Tag: Barboursville Vineyards

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Culture Living

A sweet win

With consistent production of excellent wine every year, Barboursville Vineyards is not only one of the historical pioneers of Virginia wine but an enduring shining star. Supplied photo

By Paul H. Ting

There’s something alluring and gratifying about continuing a best practice that originated in the ancient world, and the 2021 Virginia Governor’s Cup winner is a prime example.

On March 9, Governor Ralph Northam presented the award to Barboursville Vineyards for its 2015 Paxxito. The Cup is given to the top-scoring wine in the annual competition, which this year saw more than 100 wineries in the state submit a total of 544 wines for judging. Winemaker Luca Paschina accepted the award, flanked by Fernando Franco, viticulturist at the winery since 1998, and associate winemaker Daniele Tessaro.

The 2015 Paxxito is a sweet, dessert-style wine made with moscato ottonel and vidal blanc and a production technique called passito. Passito is perhaps best known because of vin santo, a style of wine that has been produced in Italy since at least the Renaissance era. Paschina calls it an “ancient method of winemaking” that “requires lots of labor,” including picking and sorting the individual grapes by hand.

In short, passito involves picking grapes relatively early to preserve their natural acidity and then laying them out on straw mats or perforated wooden trays for drying. Historically, this occurred by exposure to sunlight and wind, but Paschina admits that the often-unpredictable weather in Virginia has led the winemakers to actively circulate air for drying. Barboursville started using passito in 2001, and now has a Paxxito Barn where the process occurs. As water is removed, the shriveled grape gains concentration of flavor and sugar (sugar concentration can be as high as 47 percent by the end).

In addition to requiring intensive manual labor, the process also results in less wine produced. Paschina says that, despite this, “the reward is big,” as volume is exchanged for concentrated flavors and a dense mouthfeel. The resultant wine is sweet and unctuous, with intense aromatics and flavors of honey and dried fruits, such as peaches and apricots. On the finish, the acidity takes over, leaving an impression much like a sweet-tart candy.

Founded in 1976 by the Zonig family of Italy, Barboursville was the fifth winery started in the state of Virginia. In 1990, Paschina joined the winery from his home in the Piedmont wine region of Italy. Despite the fact that Paschina has been behind three previous Governor’s Cup winners, it’s obvious from his emotional words that this award still brings him great pride.

For the local wine industry, the Cup is widely considered the most prestigious annual competition. Now in its 39th year, the competition’s rules require, among other things, that wines entered be produced with 100 percent Virginia fruit. Wines are subject to a strict blind-tasting process with a panel of well-qualified judges, and those wines that score 90 points or higher are awarded gold medals, of which there were 96 this year.

The top 12 wines make up the Governor’s Cup Case, and the top wine is then awarded the Cup. According to Paschina, the Virginia Governor’s Cup is “one of the most stringent competitions in the United States.” This year, Barboursville was also recognized with two other wines in the final case (2016 Octagon red blend and 2019 Vermentino Reserve), and received three additional gold medals (2019 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, 2017 Paxxito, and 2017 Octagon), for a total of six.

An examination of the complete list of gold medals and the composition of the final case reveals a local wine industry that is growing, exploring, and continuing to mature. A wide range of wineries is represented from all geographic areas of the state, with both well established and familiar names, but also wineries that have only recently launched. In addition, an increasing diversity of grape varieties is seen, both red and white, including ones that are not traditionally associated with Virginia such as vermentino, nebbiolo, moscato, and tannat.

Six gold medals, three wines in the Case, and a fifth Governor’s Cup. For Barboursville Vineyards, these results reinforce its standing as one of the pillars of the Virginia wine industry.

2021 Virginia Governor’s Cup Case
2015 Barboursville Vineyards Paxxito
($35, winemaker Luca Paschina)
2016 Barboursville Vineyards Octagon
($55, winemaker Luca Paschina)
2019 Barboursville Vineyards Vermentino Reserve
($23, winemaker Luca Paschina)
2019 Bluestone Vineyard Petit Manseng
($24.50, winemaker Lee Harman)
2016 Breaux Vineyards Meritage
($45, winemaker Josh Gerard)
2016 Breaux Vineyards Nebbiolo
($62, winemaker Josh Gerard)
2019 Carriage House Wineworks Petit Verdot
($31, winemaker Michael Fritze)
2017 R.A.H. Wine Company Series 1
($35 for 375ml bottle, winemaker Maya Hood White)
2017 King Family Vineyards Mountain Plains
($70, winemaker Matthieu Finot)
2015 Michael Shaps Wineworks Meritage
($50, winemaker Michael Shaps)
2014 Trump Winery Brut Reserve
($80, winemaker Jonathan Wheeler)
2017 Veritas Winery Petit Verdot
($45, winemaker Emily Pelton)

The Governor’s Cup Case is used by the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office to promote Virginia wine. VWBMO recently announced the creation of the Virginia Governor’s Cup Gold Medal Trail, which includes all 47 wineries, cideries, and meaderies that received a gold medal. More information can be found at taste.virginiawine.org.

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Culture Living

Growing up: Jason Tesauro Talks Virginia Wine for #VAWineMonth

Every October Virginians raise a glass to living in a state with the oldest wine month in the country (it dates back to 1988). We also celebrate the fact that Virginia has become the sixth-largest wine region in the United States, contributing well over $1 billion to the state’s economy, while the industry continues to grow in both size and reputation.

The Virginia Wine Board has events planned throughout the month, including Virginia Wine 101, hosted by Jason Tesauro. In addition to his ongoing role as a fierce advocate for Virginia wine, Tesauro has contributed articles to such publications as Decanter, Esquire, and Travel+Leisure, and has served as the national brand director and chief sommelier for Barboursville Vineyards since 2002.

We asked Tesauro to highlight a handful of local wineries that tell the story of Virginia wine’s past, present, and future. His answers give insight into an industry that has come a long way, that is proud of what’s been accomplished, and is full of dreams and aspirations for the future.

C-VILLE Weekly: Are there wineries that you consider pioneers in the industry, that have done something notable in terms of Virginia wine being where it is today?

JT: Barboursville Vineyards is where vitis vinifera [the main species of grapevine used to make fine wine] was first cultivated on a commercial scale and where low-cropped, early-picked, high-acid, no-and-low oak, finesse-driven, Old World-style wine growing established itself as Virginia’s modus operandi.

Thibaut-Janisson Winery pioneered what’s possible with traditional-method sparkling wine in Virginia, and has defined the premium sparkling wine category in Virginia. I’ve showcased their Blanc de Chardonnay in blind tastings against champagne and blown people’s minds.

Ankida Ridge Vineyards is absolutely the pinot pioneer of Virginia. Embracing high-elevation viticulture, they’re leading the way toward cooler climate varieties and raising expectations of what can happen up in the mountains both there and in other places, such as the Shenandoah Valley.

What wineries do you consider at the forefront right now in terms of representing or promoting
Virginia wine?

Veritas Vineyard and Winery stands out to me as a complete wine estate. The combination of family-run farm and destination for hospitality is a compelling model. Dining and overnighting in The Farmhouse adds a sumptuous layer of leisure and wine country. Wine is supposed to transport us with “somewhereness.” When a winery combines that concept with physical acts of feeding us, pampering us, and nourishing us, something else happens. More and more wineries are adding this kind of hospitality element, and I bet that many of them started with an aspirational visit to Veritas.

King Family Vineyards is on every “Best of” list for good reason. Mathieu Finot is a brilliant winemaker who leads with his French instincts, but is never limited by them. He makes serious wines for cellaring and fun wines for carousing. He consults, collaborates, and experiments. That kind of balance remains a benchmark for every new winemaker in the state.

What do you see as the future of Virginia wine? How does the present inform what’s coming?

One thing we’ve learned through the pandemic, wineries built on events rather than wine are vulnerable. The future belongs to those that can deal with the mercurial weather with smart viticultural practices and deal with the mercurial economy with smartly scaled production and distribution. It will be challenging for those who depend overwhelmingly upon concert traffic and tasting-room sales to survive.

White wine blends are a promising trend. Wineries are experimenting with blends to craft consistent complexity and balance. We already know red blends afford winemakers the opportunity to adjust to vintage variation by playing with percentages. If late rains leave cabernet sauvignon less than richly ripe, then the winemaker can turn up the volume on cabernet franc and petit verdot. It’s a newer idea here to do something similar with white blends.

Higher-elevation grape growing is becoming more than a curiosity. Watch how small vineyard blocks located in the benchland (sides of mountains) and hilltops start coming to play in a serious way.

Esquire magazine recently reported that only one in 1,000 winemakers is black. Virginia wine, in partnership with Virginia Tech and community colleges, has an opportunity and, dare I say, a responsibility to create and bolster viticulture and enology programs at the regional and local level. It’s been said that 40 percent of Virginia winemakers have foreign accents such as French, Italian, Spanish, Indian, or South African. I expect to see a much more diverse slate of talent as we create a better farm system to draw BIPOC students into the fascinating world of agriculture.

Any other suggestions for people celebrating Virginia wine this month?

Visit more wineries, pick a couple of favorites, and build a small collection. Use a decanter and don’t drink white wines so cold.

Categories
Living

Stay a while: Lots of area wineries offer overnight lodging, so plan your weekend escape

Most guests at The Farmhouse at Veritas find their way to the porch rockers. Photo: John Robinson

Vineyard lodging is having a growth spurt. As wine tourism grows in Virginia, so, too, do the number of wineries rolling out the welcome mat at everything from refurbished farmhouses to log cabins to luxe suites. More than 30 wineries now offer lodging; here are five local favorites.

The Farmhouse at Veritas, Veritas Vineyard & Winery

A designer’s touch is evident in the updated English countryside feel at The Farmhouse at Veritas, from silk draperies to custom wainscoting to the soft rugs on wide-planked floors. Some of the spacious rooms are snugged up by coffered ceilings over plush, king-sized beds, and a bottle of complimentary Veritas wine waits on a side table. Built in the 1820s as a family home, the Farmhouse at Veritas was updated and reopened as lodging in 2012.

Wine hour begins at 5pm in the salon with small plates of housemade nibbles: cheeses, pickles, charcuterie, and jams. Guests can rack up a game of billiards or take a walk through the Inn’s flower garden and grounds. Most visitors eventually find their way to porch rockers, where they stick like glue until dinner at 7pm.

For late risers, the best part of the Farmhouse schedule is the gloriously late breakfast, served to order from 9 to 11am. A glass of Veritas sparkling wine can be enjoyed solo, or as part of a duet with fresh-squeezed orange juice, along with croissants, fruit, and choice of a sweet or savory main course, such as housemade brioche French toast with house-cultured yogurt, local maple syrup, and granola, or Free Union Grass Farm fried chicken with Gruyère, fried egg, and house-fermented hot sauce honey.

For dinner, guests can drive 30 minutes to Staunton or Charlottesville, but most choose to dine in at the excellent Farmhouse Restaurant. (Reservations required; $85 for four courses, including wine pairings.)

$200-650, 72 Saddleback Farm, Afton. veritasfarm house.com, (540) 456-8100.

Vineyard Cottages, Afton Mountain Vineyards

Last fall, there was a particularly riveting photo of Virginia wine country making the rounds—have you seen it? October’s gone-to-orange vines marching in straight rows toward a glittering pond, backed by rising layers of gold-brown and blue mountains, all topped off with puffy white clouds. That iconic image was taken at Afton Mountain Vineyards, and that’s also the view from your private deck when you check in to one of the four Vineyard Cottages. Apartment-sized at 650-square feet, the Cottages feel fresh and airy, with a wheelchair-accessible quadrant design of king bedroom, huge bathroom with walk-in shower, cozy living room with cute electric fireplace, and kitchen with full-size appliances.

A two-bedroom, two-bath Guest House is also available, just 15 long strides from the tasting room. The full kitchen is outfitted for those who love to cook, while a comfortable living room with fireplace, front patio, and screened porch are perfect for those who love to sit.

Lodging fees include two tastings at the winery, and horseback riding in the vineyard can be arranged with a local outfitter. Two of the cottages are dog friendly, but there’s an extra fee.

Dinner options within a 10-minute drive include the excellent Farmhouse at Veritas (reservations required) and the nacho/wings/pizza/burger goodness at Blue Mountain Brewery, both in Afton.

Cottages $165-338; Guest House $225-355, plus fees. 234 Vineyard Ln., Afton. aftonmountain vineyards.com, (540) 456-8667.

Glass House Winery B&B

An extravagance of color, texture, and whimsy, the B&B at Glass House Winery might seem like the harvest of someone’s wildest imagination, were it not for the winery’s other flagship space—a glass conservatory off the tasting room that blooms year-round with 10-foot-tall banana trees, heliconia, and other tropical flowers. Glass House Winery is delightfully exuberant, to put it mildly.

The B&B’s main common areas are modern-meets-jungle with animal print furnishings and lots of greenery around an open kitchen. Outside, wicker furniture surrounds a pool, hot tub, and tiki bar.

Three bedrooms and a large, two-room suite—more sedate in décor—come with ensuite bathrooms, and the live-in innkeeper, Peggy Young, is available to help answer questions and cook up a generous breakfast in the morning.

There’s music and dancing at the winery every Friday from 6-9pm. Children and dogs are welcome at the B&B and winery.

Nearby dining options are few, but Duner’s, a busy local favorite with an upscale American menu, is 20 minutes away, or drive a few more minutes to The Mill Room, reopened this year at Boar’s Head Resort after a multi-year renovation.

$125-395 (book the entire B&B for $650-1,000 a night), 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glass housewinery.com, 964-2190.

Photo courtesy Barboursville Vineyards.

1804 Inn and Cottages, Barboursville Vineyards

An aura of stillness and a sliver of a story begin your stay at Barboursville Vineyards’ 1804 Inn and Cottages, which stands among hulking ancient boxwoods in the shadow of a silent ruin. If former Virginia governor James Barbour’s brick shell of a home (it burned on Christmas Day 1884) reminds you passingly of Monticello, that’s because it was designed in the same Palladian style by a neighbor—Thomas Jefferson.

For sheer elegance, book one of the suites in the 1804 Inn; each has a separate sitting room, fireplace, and wide balcony or patio, plus enough oriental rugs, chintz, and antique furnishings to make you thirsty for an aged brandy. Inn guests breakfast together in the central dining room.

The cottages are more relaxed and casual, each with its own estate history as a schoolhouse, gardener’s cottage, or servant’s quarter. Inside, working fireplaces keep it cozy, and kitchenettes are stocked with DIY breakfast, plus happy hour wine, grapes, and cheese.

A shared deck behind the cottages is great for evening stargazing and sipping on a glass of Barboursville’s luscious dessert wine, Paxxito (available at the winery).

Three additional suites are now open in the Blue Run Cottage, which was the family residence for winemaker Luca Paschina for 30 years.

Though the room rate includes a wine tasting, consider upgrading to the winery’s Library 1821, a quiet, ritzy enclave overlooking orderly rows of cabernet franc vines. For a starting price of $25, you can sample Barboursville vintages dating back 20 years or more. 

Reserve ahead for lunch or dinner at Barboursville’s gracious and welcoming Palladio Restaurant, featuring an a la carte menu of Northern Italian cuisine with wine pairings. The price for a three-course dinner pairing is $75 or $105 with wines, while the four-course pairing is $90 or $125.

$240-550, 17655 Winery Rd., Barboursville. bbv wine.com, (540) 832-5384. Library 1821 open Friday- Monday; reservations suggested, (540) 832-3824. Palladio Restaurant open for lunch Wednesday-Sunday and dinner Friday and Saturday, (540) 832-7848. 

Historic Chestnut Log Cabin and Vineyard Farmhouse, DelFosse Vineyards & Winery

The tasting room at DelFosse Vineyards sits at the bottom of your palm, just above the wrist. Your fingers hold the trellised vineyard rows, rising up and away. At the top of your middle finger is a log cabin, and as you perch on the cabin’s flagstone patio, big enough for 50 of your friends, the entire estate—lake and winery, tiny cars and people—is your view. You rule. You are master of the universe. At least until the sun goes down; then you are bear bait. Ha! We kid: There’s a huge reinforced fence around the property. So instead, you are simply—alone.

The 150-year-old cabin is the best kind of retreat: full of character yet fully-functional. There’s a comfortable bedroom upstairs, satellite TV, and an updated kitchen and bathroom so thoughtfully done that the integrity of the log house—the smoky, dark woodsiness of it—remains.

The Vineyard Farmhouse, just outside the winery gates, has old-house charm in a modern package. Popular with DelFosse’s wedding parties, the Farmhouse holds nine guests in four ensuite bedrooms, plus full kitchen, dining room, and living room.

For dinner, break out the DIY steaks, or take a country drive 20 minutes northeast to Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie, which, in our opinion, has no reason to be humble: It’s by far the best pizza around.

Cabin $175-$395; Farmhouse $695, 500 DelFosse Winery Ln., Faber. delfossewine.com, (434) 263-6100.

Categories
Living

Liquid gold: Local cidery and coffee roaster garner national awards

The Harrison apple, an heirloom variety once thought to be extinct, was reintroduced by Tom Burford of Albemarle CiderWorks—and used to make an award-winning cider. Photo: Courtesy Albemarle CiderWorks

On Friday, January 17, Albemarle CiderWorks and Mudhouse Coffee Roasters scored top honors in the 2020 Good Food Awards in San Francisco. Among more than 2,000 entrants, the cidery and coffee producer were regional (South) winners in their respective categories—ACW for its Harrison cider, and Mudhouse for its Geisha Moras Negras roast. Bestowed annually by the creators of Slow Food Nations, the awards recognize “players in the food system who are driving towards tasty, authentic, and responsible food in order to humanize and reform our American food culture.”

Albemarle CiderWorks’ Harrison cider took top regional (South) honors at the annual Good Foods Awards in San Francisco. Photo: Courtesy Albemarle CiderWorks

As the name suggests, the ACW cider is made from the Harrison apple, an 18th-century variety that fell out of use and was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in the late 1970s. Years later, ACW’s Thomas Burford became the first contemporary orchardist to cultivate the yellow, black-speckled Harrison, and today it is widely grown and popular among cider makers (but too ugly for supermarket sales).

The story of Mudhouse’s award winner begins in 1960, when the Geisha coffee variety was introduced in Panama. Mudhouse sources its beans from a third-generation family farm there. Grown at an altitude of about 5,400 feet, the fruit is hand-picked by migrant laborers from the Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous region, and it is quite precious. Eight ounces of Mudhouse’s Moras Negras will set you back $75. That’s more than most of us would be willing to pay. But at the 2006 Best of Panama event, an executive from Vermont’s Green Mountain Coffee remarked, “I am the least religious person here and when I tasted this coffee I saw the face of God in a cup.”

If you’re into that sort of thing, you can buy the stuff at mudhouse.com.

Speaking of awards…

Five local vineyards wowed the judges at the 2020 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, securing prestigious awards and doing the Monticello American Viticultural Area proud. Jefferson and Barboursville vineyards, Veritas Vineyard & Winery, and Trump Winery earned Double Gold designations for five wines, and newcomer Hark Vineyards was the only Best in Class winner from Virginia, singled out in the classic packaging category for its 2017 chardonnay label design. The Chronicle’s annual event is the largest in North America, drawing 6,700 entries from 1,000 wineries this year. Judges dole out Double Gold medals sparingly but found worthy recipients in the Jefferson Vineyards 2018 viognier, Barboursville’s 2018 vermentino, and Trump Winery’s 2016 meritage (a red blend consisting primarily of cabernet franc). Veritas nabbed two double-golds for cabernet franc bottlings, the 2017 reserve and 2017 standard in the $40-and-over and under-$30 categories, respectively.

This is nuts!

Sorry, fans of dairy alternatives like soy and almond milk, you may have to adapt to new terminology. A bill just cleared the Virginia House Agriculture Subcommittee defining milk as “the lacteal secretion, practically free of colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of a healthy hooved mammal.” The measure is intended to protect the commonwealth’s dairy industry from the surge in popularity of plant-based “milk” products. The legislation is moooving up the lawmaking food chain for further consideration.

Munch madness

C-VILLE’s Restaurant Week 2020 kicks off Friday, January 24, with 40 restaurants offering three-course meals for $29 or $39 (plus tax and a huge tip, please)—and presenting some tantalizing dishes. We’ve got our hungry little eyes on a few, including: Little Star’s seared rockfish with escarole, chipotle, manchego, and pimento fundito; Fleurie’s pan-roasted Polyface Farm chicken with braised cabbage and bacon; Kama’s grilled Virginia oysters with uni butter; 1799 at The Clifton’s rainbow trout with sweet potato, kale, and orange emulsion; Three Notch’d’s truffled mushroom ragout with potato gnocchi, vegetarian bordelaise, baked kale, and pecorino; and to top things off, Common House (aka Vinegar Hall)’s buttermilk panna cotta with persimmon jam. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, so eat up!

Bird is the word

Bowerbird Bakeshop, that is. The team behind the City Market stalwart recently announced a brick-and-mortar location at the Tenth Street Warehouses this spring. On Monday, co-owners Earl Vallery and Maria Niechwiadowicz surpassed their $5,555 GoFundMe target (by about $500) to defray part of the $70,000 start-up costs. Ten percent of all donations above the goal benefit City of Promise, the nonprofit working to empower underserved populations in Charlottesville.

Movin’ on up

It’s last call at Ace Biscuit & BBQ’s Henry Street location. The charming storefront next to Vitae Spirits will close on January 26 as the kings of carbo-loading move to bigger digs at 600 Concord Ave., just a couple of blocks away. No opening date at the new location has been announced.

Plus ça change

Less than a year after taking the helm at Gordonsville’s Rochambeau, Michelin-starred chef Bernard Guillot has returned to France, citing personal reasons. But the restaurant won’t miss a beat, as Jean-Louis and Karen Dumonet step in to fill the void in early February. The couple met long ago at cooking school in Paris and have been collaborating on restaurants all over the world for 35-plus years. Their latest project, Dumonet, was a popular French bistro in Brooklyn.

It’s mai-tai o’clock somewhere

Now that it’s actually cold outside, Brasserie Saison is hosting a Tropical Tiki Getaway so you can mind-trip to a warm, sandy beach. The intimate downstairs Coat Room will be decorated like a luau (we see a fake palm tree in our future) and paper-umbrella cocktails will be served. Wear your Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops. 6-10pm, Thursday, January 30. 111 E. Main St., Downtown Mall, 202-7027, brasseriesaison.net.

Categories
Living

Raise a glass to 2019: Winemakers reflect on a great vintage

Luca Paschina, winemaker at Barboursville Vineyards, has high hopes for the 2019 vintage. "We will be celebrating this growing season for many years to come," he says. Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith

Like all agricultural endeavors, growing grapes is subject to the vicissitudes of weather. In Virginia, after a difficult 2018 harvest (because of rain, rain, and more rain), 2019 was good—some would say great—thanks to timely precipitation and stretches of warm, sunny weather.

“This vintage is a beautiful gift to the faithful farmer,” says Luca Paschina, the winemaker at Barboursville Vineyards. “We will be celebrating this growing season for many years to come, for giving us white wines of great intensity and fragrance and reds of unquestionably long age-worthiness.”

Part of this optimism flows from a sense of relief after 2018. Overcast and wet conditions can present serious challenges in both the vineyard and the winery. Lack of sunlight hinders the fruit’s growth and ripening, decreasing sugar content (it is this sugar that is fermented into alcohol), and producing grapes that lack flavor and can taste “green,” or undesirably vegetal. High moisture can also allow mold, mildew, and disease to take hold, leading to damaged fruit and diminished yields. In one of the sadder images of 2018, some winemakers simply left grapes to rot on the vine, because they had burst from too much water and, regardless, the ground was too soft to move harvesting machinery into place.

The next growing season could not have arrived fast enough. Chris Hill, who has been cultivating grapes in Virginia since 1981, says that better vintages share “the common thread of dry weather from mid-August through mid-October.” In his opinion, 2019 should be compared to great vintages such as 1998, 2002, 2007, 2010, and 2017. But Kirsty Harmon believes 2019 is the best vintage since 2008, when she started as winemaker at Blenheim Vineyards.

Joy Ting, research enologist for the Winemakers Research Exchange (and this writer’s wife), explains that, in addition to a dry season, an abundance of sunlight helped to ripen fruit much earlier than in previous years. “The white grapes came in quickly since daytime temperatures were high and sugar accumulated rapidly,” she says. “A little bit of rain and slightly lower temperatures allowed the red grapes to stay on the vine. This led to very good flavor and tannin development.”

Ting also puts forth a theory, shared by a number of winemakers, that the exceptionally wet conditions of 2018 led to higher groundwater levels in 2019, compensating for rainfall one to three inches below average last July through September. Winemakers Emily Pelton at Veritas Vineyard and Winery, and Michael Heny at Michael Shaps Wineworks, agree with Ting. “I was thankful for all of the rain that we had in 2018,” Heny says. “We had so much groundwater that the vines [in 2019] had everything they needed.”

But what about the 2019 wines? High quality, fully ripe fruit picked when the winemaker thought it had achieved optimal conditions (rather than because the next storm was coming), should lead to high quality, aromatic whites and full-bodied, age-worthy reds. It’s impossible at the moment to recommend specific bottles from the vintage—because, well, the wines are unfinished and unbottled—so I asked winemakers which 2019 wines held the greatest promise. “I feel that, in general, red wines more acutely express the quality of a vintage,” says Nathan Vrooman, winemaker at Ankida Ridge Vineyards. “The white wines coming from the region will be very good, but the red wines will really shine.”

Among those, cabernet franc appears to be rising to the top. Finot says the King Family cabernet franc “performed very well this year.” At Veritas, Pelton calls the 2019 crop “bright and vibrant and full of depth.” Paschina singles out Barboursville’s harvest from Goodlow Mountain, about a mile south of the winery, as perhaps its “most elegant wine of the vintage.” Similarly, Rachel Stinson Vrooman, the winemaker at Stinson Vineyards, points to her cabernet franc as “ripe and concentrated, but also maintaining some of the pretty florals and herbal aromas that I look for.” At Keswick Vineyards, winemaker Stephen Barnard believes the estate’s Block 2 cabernet franc to be “the best expression of terroir yet—savory, extracted, spicy.”

Other varieties to look for in 2019 include pinot noir from Ankida Ridge—one of the few area wineries growing the grape—and chardonnay from Loudoun County’s Wild Meadow vineyard. At Michael Shaps, Heny will use the chardonnay in a vineyard-specific wine; he anticipates the 2019 bottling to rival that of 2015, one of my own personal favorites. Also worth noting, according to Harmon, are albariño, a grape grown mostly in Spain and Portugal that’s still relatively rare in Virginia, and cabernet sauvignon, which the lingering dry heat of 2019 helped to achieve full ripeness and flavor.

With uniformly high hopes for the 2019 vintage, Pelton provides some perspective. “I think it is important for us not to lose sight of how fantastically wine tells the story of the year,” she says. “Great years tend to get all of the attention, but the fact that we get to capture all of the aspects of the fabric of a year—whether it was cool or windy or dry or wet—all speaks to the final product, and I find it thrilling to be a part of that story.”

Categories
Living

Out and about: Living, food, and drink events

Jefferson’s country home, Poplar Forest, is an architectural masterpiece—and a great place to drink wine. Photo: Stephen Barling

How sweet it is

Pollinator education and honey will be on tap Thursday, November 14, at Peace Frogs Travel/Outfitters. Diego DeCorte of The Elysium Honey Co. will make a presentation about the plight of the honeybee and possible solutions to rebuild the dwindling population. A tasting will reveal the range of flavors that honey can possess. Free, 6:15-7pm. 1043 Millmont St., 977-1415, RSVP to events@peacefrogstravel.com

That’s a stretch

Get centered and limber before your weekend on Friday, November 15, with a frolicking yoga session in the serene environs of The Fralin Museum of Art. The goal of the exercise, led by ACAC group instructor Emily Wiley, is to “gain a sense of self as a connected part of the universe through art-inspired yoga.” Sounds deep—and very chill. Free, but registration is required, and participants must bring their own yoga mat. 6-7pm. 155 Rugby Rd., email laj2m@virginia.edu to reserve a spot.

One for the road

The Virginia Craft Spirits Roadshow rolls into IX Art Park Saturday, November 16. Craft cocktails and artisanal spirits from 13 Virginia distillers will be there for the quaffing, and bottles of hooch will be for sale. Attendees have the opportunity to meet the makers and learn the finer points of distilling (it’s complicated, trust us). $35 for two advance tickets, $25 per person at the gate, free admission for designated drivers. noon-5pm. 522 Second St. SW.

Doggone good!

Now we know which local brewery is the most dog-friendly. The Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA is teaming up with Crozet’s Pro Re Nata Farm Brewery to launch the Fido Field Trips program on Saturday, November 16. Volunteers and oodles of adoptable pups will be on hand to teach prospective Fido Field Trippers how taking a shelter dog for a hike, to a restaurant, or back home to lounge on the couch can help the lucky dog get adopted. Free, 2-5pm. Pro Re Nata, 6135 Rockfish Gap Tpk., Crozet, 823-4878. Visit caspca.org/fft for more information and to sign up for the program.

It’s wine o’clock somewhere

At historic Poplar Forest, to be precise. The annual Thomas Jefferson Wine Festival takes place Saturday, November 16, at TJ’s country retreat near Lynchburg. It’s worth the trip just to see the spectacular architecture, but the wine—by 11 Virginia labels including Barboursville and Jefferson vineyards, and Peaks of Otter Winery—is a major bonus (duh, right?). Local craftspeople will display their wares for some early Christmas shopping, and multiple food vendors, including Farmacy food truck, will be dishing it out. $20-25 per person, 11am-5pm (rain or shine; heated tents will be set up), info and tickets at bit.ly/tj-wine.

Beer bash

Devils Backbone celebrates 11 years in business on Saturday, November 16, with the Milestone 11 Party at both its Nelson County compound and Lexington outpost. Complimentary appetizers will be served, beers will be discounted, and merriment will be the order of the day. Music by Mississippi Leghound will play at the mothership, Kyle Forry and Justin Barnett at the outpost. All you have to do is show up thirsty! Noon (Lexington) and 6pm (Nelson County). bit.ly/devils-brew.

Categories
Knife & Fork Magazines

A taste of home: Virginia wine pairings for classic holiday meals

There’s a Virginia wine for every classic holiday dish. Just follow our little guide! Photo: Morgan Salyer

If you haven’t already noticed, it’s time to take a look. Over there, in the wine section at your favorite market, the made-in-Virginia selection has grown. The commonwealth’s industry is coming into its own, presenting a bounty of bottles that will not only please the crowd but also impress the connoisseurs at your holiday table. That said, we understand there are still choices to be made, so we’re here to remove the guesswork. We can’t guarantee you won’t be dissed by that guy, the wine know-it-all. But opting for local wines—like these exceptional bottles—will make you look just that much more enlightened. We even throw in a cider recommendation, because…cider.

Easy-drinking white

Deer Rock White, DelFosse Vineyards

This wine checks all the boxes for a one-size-fits-all white: Its blend of four grapes comes together with light, tropical aromas and a touch of sweetness on the tongue for under 20 dollars. The 2017 bottling—a blend of viognier, pinot gris, petit manseng, and sauvignon blanc—won gold in this year’s top Virginia wine competition, the Governor’s Cup. $18. DelFosse Vineyards. 500 DelFosse Winery Ln., Faber. 263-6100. delfossewine.com

Easy-drinking red

Table Red, Flying Fox Vineyard

A versatile, smooth, semi-dry blend of cabernet franc and merlot, Table Red fits in anywhere, from hors d’oeuvres to dessert. Drink it chilled or mull it for warmth when you go a-wassailing—just heat with a few cinnamon sticks and cloves. $18. Flying Fox Vineyard. 10368 Critzer Shop Rd., Afton. 361-1692. flyingfoxvineyard.com

Easy-drinking cider

Ragged Mountain, Albemarle CiderWorks

Albemarle CiderWorks is known for crafting complex ciders that rival wine in finesse and the knack for elevating food flavors. Crafted from a blend of apples including Albemarle Pippin, Goldrush, Pink Lady, and Virginia Gold, Ragged Mountain is among the cidery’s simpler styles, with a nice balance of sweetness and acidity, making it approachable for cider newbies, and also a good pairing for rich foods like aged cheddar cheese. $15. Albemarle CiderWorks. 2545 Rural Ridge Ln.,, North Garden. 979-1663. albemarleciderworks.com

 

Appetizer pairing

2011 Blanc de Noir, Keswick Vineyards

The region’s abundant fall produce makes it simple to whip up an over-the-top platter: think beet hummus, smoky grilled zucchini, roasted peppers with feta and oregano, and homemade spiced apples. All of these flavors demand a vibrant sparkling wine like this one, which is made from the red cabernet franc grape but using the traditional methods of the France’s Champagne region. $35. Keswick Vineyards. 1575 Keswick Winery Dr., Keswick. 244-3341. keswickvineyards.com

Roast turkey pairing

Pinot Noir, Ankida Ridge Vineyards

Ankida Ridge Vineyards’ Burgundian-style (meaning, earthy and refined) 2016 Pinot Noir is available online and in some local shops, but consider taking a leisurely drive to buy a few bottles at the winery’s views-for-miles mountain-top tasting room. Each time you pop a cork, you’ll remember the beautiful journey. This wine, which is “rich with ripe red fruits [and] cranberry,” according to Ankida’s website, is perfect with turkey. (For an elegant touch, add some wine to the gravy.) $44. Ankida Ridge Vineyards. 1304 Franklin Creek Rd., Amherst. 922-7678. ankidaridge.com

Holiday ham pairing

Riesling, Cardinal Point Winery

Dry or semi-dry riesling is a classic holiday food wine, but the grape isn’t typically suited to Virginia’s hot, humid climate. At Cardinal Point Winery, though, winemaker Tim Gorman has been nurturing some riesling vines for years, mostly for use in blending. The 2017 harvest gave him just the right conditions to make his first varietal riesling since 2007. With just a touch of sweetness, the pairs beautifully with ham, whether it’s brown sugar-glazed, smoked, or brined with a peppery crust. $25. Cardinal Point Winery. 9423 Batesville Rd., Afton. (540) 456-8400. cardinalpointwinery.com

Veggie pairing

Petit Manseng, Horton Vineyards

Raw veggies can make for a difficult wine pairing, but adding a little heat and spice opens the door to inspiration. Brussels sprouts roasted with onions and beets, savory sweet potatoes with nutmeg, and green beans sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with salt and fresh-cracked black pepper (are you hungry yet?) will find a flavorful complement in Horton Vineyard’s dry, citrus-y 2016 Petit Manseng. $25. Horton Vineyards. 6399 Spotswood Trail, Gordonsville. (540) 832-7440. hortonwine.com

Dessert pairing

Paxxito, Barboursville Vineyards

Barboursville Vineyards’ voluptuous Paxxito is a classic dessert wine. Crafted from early-harvest, air-dried moscato ottonel and vidal grapes, the apricot and nectarine flavors tease out the sweetness of a ginger pumpkin pie with toasted coconut, while its rich texture and fresh acidity also make it a perfect foil for simple frosted sugar cookies. $32 (375 ml). Barboursville Vineyards. 17655 Winery Rd., Barboursville. (540) 832-3824. bbvwine.com

Categories
Living

Winter pairing: wine and fire

The comfy fireplace furniture creates an intimate feel in Veritas Vineyard’s tasting room. Photo: Stephen Barling

Whether it’s bitterly cold or just damp and dreary, one of the best places to wait out winter is beside a roaring fire (preferably with a glass of wine). Luckily, plenty of area wineries fit the bill, with cozy couches and toasty fireplaces to sit beside while you sip.

“We go for a living-room kind of feel in our tasting room,” says Paul Summers, owner of Knight’s Gambit Vineyard. “It’s homey and comfortable, and the fireplace no doubt adds to that.” So does the resident hound, Fig, who often lounges on a sofa near the fire.

The tasting room at Septenary Winery also feels like a living room, with four chairs by the hearth. A two-sided fireplace warms up the cavernous public room at Barboursville Vineyards, cranking out heat for visitors seated at tables on one side and patrons at the tasting bar on the other. At Veritas Vineyard & Winery, the most coveted tasting room seats are the overstuffed leather sofa and chairs near the fireplace.

At King Family Vineyards, a big fieldstone hearth anchors the winery’s Pavilion—and draws a crowd. When the oak logs are crackling, fragrant smoke fills the air and a beer-hall vibe prevails, with patrons engaged in animated conversation at the Pavilion’s long wood tables. “It’s very relaxing and warm, like sitting in someone’s great room,” says King Family’s events coordinator, Kelly Bauer. —J.B.

More kudos for BBQ Exchange

Recently recognized by the Food Network for one of the best BBQ pork sandwiches in America, The Barbeque Exchange, in Gordonsville, has been nominated by the USA Today 10Best for Best Brunswick Stew in Virginia. An expert panel selected the nominees, and readers will choose a winner (to be announced March 8) by voting on the 10Best website. —Simon Davidson

Greens (and more) cook-off

Calling all cooks and fans of good home cooking: The African American Heritage Center’s fifth annual Greens Cook Off takes place from 3-5pm February 9 at the Jefferson School. Greens, macaroni and cheese, and pound cake will be judged; visitors can graze on the entries and vote for their favorites. Learn more at jeffschoolheritagecenter.org. —S.D.

Cheese, chocolate, and champagne for lovers

On Valentine’s Day, the holy trinity of cheese, chocolate, and champagne will converge at Oakhart Social. Righteous Cheese’s Carolyn Stromberg Leasure and cheesemonger Sara Adduci, formerly of Feast!, will open four rare-producer champagnes and give instruction on pairing bubbly with cheese. A spread of local chocolates will also be available, because…Valentine’s Day! For tickets and info search Chocolate, Cheese & Baller Bubbly at eventbrite.com —S.D.

Ladies get their Galentine’s on

It started with Leslie Knope, Amy Pohler’s character on the TV sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” but craft distiller Vitae Spirits is carrying on the tradition of Galentine’s Day with its second annual party, at 5pm February 7. As Leslie said, it’s all about “ladies celebrating ladies.” Vitae’s version will feature a pop-up shop—along with booze, of course—with products from women-owned businesses. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Sexual Assault Resource Agency. —Jenny Gardiner

Super cidery

Potter’s Craft Cider—with a little help from Virginia’s taxpayers—is growing. Potter’s will invest $1.68 million to quadruple its production and refurbish Neve Hall, a former church built in 1924, as a tasting room. The project gets a boost from a $50,000 grant from the commonwealth’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, and matching funds from Albemarle County. —J.B.

Duner’s chef to become owner

Duner’s executive chef Laura Fonner has announced she’ll be acquiring the upscale Ivy restaurant from current owner Bob Caldwell after his retirement next year. “It’s a natural move for me,” says Fonner, who has worked at Duner’s for 15 years. —J.G.

Categories
Living

Buzzkill: Government shutdown put squeeze on Virginia wineries

Brian Schornberg (right) of Keswick Vineyards says the government shutdown hurt business. Photo: Amy Jackson Smith

Even though the federal government shutdown is temporarily on hold, Virginia’s winemakers have taken an economic hit that will only worsen if the freeze resumes as announced, on February 15. Regardless, the negative effects are likely to linger into the spring and summer,  industry sources say.

The primary sticking point is the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which must approve formulas and labels for new products before they are issued for public consumption, whether by bottle, can, or keg. While TTB employees were out of work, the fine folks who make your adult beverages were out of luck.

“If a winery loses a new wine because it has sat too long [before bottling] and aged-out, that’s a big deal,” says Mary Beth Williams, of Williams Compliance and Consulting, which represents 150 wineries statewide. “The government is tying winemakers’ hands.”

Luca Paschina, general manager and winemaker at Barboursville Vineyards, says most of his recent vintages will make it to market in spite of the shutdown, because wines produced the same way year after year are not subject to TTB approval, known in the industry as a COLA (Certificate of License Approval). Regardless, he’s still concerned.

“I do have two labels awaiting approval,” Paschina says. “They are for wines we intend to release later in the year. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

Other wines hijacked by the TTB closure included a new viognier by Septenary Winery, in Greenwood, and a sparkling white by Peaks of Otter Winery, in Bedford. “We wanted to have this wine ready for sale by this summer, but I’m not sure that will happen now,” Danny Johnson, Peaks of Otter’s co-owner, told The News & Advance of Lynchburg.

Closer to home, at Keswick Vineyards, the shutdown impact has been both immediate and quantifiable—and a hindrance to expansion plans the owners had hoped to realize in the spring.

“The majority of our traffic on the weekends is from the D.C. area, and that has been drastically reduced,” says Brian Schornberg, Keswick’s wine club manager and son of Al and Cindy Schornberg, who bought the winery in 1999. “A lot our customers work for the government and [were] not receiving a paycheck. So, they put off visiting, which put a dent in tasting-room sales.”

Keswick has also had “about a dozen wine-club cancellations,” which translate to monetary losses of “several grand a year,” he adds.

Keswick had also applied months before the shutdown for TTB licenses to execute expansion plans, Schornberg says. He declined to reveal specifics, but hinted that the winery may be looking to increase wine production or make another type of alcoholic beverage. Whether that’s cider, beer, or spirits, the plans are on hold.

“We were hoping to have all of our plans approved so we could begin production by April,” he says. “That’s not going to happen. We’re kind of handcuffed, to tell the truth.”

The shutdown came on the heels of a grape harvest depleted by the year’s record-breaking rainfall, which caused some wineries to lose 40 percent or more of their fruit.

“The 2018 vintage was already weird,” Williams says. “Winemaking, and bringing a wine to market, is extremely time-sensitive. It may not seem like a huge problem today, but I do think it’s going to emerge as one in as soon as a couple of weeks.”

Categories
Living

LIVING Picks: Week of November 8-14

The UVA Army ROTC cadets, the Buford Middle School band and Retired Colonel James O’Kelley will participate in a ceremony to salute our veterans at James Monroe's Highland.

NONPROFIT
Veterans Day ceremony
Friday, November 10

The UVA Army ROTC cadets, the Buford Middle School band and Retired Colonel James O’Kelley will participate in a ceremony to salute our veterans, followed by a living timeline of veterans. Active duty military and veterans get in free; $8-$14 admission includes historic house tour, 1pm. James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Pkwy. highland.org

HEALTH & WELLNESS
A path of awakening workshop
Saturday, November 11

Janine Russell, a holistic medicine practitioner, leads a six-hour workshop to help you heal from past wounds and create a path for the life you want. $95, 10am-4:30pm. Polarity Barn, 6428 Dick Woods Rd. violetpath.us/workshops

FAMILY
Light House Studio shorts
Thursday, November 9

This compilation of Light House Studio students’ work includes narrative, animation and documentary films. A discussion with the young filmmakers follows. Arrive 15 to 30 minutes early to find a seat. Free, 5:30pm. Violet Crown Cinema, 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. virginiafilmfestival.org

FOOD & DRINK
Annual truffle dinner
Saturday, November 11

After enjoying Brut and canapés in the Octagon Cellar, move into the Piedmont Arcades for a four-course truffle dinner and wine pairing. The dinner is prepared in conjunction with Dr. Jeff Long and his truffle dog, Este. $170, 7pm. Barboursville Vineyards, 17655 Winery Rd., Barboursville. RSVP required. (540) 832-7848.