors. I suspect many of us knew this would be in the finalist round.

Bottle #6 / 2020 Troplong Mondot – St. Emilion. A rare 100% Merlot from Bordeaux. I liked it when I first sampled it at a wine store and my palate remembered it, since I was one of two people to vote for this wine as the round favorite. I thought this would go into the finalist round too, but I got outvoted.

This wine was almost universally praised for its balance, body, and black cherry/blackberry notes. Someone mentioned this was a ‘sit by the fire’ wine, and I think there was a lot of agreement on that.

Votes:

  1. Matt: Voted #6, thought #6 was France. Thought #6 had wonderful black cherry notes.
  2. Dominick: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. Thought #5 had notes of dark fruit, noted a nice finish.
  3. Hailey: Voted #6, thought #6 was Virginia. Thought #5 had notes of cloves, cherry, blackberry, and was tart. #6 had black cherry, blackberry, and was velvety.
  4. Ann: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. Thought #5 was ‘vibrant and fun’, fruit forward, with notes of boysenberry. #6 was more savory and had a good body.
  5. Emily: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. #5 was tart cherry, a little musty, liked the fruity aroma. #6 changed a lot in the glass (no tasting notes though).
  6. Brandon: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. #5 had notes of tart cherry, while #6 had an almost Pillsbury note to it, maybe brioche.
  7. Ashley: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. (I think this was #6); thought the nose and palate had different flavors.
  8. Mica: Voted #5, thought #5 was France. Thought #5 had notes of blackberry and chocolate, with some mild pepper. #6 was tangier on the finish but was balanced.

Flight #4

  • Bottle #7: 2021 Bluestone Vineyard Merlot (8 votes)
  • Bottle #8: 2020 Chateau Tour Saint Christophe – St. Emilion (0 votes)

This was my 2nd favorite round. Both wines were well balanced and complex, although we overwhelmingly thought the Bluestone simply had more going for it. 

Bottle #7 / 2021 Bluestone Vineyard Merlot. People LOVED the nose on this one. Very well balanced (I thought the best balance of the day), and this is the first time I ever heard someone describe ‘tomato leaf’ as a descriptor. Notes of tart cherry were also mentioned.

I do want to give a special shout out – at $27.50 this was possibly the best buy of the day. Try that Shenandoah Valley fruit!

Bottle #8 / 2020 Chateau Tour St Christophe. I looked online and this had some amazing ratings to it. This wine was almost universally praised for its balance, body, and black cherry/blackberry notes. Several noted its higher level of acidity, notes of mocha or chocolate, and many agreed with comments of its richness.

Votes:

  1. Matt: Voted for #7 and I leaned towards France but couldn’t really decide. I thought #7 was complex and balance.
  2. Dominick: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. Thought #7 had a tomato leave nose, while the palate was more tomato and bell pepper. #8 was more dark chocolate.
  3. Hailey: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. Thought #7 was more tart cherry, red cherry, basil, and baking spice. #8 was more blackberry, clove, was more fruit-forward.
  4. Ann: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. Thought #7 had an almost sweet nose to it, and found notes of plumb. #8 had more brioche to it.
  5. Emily: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. Loved the nose on #7. Thought #8 was more of a cherry pie nose, and noted the great color.
  6. Brandon: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. #7 was more vegetal, well balanced, #8 was more jammy and rich.
  7. Ashley: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. #7 had an almost butter popcorn nose to it, toasty oak, coco. #8 had higher acidity and a chocolate pop to it.
  8. Mica: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. #7 reminded her of blackberry jam, while #8 was more acidity, maybe a lime and blackberry note to it.

Finalist Flight

  • Bottle #3: 2019 ‘Russ Mountain’ Walsh Family Wine (2nd place)
  • Bottle #5: 2019 Chateau O’Brien (#1st place)
  • Bottle #7: 2021 Bluestone Vineyard (#3rd place)

I did a poll of our favorite wines, and #3/Walsh Family, #5/Chateau O’Brien, and #7/Bluestone Vineyard were picked. As it so happened, all were from Virginia!

I wasn’t surprised that #5 (Chateau O’Brien) or #7 (Bluestone) made the list; there seemed to be a consensus to include those two. The hard part was choosing a 3rd option.

While I wasn’t a big fan of our 2nd round, we had more than a few guests who LOVED that round the most. There was just something about the ‘Old World’ quality that spoke to some people.

In the end, complexity of the #5/Chateau O’Brien earned the most #1st place votes, as well as many 2nd place votes. Walsh and Bluestone were almost tied.

  1. Matt: Voted #5 / #7 / #3.
  2. Dominick: Voted #7 / #5 / #3.
  3. Hailey: Voted #3 / #7 / #5.
  4. Ann: Voted #5 / #3 / #7.
  5. Emily: #5 / #3 / #7.
  6. Brandon: #5 / #7 / #3.
  7. Ashley: #5 / #3 / #7.
  8. Mica: #3 / #5 / #7.

Lessons Learned

I hadn’t done a straight-up Bordeaux comparison before, so it was interesting to see the results. I have to say though; I was genuinely surprised to see that in 1-vs-1, Virginia won 3 out of 4 and tied with the 4th. On top of that, the top 3 were all Virginia.

I have to wonder if maybe my guests having a ‘Virginia palate’ may have influenced the results (we picked the Virginia wine around 75% of the time). That’s not entirely true though; we often liked the Bordeaux wine, and several chose Bordeaux over Virginia…but the purity of the fruit of the Virginia wines often carried them to the ‘win’.

That in itself was surprising. Normally you think that blends are an improvement, since the combination is supposed to give them an edge over single-varietal wines. Yet here, the most popular French wine was probably the 100% Merlot. The other three (with 12-20% Cab Franc) were at times too tannic, or too acidic, or too alcohol-y.

I do think I need to up my game in finding equivalent French bottles. You’d think wines in the $40-range would be equivalent to what Virginia can produce, but here that wasn’t so.

I also have to give credit to Howard O’Brien of Chateau O’Brien, who introduced this wine to me on a visit earlier this year. O’Brien is known for smooth but big reds, especially his Tannat. This was the first time he’d had a 100% Merlot, and he knocked it out of the park. I probably should have put this against a higher-priced Bordeaux to make it a more equitable challenge.

Most importantly, everyone in attendance loved these 100% Merlots. So screw that Sideways movie and try one yourself.

Arterra Vineyard Tour at Seven Oaks Vineyard

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This Saturday I joined Jason Murray of Arterra Wines for a fall wine release/vineyard tour of Seven Oaks, his main satellite vineyard. Joining us was Seven Oaks owners Mark and Madeline Skinner.

For those unfamiliar with Arterra, Jason is a huge proponent of low-intervention winemaking. I’d go so far to call it ‘ultra-low’ intervention, given his focus on using only natural yeast fermentation and basically allowing his wines to decide ‘what they want to be’ rather than force them into a certain direction.

The result is Jason produces wine that, if you tasted them blind in a lineup, you can always tell which are his. During the tour he explained, “I like wine that’s distinctive, that doesn’t taste like every other wine”. All his wines are made to be variety-specific or vineyard-specific.

Arterra’s estate vineyard provides most of their fruit. But since 2005 he’s also partnered with the Skinners to grow wine at their home in the town of Philomont (roughly halfway between Middleburg and Purcellville). Today, Seven Oaks Vineyard has 8.5 acres under vine.

When we got started, Mark and Jason gave us the low-down of the property.

It turns out the farm is historic, going back to colonial times when Lord Fairfax was sub-dividing his land grant into different segments (driving in you pass a sign that says “Seven Oaks Circa 1795”). You wouldn’t know by looking at it, but the main house started as a log cabin and was repeatedly expanded upon over time.

The land was purchased years back by Mark’s father Ben Skinner, a retired Marine Corps aviator who wanted a place away from the city. It’s also really, really pretty and I hope the Skinners host more events here. I especially loved the pond with a sitting area in front of it.

Seven Oaks is what Jason calls a “Piedmont site”, which he defines as relatively lower-elevation site with more energetic soil, as opposed to the thinner soils of a mountain site such as his 950-foot elevation estate vineyard. Seven Oaks’ lower 450-foot elevation drives much of the decision-making on what to plant here.

The vineyard’s original plantings includes Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. More recently it’s become home to Arterra’s Grüner Veltliner, Blaufränkisch, and Zweigelt. It used to grow Arterra’s Malbec, until it was torn out around 2019.

Planning for cold weather events is actually why Jason chose the last three varieties. All three are indigenous to Austria, which only grows grapes suitable for cooler climates.

At first I was confused why someone would plant cool-climate varieties in warm-climate Virginia. But Jason explained “It’s all about the right grape in the right site”.

While Virginia’s summers are characterized as ‘hot and humid’, its winters can occasionally be very cold (as the polar vortex of 2014 demonstrated). Low-elevation sites are especially vulnerable to cold weather, which is why Jason decided to keep his most tender vinifera at his estate vineyard while focusing on early ripening, cold-hardy varieties here.

Jason and Mark walked us through their various plantings and we sampled grapes from the vine while tasting wine made from those plots. It was my first time tasting the Zweigelt and Blau, and only second time tasting the Grüner.

I felt the Blau was very fresh and juicy; a summer/fall wine that can be enjoyed a little chilled. The Zweigelt was more of a fall/winter or food wine; it was too warm for me to enjoy on our walk but I’d enjoy it with hearty meal. It was also a favorite of the local wildlife, apparently.

I loved the Grüner as well. This was different from the lean, austere wines of Austria. It was ‘bigger’ in volume and richer in texture than the typical Grüners you find. Some of that may be its location, but I think most of the credit is because of Jason’s focus on ‘clean’ wine and use of natural yeast.

All three varieties were recent additions, with 2022 being their first vintages. Sandy and Jason Murray were really excited to see how the vine’s growing maturity would influence the wine.

We also tried the no-sulfite PV, Cab Franc, and his rosé. While Jason makes a more ‘traditional’ PV, this one only uses fruit from the Seven Oaks Vineyard. This PV was softer than his regular PV, while the Cab Franc might have been my favorite wine of the day.

We finished the day with a big charcuterie plate and other light bites, which we paired with his Seven Oaks red blend.

Meet Loudoun’s Newest Wineries

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The Loudoun wine family got a little bigger this year with the arrival of three new members; Blue Wall Cider & Wine, Domaine Fortier, and Farm de Vine.

These openings come at a time when there’s considerable concern over the health of the international wine industry. Sales have been steadily declining, in large part because younger drinkers tend to favor spirits and cocktails. Many are abstaining altogether.

Yet the local wine industry remains strong, and these openings suggest Loudoun seems well poised to weather these challenges.

Its reputation as “D.C.’s Wine Country” is one part of the equation. Loudoun wineries are in or adjacent to some of the nation’s wealthiest counties, which help buffer them from economic downturns. This area is also home to a community that is both business-savvy and has strong ties to agriculture, a combination that encourages those who dream of owning a winery to making ownership a reality.

But it’s not just geography. This trio of wineries share a secret weapon – winemaker Nate Walsh.

Nate and his team specialize in small-batch winemaking, produced at their newly-expanded facility at Walsh Family Wine. This makes him the go-to guy for new wineries looking for an experienced vintner. Not only does he perform contract winemaking for a number of clients, Nate makes wine for his own brand.

Blue Wall Cider & Wine (40614 Charles Town Pike, Paeonian Springs)

Justin & Casey Wisch are farmers-turned-cider makers. While beverages are part of the business plan, it’s only part of what they offer.

The Wisches are proponents of sustainable agriculture, producing meat and eggs that are antibiotic and hormone-free at their home at Long Stone Farm. These eco-friendly practices extend to their orchard, which integrates the farm’s livestock operations.

Their focus on sustainability led the Wisches to partner with others who share their values. This now includes Chesapeake Bay-based Rouge Oysters, and Nate Walsh to produce wine. Long Stone Farm also offers a trio of CSAs which specialize in meat, oysters, and cider, respectively.

Blue Wall opened their wine & cider tasting room this May, located adjacent to the Vino9Market on Route 9. The tasting room doubles as a farm store for some of their offerings. The name ‘Blue Wall’ was inspired by the farm’s westerly view of Short Hill Mountain.

Blue Wall currently has four wines and four single-variety ciders. Nate provides the fruit for the wine, while the cider is made from heirloom apples grown at their estate orchard.

Fans should be on the lookout for the Wisches’ farm-to-table dinners hosted at Long Stone Farm, as well as educational tours to learn about sustainable farming.

Domaine Fortier (13235 Milltown Rd, Lovettsville)

Owners Jennifer and Stephen Fortier are a couple that need to constantly stay busy. In addition to raising a trio of young daughters, Stephen runs a consulting firm 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 that didn’t stop them from pursuing the dream.

According to Stephen, the Fortiers were originally aiming for 5 acres of vines but decided ‘go big or go home’, picking a 34-acre property in Lovettsville. The vineyard now has 10 acres, which in the coming years will allow them to make 100% estate wine.

Jennifer explained they want to provide a more ‘elevated experience’. One problem the Virginia wine industry has is its wine is often sold young, as vintners can rarely afford to cellar bottles. 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.

The results already speak for themselves. Their 2017 cabernet franc (with a dash of tannat) won Gold at the prestigious 2023 San Francisco Chronical Wine Competition. My personal favorite is their albariño, a Spanish variety that is proving to be a great fit for Virginia’s terroir.

The Fortiers recently started pouring their wine at an open-air pavilion on the property while the tasting room is being built. Nate Walsh is tutoring Stephen in winemaking, but will make Domaine Fortier’s wine for the foreseeable future.

Farm de Vine (15960 Short Hill Rd, Hillsboro)

Years ago, with a son graduating high school and a daughter in college, owner Hari Moosani once asked himself, “What’s my next journey?”.

For starters, the Moosanis wanted more space. Hari found a former horse farm outside the town of Hillsboro, which he purchased in 2021. At the time, turning his new home into a winery was the furthest thing from his mind.

It was only after moving Hari realized he was surrounded by wineries. As fortune would have it, he once dreamed of owning a neighborhood bar where friends could come together. This property allows Hari to fulfill that dream.

Hari’s business plan calls for him to start small and slowly expand, starting with over an acre of cabernet sauvignon. Farm de Vine has since planted an additional acre of sauvignon blanc and some chambourcin.

Things moved faster than Hari could have hoped, as his 2023 cabernet crop was spectacular. Since the cabernet (made by Nate Walsh) is the only estate wine bottled so far, Hari supplements his tastings with bottles from the now-closed Forever Farm Vineyard.

Farm de Vine launched their soft opening in April. Visitors can find Hari personally serving his wine at the tasting room, which overlooks the vineyard.

France vs Virginia Part Deux (2024)

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If you’re reading this, you probably know all about the “Judgement of Paris”. It’s a huge inspiration to my own wine comparisons, although mine tend to include a broader selection of varieties than the original event (and Virginia wine is always in the mix).

I often hear that both in style and geography, Virginia wine is a half-way point between California and France. But having tried a great deal of both, I’d only somewhat agree with that statement.

My observation is stylistically speaking, Virginia wine trends more towards France than it does California. That said, truly successful Virginia winemakers focus on being ‘Virginia’ rather than try to emulate one region or the other.

I’d already done one “Judgement of Virginia” comparison, but after a few years it was time to apply the lessons-learned from the first time and try again.

Tasting & Scoring Methodology

A group of friends & I blind tasted 5 comparison flights. All the flights were bagged blind. It wasn’t planned that way, but many of the same wineries I selected for my 2022 event were again represented.

The goal was to pick a ‘favorite’ every round, as opposed to rating them and determining which one we thought was the ‘best’. In many cases, ‘best’ was entirely subjective.

This particular event included an abundance of industry professionals. Of the six of us, two had side-gigs at wine stores, two were working on their WSET Diplomas (and one was a wine judge), and one was born in Bordeaux and had experience working at both California and Virginia wineries.

While all were familiar with Virginia wine, I didn’t need to worry about having a bias in favor of either France or Virginia. At least one (gasp!) may have even expressed doubts what Virginia could bring to the table, so I was on a bit of a mission to show the best of what Virginia had to offer.

Because of that, it’s fair to say that my Virginia wines represented a good cross-section of the ‘elite’ of the local industry. But that didn’t mean we slouched on our French pairings; I did my best to compare a wine from each area that was roughly equal in terms of blends and price points.

I specifically told my attendees to not share their guess on which wine came from which region until the end of the event. It was about the best wine of each round, not ‘guess the Virginia bottle’. All the bottles were unveiled at the end.

The contenders:

  1. Charles Heidsieck blanc de blancs (France) ($95 Wine Searcher)
  2. 2016 Trump “Brut Reserve” (Virginia) ($95 for the 2017 vintage)
  3. 2022 Chateau Picque-Caillou Blanc (France) ($43 Wine.com)
  4. 2023 Walsh “Bethany Ridge” (Virginia) (~$34)
  5. 2015 Linden “Hardscrabble” (Chardonnay) (Virginia) (~$42 for current 2021 vintage)
  6. 2015 Louis Jadot Beaune (France) ($55 Wine Searcher)
  7. 2016 Chateau Tour des Termes (France) ($35 Wine Searcher)
  8. 2019 Fifty-Third Winery “Romulus” (Virginia) (~$35-$40 when released)
  9. 2018 Chateau de la Brede Rouge (France) ($62 Wine Searcher)
  10. 2017 Linden “Hardscrabble” (red) (Virginia) (~$75 – $85 library wine)

Flight #1: Sparkling

  • Bottle #1: Charles Heidsieck blanc de blancs (France; I believe it was bottled in 2017)
  • Bottle #2: 2016 Trump “Brut Reserve” (Virginia) (Round winner; 6 votes as favorite; all incorrectly guessed Champagne)

Of course, we start with sparkling.

This was arguably the biggest surprises of the day. All of us voted for Bottle #2 (Trump) as our favorite. During a last-minute pre-unveiling tally to guess its area of origin, all of us guessed it was Champagne. Nope; this was Albemarle County’s very own Trump Winery.

This is where I wish I took a video of the reactions. We were SURE this was Champagne; nobody even floated the idea it was Virginia (even those who’ve had it). The tasting notes also seemed to back that assessment up, with #2/Trump seeming a bit more ‘aged’ and having finer bubbles.

But I shouldn’t be surprised. This was the 2nd time a 2016 Trump Brut Reserve won one of my blind tastings (the other being an 100% sparkling event). Additionally, a 2017 Trump Blanc de Blanc won the previous Judgement of Virginia against a Taittinger champagne.

I’ve said in the past that “Trump sparkling can go toe-to-toe with anything”. But now, I need to edit that statement. It would likely take a +$100 Champagne to surpass a Trump Winery Brut Reserve.

Bottle #1 / Charles Heidsieck blanc de blancs (France). More brioche on the nose than #2. “Bigger” on the palate. Creamy and fresh. One of us mentioned it was more reminiscent of “American” butter while #2 (Trump) was reminiscent of French butter, and several backed that assessment up. It had thicker bubbles with more citrus notes.

Bottle #2 / 2016 Trump “Brut Reserve” (Virginia). The brioche was there on the nose but I personally thought there was a mineral note to it. Lemony, creamy and fresh. More ‘aged’ notes, including nuttiness. More ‘European butter’ notes, which (I’m told) is fattier and more delicious than its American counterpart.

  • Kathy: Voted #2 (Trump). Guessed Champagne (it was Virginia). Thought #1 had more aggressive bubbles, maybe more reductive. #2 was more oxidative and citrusy.
  • Lieven: Voted #2 (Trump). Guessed Champagne (it was Virginia). Lots of similarities between the two, although thought #1 was ‘narrower’. Thought #2 had probably a few more grams of sugar than #1, although both were Brut. He also came up with the idea that #1 (Champagne’s Heidsieck) was more ‘American’ butter while #2 was ‘European’ butter
  • Marine: Voted #2 (Trump). Guessed Champagne (it was Virginia). Concurred with Lieven’s comment about “American butter” vs “European butter”.
  • Matt C: Voted #2 (Trump). Guessed Champagne (it was Virginia). Thought #2 had more dosage. #1 was more kumquat notes while #2 was more mandarin orange.
  • Matt F: Voted #2 (Trump). Guessed Champagne (it was Virginia). No tasting notes (too busy writing).
  • Robrette: Voted #2 (Trump). Guessed Champagne (it was Virginia). Thought #1 was more acidic while #2 was ‘rounder’. Also liked the texture of #2.

Flight #2: Sauvignon Blanc

  • Bottle #3: 2022 Chateau Picque-Caillou Blanc (Bordeaux Blanc, a rare 100% SB)
  • Bottle #4: 2023 Walsh Family Bethany Ridge (Round winner; 6 votes for favorite; 3 guessed were Virginia)

This round was surprising because the Bordeaux Blanc came off as “New World”, while the Walsh was much more Sancerre-like.

At first I was upset I didn’t ask for a more ‘classic’ expression of French Sauv Blanc, but in retrospect I’m happy how it came out. It just goes to show you that not only can Virginia wine present as “Old World”, there are times when “Old World” wine comes off as “New World”.

The Bordeaux Blanc was so overpowering floral that I could have guessed it was a Torrontés in a blind tasting. A very off-brand Sauv Blanc, especially for France. But still very quaffable.

Bottle #3 / 2022 Chateau Picque-Caillou Blanc. The nose was aggressive, nearly overpowering. It was so off-brand it threw us for a loop, and I suspect those who weren’t familiar with Walsh Family assumed this had to be the “New World” wine.

Grassy, almost New Zealand-style perfume-y nose. Lighter in color, and maybe a dab of oak. Lots of texture. Notes of citrus, jasmine, tarragon, and gooseberry were mentioned.

Bottle #4 / 2023 Walsh Family Bethany Ridge. “Shy” was the key descriptor, which I assume was due to it being recently bottled. The nose took a while to make an appearance but was lovely when it finally arrived.

Notes of dry grass (as opposed to freshly cut grass). Delicate and elegant. Citrus and lingering stone fruit notes. I completely understand why people thought this was France; maybe my next pairing will be Sancerre instead of a Bordeaux Blanc.

  • Kathy: Voted for #4 and guessed #4 was Virginia. Thought #3 had nice acidity and was perfume-y. #4 had notes of quince, mineral, and dried herbs.
  • Lieven: Voted for #4 and guessed #4 was France. #3 had notes of stone fruit, papaya, tarragon, and was floral and bright. #4 had a sharper nose.
  • Marine: Voted for #4 and guessed #4 was Virginia. #3 was ‘flamboyant’. Notes of cat pee, passion fruit, and was smooth. #4 was more subtle, notes of fresh herbs and had a lovely finish.
  • Matt C: Voted for #4 and guessed #4 was France. Thought #3 had notes of honeysuckle and grapefruit.
  • Matt F: Voted for #4 and guessed #4 was Virginia (mostly because I know and love Walsh’s SB) but never could have guessed #3 was French.
  • Robrette: Voted for #4 and guessed #4 was France. Thought #3 was grassy, fleshy, notes of dragon fruit. #4 was lmon-lime, grape fruit, hint of herbs.

Flight #3: Chardonnay

  • Bottle #5: 2015  Linden “Hardscrabble” (Chardonnay) (Virginia) (3 votes, tie; all guessed it was Virginia)
  • Bottle #6: 2015 Louis Jadot Beaune (France) (3 votes, tie)

This round was special because I LOVE aged Chardonnay. The 2015 Linden is one of owner/winegrower Jim Law’s favorite (and highest rated) Chardonnay vintages ever, and bottles of Hardscrabble Chardonnay are basically his ‘flagship wine’. I’m not familiar with the Louis Jadot but dang, that one aged beautifully as well.

I didn’t take great notes on why we all thought #5 was Virginia, but we all must have found something about it that stood out since we were all accurate.

Bottle #5 / 2015 Linden “Hardscrabble” (white) (Virginia). It had a ‘hot note’ of higher alcohol. Lemon notes, nutty nose. This seemed more ‘fruit’ driven.

Bottle #6 / 2016 Chateau Tour des Termes (France). “Big”, nutty qualities as well. Lots of complexity on the nose. Complex palate. This seemed a tad bit more ‘winemaker’ driven, at least on the nose.

  • Kathy: Voted for #5 and thought #5 was Virginia. Thought #5 was fresher, more fruit vs #6 showcased ‘the winemaker’, and #5 had a note of salinity.
  • Lieven: Voted for #6 and thought #5 was Virginia. Thought #5 was more bruised fruit, lemony but also cooked, with notes of marmalade. #6 was more lemon drop, with a sour note. Both had notes of baking spice.
  • Marine: Voted for #6 and thought #5 was Virginia. #5 was more pronounced bruised apple, lighter and more acidic than #6. #6 was shy, smooth, balanced and toasty.
  • Matt C: Voted for #5 and thought #5 was Virginia. #6 was ripe pair, fresh butter on the nose. Saw a hot note to it. #6 had a reductive nose, notes of melted butter, cooked apple, and baking spice
  • Matt F: Voted for #6, and thought #5 was Virginia.
  • Robrette: Voted for #5 and thought #5 was Virginia. Thought #5 as rounder and had more mouth feel. #6 was sharper.

Flight #4: Red Flight #1

  • Bottle #7: 2016 Chateau Tour des Termes (France) (Round winner, 6 votes)
  • Bottle #8: 2019 Fifty-Third Winery “Romulus” (Virginia; all guessed it was Virginia)

This round was our mid-price ranged red comparison. The differences between them were more pounced than the other rounds (at least in my opinion). It was relatively easy to guess the Virginia wine since it was brighter and more fruit-driven than the Bordeaux.

This was a fight between ‘easy drinking vs serious & complex’. They were slightly further apart in vintage than I would have preferred – but you take what you can get.

Bottle #7 / 2016 Chateau Tour des Termes (France). I wrote most of the notes below for this round.

Bottle #8 / 2019 Fifty-Third Winery “Romulus” (Virginia).

  • Kathy: Voted for #7 and thought #8 was Virginia. Thought #7 had black plumb, notes of peppercorn, was rustic, and had more complexity. #8 was more black cherry vanilla (like the ice cream), notes of cherry cola.
  • Lieven: Voted for #7 and thought #7 was Virginia. Thought #7 was red and black fruit, notes of cassis and char, with a savory note. #8 was more blue and black fruit, note of violet, and had a lighter palate.
  • Marine: Voted for #7 and thought #8 was Virginia. #7 had notes of fresh herbs, black cherry, rustic, more ‘serious’. #8 was fresher, more crushed berry, and liked the brightness.
  • Matt C: Voted for #7 and thought #8 was Virginia. Thought #7 had a “Virginia nose”, notes of cassis, maybe a little new oak. #8 was softer, leaned into the fresh fruit, was softer and had a lingering berry note.
  • Matt F: Voted for #7 and thought #8 was Virginia. I thought #8 had a sour note on the palate, and wasn’t as well integrated when compared to #7.
  • Robrette: Voted for #7 and thought #7 was Virginia. #7 was more complex while #8 was brighter and was less complex, with cola notes.
  • Flight #5: Red Flight #2
  • Bottle #9: 2018 Chateau de la Brede Rouge  (France) (3 votes; tie)
  • Bottle #10: 2017 Linden “Hardscrabble” (red) (Virginia) (3 votes; tie, 2 out of 6 guessed it was Virginia)

While Jim Law’s flagship wine is his Hardscrabble white (Chardonnay), he makes some damn good reds. His wines are always well balanced, and that was evident here.

But the Brede Rouge wasn’t a slouch either, everyone loved it just as much. Votes were tied between them.

Surprisingly (or not, depending on how high your estimation of Linden is), 4 out of 6 of us thought the Virginia wine was Bordeaux (even my guest from Bordeaux thought so). I’ll take that as a huge vote of confidence for Linden Vineyards.

It wasn’t until the next day that I got the ‘musty’ notes that are indicative of Bordeaux on the nose, although both bottles were well aerated before this event.

Bottle #9 / 2018 Chateau de la Brede Rouge (France). It was late so most of my tasting notes are below. Several thought they detected an ‘olive oil’ note to #9, which threw people off.

Bottle #10 / 2017 Linden “Hardscrabble” (red) (Virginia). Guests generally identified this as smooth, balanced, and fruit-driven.

  • Kathy: Voted for #9, thought #10 was Virginia. Thought #9 was brine-y and had a note of olive oil which was unusual for Bordeaux. #10 was fresher, more raspberry and herbs and fewer barnyard notes.
  • Lieven: Voted for #10, thought #9 was Virginia. Thought #9 was more red cherry, plumb, pomegranate, and potting soil. #10 was more red cherry, plumb, earth and forest floor. Thought this wine was more about the mid-palate.
  • Marine: Voted for #10, thought #9 was Virginia. Thought #9 had notes of cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, prune-y and tobacco. I think she mentioned notes of nutmeg and spice. #10 had notes of black current, cherry, and ‘juicy’
  • Matt C: Voted for #9, thought #9 was Virginia. #9 was black cherry, liquorish, brine, notes of baked fruit and had a cooked quality to it. #10 was black current, cigar box, red and black fruit and cedar.
  • Matt F: Voted for #10, thought #10 was Virginia.
  • Robrette: Voted for #9, thought #9 was Virginia. Thought #9 was more red fruit, black cherry, but balanced and smooth. #10 was more red fruit, and lighter, smoother, softer.

Lessons Learned:

Normally I talk about how similar a well-made Virginia wine can be to a classic expression of the same variety from France. What surprised me was how French wine can, on occasion, showcase “New World” notes.

The Chardonnay and the 1st red flight were easy; 100% of guests correctly identified each country of origin. The Sauvignon Blanc flight was harder to guess, with only 4 out of 6 guessing correctly. Even more difficult was the 2nd flight (with Linden) where only 2 out of 6 guessed correctly.

The sparkling round was the real stumper. Was it conceit to assume Virginia couldn’t match a $80-$100 bottle from Champagne? Maybe! I stand by my assessment that Trump Winery’s sparklings hit above their price point.

I also loved how wrong people were about the Linden Hardscrabble red vs Bordeaux flight, which stumped most of us.

So was it that Virginia wines are expressive of “Old World”? Or a few of these French wines were New World-ish? A bit of both, at least in this case.

In the end of our 5 comparisons, Virginia won 2 rounds, Bordeaux 1 round, and we had 2 ties.

Curio Wine Bar (Rogers Ford)

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I typically only review wineries…but I’ll make an exception here, because this is very much a stop for Virginia wine lovers.

First of all, Curio is operated by Rogers Ford Farm Winery, which was actually my very first wine club and still a favorite to visit. Not coincidentally, Rogers Ford was also the first winery to introduce me to one of my all-time favorite grapes, petit verdot.

Second, you can find a lot of Virginia wine here, and not just from Rogers Ford. Of course they sell Rogers Ford here, but when I visited they had Old House on tap, and owner Johnny Puckett is interested in adding more.

Curio is located in downtown Fredericksburg. I’ve often visited this town to tour the local history sites, but this was the first time I’ve visited the town for wine (although I may have to visit for mead as well, since I noticed Haley’s Honey Meadery is up the street).

Johnny recently retired from his full-time job as an IT guy, although the words ‘retirement’ and ‘winery owner’ rarely go together. So it wasn’t a coincidence that Curio opened only a few weeks later.

Curio is a wine bar, but it’s also something of a satellite tasting room for Rogers Ford wine. Club members can find all their wines here (and still receive their club discounts). But it’s not *just* Rogers Ford; you will find a wide assortment of wines from across the world.

One thing that makes this place different from a traditional ‘wine bar’ is they use WineStations to pour your wine. The way the system operates is you buy a debit card that you charge up, then insert the card in the machine. You then select the size of your pour (1 ounce, 3 ounces, 6 ounces) from the wine you want. The machine debits your card the appropriate amount, and automatically pours your wine.

If I had one complaint…is this system makes it almost *too* easy to sample a lot. You’d think 1 ounce isn’t a lot. But when are curious and have a dozen samples to choose from, it goes fast!

I visited the second weekend after their grand opening and Johnny was there serving flatbreads and chatting up new visitors. He explained that ‘Curio’ was selected because he wanted guests to be curious about both wine and people. You can sample a wide assortment of wines, but he was also intent that you chat-up your neighbors.

I charged my card with $30, and between a guests and I we sampled a wide assortment of wine. Being a fan of Rogers Ford I started with his orange wine, but as soon as that was gone I moved to his petit verdot then a few other international wines.

For this visit I went through samples of Johnny’s orange wine, PV, and cab franc, plus several other wines. Make sure to visit the patio outside.

Apologies if the photos have bad lighting; I was more worried about eating the flatbreads than photography.