The Wine Trail Less Traveled By…

Armed with a Virginia Wine Map and our dad’s GPS, my sister and I set out for another winery adventure. This time we decided to hit a few locations on the Southern Virginia Wine Trail. Despite having lived in Pittsylvania Country nearly 18 years of my life, I had not crossed the county line to explore much of Halifax County, Virginia. On our recent travels we learned that Halifax Co. remains mostly rural farm land.

Our first stop was Bright Meadows Farm Vineyard and Winery. We actually thought the GPS was programmed for another vineyard, but we knew we had reached an important destination because the small 117 year old restored barn had brightly colored flags and signage to alert you of their presence. After ringing the old cast iron farm bell, we were greeted by a sweaty, shirtless farmhand who quickly ran off to retrieve one of the owners, Ms. Archer. We explored the surrounding landscaping which was creatively mulched with wine corks. The tasting room is very small, but certainly allows for a more personal tasting. We very much enjoyed learning about their wine making process. They try to avoid using pesticides and strive to live a natural organic lifestyle. Using their wine corks as mulch is just one way they try to do their part with recycling efforts.

They offer ten different wines for tasting. I was pleasantly surprised by their wine. These wines are simple and easy to drink. They offer several fruit wines such as Blackberry or Apple. Normally I would shy away from these, but I must admit these were lovely. They do not add any additional flavorings, so they are very pure and not too sweet. I purchased the Blackberry as well as BAG which is a blend of blackberry, apple and concord grapes. There is nothing too complex about these wines, but they are fun to drink on a summer afternoon. I also purchased their Burley Red, a full-bodied red made from Chambourcin grapes. These wines are very reasonably prices from $9-14 dollars per bottle.

En route to our next stop we discovered Halifax County is home to a small Amish community. Who would have thought it?? I must admit this took us by surprise, but not nearly as much as the Historic Noland Village. We had no idea what were viewing when we stumbled upon the restored village, but later discovered it was a re-creation of a small community in the mid-1800’s. Again, who knew? They hold a popular country fair day in the spring. Just around the bend from Noland Village, you’ll find our next stop, Hunting Creek Vineyards.

We traveled down a dirt road, and began wonder if we were going in the right direction. Then we spotted the vines and noticed a nice gentlemen working in the crops alongside several friendly dogs. Hunting Creek Vineyards is another small family owned operation. The tasting room is still a work in progress (see photo) decorated with great local artwork.
We tasted five wines: four red and one white. Again these wines are simple, but perhaps a bit more complex than Bright Meadows. Again, we had the opportunity to really chat with the owner and learn about their process. The owners are creative in all respects of their business. Notables include: Decadence, a mix of Petit Verdot, Viognier skins and 5% Viognier wine, also Repentance made from 80% Cabernet Fran and 20% Cranberry. I purchased their Viognier and Inguldence a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Petit Verdot, at $15.00 per bottle.

At both wineries, our hosts had to do a quick check of their opened tasting bottles to make sure the wine hadn’t gone bad. You can imagine our concerns. Wineries with high visitor traffic, such as Barboursville, really never have that problem, but it turns out that doesn’t mean these smaller operations make bad wine. We had great discussions with the owners on how winemaking in Southside Virginia has great economic potential for the area. With the down trodden tobacco industry that once flourished in Halifax Co., I hope the wine making industry can recognize the great agricultural and agritourism potential of Southside Virginia. We ended our day in town at a great local restaurant, Molasses Grill. Since these wineries, along with their area counterparts are very small, call or e-mail ahead for appointments prior to your visit.

Cupcake & Wine Pairings - Try It!!

A dear friend just recently decided to turn her passion for baking into a small business opportunity. Fortunately, her baking passion happens to be one of my favorite desserts - cupcakes. I've always preferred the small cake delights to the customary birthday/wedding cakes.

This weekend I placed my first order with Kind Kupcakes for one dozen red velvet. After a fabulous Sunday brunch hosted by hokiehale, I devoured my first cake. It was all I had truly hoped it would be. I opted to save my second for an after dinner treat. I paired my red velvet all natural cupcake with DelFosse 2007 Cabernet Fran. This wine selection was sent to me in April as part of the Virginia Wine of the Month Club. I've been so excited to try it, I didn't really think about how it might actually go with a red velvet cupcake. As I sipped my wine and savored my cupcake, I glanced at my VA Wine Club Newsletter. They suggest pairing this wine with hearty roast. Odd..no mention of red velvet cupcakes.

I know very little if anything about wine pairing. Generally, I just go with a feeling when I select wine. "I feel red" "I feel white" "I feel crazy, let's hit the sparkling wines" While this pairing could be criticized by more experienced wine drinkers, I say to them don't knock until you try it! This red velvet cupcake was not sickeningly sweet or overly rich. It was incredibly light and full of flavor. Despite the lack of thought put into my pairing, I found it to match rather nicely with a heavy Cab Franc. Or maybe it was just the fact that I really like cupcakes and I really like red wine, so how could I go wrong!

I've thought of a few other cupcake wine pairings I'd like to try using Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc. I think this would make for a really fun cocktail party!! Kind Kupcakes makes a heck of a cupcake, so checkout their website to see if you can think of your own unique ways to pair wine with cupcakes.

Cheers To All The Moms!

Mother's Day is approaching and what better way to recharge your batteries than enjoying a bottle of Virgina Wine along with a free pass to an isolated location; preferably one with room service and spa treatments. It is upon this Mother's Day that I reflect about my own life as a mother. I believe this is undoubtedly the hardest job in the world. I don't care if it sounds cliche and it has been said many times before...but it is TRUE! Whether you are a stay at home mommy or a working mom such as myself, what you really want from time to time is to be left alone. That doesn't necessarily mean a night away from the family in five star hotel. These days I'd settle for a quiet day at home with the knowledge that I will NOT be responsible for anything pertaining to 'caregiving'. If you are afforded such a luxury, I'd recommend you treat yourself to a full bottle of sparking wine or rose. Something easy-going that you can drink in its entirety without passing out or feeling guilty about your sudden loss of control.

I recently discovered Villa Appalaccia's Rose. It is incredibly light and not overly sweet. Villa Appalaccia is a small family establishment off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Floyd. I've always felt this vineyard has been overshadowed by the more prominent neighboring winery, Chateau Morrisette. In a recent visit, they basically explained to me that they prefer their small size. They also have no intentions of expanding into the social networking arena beyond their basic website. If you are in the Floyd area, make plans to visit both vineyards, but check the hours of operation beforehand. They also attend many of the wine festivals so stop by for taste. I left with a box full of reds, one Pinot Grigio Reserve and of course, two bottles of their Rose. Happy Mother's Day!

Love by the Glass – Virginia Wine Week March 22-28th

Kudos to the Virginia wine industry for campaigning across the state to create the first ever Virginia Wine Week, Love by the Glass. The intention is not just to promote Virginia wineries, but encouraging restaurants and wine shops throughout the Commonwealth to serve Virginia wine. As I explore and discover more about great wine offered by our state, I began to wonder why these great wines are not easily found in restaurants and retailers. I had assumed this was mostly due to the fact our wineries are smaller operations with limited staff to dedicate to the larger sales and marketing aspects of their business. While that might somewhat be true, it turns out to be more of a political issue than I realized.

Our state legislature has had a long history of regulating alcohol to its taxpayers. Upon the repeal of prohibition, Virginia adopted a three-tier distribution system: 1) producer 2) distributor 3) retailer. In the 80’s, Virginia recognized that wine was not so scary, perhaps even profitable, and thus allowed wineries to self-distribute their wine directly to retailers. And over the course of two decades, the wine industry really began to flourish in Virginia. But from what I can gather, some out-of-state wineries (I would bet North Carolina) filed suit in federal court because they felt Virginia was violating its own alcohol distribution laws. But let’s face it, these out-of-state folks were really just pissed that they didn’t get to distribute their wine directly to retailers within our state. In 2006, wineries were prohibited to self-distribute their own wine forcing the use of a distributor. With the encouragement of wine lobbyists, (now that’s an issue I can get behind), our General Assembly has attempted to assist the distribution problem for small wineries with the creation of Virginia Winery Distribution Company (VWDC). This is non-profit entity assists in the legal distribution of wine. From what I understand, this system is far from perfect at this time, but sounds like a step in the right direction considering the legal/political issues involved. (If you care to understand more, check out my two primary sources)
http://vwdc.org/
http://www.virginiawine.org/system/payloads/25/original/2010-02-Industry.pdf?1266261463

So what does any of this have to do with Virginia Wine Week? If you are a restaurant owner, retailer or just a wine lover, then serve/sell/drink Virginia wine!!!

Yes..but how do you feel the next day??

Cheap Wine Challenge - Food & Drink - FOXNews.com

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Does Dave Matthews Drink His Own Wine?

I love Dave Matthews and I love wine, but I don’t love Dave Matthew’s wine. But the jaunt to Blenheim Vineyards on the Monticello Wine Trail is still recommended. The tasting room is unique and designed by Dave Matthews. You can enjoy tastings while taking in the gorgeous views from their huge picture window. Interestingly enough, the vines in the foreground of this mountainous view are actually from the nearby Kluge Estate Vineyard, not Blenheim. (Blenheim’s vines are a bit to the left.) I very much enjoyed learning about their property, winery and process. Not to mention their Seven Oaks Wines have really cool labels. (Visit their website to learn more)

Now to be fair, this wine is not terrible or anything, it just seems a little young as if it is still coming into its own. I would like to see reviews on the wines from Dave Matthews himself. Personal tidbits like which his favorite, which does he prefer to give as gifts, serve at dinner parties, etc. Let’s face it, they’re called Blenhiem, but how many DMB questions do they have to field each day from visitors. I was refraining from asking any questions myself for fear I would look like the girl who wears the t-shirt of the band she’s going to see! The wine is fairly inexpensive for VA wine, so I picked up a few bottles. I recently opened Blenheim Farm Chardonnay 2006 and Seven Oaks Merlot 2008. The Chardonnay was tasty, but gave me a heck of a headache the next day. As for the Merlot…I did not like it. And yes, I had tasted it and then proceeded to buy an entire bottle of it (as my husband pointed out). But I think sometimes you just need to re-examine a wine subsequent to ‘tasting day buzz’. Or maybe this is just a peril of having an equally young palate. Visit this winery if you get the chance and decide for yourself.

Wine Preservation System

There is nothing like getting a new gadget to encourage more wine drinking. Too often I shy away from opening a bottle of wine since my husband does not drink wine at all. I have no issues about drinking alone, but the waste factor disheartens me. It seems this psychological issue dates back to high school/college days when the waste of alcohol was abhorred and condemned by all. Even now as a thirty-something adult with a job, I cringe and look away when pouring wine (even bad wine) down the drain. This new thingamabob claims to keep wine for up to nine days and even has a day counter! I think nine days is a bit much to ask of any wine, but thank goodness for the day counter because I would never remember if it has been five days or nine days. Stay tuned for a review.

Preservation Update:
So I’ve tested the gadget and can report…it works! It sucks the air out of the bottle like a vacuum to slow the oxidation process. You insert the rubber stopper and set the counter.
Much to my surprise it kept the wine fresh for up to five days. Just for fun, I kept a bottle for nine days. The wine was flat, but not disgustingly so.