Tag Archives: Chardonnay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association Best of Class Winners (abbreviated)

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

Virginia Chardonnay Blind Showdown (2023 Edition)

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There are certain phrases used in the wine world that grate me, and “Anything but chardonnay” is one of the top contenders. Given chardonnay is one of the most planted varieties in the world – and 2nd most planted in Virginia – if you hate chardonnay, it can only be because you haven’t tried enough of them.

I say this because chardonnay is the chameleon of white wine. You can find austere, higher-acid chards from cool weather vintages, or full, ripe wines from warm-weather climates. It can be heavily manipulated with oak or made in steel. From Australia’s Adelaide Hills to Washington State’s Walla Walla, chardonnay is (literally) everywhere.

Burgundy is often thought of as the world’s premiere chardonnay producing region, but I’ve had a number of Virginia wines that could give good Burgundies a run for their money. The biggest problem I had for this event is narrowing down the list of contenders.

Ultimately my guests were able to bring a variety of chardonnays from around the state. The only rules I gave them is I couldn’t have any wines that were in my last chardonnay challenge, and I needed at least one Shenandoah Valley wine.

The goal was to do 2 flights of Virginia wines and a flight of Burgundy, all blind. We had a last-minute issue with getting our last French wine, so we substituted a Russian River Valley (California) chardonnay for it.

The top wines of every flight went to a finalist round. Since we loved the wines in the 2nd flight so much, I gave the runner up in that flight a wildcard advance to the final round.

As always, this event was the product of this day with this group. Many of these wines had the potential of being a winner.

The contenders:

  1. 2019 Brix and Columns (winery in the Shenandoah Valley, not sure where the fruit is from)
  2. 2019 Linden Boisseau (Front Royal)
  3. 2021 Vint Hill (Story Vineyard, Fauquier County)
  4. 2021 DuCard TANA (TANA Vineyard)
  5. 2022 12 Pearls of Wisdom (Effingham/Pearmund)
  6. 2021 Stone Tower (Leesburg)
  7. 2020 Famille Vincent (Burgundy)
  8. 2019 Patrick Javiller (Burgundy)
  9. 2016 Hertelendy (Russian River Valley, CA)

Flight #1

  • Wine 1: 2019 Brix and Columns
  • Wine 2: 2019 Linden Boisseau
  • Wine 3: 2021 Vint Hill (round winner)

Bottle #1: 2019 Brix and Columns: Light gold. Muted nose. Clean, crisp. Notes of hazelnut and lemon. Some people mentioned it was a little musty. The biggest problem some had was the finish just fell off at the end.

This wine was a bit divisive because it was very easy drinking, almost at the expense of complexity. I liked it a lot, but others found it wanting.

Bottle #2: 2021 Linden Boisseau: High acidity, floral nose. Notes of tart apple and lemon/lime. Someone noted it had an almost riesling quality to it. It was a wine that seemed to cry out for food, and the lack of a pairing dish probably brought it down a notch.

Bottle #3: 2021 Vint Hill: I found notes of slate; someone else said honeysuckle and lemon. Others noted notes of lemon and peach; almost a creamsicle quality to it. Several people noted it had lots of honey. Almost all of us mentioned its long finish and good complexity.

We were all over the place in terms of favorites. Everyone liked #2 but nobody put it as a favorite. I was torn between “easy drinking” vs “complexity” but went with the former. Most of the guests chose the latter category, so the Vint Hill wine won out.

  • Alex:  3/2/1
  • Frank: 3/1/2
  • Jen: 3/2/1
  • Kathy: 3/2/1
  • Matt: 1/3/2
  • Ryan: 1/3/2
  • Stephanie: 3/2/1

Flight #2

  • Bottle #4: 2021 DuCard TANA (wildcard advance)
  • Bottle #5: 2022 Effingham 12 Pearls of Wisdom
  • Bottle #6: 2021 Stone Tower (round winner)

Wine 4: 2021 DuCard TANA: Noticeably floral, with notes of marzipan, sweet almond, flowers. Solid acidity, with a bit of minerality. We guessed made in stainless. We were partially correct; I later learned it started in steel but also had 4 months in neutral oak and aged on lees.

Grown in the TANA vineyard around 6 miles from DuCard on a SW-facing slope. Made in “Mȃcon” style, as benefiting from having a French winemaker.

Wine 5: 2022 12 Pearls of Wisdom: Very perfume-y. Long, very grapy finish. Racy acidity. Notes of lemon, apricot, or peach. Overall delicious.

There was a LOT going on in this wine. We enjoyed it thoroughly but felt it was almost ‘too much’. We probably would have enjoyed it more on its own as opposed to a lineup of other chardonnays, as it wasn’t a very chardonnay-like wine.

Wine 6: 2021 Stone Tower: Notes of apricot, peach on the nose. Personally, I thought it was lighter than the other two, but others note it was on the fuller side.

More elegant and mineral driven than anything we’d had so far. We thought it had a little bit of oak. Smooth. Someone mentioned a ‘smoky minerality’ to it, with notes of grapefruit.

This was a tough round to choose a favorite! For the seven of us, it was easy the favorite round of the day.

The biggest problem I found was wine #5 was so different from the others it seemed out of place, to the point it was an almost unfair comparison.

Wines #4 and #6 were more evenly matched, to the point it was a near toss-up. But since we liked #4 so much, I gave it a wild card advance to the final round. Many felt #4 (DuCard) was more likely to please multiple people, while #6 (Stone Tower) was a ‘serious’ wine.

  • Alex: 6/5/4. Felt #6 was what he would open on his own.
  • Frank: 4/6/5
  • Jen: 6/4/5
  • Kathy: 6/4/5
  • Matt: 4/5/6
  • Ryan: 4/6/5
  • Stephanie: 6/4/5. Liked the complexity of #6. #4 was more likely to please a crowd.

Flight #3

  • Wine 7: 2020 Famille Vincent
  • Wine 8: 2019 Patrick Javiller (round winner)
  • Wine 9: 2016 Hertelendy

Wine 7: 2020 Famille Vincent: Muted nose. Some oak. Crisp, notes of mandarin orange or clementine.

Wine 8: 2019 Patrick Javiller: I found notes of crisp green apple, some butter. Others mentioned lemon blossom on the nose and palate.

Wine 9: 2016 Hertelendy: “Funky and smoky” were the key adjectives. This wine was CLOUDY. Not sure what was going on here. On the nose, notes of drawn butter or maybe butterscotch. Nutty on the palate; maybe hazelnut, maybe a bit of lees or oak.

The cloudiness of the last wine was divisive for many of us, so it was really a contest between #7 and #8.

  • Alex: 9/8/7
  • Frank: 7/8/9
  • Jen: 8/7/9
  • Kathy: 8/7/9
  • Matt: 8/7/9
  • Ryan: 7/8/9
  • Stephanie: 7/8/9

Finalist Round:

  • Wine 3: 2021 Vint Hill (3rd favorite)
  • Wine 4: 2021 DuCard TANA (favorite of the day)
  • Wine 6: 2021 Stone Tower (runner up)
  • Wine 8: 2019 Patrick Javiller (4th favorite)

No major wine notes this time. We went almost straight to the judging.

I thought wine #3 (Vint Hill) improved a lot, although #6 had my favorite nose of the lineup. #8 was a bit spicy.

In a surprise twist, wild card wine #4 (DuCard) beat wine #6 (Stone Tower) even though in an earlier round Stone Tower was favored (by a narrow margin). Both were easily the top wines of the day, but 2021 DuCard Vineyard “TANA” was the overall favorite in the end.

  • Alex: 6/4/3/8
  • Frank: 4/6/3/8
  • Jen: 6/4/3/8
  • Kathy: 6/3/4/8
  • Matt: 4/3/6/8
  • Ryan: 4/3/8/6
  • Stephanie: 4/6/3/8

If there’s a lesson learned here, it was that chardonnay comes in all flavor profiles. Not one of these were butter-bombs (despite having a California chardonnay). The best Virginia ones definitely showcased elegance and would have done any Burgundy winemaker proud.

I also think food and time caused us to shift votes. Wine #3 had a noticeable improvement, becoming the runner up to several guests. The addition of food (we had an amazing cheese board and dessert) also may have accentuated #4.

This was the first time a ‘wild card’ wine won one of my events, which I also attribute to how it was the kind of wine that everyone can enjoy. Put in a large group, the DuCard TANA came out as the favorite. But huge kudos to the Stone Tower wine, which many of my guests would drink by themselves.