Vintage Tweets Kicks Off Virginia Wine Month
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, October 1st, 2009
Photo: Virginia Tourism Corporation
Last week Gut Check began the countdown to Virginia Wine Month, and last night the Vintage Tweets event at the Hotel Palomar in Arlington officially kicked off the month’s festivities. Six Virginia wineries were in attendance to showcase their wares and the event lasted two hours. I thought two hours would be ample time to leisurely enjoy wine from each producer, but it was not to be.
And that is actually a good thing.
The fact that Virginia wines made me stop and linger is a real testament to the quality of wines and the craftsmanship being employed by vintners in the area these days. Honestly, I have not had Virginia wines with any frequency in the last several years, but recent press and positive comments from an out-of-towner foodie from Manahattan who claimed Virginia wines were causing her to do a doubletake renewed my interest in our state’s ability to produce wine for more than agri-tourism’s sake. To be sure Virginia viticulture has a storied past, but the tasting last night made me wonder if Virginia wine itself is currently experiencing its own type of Renaissance.
Jennifer McCloud from Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg thinks so. “What we’ve seen is an evolution from “bucket and funnel” winemaking to real winemaking,” she says. “We’re starting to implement courses of action to craft fine wines. There are more finely crafted world-class wines in Virginia than ever before.”
Why now? Perhaps it’s because heretofore, that’s been hard to do. Primarily because young vines simply don’t have the root structure to leech elements from the soil like older vines can, and that’s typically what makes for more interesting and complex wines. For example Glen Manor’s start-up vines were planted in 1995, which makes them about 14 years old now. Wines like their 2007 and 2008 Sauvignon Blanc now have the ability to demonstrate nuances of both the soil and vinification processes that perhaps were not as pronounced in earlier vintages. “If we have a great weather year, you’re going to taste it in the wine,” says Kelly White. “A lot of wineries are working on the quality of wine not just to compete in Virginia, but the world market.” “They’re [the vines] just going to get better with time,” she says.
So, what were some of the unexpected gems that caused me to take note last night?
The cellar at Williamsburg Winery Photo: Virginia Wine Corporation
One of the real surprises for me was the 2007 Chambourcin from Chataeu Morrisette, because 1) this isn’t a grape varietal I had heard much about in Virginia and 2) it wasn’t a wimpy, watered-down red. The wine displayed a nicely balanced tannic structure that didn’t fall apart as soon as it hit the palate as well as frutiness that was kept in check with hints of leather and violet.
Second Surprise of the evening, was tasting an Albariño. Not from Spain, but from Middleburg’s Chrysalis Vineyards. Albariño is a grape that is typically associated with the Iberian Peninsula (and if you watch Made in Spain you know local chef Jose Andres incessantly praises its virtues), but Jennifer McCloud was determined to bring the grape varietal stateside. And so far she’s been successful. You only need look at numerous awards Chrysalis has won for its iterations of this grape varietal.
No matter what’s on tap in the press from wine journalists, this blog or any other food and wine publication, as Kelly White from Glen Manor says,” At the end of the day, it’s what you like.”
–Amy Loeffler
