I finally cashed in on a long standing and oft postponed invite to join a couple of friends for a visit to some wineries in Virginia over last weekend. I'm sure we could have had a great day with Maryland Wineries, but this day was for Virginia. Although the weather started out iffy, it turned out to be a lovely day. We hooked up in DC with no particular issues with driving (for once) and then headed west on 66 with no particular driving issues (for once), past the battlefield areas into the low foothills and turned off on St. Route 55. Virginia just has a great feel to it. Just minutes off the bustle of I66, there are wonderful little (and large) farms, gorgeous old and new houses (well, the older ones get nod, the McMansions just look out of place). We wound around, up and down and finally arrived at Vintage Ridge Winery near Rectortown, VA. They’ve been growing grapes for about ten years, and have been open for about four. Like all wineries these days, they cater to “tastings” and visitors. In fact, we learned that 100% of their sales are at the winery (and through the wine club). We had a long discussion with the owner about the state of wine shipping restrictions, which we here in Maryland know all too well.
At any rate you come through the front of the winery
With the usual winery stuff which by now should be familiar to all
Then you enter a lovely patio overlooking green hills and fields.
Vintage Ridge has taken a little twist on the usual “tasting” scenario. As readers will know, most places you belly up to a bar, get a little sheet and a glass, then a carefully metered pour of wine and the spiel from the wine person, next wine, note the raspberry current overtones yadda yadda, next wine, citrus melon, yadda yadda, five bucks please. Valley Ridge has taken the tack that you might enjoy some food with the wine, so with their tasting you get a little tray of bites. Our “tasting” plate consisted of rhubarb chutney with Manchego cheese, ; Double Cream cheese; a Little roll of chicken (with mustard sauce); a little bit of blue cheese and a cheddar; some lovely spiced pecans; and the date with cream cheese. Of course if you’re hungry you might end up with nothing by the second wine, so some restraint is necessary. The serving person will give you suggestions as to which morsel goes with which wine. I thought it was a great idea.
Or, you can bypass the tasting and just get a full glass and the owner will fix up a some things that go with that wine..
We tasted our way through six wines, 3 reds (Syrah, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot) and the rest whites (“Maiden Voyage”, “Summer Nights”, and a late harvest Vidal Blanc). The whites were all good “quaffing” wines, perfect for setting on the patio on a pleasant spring day, sipping, munching and chatting. Reds of course are a bit more of a challenge in our region, and we thought the Cab Franc was probably the best we tried. The ’07 Petit Verdot showed some promise, but I think a little more time in the bottle would help ease the tannins, although it certainly was drinkable. My friend was a relatively frequent visitor and we had a chance to chat with the owners, who are doing this after original careers. Sitting and sipping and chatting is one thing, but mowing several acres, pruning, harvesting, aging, and all the other just plain hard work is another.
Vintage Ridge is a great experience, aided by some pretty good wines. I would gladly return anytime and you should go also if you get the chance. Upon leaving we noticed one of the hard working employees..
We next went to Aspen Dale at the Barn winery, situated on a 200 year old estate near Delaplane, VA. Their tasting room was within one of the old buildings, and so was a bit dark. They were more of the standard tasting format although they did give you a little pre-packaged dish of things to taste with the wines. Unfortunately, they were about the size of an aspirin tablet, so you couldn’t really taste much. We were urged for instance to take a bit of the white chocolate chip, chew a bit then put the Sauvignon Blanc in your mouth. Well, okay, sooooo….. There we tasted 5 wines, two reds, two whites and a rosé. Standard varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Vidal/SB; and the rosé was a Vidal/Cabernet Sauvignon. Each of their wines had a “name” such as Rockawalkin’(the Cab) and all featured horses on the label. Their grounds were pleasant, and getting a bottle and going outside is probably the way to go, at least in good weather.
We had another interesting conversation with the assistant winemaker (retired Navy). They don’t use much fruit from their property, but are heading in that direction. Unlike Vintage Ridge, they do ship wine where laws permit. He recounted what hoops had to be jumped through just to ship a few bottles to Florida for instance. What a nightmare for these folks.
So ended the first half of our trip. Both experiences made me think again about “pairing” of the wines. Vintage Ridge sort of builds their tasting experience around that, with suggestions on the tasting sheet, and Aspen Dale goes a little in that direction. I remain ambivalent on the whole subject of “pairing”. As I have said many times I’m sure you can screw up or eliminate any taste of the wine with something, but if you think a little, I don’t think you can go wrong. I won’t argue about Sauterne’s and Stilton, but I don’t subscribe to this “perfect” pairing business. Just enjoy the damn wine and the food. Maybe I need some coaching..
Anyway more tomorrow…
and we certainly were
DFT(asting0
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