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BE SURE TO READ THE FULL STORY, “REGIME OF THE MIDDLEMOST WORLD” IN THE AUGUST- SEPTEMBER 2019 SOMM JOURNAL
[To read that story click here and scroll to page 110.]
by Jessie Birschbach/ photos by Deb Lindsey
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Organization
Perhaps out of necessity, the Virginia wine organization is one of the most perceptive and resourceful wine boards I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. What’s more, is that, where ever we went the love and respect these Virginians had for the team was palpable. Restaurant owners, winemakers, winery proprietors, farm owners, everyone seemed to truly be grateful for the efforts of the organization.
The website reflects this same dedication. Visitors of Virginia can download an app and plot out a trip through wine country or just find super useful, clear, accurate information.
Got to virginiawine.org for more info or to learn how a region should be run.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Local Food, Local Wine
Here is a shortlist of some of the most memorable pairings of Virginia SOMM camp:
The spring pea salad with fromage blanc, radish, mint, red onion, lemon vinaigrette with the Linden Vineyards 2017 Avenius Sauvignon Blanc, served at RdV Vineyards.
Field & Main’s Yellowtail Sashimi with Lindera Farm Ginger Vinegar & Shaved Vegetables with the Salter Run Vineyards 2018 Pinot Gris.
Grilled asparagus, deviled eggs, smoked trout, fingerling potato, and watercress with the King Family Vineyards 2017 Mountain Plains white blend.
Virginia crab and oyster soup with crab roe, coconut, lemongrass and chile with the Veritas 2017 Viognier.
Field & Main’s Heath Roasted Cauliflower with Anson Mills Farro, Butternut Squash Tumeric with the Upper Shirley Vineyard 2017 Viognier.
Wet Nose Farm Pork Coppa Roast with Pork Gravy & Young kale salad with warm bacon vinaigrette and pickled ramps with the Upper Shirley Vineyards 2014 Zachariah Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Tannat blend.
Martins Farm angus ribeye with black garlic sauce and crispy potatoes with confit garlic and the Paradise Springs 2014 PVT red blend (half Petit Verdot and half Tannat).
Grilled T-Bone Steak, creamed spinach, mixed mushroom, and gratin dauphinois (prepared by Chef Nicholas Tang and Executive Sous Chef Amin Mina) with the RdV Vineyards 2014 Rendezvous served at RdV Vineyards.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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From the Horses’ Mouth (Telling Quotes from Virginian Winemakers/Vintners/Somms)
We’re really trying to meet the fruit where it is and maintain the light elegance of what we have in Virginia. We don’t have super high sugars here so we’re always harvesting on acid… It’s always about the weather in Virginia. —Kirnan Slater, proprietåer of family run Slater Vineyards, on farming the property that’s been in her family for over 300 years.
We also produce wine in Santa Barbara and offer our Virginian wines in this tasting room. One of my favorite social media posts said: “I traveled 200 miles to taste some Californian wines and my favorite wine was from Virginia.” I think we’re on the cusp of an exciting time for Virginia. —Kirk Wiles CEO and Founder of Paradise Springs Winery
I credit Dennis Horton for and all the other adventures he and they took with all the different varieties. It takes those kind of mavericks to see what’s going to work. I was looking for the biggest, baddest wine that Virginia can make and I knew Cab Sauv wasn’t it because it’s not consistent enough here in Virginia. The other one out there was PV, which is good, but Tannant seems to stretch its shoulders a little bit more. —Doug Fabbio of Fabbio Cellars, addressing his Tannat based wine
We took a tour of Virginia wine maybe like 10 years ago and we had no idea what we were getting into but to see the changes in such a short amount of time and the improvements is remarkable actually. —Kabir Amir, owner of Flight wine bar in Washington D.C
Earlier you were talking about how Virginia didn’t need a “Languedoc,” type, like that $7 wine, but I actually think it’s really important that Virginia has those entry-level wines because I think that’s what been holding Virginia back; how much the wines cost. It’s very difficult to buy a $45 Petit Verdot and sell it just because it comes from Virginia. So I think you’re gonna see a whole lot more of this experimental weirdo shit because you can get it at a much cheaper price. The average consumer is much more willing to experiment these days. There is a wealth of people that don’t give a shit what grape it is as long as it tastes good, especially if it’s $15. —Sebastian Zutant, owner of Primrose, natural wine bar and bistro.
Everything is hand everything.— Jeff White, winemaker, owner of Glen Manor Vineyards, Front Royal, VA
Virginia is the first state in the nation to make wine. The Treaty of 1616 in Jamestown stipulated that any male over the age of 16 had to grow at least 10 vines. Which went horribly because when you’re 16 you can hardly take care of yourself. Then Jefferson planted 144 different mostly Italian varieties and that went horribly because no one knew about phylloxera back then. But it started here. —Jarad Slipp, MS, Estate Director, RdV Vineayards
Why did I pick Virginia? Virginia sort of picked me. I arrived circuitously, sort of like how everybody gets here. I was intrigued by being able to be sort of a pioneer in that I grew up on European wines and found the notion of terroir in my head. For me to take an area like Virginia, where nobody really knew this concept of terroir was and to be one of the first to be able to start exploring that part of the understanding for an emerging region is pretty cool. —Jim Law, winemaker, Linden Vineyards
If you’re familiar with East Coast wine and Cab Franc, it’s important in the Finger Lakes, North Carolina as well. It’s successful in a number of different types of places and I think when you’re looking at Virginia, it’s a third to almost half the size of France, so we’re talking about multiple regions, not just one place. When you have Chardonnay that’s grown on the Eastern Shore compared to Chardonnay that’s grown in the Appalachian Mountains for instance. Or Cab Franc grown across the state, east or west north to south, there’s a lot going on that has to do with climate, elevation, but soil types vary from sand on the coast up into some of the greenstone and granite that we have in the mountains, to the claysthat we have in Central Virginia. Then as you get into the Shenandoah Valley you start to see limestone and calcareous shale, that kind of stuff. Basically, from the valley east is where a lot of cab franc is planted in Virginia. So what we’ve realized is that Cab Franc really shows when it’s planted on a certain kind of rock. And it shows when it’s planted on a mediocre site. Where some grapes can overcome mediocre sites, Cab Franc that does really well on great sites. We grow cab franc here, in Quaker Run. We grow it at Early Mountain and then we started working with some Shenandoah Valley Cab Franc in 2015 and realized how distinct the differences were. —Ben Jordan, winemaker, Early Mountain Vineyards[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″]
[vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]WINES FEATURED AT THE VIRGINIA 2019 SOMM CAMP
Delaplane Cellars
-2017 Petit Manseng doux
100% Petit Manseng
-2016 Springlot
43% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot
Fabbioli Cellars
-2015 Tannat
95% Tannat, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
-Royalty
50% Chambourcin, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Tannat, 10% Merlot, 18% Grape Spirits
James River Cellars
-2017 Gewurztraminer
100% Estate Gewurztraminer
-2017 Caberner Franc
100% Estate Cabernet Franc
Lightwell Survey
-2016 Hintermen
72% Riesling, 28% Petit Manseng
-2016 The Weird Ones Are Wolves
97% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Manseng, 1% Riesling
Paradise Springs Winery
-2017 Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay
-2014 PVT
50% Petit Verdot, 50% Tannat
Slater Run Vineyards
-2018 Sparkling Rose
50% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon
-2014 Roots
28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Cabernet Franc, 18% Petit Verdot, 16% Merlot
Upper Shirley Vineyards
-2017 Viognier
100% Viognier
-2014 Zachariah
45% Merlot, 31% Petit Verdot, 15% Malbec, 8% Tannat
Horton Vineyards
-Sparkling Viognier
100% Early Pick Viognier
Lightwell Survey
-2016 Los Idiots
55% Syrah, 45% Riesling
King Family Vineyards
-2017 Small Batch Viognier
100% Viognier
Michael Shaps Wineworks
-2016 Petit Manseng
100% Petit Manseng
Ox-Eye Vineyards
-2014 Lemberger
95% Lemberger, 5% Cabernet Frac
Stinson Vineyards
-2016 Wildkat
99.5% Rkatsiteli, 0.5% Petit Manseng
Glen Manor Vineyards
-2018 Sauvignon Blanc
100% Sauvignon Blanc
-2018 Dry Petit Manseng
100% Petit Manseng
-2013 Hodder Hill
67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
-2014 St. Ruth
56% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot
King Family Vineyards
-2012 Meritage
42% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Franc, 25% Petit Verdot, 6% Malbec
-2016 Mountain Plains
36% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, 29% Petit Verdot
Linden Vineyards
-2012 Hardscrabble
56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
-2016 Hardscrabble
56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc
RDV Vineyards
-2012 Lost Mountain
46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc, 14% Merlot
-2016 Lost Mountain
97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot
King Family Vineyards
-2017 Mountain Plains
33% Viognier, 33% Chardonnay, 33% Petit Manseng
-2015 Loreley
100% Petit Manseng
Linden Vineyards
-2017 Avenius Sauvignon Blanc
100% Sauvignon Blanc
-2014 Late Harvest Petit Manseng
100% Petit Manseng
RDV Vineyards
-2014 Rendezvous
42% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 15% Petit Verdot
-2016 Rendezvous
36% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Cabernet Franc
Barboursville Vineyards
-1997 Cabernet Franc
90% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot
-2014 Cabernet Franc Reserve
88% Cabernet Franc, 12% Petit Verdot
-2005 Cabernet Franc Reserve
91% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot
-2016 Cabernet Franc Reserve
90% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot
Keswick Vineyards
-2006 Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc
-2014 Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc
-2007 Heritage
80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot
-2015 Heritage
66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 12% Petit Verdot
The Williamsburg Winery
-2002 Gabriel Archer Reserve
57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32%Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc
-2014 Gabriel Archer Reserve
34% Cabernet Franc, 33% Merlot, 33% Petit Verdot
-2010 Merlot Reserve
88% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot
-2015 Merlot Reserve
75% Merlot, 12.5% Malbec, 12.5% Petit Verdot
Early Mountain Vineyards
-2017 Quaker Run Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc
-2017 Shenandoah Valley Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc
-2017 Madison County Cabernet Franc
97% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 1% Petit Manseng
-2017 Shenandoah Springs Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc
Ankida Ridge Vineyards
-2016 Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay
-2016 Pinot Noir
100% Pinot Noir
Blenhein Vineyards
-2018 Albarino
100% Albarino
-2018 Rose
48% Cabernet Franc, 31% Merlot, 21% Pinot Noir
Chatham Vineyards
-2017 Church Creek Steel Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay
-2017 Church Creek Cabernet Franc
91% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot
Early Mountain Vineyard
-2017 Petit Manseng
88% Petit Manseng, 5% Pinot Gris, 5% Sauvignon Blanc, 2% Chardonnay
-2015 Rise
57% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 14% Petit Verdot, 14% Tannat
Rosemont Vineyards
-2018 Block A
51% Chardonel, 49% Pinot Grigio
-2016 Kilravock
50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, 20% Petit Verdot
Stinson Vineyards
-2017 Sauvignon Blanc
100% Sauvignon Blanc
-2015 Meritage
43% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc, 21% Petit Verdot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
Veritas Vineyard & Winery
-2017 Viognier
95% Viohnier, 5% Petit Manseng
-2016 Vintner’s Reserve
55% Petit Verdot, 27% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc
Walsh Family Wine
-2017 Bethany Ridge Sauvignon Blanc
100% Sauvignon Blanc
-2017 Staggerwing Tannat
95% Tannat, 5% Merlot[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
