Simple Indulgence

It seems that our darling four year old has found a new game called "Pushing Mommy's Buttons". After two straight days of "Pushing Mommy's Buttons", it became apparent to my husband that he may need to step in and provide some relief. I spent several hours browsing the local shops for bargains in the clearance section: an unpretentious luxury not allowed in the company of a small child. I prepared a delicious dinner sans a rugrat under my feet, while grooving to the best hits of the 80's.

I knew it would have to be a red wine to soothe my weary soul and stand up to our ribeyes searing on the grill. As the sole wine drinker of the evening, I didn't want to open something that I thought would be better served with guests or shared with friends. I wanted to open something that if terrible, I could walk away without feeling a sense of loss. I selected Hunting Creek's Indulgence which I purchased this summer on the Southern Virginia Wine Trail excursion.

Gee, I sound insulting, but in fact I recalled liking this wine very much. I was only skeptical because the top of the foil had randomly fallen offer shortly after purchase. The cork appeared a little too far down into the bottle and there was some slight leakage on the cork. I knew it would be a total bummer to find it ruined, but if bad I could throw it out and try another.

This blend of 75% merlot and 25% petit verdot, was exactly what I needed to finish the day. It was incredibly smooth tasting and easy to drink. I enjoyed the first glass on our screened porch during a brief summer rain shower . You will not find this wine in your local shop. This Virginia vineyard is a small family operation that only attends a few select wine festivals. With the rarity of finding their wine, I feel like I have uncovered a little Virginia wine secret. And I didn't feel the least bit guilty for having it all to myself. It was a perfect day of simple indulgence.

Virginia Wine of the Month Club – The Gift that Keeps on Giving!

Perhaps one of the best gifts I’ve received has been from my husband and sister. This Christmas they purchased me a year-long membership to the Virginia Wine of the Month Club. Seven months into the club, and I still get excited about my wine in the mail! The week before its arrival I usually begin to wonder what type of wine from which great Virginia winery will be selected for me. Roughly every third Tuesday of the month, the brown UPS truck pays our house a visit with two bottles of Virginia Wine: one red and one white.

In order to verify that the club member is 21 years of age or older, you must be present to sign for your package when the UPS guy arrives. One month, I knew I would be out of town and I did manage to reroute my package. But was denied the second time I tried to reroute my wine. Perhaps it seemed a little bit sketchy to UPS and the Virginia Wine of the Month Club. But are teenagers really that industrious enough to attempt fooling the Virginia Wine of the Month Club for alcohol? However, I certainly understand they must abide by the rules and thus to my great disappointment I have missed several shipments and forced to wait the next day or even the day AFTER next. Once after coming home to find the “sorry we missed you” sticker on my door, I drove around the neighborhood in hopes that I would spot the brown truck. On another such occasion, I spotted an UPS truck delivering a package to a nearby auto parts store. I quickly made a left hand turn, went into the store, found the UPS guy and asked him if he had my wine by chance. He did not. I bet that UPS is as equally annoyed with me that I am not home to sign, not to mention the fact that my crazy dog shows his teeth and begins to foam at the mouth at the mere sight of his truck.

The selections have been from wineries that I have not yet had a chance to visit or even taste. I love reading the included newsletter which has interesting details about the wine and vineyard. I keep my newsletters and make notes on how I felt about the wine. They never send bad wine, but occasionally I’ve run across something that didn’t quite excite my palate. Conversely, I’ve discovered a few wines I would buy again and again. July’s selection, 2009 Charval, from Tarara Winery is one such discovery. This is a really light, easy to drink white wine for everyone to enjoy. The type of wine you want to have on hand for any occasion. I highly recommend that if you love wine and want to learn more about Virginia Wine consider a membership or give the gift that keeps on giving.

To Spit or Not to Spit

After an intense four weeks of orienting new freshmen and transfer students, I knew it was would be time for another great winery excursion. I was again joined by two motivated research assistants; my sister and her best friend. We drove to the western side of Charlottesville to visit King Family Vineyards, Pollak Vineyards, and Veritas Vineyard & Winery. We packed a delicious picnic filled with fresh summer vegetables, accompanied by a box of fried chicken purchased from Wayside Takeout. I learned about this legendary dive from Garden and Gun magazine. Since we vicariously view ourselves as writers for a great southern magazine, we knew it was a must. They are conveniently located and didn’t disappoint us with their fried goodness.

After a brief unintended tour of downtown Charlottesville and a quick jaunt on I-64, we arrived to the beautiful grounds and charming tasting room of King Family Vineyards. Their wine selection offers something for everybody! I thought I was wowed last summer by Barboursville, but I must say King Family Vineyards impressed me as much if not perhaps more. I really enjoyed all of their wine including their dessert wine, Loreley 2008. We all agreed the Cabernet Franc 2009 was a favorite among the reds. For our picnic, we picked a perfect pairing with their Brut 2007 (not part of the tasting) and Crose 2009, their rosé with a cute play on words using Crozet, VA. A very close runner up was Roseland, a Chardonnay/Viognier Blend. I had a limited budget for this trip, so I did not buy as much as I would have liked, but I knew I had to have the Cabernet Franc and made great mental notes for future purchases. It was hard to leave without more wine in hand. Fortunately, my research assistants helped contribute to the local economy with their purchases.

Just down the way, you’ll find Pollak Vineyards. We really had a lot of fun at Pollak Vineyard. In this very cool tasting room, our pourer made us feel really comfortable and at ease. We took the opportunity to ask questions about how to better taste our wine. We held the wine in our mouths and attempted to slurp without looking ridiculous. We still need more practice. I really enjoyed their 2008 Petit Verdot and purchased a bottle of their 2009 Pinot Gris.

Our final destination was Veritas Vineyard and Winery. Another beautiful location! By the time we arrived, I was feeling the heat from our humid summer day and feeling the wine. I remember very little and embarrassed to say that I had to bow out of the tasting at some point. I guess this why professionals opt to spit. I’ve never understood spitting until now. I know I would lack grace in this area, but then again I’m not sure I appeared so graceful when I bowed out of the tasting either. You can choose your tasting by white wine flight, red wine flight or showcase tasting. I bet they have some really nice wine. I noticed this weekend that our local wine shop carries several of their varieties. I'm excited that I can try some of their wine...again.

Interesting Things Happening in Wine

Now that I have made wine a hobby and passion of mine, I often run across interesting articles or my pal Count Dakkar sends me links to new gadgets in wine. Most notably has been the recent location announcement of the 2011 American Wine Bloggers Conference. Who knew the wine bloggers had their own conference?!? Next July, Charlottesville will play host to hundreds of wine bloggers, industry types and hacks like me for an event that is sure to include a major wine hangover. The conference cost is fairly reasonable, so perhaps I will attend and start taking my little blog to the next level. The agenda and program content might have you signing up to attend as well.
http://winebloggersconference.org/america/agenda/

This summer Virginia Wine has hit mainstream media. The word is getting out folks, so if you live in Virginia, but haven’t taken much interest in the great wines offered, you need to do so!
Wine Spectator Article of Virginia Viogniers:
http://www.virginiawine.org/system/datas/251/original/Enticing_Virginia_Viogniers_Wine_Spectator_James_Molesworth.pdf?1278100215

Virginia Wine makes the Today show!
Jefferson Vineyards
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/#37972620

Kluge Cru and Sparkling Wine
(Warning: This one is a little more painful as you have to sit through Kathy Lee and Hoda gabbing.)
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/37062589#37062589

Totally random and in French...
How to open a wine bottle with a shoe video clip.
http://www.wimp.com/wineshoe/

There is so much to say about this article! I didn’t realize buying alcohol was so difficult in Pennsylvania. And I thought Virginia took their liquor laws seriously!
http://gizmodo.com/5582439/hope-your-bottle-doesnt-get-stuck-in-this-wine-vending-machine

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!