Two years goes by fast

When I first visited Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, Virginia it looked like this…

…now they are about to celebrate their 2 year anniversary this Memorial Day weekend.  Being a bit of a distance away I don’t get up to see the winery as often as possible but when I do, I always have a great time.  Sharon and Rick (the winemakers) invite me up from time to time to taste what they have going on the cellar.  It’s always fun, because they love hearing the good and the bad about their creations.  This weekend as you would imagine they are having a HUGE celebration, and I’m sorry to say I won’t be able to make it. If you are in the area, stop by for the fun, it is sure to be a great time. Check out the list of activities for the weekend below…

1.  Releasing their most popular wines this weekend:  BOWHaus White and BOWHaus Red as well as the highly anticipated Rose.

2.  Opening the new art show by Ben Roeder: “Traces of Memory, an Abstract Introspective”.

3.  Featuring great live music Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights!

4.  They are giving a Golden Ticket to every purchaser of a case of Barrel Oak wine.  These Golden Tickets contain the gift of a free tasting for two, a combo platter, a bottle of wine, or a membership in the BOWClub.  These gifts range in value from $18 to $175.

5.  Raffling off TWO Aged Barrels with memberships in our Barrel Club.  Each membership has a value of over $1300.  Everyone tasting wines over the weekend will receive a raffle ticket.

Additionally, on Saturday and Sunday they will have awesome food service from Local 647, serving the best locally sourced farm-fresh organic foods and runners up winners of ABC Weekend’s 2009 Best Food Cart in America Competition.

There will be great music Friday from 6-9 with Demetrios and Curtis and dancing to the sunsets on Saturday 6-9pm to local favorites eNVee and Sunday 6-9pm to the Fabulous Exaggerations!  And Sunday they will have old-timey music during the day with Poor Ellen Smith.

Cheers!

TasteCamp 2010, an evening at Red Newt Cellars

The first evening of TasteCamp finished up with a tasting and dinner at Red Newt Cellars on Seneca Lake. The sun setting over the lake provided a beautiful backdrop to the evening as well as providing a delicate amber hue to the tasting room.  Laid out in front of us were 3 stations of Riesling from 3 different vintages. At each table were the 3 wineries that go into the Tierce Wine Riesling, as well as the specific vintage of Tierce.

About Tierce…

“Tierce Dry Riesling represents a unique collaborative effort of Anthony Road Wine Company, Fox Run Vineyards and Red Newt Wine Cellars..This wine pulls together not only the unique vineyard expressions of Seneca Lake, but also the individual philosophies of the participating winemakers.”

I started at the ’06 table, not sure why…in hind sight I should have started with the ’04 table. I went to ’04 after ’06 and felt that the ’04 was slightly dead and I think some of this perception may have been precipitated by the outstanding quality of the ’06.  Regardless of order, I feel that the ’04 Reislings were a bit tired, quality not withstanding, just past their peak.

Peter Bell, winemaker at Fox Run talking about the '06 wines

Back to the ’06….wow, awesome stuff! I started with the Anthony Road Dry Riesling which had great, but not crazy acidity, and was tropical in nature, with dried apricot, pear and slight fusel notes. Next up was the Fox Run, not as powerful a nose as the Anthony Road, but still quite nice. Hints of refreshing raspberry on the nose with a bit of mustard seed, orange zest and citrus notes on the palate and plenty of zippy acidity. Red Newt was third and showed the most minerality so far of the three. Slightly “richer” than the previous two, and showed lots of citrus, pear and peach notes. Excellent balance between the body and acidity providing a great, “complex” mouthfeel. Last but not least was the Tierce, a blend from the 3 wineries, but not necessarily equal parts of each. This was definitely a case of where the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts. The 06 Tierce had rocking acidity, and exquisite minerality that was flinty in nature. It was dominated by tropical notes like the Anthony Road with plenty of lemon-lime and pear notes with interesting hints of banana peel. The ’06 Tierce had it all, an outstanding Riesling.

The ’05 table was highlighted by Red Newt Riesling. It had great minerality, again providing a flinty quality. Loads of lemon-lime flavors reminding me of a Vinho Verde but more complex with back end flavors of pear, peach and juicy Asian pear. The other ’05’s didn’t do much for me. I felt the ’05 Anthony Road was a bit flat and the ’05 Fox Run was too soapy in nature.

Red Newt dinner aftermath

Dinner at Red Newt was provided by Red Newt Bistro which as you would imagine is attached to the winery. I had a special vegetarian dinner prepared by Debra Whiting, executive chef and wife of winemaker David Whiting. Instead of the main course of bacon wrapped beef tenderloin that everyone else had I had a portabello mushroom stuffed with an interestingly delicious concoction.  The flavor and texture was amazing and complimented the family style asparagus and mashed potatoes that were passed around.

Red Newt is very social media savvy and it was evident at the winery. A large screen TV  was streaming our #tastecamp tweets as well as the event was being recorded on Ustream for the world to see. Definitely a first for both of these at a winery, at least for me. It impressed me immensely to see how “tapped in” Red Newt was.

Cheers and thanks to all the winemakers, assistant winemakers and staff from all the wineries who help put this on.

Vineyard Visuals: White Hall Vineyards

These shots are from White Hall Vineyards in White Hall, Virginia. They were taken a little over a week ago.

Back to the beginning…

This is a guest post from friend John McClung, Real Estate Agent by day, wine lover by night. You can follow him on Twitter @johndmcclung.

I had a great bottle of wine the other night. Almost tweeted about it, but it was too special. Let me explain:

My first taste of a wine that was not pink, Portuguese, and known more for the shape of the bottle than the wine, was a shipper label, Bordeaux made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. For me, this wine was different, plenty of fruit, and was dry and complex enough to show that a wine can be more than just grape juice or tannins with alcohol.

I quickly went back to the liquor store, but they were out and wouldn’t be getting any more. I searched other liquor stores and no one had it. I guess that was to be expected, after all, wine was not on the minds of America in 1978, and particularly not in Lexington, Ky a college town devoted to Bourbon and beer at the time.

This lead to what turned out to be a 2 and a half year quest to find a wine with  similar flavor and complexity. In the meantime I discovered that wines produced in California, could be labeled Cabernet Sauvignon and have up to 25% other grape varieties, and though I detected some that were similar to what I was looking for the quest lived on. I tried other types of wines and I tried as many Bordeaux as I could afford including Chateau Cantenac-Brown, which became a favorite for special occasions.

Eventually I found a wine that was similar in flavor, bigger and complex. It had the cherry, and plum, tobacco, earth and a touch of brown spice complimented by vanilla from the oak. Unlike most serious California wines of 1981, it was not called by the grape name, but rather had it’s own proprietary name of Marlstone. Finally an affordable, (at that time compared to Bordeaux) wine worth drinking.

So, it was not a shock, when I opened a 1995 bottle that had great red color and no brown edges and excellent depth of flavor including the cherry, plum and a hint of tobacco. The body might have been a little thin, but otherwise this 15 year old wine was tremendous. I look forward to the other bottle sitting there waiting for what now should be a special occasion, you know, like wine time.

Be great!

Hermann J. Wiemer 2008 “Magdalena Vineyard” Riesling; better with food

Don’t let the title fool you, this wine rocked on it’s own, but the Wiemer 2008 “Magdalena Vineyard” Riesling ($36) is definitely a food wine. I tasted the wine originally at TasteCamp, where I bought a couple of bottles to bring home with me. I’m glad I bought two, wish I had bought more, but I couldn’t resist popping one open the other night. I hope I can hold on to the other one for a few years because I would love to see how this ages. Megan had made a mushroom, broccolini, carmelized onion and Piave cheese Quiche, that I thought the Magdalena would sing with, so I popped it open. I was right, the richness of the quiche was a perfect pairing for the acidity and complexity of the Riesling.  The flavor profile matched my notes from TasteCamp, but I didn’t note the acidity to be quite as high. (for the reason in the previous sentence, plus it was compounded with the acidity of the previous 5 wines)

The specifications for the 08 Magdalena aren’t up on on the Wiemer website, as the wine wasn’t exactly released yet. I do know it’s 100% Riesling that is all estate grown.

The wine provides lots of tropical undertones, with the addition of kiwi notes and a splash of fresh squeezed limeade. Great acidity, perfect for rich dishes, great slate/stone minerality and a bit of a chalky note on the back of the palate with a touch of green banana at the finish.

If you are a Riesling fan, definitely seek this wine out.

Cheers!

Vineyard Visuals – Jefferson Vineyards

These pictures were taken at Jefferson Vineyards which is in the Monticello AVA, about a week ago.

If you would like to have your vineyard visuals on the blog, just shoot me an email.

Cheers

An afternoon at Ravines Wine Cellars

Ravines was the second stop on our first day of TasteCamp 2010. We meandered around Keuka Lake from Heron Hill to the Eastern side where Ravines has a beautiful view of the Lake.  Morten and Lisa Hallgren had a great list of wines for us to taste, setup in a paired fashion for a little “tete a tete” action. Morten came to the Finger Lakes from his childhood in Provence by way of Texas and Ashville, NC where he was winemaker for The Biltmore Estate. Before 2000, when they purchased the 17 acre property where Ravines Cellars sits, Morten was chief winemaker at Dr. Konstantin Franks for six years. Besides his vast wine making experience, Morten has an advanced degree in both Enology and Viticulture at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Agronomie in Montpellier. On paper he knows what he’s doing and his knowledge and passion definitely translate to the glass.

Morten Hallgren

My favorites of what we tasted…

2006 Dry Riesling – lime and slate with a hint of fennel and a bit of ginger at the finish. Steely minerality and ripping acidity.

2008 Dry Riesling – hint of apricot, sliced with an arrowhead found in a riverbed, loads of lemon/lime and vibrant but manageable acidity.

2008 Dry Riesling Argetsinger Vineyard – pear juice, apple core, and floral notes. Subtle layers of tangerine rounded out the palate. The theme of minerality and vibrant acidity again played out here. The second time we enjoyed this was the next morning in the vineyard from where this wine is produced. What a treat!

2007 Cabernet Franc – lots of supple fruit, black and red fruit intermingling with highlights of blackberry and red currant. Dotted with notes of white pepper and Italian herbs, adding some depth to the fruit fowardness of the wine. Full body and smooth with velvety tannins.

As you can see, it was a great tasting, and this was only half of what we tasted. Thanks to Lisa and Morten for showing us a great time.

Cheers!

Pinot from Patagonia

Yes, a Pinot Noir from Patagonia, Argentina. Yesterday I had the opportunity to taste this wine. It wasn’t knock your socks off good, but at $11.50 I was quite impressed. The wine region of Patagonia is growing as more winemakers are seeing the promise of producing cooler climate wines, such as Pinot Noir.  The southern Patagonia region includes the fruit producing regions of Río Negro and Neuquén (which is where this wine comes from) which has a considerably cooler climate than the major regions to the north which provides for a long, drawn out growing season in the predominately chalky soils.

Some specs…

Region: Neuquén, Argentina

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Alcohol: 14% (high I think for cool climate and the balance this showed)

Total Acidity: 4.65 g/L

Oak: 6 months 50/50 – French/American

Bottled: February 2008

Price: $11.50

What I thought…

The nose was a bit tight, floral and black fruit notes that were indistinguishable snuck out of the glass ever so slightly. Very smooth with lots of plum, black cherry, hints of floral & cedar notes with edges of red currant and cranberry. Medium bodied and smooth all the way to the finish with lush velvety tannins.

Cheers!

TasteCamp 2010 – Experiment gone awry!

I love wineries who get inventive with their tastings. Whether it’s cool flights, vintage comparisons or in this case comparisons between oak aging, it always brings out the geek in me. Unfortunately this was an experiment gone awry! Instead of one over oaked Chardonnay, this winery had three, well really four.  The cool experiment was three identical Chardonnays, the only difference being the oak they were aged in, French, American and Hungarian.  Sounds cool right?  I think the winemaker achieved his goal, we were evaluating wood, not wine.  We would have been better off sticking chunks of barrel in our mouth and topping it with an eyedropper of Chardonnay.  Honestly the oak was so overpowering, that was all I tasted.  Sounds harsh I know, but this could have been a really cool exercise.  But instead of evaluating the flavor of the wine, I was evaluating the flavor of the oak. To me it seemed that the oak was the focus, not the wine, and that’s where I think it went awry. I have been to plenty of tastings that mirror this type of experiment and it can be a really great learning especially when done blind.

Oak or no oak it’s a personal choice, just give me a little fruit to go along with it.  I didn’t see a whole lot of oak mis-treatment over the weekend in the Finger Lakes, but Chardonnay and Merlot seemed to stand out as two varieties that can’t handle new wood.  Not sure why that is!  It would be great to see Chablis style Chardonnays out of the Finger Lakes.  With the acidity and minerality that the Rieslings show, teasing/expressing those in a Chardonnay would make a great wine.  Obviously this is my opinion, and plenty of people like OAK BOMBS, but I prefer a little more subtlety.

Cheers!

Virginia Wine Council Update

Albemarle County Adopts Farm Winery Zoning Ordinance; Likely to Serve As Statewide Model

From Matt Conrad Director of the Virginia Wine Council:

“Last week the Virginia Wine Council attended the 2:00 p.m. meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.  This meeting represented an end to nearly two years of work by the VWC to shape a farm winery zoning ordinance that strikes a balance between the county’s need to protect the welfare of its citizens and farm wineries’ need for regulatory certainty and sustained economic viability.

Throughout work sessions and planning commission meetings, the VWC has consistently argued that the best way to preserve the rural character of Albemarle County and counties like it is to ensure that agriculture is profitable.  The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors did just that yesterday in unanimously adopting the proposed ordinance.

Effective immediately, the ordinance’s relevant provisions include:

* Definitions of “farm winery” and “agritourism” that mirror the State Code definitions (prior versions required contiguous parcels and made reference to commercial activities, respectively).

* Recognition of production, tasting, direct sale, shipment, and storage of wine as by-right activities.

*The ability of farm wineries to engage in/host usual and customary events and activities without regulation.

* Three specific classes of usual and customary events will be limited to 200 persons at any one time (rather than cumulatively).  There is no limitation in frequency.

*No limitation on tasting room hours other than in adopting the hours kept in the “normal course of business of the farm winery” by the farm winery itself.

* A one-time special use permit process for similar farm winery events where attendance will be greater than 200 persons.

*Fair application of the general noise ordinance as currently applied to rural areas throughout the county. Amplified music is permitted but may not be audible 100 feet from the property line.

Several Albemarle County wineries attended to show their support and appreciation of the professionalism and cooperation of planning staff and county leadership.  In attendance were representatives of Albemarle CiderWorks, Blenheim Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards, and King Family Vineyards. The Albemarle County Chamber of Commerce also spoke in favor of the ordinance as adopted.”

TasteCamp 2010 Day 1: Part 1

Driving up the East side of Keuka Lake I was engrossed with the beauty of the Finger Lakes region, which I continued to soak in for the next three days. This drive took me to our first stop for Taste Camp 2010, Heron Hill Winery, for our first Grand Tasting and our first sample of what the region has to offer.  We had 9 wineries pouring for us and I am happy to say I was able to make it through all the wineries, giving ample time to diagnose each one.  Rather than bore you with 50 tasting notes, I’ll hit you with the highlights of the day. I would first like to thank Heron Hill for hosting us and providing a fabulous lunch (in conjuction with the Finger Lakes Wine Country).  Thanks also to all the wineries that poured their juice. I always admire wineries willing to show themselves to “critics” eager to pick apart their hard work and dedication to an art they devote so much time to.

As as side note, I will say the weekend as a whole provided the opportunity to taste a slew of new grape varieties, helping add some slots to my Wine Century Club checklist.

On to my highlights…

Heron Hill 2002 Riesling – aromas and flavors of petrol, lime, slate and pear juice; full bodied and still providing gripping acidity. I liked this wine a lot but the finish could have been a bit longer.

Keuka Spring 2007 Epic Reserve (Cabernet Sauvigon, Cab. Franc, Merlot) – nice red fruit with hints of cherry, spice, mocha and smoke. Full bodied and quite smooth with leathery tannins at the finish.

McGregor 2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve – Big notes of black fruit including black cherry and plum with hints of fig and a good dose of red currant running through the mid palate. All of this complimented with nice “green” edges and a delicate, yet full bodied structure.

Imagine Moore 2009 Sauvignon Blanc – whoa, did I step into New Zealand for a second? Notes of grapefruit, cat pee, asparagus, citrus and mineral overtones. Wow, impressive! Razor sharp acidity.

Interesting varieties that I tried that didn’t knock me over were: Vergennes, Noiret, Valvin Muscat, and Vignoles. Of all of these that I tried the Valvin Muscat impressed me the most. I felt the variety was a bit too “soapy” though, and reminded me of my grandmother’s bathroom. After talking to Evan, he said it reminded him of a “potpourri box” which was spot on description of the varietal.

All in all the first two hours of TasteCamp were a taste of a great weekend to come, with wonderful wines and regional personality. I couldn’t wait until the nest stop on our Finger Lakes adventure.

Stay tuned to Anything Wine for more TasteCamp stories.

Cheers!

TasteCamp 2010 Visuals – Vineyard Walk

For the vineyard walk I was selected to go to Argetsinger Vineyards and tour the vineyard with owner and manger Sam Argetsinger. Sam was a riot, a really down to earth guy that loves playing in the dirt and working with mother nature. His passion for grape growing and nature was amazingly intense and fun to see. Below are some pictures from our visit with him.

Sam Argetsinger

View of Seneca Lake from the top of the vineyard

bud break

Sam tying vines in an umbrella trellis format

Morten Hallgren of Ravines Cellars serving his Argetsinger Vineyard Riesling and his wifes breakfast tart

TasteCamp Visuals – Day 1

A full story will come later about our first day in the Finger Lakes for TasteCamp East 2010, but I figured a little visual tour would be good for this morning.

TasteCamp organizers Evan Dawson and Lenn Thompson

Grand Tasting @ Heron Hill

Vineyard Report – Pollak Vineyards

An update from Jake Busching GM/Vineyard Manager & Wine Maker at Pollak Vineyards

“Winters heavy with snow and a long periods of cold (cold being temps above 5F that is…) are good for our vineyards. The snow becomes ground water and the cold helps to moderate insect populations and viruses that feed on the vines. Spring rain continues to allow the plants to feed on the nutrients in the soil and begin the ripening process. Ask any winegrower and they will tell you, ripening starts at bud break. The faster the fruit develops the more complex the flavors and tannins are going to be in the wine.

Frost has taken its toll on some area vineyards but ours escaped by a marginal degree. 3 events at or slightly below freezing in the past 4 weeks have threatened to hamper our efforts at growing grapes this year. The south facing aspect of the vineyard coupled with the ever present breeze through the Rockfish Gap saved our skins… grape skins to be precise. In summary… so far so good.”

Cheers!

Quick Sip – 2008 K Syrah “Pheasant”—Wahluke Slope

2008 K Syrah “Pheasant”—Wahluke Slope

Wine Facts –

Appellation: Wahluke Slope, Walla Walla Washington

Vineyard: Pheasant; sandy, gravelly soil

Grapes: 100% Syrah

Fermentation: native yeasts

Ageing: 100% French oak, 30% new

Production: 193 cases

Price: $35

My Tasting Notes –

Interesting start on the nose with smoky bacon, blackberry and plum followed up on the palate by fig, date, more blackberry and olive notes. Layers of black pepper and an unidentified meatiness kept showing up on the palate which was quite nice.  Full bodied, rich and spicy and very well integrated for just being released in April.

Cheers!