Author: Andrew Cole

Virginia wine has long played an ancillary role in the grand scheme of American viticulture, at its best serving as a competent, if not slightly underappreciated, alternative to its more heralded cousins from the west, and at its worst some sort of morose oddity that gets finished out of sheer curiosity and, perhaps, even a touch of contempt.

Luckily, especially for those of us who happen to live in the heart of one of Virginia’s most prolific AVAs, that’s all starting to change. Much like the vines from which they are derived, wine regions take time to mature. Even more than 20 years in, Virginia viticulture is still in its infancy when compared to counterparts in the Old World. Finally, though, we’re starting to hit our stride thanks in no small part to a bevy of talented local winemakers who have opted to take up the challenge of making great wine in a notoriously finicky climate (as opposed to plying their trade in “greener pastures” in places like California, Oregon, and even New York).

As this October marks the 25th anniversary of Virginia Wine Month, it’s the perfect time to pop open a bottle of Virginia vino and toast our efforts—from Virginia grape growers to Virginia wine drinkers. Here are a few of my favorites to get you started.

Thibaut-Jannison Virginia Fizz

Claude Thibaut has earned the nickname Master of “Methode Champenoise,” and with a proven track record that extends well beyond Virginia, he has established himself as a major player in the world of sparkling wine. Released through his partnership with Champagne’s Jannison family, the Virginia Fizz pays homage to the cremant-style French sparklers found outside of Champagne. Less focused and creamier (hence the name) than their more heralded counterparts, cremants tend to be a fantastic value. The Fizz fits this bill perfectly by offering notes of green apple in spades. It’s crisp, but not sharp, with a moderate dosage that makes it approachable to most everyone. It pairs well with salads and lighter fare, but is most appropriate for giving a toast.  $20

2009 Michael Shaps Viogner

With the release of the 2009 vintage, Michael Shaps continues to do his part in cementing viognier as Virginia’s premier white varietal. It expresses the intense fruit esters of peaches and candied apricots, as well as the essence of honeysuckle and other floral notes expected in Virginia viognier. Still, it manages to retain a sense of balance with a lively acidity and rich textured mouthfeel. It finishes with hints of lemon and a little licorice and oak, making it a perfect pairing for a bourride or similarly rich seafood stew. $28.

2012 Glen Manor Sauvignon Blanc

Hailing from high up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Northern Virginia, Glen Manor’s sauvignon blanc is a true treat. Exhibiting the telltale aromas of gooseberry that would belie a New Zealand origin, it shows strong hints of lime, a crisp minerality that offers a true sense of place, and enough heft on the palate to balance it all out. It’s great on its own, but sings when enjoyed with grilled shrimp or linguine and clams.  $24.

2010 3

A collaborative effort between winemakers Matthieu Finot of King Family Vineyards, Emily Pelton of Veritas, and Jake Busching, former winemaker at Pollak Vineyard and currently at the helm of Grace Estates Winery, this wine is, perhaps, the best representation of overall terroir in Western Albemarle. If you can still manage to get your hands on this limited production, expect notes of ripe dark plums, with hints of vanilla and spice. Fairly rich and robust for Virginia standards, this blend of equal parts merlot provided by Finot, cabernet franc from Busching, and petit verdot from Pelton’s vineyard offers ripe black currant and stewed pears, and while still being fairly young and forceful, its soft and well-integrated tannins don’t overwhelm the palate, finishing with a subtle, yet distinctly nutty, earthiness. $33.33

2011 Ankida Ridge Pinot Noir

For a varietal that is notoriously finicky and hard to ripen, the Vrooman family does a remarkable job at their farm in Amherst County. Despite being a relatively new player on the scene, with its first vintage only coming in 2010, Ankida Ridge’s Pinot Noir continues to rack up the accolades. Featured in a recent issue of Food & Wine, this Pinot possesses one of Virginia’s best chances at making a global impact. With a classic structure that could fool some as Burgundian, look for the cherry notes with subtle hints of kirsch, spice, and dill. Perfect for the transition into fall; drink this Pinot with roasted quail over farrow with chestnuts and griotte cherries. $42.

Andrew Cole is the manager and wine director at tavola.

What would happen if you took a handful of the world’s greatest chefs, put them in a kitchen filled with spoiled meats, wilted vegetables, a pantry filled with the most unappetizing food-products known to man, and gave them each an hour to cook the best meal imaginable with the ingredients given? Chances are, not much. Although this particular premise is a little harsh, and probably more suited to a Food Network special than an allegory for making wine, the same principles can be applied. A winemaker is a lot like a chef in that he takes an agricultural product and turns it into something more by applying his technique and knowhow, and the same as a great chef demanding that only the best ingredients make their way onto the menu, starting with a good crop goes a long way in winemaking. While it’s unfair to winemakers (and chefs) everywhere to simplify it to the point of saying that great grapes equal great wine, I’m sure they all would agree that their lives are a lot easier when everything comes together in the vineyard.

The theory behind this rhetoric is currently being applied all around us, with area wineries constantly trying new techniques in the vineyard to coax a more consistent harvest out of Central Virginia. This was particularly apparent on a recent trip to First Colony Winery, where the vineyard was alive with activity despite the fact that the visit occurred on an early weekday afternoon, and the only other patrons were a couple of newlyweds enjoying a picnic on the patio. Acquired by new owners Bruce and Heather Spiess and their partner, Jeffery Miller, back in the waning days of 2012, First Colony is in the thick of many changes as the team prepares for this year’s harvest. As evidenced by the abundance of activity all around the vineyard, a renewed commitment to the winery has accompanied new ownership, along with major upgrades to the processing facility and big plans for the future.

When I joined vineyard manager Austin Hamilton, who has recently taken over a majority of the responsibilities within the vineyard alongside winemaker Jayson Hayman, he was busy repairing the netting he installed to prevent the birds, squirrels, and other winery pests from eating the berries that become mighty appetizing as they approach appropriate brix, or ripeness. After reclipping the damaged netting and freeing the remaining winged culprits, we hopped in the farm’s Jeep Cherokee and started our tour.

Despite many fears, the early-season rains have finally broken, and the conditions at the winery are shaping up quite nicely. Although there’s some evidence of mold and other unwanted effects of excessive rain, it’s not nearly as extensive as I’d expected. In fact, a majority of the damage that had occurred was the result of those damned birds. Great effort had also gone into the meticulous trimming of this year’s excessive vigor and maintaining the spray programs necessary to prevent grape berry moths and other pests from feasting on the grapes, and mold from destroying both the fruit and foliage. (Look, I don’t like the use of chemicals and pesticides any more than the next guy, but the fact of the matter is that outside of places with perfect conditions, it is almost unavoidable in viticulture if you hope to run a profitable winery each and every year. The risk of crop loss is too great without it.)

I eagerly tried samples of the cabernet franc and petit verdot grown on the estate. The cab franc was further along (as to be expected), but both were appropriately juicy and, although still a little tart, given a few more weeks on the vine and the right amount of sun, both could turn out to be quite exceptional. Hamilton also spoke of an effort to increase the winery’s current production from 2,100 cases per year to 6,000-7,000. He showed me the fledgling 4.5 acres of merlot and cabernet sauvignon that were planted this year. Along with the acreage already cleared and earmarked for additional vines, these new sites should drastically increase First Colony’s production ability by the end of the decade. While that may seem like a long time, it takes years for a vineyard to mature to the point of producing a viable harvest.

Not long after we made our way to First Colony’s prized chardonnay vines, Brad McCarthy, a long-time consultant and Virginia wine veteran, sputtered up to us on a finicky John Deere riding mower. Recently taking on a much larger role at First Colony, McCarthy lends his years of experience and know-how to the team, helping to ensure that everything continues to trend in the right direction under Hayman and Hamilton. We sampled the chardonnay, and McCarthy and Hamilton huddled together, formulating plans to take samples and meet in the lab later to test sugar to acid ratios. They also discussed transitioning to cane pruning in the new vineyards as well as selective cane pruning in the older vines to remove excessive wood growth, allowing the plant to put all of its effort into new vines and fruit production. Cane pruning requires a more experienced eye, but it provides better frost protection and allows for more evenly dispersed grape clusters. At this point, I bid my adieu and joined Martha Hayman, general manager and Jayson’s wife, in the tasting room.

I made my way through the wines that were still available at the winery. While currently out of dry red wines, the winery offers up two Chardonnays, a Rosé, and three different styles of dessert wines that, while typically a little too sweet for my palate, would certainly prove quaffable to those preferring a sweeter tincture. As is usually the case with Chardonnay, I preferred the stainless steel-aged offering, which retails for $14, as opposed to the oaked reserve. It exhibited the green apple and lushness that one would expect, but finished with a crisp, refreshing acidity. If you prefer the buttery effects of oak treatment, then the richer, more heralded Chardonnay Reserve ($20) will be more to your liking.

As for the reds, while First Colony would of course prefer to have some available (for tasting purposes at least), I got the sneaking suspicion that they weren’t too upset about having run out, evidence that it’s having no problem selling the current inventory. Moreover, the coming releases are supposed to serve as a reintroduction of sorts, with a new label and a sort of subtle exuberance that seemed to permeate the atmosphere.

Andrew Cole is the manager and wine director at tavola.

In a recent poll of local oenophiles that, in reality, shouldn’t really be called a poll, but more an informal inquiry in which I badgered friends about where they go for a top-notch vineyard experience, it was surprising how many echoed Horace Greeley in telling me to “Go west, young man.” Except, they weren’t referring to Manifest Destiny, but rather just a few miles west of Charlottesville to exit 107 in Crozet—a matter of minutes from a multitude of excellent vineyards.

Between Crozet and the nearby unincorporated communities of Afton, Greenwood, and White Hall, avid wine aficionados have almost a dozen wineries to explore, as well as some of Virginia’s top bottlings to enjoy. My friends and C-VILLE readers have something in common, since Crozet’s King Family Vineyards and Veritas Vineyard & Winery took the winner and runner-up spots, respectively, in this year’s Best of C-VILLE. And they’re no strangers to winning: In 2012, KFV and Veritas were named to the Governor’s case, and this year the distinction went to KFV and Greenwood’s Pollak Vineyards. It’s clear that some of Virginia’s top wines are consistently coming out of this little pocket in the foothills of the Blue Ridge.

To begin with the obvious: It’d be pretty hard for anyone with the means to start a commercial winery to ignore the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and not get caught up in the idea of patrons sipping vino in the shadows of their azure peaks, although perhaps azure mounds is admittedly more apropos. Actually, this grandiose notion belies a hidden advantage: The mountainous terrain leads to diverse soil types that diverge from the red clay and dense soils that constitute a large part of Central Virginia’s landscape.

According to Matthieu Finot, King Family’s winemaker, the granite and dyke loam soil that’s found in his vineyard and are common to the area promote drainage and are not too nutrient rich, which in turn prevents excessive vine vigor. Counterintuitive to this term, excessive vine vigor does not refer to the strength or size of the grapevine, but rather when the vine puts too much energy and nutrients into the proliferation of vegetative growth, instead of focusing on the increased yield and improved ripening of the grapes themselves. This can lead to muted flavors and an overall, undesirable vegetal quality.

Anyone who’s spent his fair share of time at KFV (or one of its neighbors) has noticed that afternoons can get pretty windy. It can be a pain for guests enjoying the patio, but it offers a slight advantage for winemakers: The wind helps to regulate the temperature in warmer months and to prevent excessive moisture on the berries, too much of which can lead to mold and mildew.

All that in mind, does this particular part of Albemarle County warrant recognition? The Premier Crus of Bordeaux and the Grand Crus of Burgundy refer to the particular vineyard sites considered the absolute best in their regions. Should similar distinctions be made of our own? Matthieu, for one, doesn’t think so—at least yet. While he readily admits the Monticello AVA is currently producing some of the best wines in all of Virginia, he’s hesitant to say that his neck of the woods deserves any sort of elevated “Cru” status. And he flat out refused to acknowledge that his immediate area was the “best” in the AVA, pointing out that Barboursville Vineyards, for one, is located on the other side of Charlottesville and consistently makes excellent wines. Regardless of this reticence, it is undeniable that Finot, his neighbors, and friends are truly starting to come into their own. Maybe someday Virginia vineyards will earn “Cru” status, but in the meantime, we might as well enjoy the progress.

Two to try

2012 King Family Vineyards Crosé Rosé ($17.95/bottle)

Not only does the Crosé rosé possess one of the more creative and marketable names in Virginia wine, but it is also one of the most remarkably consistent rosés if not just in Virginia, then possibly the entire United States. Made each year from 100 percent merlot grapes, you can count on this rosé offering fresh cranberries in abundance with distinct Meyer lemon citrus notes on the nose, and plenty of grapefruit and that expected cranberry and tart red brambles on the palate. With a fairly light body and crisp finish, it is most often this wine that I find myself sitting down to when I visit the vineyard.

 2012 Veritas Vineyard Saddleback Chardonnay ($22/bottle)

While the Harlequin Reserve is arguably Veritas Vineyard’s top Chardonnay offering, and it is perfectly balanced and enjoyable in its own right, I happen to prefer a livelier style of Chardonnay, and with the somewhat lighter body and brighter acidity afforded by the stainless steel fermentation, the Saddleback delivers. While it hints at the green apple and minerality found in the great food wines of Chablis that it looks to emulate, it also offers aromas of ripe pear and tropical fruits usually exhibited in the easy drinking, readily enjoyable Chardonnays of the new world.

Andrew Cole is the manager and wine director at tavola.

Unless you’ve found some reason to spend the last month trapped in a dark room with no windows and no access to the outside world, you’re well aware that we are currently mired in one of the soggiest summers in recent memory. After receiving more than 10″ of rainfall since the beginning of June, Charlottesville and the surrounding counties are well above their annual average at this point in the year, and if the forecast is to be believed, there is no respite in the near future. Common sense would suggest that this bountiful rainfall is a boon for the local crops, and in certain agricultural circles, that is undoubtedly true. But, as a betting man, I would be way more likely to wager that viticulturists throughout Central Virginia are more apt to shake their fists at the sky and curse the heavens than welcome any more rain at this point in the growing season.

There are myriad issues that arise when a vineyard is overwatered and, depending on the point in the season that it occurs, the effect on the grapes and finished product is equally varied and plentiful. Too much rain early in the spring runs the risk of damaging the flower buds, which will drastically reduce the yield from the grape vines and severely limit the number of bottles produced in the winery. This rarely leads to a complete loss, as it doesn’t actually affect the quality of the fruit that does make it to harvest. Lots of rain during harvest and the grapes will swell with water; this dilutes the sugar concentration in the juice, leading to thin reds and watery whites. In 2011, vineyards in the area experienced massive downpours leading up to and during harvest and the vintage suffered in kind, ending up as one of the worst in recent memory.

Most local wineries endured a drastic decrease in production that year, with some wineries, like Jefferson Vineyards, ending up with about 40 percent less fruit intake than it would produce in a normal year. All was not lost, however, as winemakers were forced to get crafty and employ tricks that are not normally necessary, such as the use of fans to dry the excess water in the grapes before crushing, which is similar to the techniques used in Veneto to produce one of Italy’s most heralded wines: Amarone della Valpolicella. Still others opted to embrace the conditions and produce lighter, fruitier wines that were more akin to the wines of Beaujolais than your typical new world red. Wines made in this style weren’t much for aging, but proved to be a drinkable and pleasant diversion from what one would usually expect from a Virginia wine.

With harvest still well over a month away, the biggest risk that the rain currently poses to area vineyards is the potential for the waterlogged grapes to swell and the skins to burst. This creates a perfect environment for mold and mildew to take hold, which can ruin entire grape clusters and result in wines that carry a general mustiness even when the most egregious offenders are sorted and discarded. This factor already weighs heavily on the minds of vineyard managers throughout the region, as the climate in central Virginia always proves friendly to mold in mid-July into August, but the added humidity from all the rain this year can only compound the issue. The wineries I reached out to for comment on the current state of their vineyards were hesitant to say much in regards to water damage other than to acknowledge that at this point it was a concern.

Despite the extra work, and added risk, that goes into maintaining a waterlogged vineyard, it would be unfair to suggest that all is lost for 2013. If conditions mellow now and we are blessed with a warm and arid August and early September, the grapes will have time to dry on the vine, and could still turn out to be exceptional with the proper amount of “green harvesting,” a technique where overripe and rotten/moldy bunches of grapes are picked well ahead of harvest to allow all of the remaining nutrients in the soil to be distributed to the still hanging clusters, resulting in hardier, more developed fruit. Proponents argue this practice results in deeper, more complex wines with more complicated flavors and aromas. In reality, nature will probably grant us with something in between, a mixture of the hellish conditions of June and July and the idyllic conditions that lead winemakers to sacrifice livestock on an altar to the sun gods. Only time will tell what Mother Nature will do in the coming months, and it will be almost a full year from now before the first 2013s find themselves before the critics and discerning public, but the area’s winemakers have proven to be up to the task. After all, they wouldn’t choose to make wine in Virginia if they weren’t up for a little challenge, and the occasional curveball.

Andrew Cole is the manager and wine director at tavola.