Hampton Roads Vineyard has one of the best marketing ideas I’ve ever seen in the Virginia wine industry. After a long search for a good place to open a winery/vineyard, in 2008 David Sheldon and his wife Dianne found their future home in a rural area halfway between Richmond and Norfolk. He called it a retirement plan, – although I hate calling it that because owning a winery is a LOT of work.

The property had a lot of history, including a house once owned by a famous carriage maker and horse enthusiast. It’s also good for growing alfalfa and raising Red Angus cattle. But you know what David decided it needed to complete things? A goat tower.

Say again? A WHAT?

That’s right – Dave got the idea from a book named “The Greatest Wineries in the World” which included a picture of a goat tower at a South African winery. That planted an idea how he could distinguish Hampton Roads from all the other wineries in the state. The 34-foot goat tower is his own design, and is the largest such structure in the world. Visitors can’t go inside, but they can watch the goats run up and down the steps.

The goat tower is fun, but I was just as taken with the tasting room. Inspired by the trade of his home’s original owners, the building outwardly looks like a carriage house. It’s quite spacious inside, and being decorated with the works of local artists is a nice touch.

While some come for the goat tower – they stay for the wine. Visitors are a mix of locals as well as travelers from Williamsburg and Norfolk. So to satisfy this crowd, Dianne makes an assortment of wines ranging from on the sweet side to bold and dry. All in all they make 2-3000 cases/year using their 15 acres of vines. All their wine is made in steel, although a handful received some oak from wooden staves.

For the white wines, my favorite was the 2017 Chardonnay. Fermented in steel, it was light and easy drinking (I think I detected notes of pear). I also tried the “White Oak White” white blend which had grassy notes and a bigger mouthfeel, the Simply Seyval that was higher in sugar and more citrusy, and finishing the lighter wines was the Norton Blush which had a GREAT nose and color.

Moving on to the reds, I started with the 2018 Merlot and moved to the 2018 Petit Verdot. But my favorite? This sounds odd…but my favorite was their Hog Island Sweet Red – a Norton heavy blend. Now, I don’t typically like either Norton or sweet wines. But you know what? There was something about this that just hit the right spot!

Next time you’re visiting Norfolk or Williamsburg, swing on by. You might even be able to get a tour of the goat pen.

Wow, what a difference a few weeks makes! I visited here in early March right after I participated in the Virginia Wine Expo in Richmond. Now I’m ‘social distancing’. You have no idea how much I miss this place now!

Upper Shirley Vineyards has a different vibe from other Virginia wineries. While some serve light fare, they have a full restaurant. Many wineries are part of a trail with 3-4 other places; Upper Shirley stands alone. Most tasting rooms are on the small side; this place is huge by comparison.

But you know what? This strategy is spot on! Upper Shirley goes all-out so you don’t have to visit anywhere else. Given what I saw, I don’t know why anybody would want to.

Located on the banks of the James River next to a historic plantation, Upper Shirley is definitely in “the countryside”. That sounds odd given it’s only half an hour from Richmond, yet very true.

Upper Shirley is the brainchild of Tayloe Dameron, who saw potential in putting a winery in an otherwise undeveloped stretch of land outside Richmond. At the top of his ‘to do’ list was to figure out how to make great wine. Fortunately Dameron partnered up with Michael Shaps, who’s likely won more wine awards than anyone in Virginia. So winemaker – check.

Tayloe also researched how to plant a vineyard in an area that’s challenging for vinifera. The local soil is exceptionally vigorous so he planted the vines well apart to ensure maximum sun exposure, facilitating ripening. He also found a gravely plot of land that has great drainage. Through careful growing and site selection practices like these Tayloe managed to get his 22 acres vines in balance. So vineyard – check.

As we chatted you could tell Tayloe is (justifiably) proud of his wine, although he wasn’t shy about talking up his food menu either (try their burger!). Within an hour of opening Upper Shirley’s indoor space was PACKED. Luckily I found additional seating on their patio overlooking the river, which provided me with an amazing view.

Of course this is still a winery first and foremost, so I got down to sampling. The white wines were all from the 2018 growing season, which worried me at first – until I tried them. While many others gave up on the 2018 vintage, I think Michael pulled a hat trick here and made some damn good whites.

I really liked the Viognier, which was light with notes of honeysuckle. Following that was their Sauvignon Blanc; aromatic and reminiscent of a cool-climate wine. The Chardonnay had a great nose and the partial French oak did wonders for its long finish. Finishing up the lineup was a semi-sweet “#2 White”, their Provence-style Rosé, and a very clean & crisp sparkling.

We then moved on to the reds, all from the 2016 harvest. The Merlot had a nice cherry nose and I found it to be very fruit driven. The Petit Verdot had a big mouthfeel, with black fruit up front. Following that was their “Zachariah” red blend, and last but not least a Tannat that was bold but not slap-your-face tannic bold. I loved all of them, but hands down the smooth Zachariah (which has a dash of Tannat) was my favorite.

I came by for a tasting and ended up staying a few hours. Tayloe wasn’t joking when he explained his entire goal is to give you enough that you don’t have to go anywhere else.

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting 868 Estate Vineyards under happier circumstances than what we face today. Nevertheless, I think it’s important to recognize a good news story for a change. Winning the 2020 Virginia’s Governor’s Cup award certainly qualifies!

I’d been trying to visit them for a while, but no particular date seemed to work. Then…they WON THE GOVERNOR’S CUP with their 2017 Vidal Blanc Passito, the first desert wine to ever do so! If that’s not enough reason to rush over, then I don’t know what is.

Not only is 868 a winery, it has a full-service restaurant called Grandale Vintner’s Table next to the tasting room. It’s great synergy because it allows them to serve great light fare options at the tasting room. Probably my favorite is the truffle & wine pairing. New flavors are selected every year with their “Shuffle the Truffle” event, which sounds like a delicious way to pick new favorites.

Nancy Deliso showed me around on a Friday afternoon. 868 has 22 acres under vine (plus some on lease), including a mix of vinifera plus Chardonel, Chambourcin, and some Vidal. I was surprise how little Vidal they actually have planted, all of which goes into their desert wine. All in all they make 3500 cases/year, usually using 100% estate fruit.

As I did my tasting I found myself admiring the art on their bottles. It turned out the tasting room is decorated with works from local artists, and the best of those are picked to decorate next year’s bottles. Had the weather been better I would have loved to sit outside on the expansive patio. Next time I’ll have to revisit Grandale for lunch, which I’d frequented several times (I’m a sucker for their pork shank).

Carl DeManno is their wine maker and the one who came up with the idea of making a “Passito” style desert wine; it’s an Italian style which calls for the grapes to be dried until they are raisin-y. The goal isn’t to make a sweet wine as much as something that is rich in texture (although it does have 8% residual sugar). Carl joked it was a “good experiment”, which is the wine understatement of the year.

Sadly the Vidal was off the tasting menu, but I did get to sample basically everything else. I started with their 2017 Chardonel and Chardonnay; the first was light with notes of grass and citrus, the later I could sense was dry with a tad of oak. The 2017 Canvas White was semi-sweet (their only sweet option, besides the desert wine) with good acidity.

Moving on to the reds, I REALLY liked that 2017 Cabernet Franc. Like many of their reds, it was a blend (this time using Cab Sauv and Merlot), which went a long way. The 2017 Merlot was also lovely, with a nice roundness on the palate.

Before I left I had one more place to visit: the barrel room. It so happened Carl was sampling two wines for their members. I tried their 2017 Petit Verdot, which while young was coming along VERY nicely. It seemed smooth up front but spread out nicely. I also tried their 2017 Chardonnay again, this time with some Swiss cheese which definitely mellowed it out. The 2017 vintage kick a@$, and these were great examples.

I’m SO tired of staying indoors already. I want to go out and visit again.

It had been a while since I’ve visited Lake Anna Winery, but it appeared back on my radar when they won 3 Gold Medals for their Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, and Tannat in the 2020 Virginia Governor’s Cup competition; the Tannat went on to the Governor’s Case. This was a huge coup for a smaller winery; definitely one of the best showings in the entire competition. As I’m a fan of both Tannat and Petit Verdot, I definitely needed a revisit.

It so happened that owner Jeff Heidig and winemaker Graham Bell were available on a Friday afternoon, so I was able to sneak in before the inevitable crowds came down to buy-up all the award winning wine. Both gents still seemed a little dazed at the newfound recognition, to say the least.

I love the location; the winery is only a short drive from the lake it’s named after (the park also has great hiking trails!). Although mid-sized by Virginia standards, the tasting room is very spacious. There is plenty of room for events, plus a cozy fireplace. Jeff explained that the lake is a magnet for tourists, who often congregate here on rainy days.

Jeff also gave me some background on his vineyard; 19 acres of vines, with a mix of vinifera and hybrids. While much of their wine is estate, they still purchase some fruit from places like Horton. One surprising fact is they grow Dornfelder, a rarity in Virginia. While most often it goes into blends, in good years they sometimes have enough to bottle it on its own.

As Lake Anna has a diverse set of customers, their lineup of wines runs the range of dry to sweet options. Graham led me through a tasting while explaining his thought process in the creation of his Gold Medal winners.

For the white and sweet options, I really liked the 2019 Seyval, which was grassy and reminded me of a Sauvignon Blanc. The 2018 Seyval had strong apple notes, like a Granny Smith. The 2017 “Totally White” was an easy drinking semi-sweet that seems a good all-around crowd pleaser. The NV Claret was an easy drinking red blend with a hint of sweetness. I also enjoyed their “Concerto” red wine (enhanced with cherries) and the “Essential”, made in an ice-wine style. Needless to say, anyone partial to sweeter wines will find lots to love here.

From there we moved into the bolder reds. 2017 Merlot had notes of dark cherry and great acidity and roundness (no doubt assisted by the 10% Petit Verdot blended in). The 2015 Petit Verdot was fairly fruit-forward by PV standards. I even had a chance to sample some wines still in barrel; I especially liked the Dornfelder, which is a varietal I almost never see in Virginia.

But the highlight were those Gold-medal reds. I loved that 2017 Tannat; it had more fruit notes than I expected, and an interesting complexity that came from being fermented in neutral barrels but assisted with oaken staves. The 2017 Petit Verdot had strong tannin and acid, but with time this will soften up (plus this is a VERY age-worthy vintage).

If you haven’t been to Lake Anna – GO!

Maryland wineries are the same driving distance as the ones I visit in Virginia, yet somehow I don’t visit them nearly as often. But I really should – Maryland’s wine scene is growing fast; every time I look at my map I find a new winery had popped up. Such was the case with Windridge Vineyards.

Windridge is west of Gaithersburg, somewhere along that invisible boundary where the burbs turns into farm country. It’s also a very new winery, opening in July 2019.

But ‘new’ is relative here; they’ve had vineyards for a while and only recently took the plunge to open a full-fledged winery. The current tasting room is a temporary setup while they build their permanent one. Fortunately that didn’t stop a friend & I from grabbing a seat inside while doing some wine ‘research’.

With the exception of a Riesling, all of Windridge’s wines were made with estate fruit or purchased in Maryland. Currently they have 27 acres of vines planted, including Syrah and Albariño.  It excites me to see wineries planting vines that I don’t see that often; Albariño especially is well suited to the local terroir.

I was particularly taken with the Cabernet Franc and their Seneca red-blend, but across the board I enjoyed the lineup. And if this wasn’t enough, winemaker Nick Maliska poured a sample of their 2019 Cabernet Franc juice taken from a barrel. 2019 is going to be a fantastic year up and down the east coast, and Maryland wines from that vintage will be outstanding.

What I tried:

2018 Rose: Merlot/Cab Sauv/Cab Franc blend, strawberry in color and strawberry-watermelon notes on the palate.

2017 & 2018 Chardonnays: I enjoyed both, but for different reasons. The 2017 had some nice lemon notes, while 2018 had a surprisingly long finish. Although this may seem counter-intuitive, I think I liked the 2018 better even though it was from a horrible growing year.

2017 Chambourcin: This was a full-flavored Chambourcin, without becoming a fruit bomb. Also had some pepper notes.

2017 Ithaca Reserve (Chambourcin): Less pepper and more fruit-forward.

Chardonel: I’m not always a fan of this hybrid but I liked this one quite a bit. It was off dry and its acidity gave it a nice ‘fresh’ quality.

Seneca (red blend): Earthy, mushroom on the nose. Some acidity and fruit that appeared in the finish.

2017 Cabernet Franc Reserve: This was on the lighter side of the Cab Franc spectrum, with some fruit notes.

2016 “The Old Line” port-style: Strong bourbon notes, which I LOVE in my port-styles. One of the nicer port-styles I’ve enjoyed recently. Made with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.