Foxy Lady Lost in Purple Haze While Wandering All Along the Watchtower of Castles in the Sky. Now, ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy

It’s been quite a while since we last visited Three Fox Vineyards, and a big part of the reason for that is that our first visit didn’t leave much of an impression on us.  We decided that it was time for a revisit.  Our wine preferences have evolved, and we both now have a better sense of why we do or do not like certain wines, so the theory was that we’d be better able to figure out how we feel about the Three Fox wines.

Our tasting consisted of 4 whites, 1 rosé, and 5 reds.  FYI, vintage years weren’t provided on the tasting notes or by our pourer, so I can’t provide any such details.

Our tasting began with the Leggero Chardonnay ($22).  I noted crisp tropical notes.  It didn’t rock my world, but it was an okay wine.  The La Boheme Viognier ($26), however, wasn’t working for me at all.  I described it as floral bath water with a weird smoke note.  We then moved on to the Gatto Bianco ($23), a blend of chard and viggy with a touch of residual sugar (less than 1%, I believe).  I don’t normally gravitate towards lightly sweet whites, but the pineapple flavors were nice.  Had I been in the market for a campfire wine, this one would have been in the running.  The final white was the Appassionata Vidal ($21), a with 3% residual sugar.  It struck me as a generic sweet vidal with plenty of floral notes.  Before we moved to the reds, we tasted the Cano Pazo non-vintage rosé ($23), a blend of red wines and chard with approximately 1% residual sugar.  It offered soft berry flavors, but struck me as somewhat generic and unexciting.

The first of the reds was the Signor Sangiovese Reserve ($28).  I noticed soft cherry notes with a touch of earth.  It struck me as a solid wine that was a bit pricey for what it was.  We then tried the Volpe Sangiovese ($26), a blend of 75% sangiovese, 20% cab franc, and 5% chambourcin.  It was definitely the fruitier of the two wines, but it struck me as a bit muddy as opposed to layered.  The Piemontese Nebbiolo ($29) was next.  This wine also struck me as being a bit muddy, but I did note some earthy notes along with soft red fruit.  Since I think this was an ’09, I was surprised by how approachable (not overly tannic) it was.  The final dry red was the La Trovatella Merlot ($26).  Again, the wine didn’t grab me and make me take notice – instead, I just noted smooth fruit with a hint of spicy oak.  The tasting ended with the Rooso Doce Chambourcin, a “port alternative, without the high alcohol content” ($29 for 375ml).  It has 6% residual sugar, and I noted plenty of sweet raspberry flavor with a hint of acid on the finish.

This visit didn’t do a lot to convince me to make another visit anytime soon.  Some wines were muddy or struck me as a bit off, but most of the wines just struck me as generic and fairly forgettable.  That said, there seemed to be a lot of great outdoor space, and many people clearly like to hang out at the property.  Given that, the lack of a return visit from me won’t be a problem.  Oh well, not everyplace can work for me.

 

Winery Rejects Lemon-Infused, Dog-Themed Dessert Wine As No One Wants to Drink Yellow Lab

In the wake of the Fauquier County debacle, we decided to make it a point to visit some county wineries that we hadn’t been back to in a while.  One of the wineries near the top of that list was Barrel Oak Winery.  Since we’re not into crowds, we made it a point to arrive early in the day when things are typically calmer so that we could more easily focus on the wine.  Barrel Oak offers 3 tasting options: the BOW tasting, the WOW tasting, or the whole shebang.  As is typical for us, we opted for the full tasting so that we could get the best sense of BOWs offerings.

Our tasting began with the ’10 BOWHaus White ($23), a blend of vidal and sauv blanc.  This wine was not working for me, I noted flat, sweet floral notes and found it fairly forgettable.  We then moved on to the ’11 seyval ($23).  On the day we visited, they were also pouring the ’10 seyval as a point of comparison.  The ’10 struck me as a bit flat and watery, but I noted light citrus and some hay.  The ’11 was much brighter on the nose.  Floral and citrus notes stood out to me, but it was a bit flat on the palate with a hint of noticeable alcohol on the finish.

The ’10 reserve viognier ($29) was next, and it was among my favorite wines tasted.  I noticed honeysuckle and soft tropical fruit. There was a hint of butter on the finish from the oak aging, but the oak wasn’t too dominant.  That said, this isn’t my preferred style of viggy.  The ’10 barrel chardonnay ($28) was full of apple and vanilla noted with a hint of nutty butter on the finish.  Again, this isn’t my preferred style, but it was a very well made wine that would probably show better with food.

The ’11 rosé ($24) was up next.  It’s a blend of cab franc, cab sauv, petit verdot, and merlot.  When I saw the deep color of the wine, I thought it might be sweet, but I was happy to find it dry.  It offered a rich nose with deep berry flavors.  It was a fun, fruity red with a hint of pepper.  It drank like  chilled red, and if we were hanging out at BOW with friends, this would have been my bottle of choice.  The ’10 BOWHaus Red ($26), a blend of chambourcin, merlot, syrah, and malbec, is what I think of as a non-red drinkers red.  It offered tons of approachable red fruit with a bit more of an earthy nose than I expected.  The wine wasn’t amazing, but it was solid, and might work when you want a red and you’re with people who normally find them too tannic (or “dry” as many would describe it).

The ’09 merlot ($29), offered a lot of berry flavor with a hint of smokiness from the oak.  There was something about this wine that called up the Gray Ghost reds for me – I’m not sure what it was…maybe something with the oak.  It wasn’t my style, but it was another solid wine.  The ’11 norton ($29), however wasn’t working for me.  Despite having some cab sauv blended in, all I was getting was a grape kool-aid nose and hubba bubba bubble gum on the palate.  While I like norton, I look for examples with a bit more going on.

The tasting ended with 2 wines with some residual sugar.  The first was the ’11 Peanuts Petit Cuvee ($23), a blend of late harvest vidal, vidal, cab sauv, and norton with 3% residual sugar.  It was a sweet floral wine with a touch of fruit, and it struck me as a great sangria base, but I wouldn’t want to drink it on its own.  The final wine was the Chocolate Lab ($35 for 375ml).  It was described as a port-style chambourcin infused with cocoa nibs, and it had 6% residual sugar and clocked in at 16.5% abv.  I wasn’t noting any of the chocolate influence, I just tasted a sweet red…again, not working for me.

At the end of the day, BOW is still not my favorite winery to visit.  I like places that are quieter, and for the money, there are many other VA wines I prefer since these are definitely on the pricey side.  That said, we’ve got some friends who want to meet up at a winery and bring their dog (when GEG is feeling better and back on wine), and BOW is at the top of our list for that.

As a final note, I want to mention that BOW has opened a second tasting room next door: The John Marshall Tasting Experience at Oak Hill Estate.  We’ve yet to go because it’s really pricey.  There are 5 different tastings where a flight of wines are paired with small bites, and the flights range from $25 to $75 per person.  The $25 Circuit flight is off-dry and semi-sweet whites from the Piedmont region of VA.  This is the option we can best afford, but it’s also the one that least interests me.  The $35 Superior flight is comprised of “dryer reds and whites from the Virginia Piedmont region.”  The $55 Appellate flight, is where I start getting interested (and priced out).  This is flight of the “best of Virginia.”  The final two flights are the Supreme Reds and Supreme Whites ($75 each) where top wines from VA are compared and contrasted with wines from other parts of the world.  If you’ve been, or go, let us know what you think.  At some point we hope to check it out, but it’s a lot of money for us to spend for an hour or so…

 

Vampire Danger at Wineries Rated High Due to Dark Cellars Full of Folks Who Don’t Smell Like Garlic

Let’s start with another apology about our unexpected summer hiatus.  It’s been a long summer for us, and unfortunately, wine has played very little part in it.  Given that, we haven’t had a ton to talk about.  What we have had to talk about hasn’t been particularly inspiring to write about since we’d basically be talking about wine we’re not drinking.  I’m hoping that we’re starting to settle back into a routine, but either way, I want to work through our backlog of notes.  I’m hoping that it will remind me why I get so excited about wine along the way.

Anyway, a long time ago (in other words, in the early part of the summer), we took some friends with us to visit Linden Vineyards.  It was before the Fauquier BOS kerfuffle (see here, here, here, here, and here), but regardless of how you feel about Jim Law’s public stance, it’s hard to deny that he’s done a lot for the VA wine industry and produces consistently high quality wine.

When you get to Linden, most people start with the basic tasting at the tasting bar.  This is where you’ll taste the non-vineyard designate wines (typically 5).  Since we made 2 visits only a few weeks apart, we got to taste 8 different wines, so I’ll talk about all of them.

The ’10 seyval ($20) is where both tastings began. I’m not a huge seyval fan, but I appreciated the crisp lemon and pear notes in this one.  I wasn’t clamoring to bring any home with me, but I’d gladly enjoy a bottle were the opportunity to arise.  The ’11 rosé ($18) was the next wine in each tasting.  Unlike most rosés, this wine spent some time in oak.  I didn’t notice anything that screamed oak to me, but I did notice lightly tart cherry/berry flavors.  There were also some floral notes (think fruit blossoms) along with some herbal notes (thyme and mint).  I really wanted to pair this wine with a light dinner of quiche, salad, etc. The next wine we tasted, on one visit, was the ’10 chardonnay ($22).  This was not a typical Linden chard.  I noticed a lot more oak, and the tasting note of “creamsicle” seemed pretty accurate to me.  It made me think CA chard, and it was just not what I look for.  (2010 just wasn’t a great year for crisp whites.)

True dat.

Across our two visits, we got to try both the ’09 and ’10 claret ($24).  The ’09 is a blend of 38% cab sauv, 25% merlot, 22% petit verdot, 10% cab franc, and 5% carmenere while the ’10 is a bend of 46% merlot, 31% cab sauv, 15% petit verdot, and 8% cab franc. The ’09 was more my preference, but the ’10 was a fairly new release, so it mostly struck me as really young and needing more time in the bottle.  The ’09 offered plenty of dark fruit on the nose along with some of the earthy forest floor notes I so enjoy.  It’s not as elegant or integrated as the single vineyard blends, but I found it enjoyable, and it had heft without being heavy.  The ’10 was still very tannic, and I noted chocolate and rosemary in addition to the dark fruit as well as some smokey notes.  We also got to taste the ’08 petit verdot ($28) on one of our visits .  This wine struck me as having some nice layering of the dark berry, plum, and earthy elements.

Each of our tastings ended with the vidal riesling ($19) – the ’09 on our first visit and the ’10 on our second.  The ’09 had less than 1% residual sugar, and likely because of that, really grabbed my attention.  I noted minerals and bright stone fruit along with a hint of citrus.  The ’10 had 3% residual sugar (to keep it balanced).  I noticed mango and other tropical fruit flavors, but it just struck me as being like a white fruit punch.  I wanted more acid…darn 2010!

After this tasting, we signed up for the cellar tasting where we’d get to try some of the vineyard designate wines.  If you’re there on a weekend, it’s definitely worth the extra time and money as these are always my favorites, and most of what comes home with us are these types of reserve wines.  While we waited for our time slot, we shared a bottle of ’11 Avenius sauv blanc since I thought our friends would be fans and it wasn’t going to part of the cellar tasting.  It offered boxwood and citrus notes, and the acid had already settled down some since we tasted it on the final day of taste camp.

During our visit, 7 different wines were part of the cellar tasting.  We began with a 3 year vertical of the Avenius chardonnay ($28 each).  The fruit for the ’07 was picked on the early side, so the heat and drought conditions from that year didn’t have a big influence on this wine.  Floral notes with a hint of vanilla characterized the nose for me, and it initially struck me as a bit stark and minerally.  As I sipped, I noticed some creamy peach and a hint  of creamsicle.  I enjoyed the wine and appreciate the soft acidity that served as a backbone for this wine.  The ’08 was my least favorite.  Apparently the growing season was uneven, and it had the most prominent oak influence of the three.  I got toasted oak and tropical fruits on the nose and found rounded fruit flavors and oak/vanilla on the palate.  I look for crisp minerality from Avenius wines, and I wasn’t finding it here.  The ’09 was still young, and someone (maybe our tasting guide, maybe one of my companions) described it as “layered but not yet integrated,” but I like what resulted form this steady growing season.  I noticed tropical and lemon notes on the nose along with a hint of toast as you’d find with toasted nuts.  On the palate, I noted a round mouth feel while the wine also retained a hint of “steelyness.”  The fruit was mostly lemon with hints of creamy tropical fruits.  This was my favorite of the 3.

The tasting then moved on to reds from each of the 3 vineyards from 3 different years: ’06 Avenius Red ($38), 09 Boisseau Red ($38), and ’07 Hardscrabble Red ($42).  The Avenius site is the coolest of the three, and was described as producing “feminine” wines.  In this blend of 79% petit verdot and 21% cab sauv, I noted cranberry and cedar along with some soft herbal and eucalyptus notes.  It struck me as being a very bright wine that wasn’t particularly earthy or tannic.  The Boisseau site is the warmest, and was described as producing “masculine” and “approachable” wines.  The ’09 was a blend of 43% merlot, 31% cab franc, and 26% petit verdot.  I noted a cooked cherry nose with a hint of floral.  Chocolate joined the party on the palate (leaning more towards milk than dark chocolate.  All the fruit gave the wine a slightly sweet element, and it struck as all as being a great paring for pizza or tomato based Italian dishes.  The Hardscrabble site typically produces my favorite reds – the soil is incredibly rocky, and the vines always struggle.  I don’t exactly what it is about this site, but the Hardscrabble wines always seem to have an earthy element that just does it for me.  The ’07 is a blend of 58% cab sauv, 21% merlot, 9% cab franc, 8% petit verdot, and 4% carmenere.  The nose was a great blend of earthyness, wild berries, and mushroom.  As I sipped, it struck me as soft and well integrated with some chocolate (and maybe coffee) notes on the finish.  I really appreciated that this wine wasn’t as fruit driven as most of the ’07 reds I’ve encountered.

The cellar tasting ended with the ’06 late harvest vidal paired with a savory bite (toast with a double cream brie and pear chutney).  I’m really not into dessert wines these days, so I wasn’t inspired to buy any, but this is quality wine if your tastes trend this way.  The nose struck me as baked dessert with a hint of nuttiness, and apricot jam, stone fruit, and orange flavors came in on the palate.  It worked incredibly well with the savory bite – it really brought out some great cooked pear noted in the wine.  Also, I never would have guessed that this wine had 11% residual sugar since it was so well balanced.

As you might expect, we left with a bunch of wine (that’s why we only make it to Linden once or twice a year – it’s fiscally dangerous.  If you visit, let us know what you think of the current wines on the tasting menu.

 

Tipsy Pooh Arrested for Riding Eeyore on Primary Road, Winery Halts Hunny Sales

I hate to sound like a cynic, but when we visit a winery that’s a relatively recent addition to the VA wine scene, we often go in with fairly low expectations.  It’s not that we don’t think that there will be new, high quality wineries opening throughout the state.  rather, we just recognize that it can take a while for the quality and consistency of the wines to be there, and since new wineries often work with fruit they purchase elsewhere, that’s another variable that comes into play.  You’d think that these modest expectations mean that we’re pretty happy with what we find, but what we want is to have a winery surprise us.

It doesn’t happen often, but I recently had just such a reaction when we visited  Granite Heights Orchard & Winery.  When we arrived, we found that they had 6 wines for sale and were offering tastings of 5 of them.  The second thing I noticed was that the reds were all from 2008.  A new winery selling ’08s is unheard of!  Clearly, this was a different business model.  In chatting with Carole, the woman leading our tasting, we learned that Luke, the owner/winemaker, was a perfectionist who didn’t want to release wines before their time.  We also learned that Lucie Morton is their vineyard consultant (although only about 10% of the grapes for the wine come from their own fruit at the moment).  So far, things sounded good, and I was definitely curious to try the wines.

Our tasting began with the ’11 rosé ($19) since they’d recently sold out of their chard and hadn’t yet released their petit manseng.  This rose is a blend of petit verdot and merlot with a residual sugar in the 2-3% range.  I got a sweet berry nose and generic sweet fruity flavors on the palate.  I prefer a much crisper, and definitely dry, rosé, so this wasn’t the wine for me, and dimmed some of my enthusiasm.  Things got a bit better for me with the ’08 Evening Seranade ($15), a blend of 52% cab franc, 40% merlot, and 8% cab sauv.  I got a lot of cherry on the nose, but the cherry was run over by what I perceived as raw oak notes on the palate.  I definitely got the cab franc, but I wanted a bit more layering of flavor and softer oak.

When I got to the next wine, I realized that in your face oak wasn’t what I’d find in every wine.  The ’08 merlot ($15) offered plenty of berries on the nose, and the oak, while present, wasn’t as noticeable.  This isn’t a big, in your face merlot, but it was an enjoyable wine that softened with time and is definitely ready to drink when you buy it (rather than needing a year or two on your rack).  The ’08 Lomax Reserve, ($15), a blend of 80% cab sauv, 10% merlot, and 10% can franc, was my winner for the day.  It offered an earthy plum and dark berry nose.  On the palate, the fruit was joined by some herbal notes and hints of dark fruit.  I think this wine would play better with food than on its own, and I look forward to putting that to the test in the future.

The 5th wine on the tasting sheet, the ’08 End of the Road ($15), a blend of 70% cab franc, and 30% merlot, wasn’t being poured, as they rotate between this and the Lomax to keep their tasting small enough that you can really get to know the wines.  So we moved on to the Ashby ($19 for 375ml), a port-style wine made with touriga grapes.  On the nose, all I noticed was the brandy, and the brandy was joined by some dried fruit flavors once I tasted it.  I wasn’t in love, but I’m also a really bad judge of port-style wines in the summer heat.

I wouldn’t say this winery has really come into its own yet, but I’m curious to see what they do over the next few years.  I’m also curious to try a white wine or two so that I can get a sense of style with more than the reds.  Since they intend to rotate the wines on their tasting menu with some frequency, we’ll have to make sure we get back in the not too distant future to check things out.

 

Message from Undercover Bloggers: We Weren’t the People Sitting Next to You and Tweeting During the BoS Meeting

For those of you who don’t follow us on twitter (VWD = @SwirlSipSnark and GEG = @GrapeEnvyGuy) or weren’t on twitter to see our live tweets of the Thursday night Fauquier BoS meeting, we figured we’d provide the transcript here. 

There’s outrage, drama, humor, snark – everything you’ve come to expect from us. 

FYI, we did take a few liberties with the exact order of the tweets so that you could follow the conversation thread, but I think you’ll be able to forgive us.

VA Wine Diva’s tweets are indicated by  SSS and Grape Envy Guy’s tweets are indicated by GEG.  Tweets from anyone else are prefaced by their twitter handle.

__________________

SSS: Looks like even with closed circuit tv rooms, the Fauquier BoS meeting is going to be standing room only #vawine

@PCWinery: Testimony just started, standing room only, here we go……

SSS: the farm winery ordinance is finally being presented and discussion will soon begin #vawine

@PCWinery: Rumor behind the scenes is vote will be 4 to 1 against wineries ……

SSS: Public comments have started #vawine

GEG: Every time Oasis gets bitch slapped take a drink #FootlooseCounty

SSS: RT @GrapeEnvyGuy Every time Oasis gets bitch slapped take a drink #FootlooseCounty <– glad you made it…where’s the booze?

GEG: @swirlsipsnark I’m buying a cane w/ a hidden cognac bottle for future meetings

@PCWinery: Fox meadow just asked one of the board members to recuse himself because he is a competitor who sells wine

GEG: Folks are coming out swinging. Good.

SSS: …hasn’t the Marterella case already made it through court? #vawine

GEG: People need defended from the “massive wine industry.” Mmhmm.

@VAWineNose: Just like they need defended from jobs. Wish it was “massive”, then they’d have to find someone their own size to pick on.

GEG: @VAWineNose you aren’t kidding!

SSS: since when is the #vawine industry a Goliath?

GEG: @swirlsipsnark BLOC = bitter landowner council

GEG: RT @swirlispsnark ..hasn’t the Marterella case already made it through court? #vawine <– dead horses don’t squirm

GEG: RT @swirlsipsnark since when is the #vawine industry a Goliath? <-truth is what they say it is

SSS: RT @GrapeEnvyGuy @swirlsipsnark BLOC = bitter landowner council <– too true!

GEG: Lady in the room next to me is clearly an anti-winery mean girl. Shut it and let the grownups talk

SSS: @GrapeEnvyGuy I lied about who I was so I didn’t have to deal with her too much

GEG: Omg someone saying we should base policy on data. You pinko!

GEG: Mean girl thinks last speaker shouldn’t have opinion b/c she has a non-VA (northeast) accent. Just in case you doubted what this was about.

@PCWinery: Kate Marterella just took the stage! Go Kate!

GEG: Mean grrl hates her some Kate Marterella. Mocking a spouse who passed on is f’d up lady.

GEG: Do y’all believe Kate that her neighbors harassed her? Yeah me too.

GEG: It’s muthaf***ing Jim Law… wait, he’s for the ordinance? Shit

@PCWinery: Jim Law, Linden Vineyards just spoke in favor of the ordinance and against the wineries!!!!

SSS: Jim Law came out in favor of ordinance #vawine

@WineAboutVa: RT @swirlsipsnark Jim Law came out in favor of ordinance: Jim, not everyone can make a go of it like you have

GEG: .@WineAboutVA clearly he feels that bootstrapping your way to good wine isn’t ok

@TLColson: he’s entitled to his opinion, but Damn…

GEG: @TLColson yeah, not cool. At all.

@VAWineNose:  @SwirlSipSnark Jim Law is doing his own thing…

SSS: @VAWineNose it doesn’t surprise me at all, but not everyone had his financial options at startup either

SSS: the reality is that we all have to live with some noise from neighbors – adopt a db standard so it’s enforceable #vawine

@keswickvineyard: Hope they follow what the Albemarle BOS did, we have a set db standard now hich makes it easier to comply with & enforce

SSS: @keswickvineyard I’d love that, but there’s so much more in this ordinance and the county politics are just screwy

GEG: Lesson: don’t be a dick or your neighbors  will kneecap you. Come on, son.

Supervisor Peter Schwartz plots the course of the evening

GEG: Wait, Schwartz hung out at Vintage Ridge?

SSS: So far we’re at 8 against and 4 for (the public not the BoS) #vawine

GEG: Apparently to neighbors, Pearmund is the new Oasis. Who knew?

SSS: Man…Pearmund really seems to be a problem for the neighbors #vawine

SSS: Most recent speaker doesn’t support it but wants more restriction #vawine

SSS: RT @TLColson What Fauquier County BOS does tonight will guide #vawine in the county for the future. We need a NO vote!

@PCWinery: Jim Dolphin, delaplane cellars just proclaimed the ordinance will put it out of business

GEG: I just fell in love w/ an older lady. Truth to power what? #vawine

GEG: Speaker called out pick your own farms for doing the same stuff wineries getting banged for #vawine

GEG: Damn Rectortown represent!

GEG: Current chica thinks all wineries MUST make all their wine on site. Custom crush of your fruit would be illegal #badidea

@TLColson: @GrapeEnvyGuy is she in the business? Why is that even relevant?

GEG: @TLColson grasping at straws?

@TLColson:  perhaps she needs a straw… In a custom crush bottle of viognier.

GEG: @TLColson she wouldn’t appreciate it. 7-11 sells Mad Dog 20/20

GEG: Warning to all, I’ve been up since 4. Getting punchy. Filter is going away,

GEG: Round dude doesn’t get the Farm Winery definition and he calls the BoS honorable. But, he agrees they need to vote no. 1/3 ain’t bad.

GEG: Former GM of @barreloak owned those bitches! You go!

GEG: Jeepers, someone needs to tell a certain winery owner to stop pooping where he eats. Not helping.

GEG: Dude wants EVERY WINERY to have its own unique laws #smallgovtexceptforyou

SSS: I think we’re up to 17 against and 8 for

GEG: Anyone catch this new winery owner’s name?

SSS: RT @GrapeEnvyGuy Anyone catch this new winery owner’s name? <– I think it was Cliff Taylor

GEG: Yes! This guy is EXACTLY what I’m talking about when I mention bootstrappers and little guys. Don’t screw him and his family, BoS

GEG: Molon Lave employee calls out hypocrisy of letting horse farms do events, camps, and clinics sans oversight #vawine

SSS: We’ve got a non-county speaker representing those of us who spend money here because of #vawine visits

GEG: Hey, it’s Studio Foodie! Check our FB page for a link to her blog

Yes, I already used it once. Recycling saves the planet! -G

GEG: Smart citizen would pick new winery over new subdivision. Don’t the Fauquier signs say preserving agriculture?

@TLColson: @GrapeEnvyGuy that’s just a motto… You took that seriously?

GEG: @TLColson it’s good marketing I guess

GEG: Oh crap mean girl is talking. Hissssssss

SSS: The woman speaking now bragged to me earlier about being part of CFFC a while back when they were nastier #vawine

@VAWineDogs: @SwirlSipSnark CFFC? “The woman speaking now bragged to me earlier about being part of CFFC a while back when they were nastier” #vawine

SSS: @VAWineDogs citizens for Fauquier county – they basically wrote the ordinance

@Virginia_Made: Need rotten grapes from fall 2011 harvest? “@GrapeEnvyGuy: Oh crap mean girl is talking. Hissssssss”

GEG: @Virginia_Made lol. I think a run by fruiting is wholly appropriate here!

@DrinkWhatULike: @GrapeEnvyGuy @SwirlSipSnark Appreciate the BOS updates!

GEG: @DrinkWhatULike I’m firing up in advance if I ever do this again

SSS: RT @GrapeEnvyGuy @DrinkWhatULike I’m firing up in advance if I ever do this again <– you and me both

GEG: Anyone believe MeanGirl that wineries don’t monitor drinking and turn drunk guests onto the roads all day every day?

@vawinetime: @GrapeEnvyGuy @swirlsipsnark Are either of you speaking tonight? Love the updates!

GEG: @vawinetime hell no. I get inappropriate when I’m tired and annoyed. You know that.

GEG: The VA wine Council rep is smart, prepared, and on the right side. Nothing to snark about here

@VApourhouse: @GrapeEnvyGuy Jim Law is an asshole…yea I said it. He voted FOR the proposal …what a rotten prick

GEG: @VApourhouse he clearly feels there is one right way to operate a winery and it’s whatever he’s doing

GEG: @VApourhouse the Jim Law thing feel like walking in on a childhood hero plowing a goat. Sad.

GEG: Omg someone think of the children! They spray vines occasionally! Stfu you pearl clutching maroon.

@vawinetime: Hahaha….do they think the children are in the fields when they spray?!?! Crazy!

GEG: @vawinetime seriously. Keep your demonspawn out of the vines and they’ll be fine. It’s a working farm.

GEG: It’s @pcwinery!

SSS: Philip Carter Strother is using the Supervisors’ own words against them #vawine

GEG: Oh snap. @pcwinery is using BoS quotes against them. Our side haz the Google, fools

GEG: RT @keswickvineyard all TR staff are TIPS trained & learn to recognize if someone has had too much to drink and shouldn’t be served or drive

GEG: Oh fudge. CFFC chick is talking. Is she being honest?

SSS: Now the CFFC rep is up #vawine

@Virginia_Made: Lips moving? Nuff said. “@GrapeEnvyGuy: Oh fudge. CFFC chick is talking. Is she being honest?”

GEG: @Virginia_made my thoughts exactly!

GEG: Of course CFFC likes the ordinance. They wrote it and handed it to their lackeys to rubber stamp #vawine

SSS: Finally, a winery owner says staff are trained not to serve drunks #vawine

GEG: Look, I know we’re on the same side. But wearing an American flag shirt to these things makes you a cartoon. Good points though.

GEG: Why am I still at a government building at 10 pm? Oh right, we can’t trust the Fauquier “media” to do their damn jobs

GEG: “This ordinance resembles a possum that’s been run over one too many times.” There’s your #vawine money quote!

@AndrewMcRoberts: I’ll have to use that one. RT @GrapeEnvyGuy: “This ordinance resembles a possum that’s been run over one too many times.” Via @swirlsipsnark

GEG: .@AndrewMcRoberts I can’t take the credit, that was the owner of Desert Rose Winery

SSS: Another Oasis reference – take another drink

SSS: 25 against, 11 for, and 2 who want even more regulations #vawine

SSS: Yes, non-fauquier residents come for #vawine and spend money on other things as well

SSS: Now the PEC rep is speaking (mostly for local regulation) #vawine

GEG: The @piedmontenviron chick is listing everything wineries do for ag, historic preservation, etc but then says they don’t and need more reg

GEG: @piedmontenviron chick is being duplicitous

GEG: Current speaker says wine tourists better/more considereate drivers than locals #vawine (cityfolk scared by tractors?)

SSS: 2 hours and we’re still talking…and we’re not even to the BoS speaking yet #vawine

GEG: Founder of Piedmont Virginian speaking. Calls current wine industry “entertainment industry”

GEG: Old dude says wineries are sucking value out of Fauquier County.

SSS: current speaker thinks governor is a lousy marketer of beverages #vawine

GEG: Old dude just called @bobmcdonnell a lousy marketer of beverages. Oh snap! #vawine

GEG: @pcwinery’s neighbor is speaking

GEG: Um…if you don’t own the land, you can’t complain about what gets built on it spoiling your views

@kellyannsquilt: @GrapeEnvyGuy bunch of cry babies #vawine

GEG: .@kellyannsquilt yep, Fauquier should be 1,000+ acre estates of fields you just look at #helphelpimbeingrepressed

GEG: Does anyone pay attention to the time limit?

SSS: I’m bored – let’s get to the vote – people seem too tired to be amusing anymore #vawine

GEG: Blue blood alert

GEG: Omg babies at a winery. Won’t someone think of the children!

SSS: RT @GrapeEnvyGuy Omg babies at a winery. Won’t someone think of the children! <–darn – you beat me to that tweet #vawine

@kellyannsquilt: it’s the #vawine that produced the children in the first place

GEG: .@kellyannsQuilt there is a club. We are not in it. #vawine

GEG: Can someone tell @piedmontenviron that conservation isn’t just rich landowners keeping everyone else out?

GEG: The ordinance sucks but we should pass it cuz we need one. Um…did you play spaceman w/ a plastic bag and rubberband as a helmet?

GEG: RT @kellyannsquilt @GrapeEnvyGuy it’s exclusive our noses don’t travel that far up a horses butt #vawine <- money quote #2

GEG: @TLColson I can’t believe I almost joined @piedmontenviron a while back #treehugginghippiefail

SSS: If we can’t have a winery ordinance we like and support, we’ll still take this one #vawine

GEG: Mean girl is being mean. Can I throw and elbow?

SSS: RT @GrapeEnvyGuy Mean girl is being mean. Can I throw an elbow? <– hell yes

@vawinetime: @GrapeEnvyGuy Elbow her good! hehehe

@TLColson: @GrapeEnvyGuy yes. Or an empty.

GEG: “There is evidence we need regs and we can gather it.” Or you could give evidence BEFORE we get a shitty ordinance

SSS: Someone in #vawine is advertising “merlot and massage”? How did I miss this?

GEG: Who is doing Merlot and a Massage? Legs and Eggs is funnier

GEG: I ❤ Betsy Dolphin

SSS: RT @GrapeEnvyGuy I ❤ Betsy Dolphin <– me too!

SSS: Public comment has now ended #vawine

@PCWinery: Peter Schwartz just moved to pass the ordinance, seconded by holder Trumbo—lee sherbeyn is making the case against it

@imkendratoo: @GrapeEnvyGuy Thanks for the updates on the hearing. Does it look as though they’ll be voting anytime soon?

GEG: .@imkendratoo Boss Hogg just moved to approve, seconded, now discussion

GEG: Lee Sherbeyn against. Your beef sticks don’t suck! #vawine

SSS: Sherbeyn is voting to oppose ordinance because he thinks we over regulate and no one on either side likes it #vawine

Supervisor Lee Sherbeyn weighs in

GEG: I should explain. Sherbeyn is a beef farmer. I thought he’d be a voice of reason!

GEG: Mean girl is shooting a look at Sherbeyn that would melt a cast iron skillet #suckithater

GEG: Problem w/your neighbors? Put on big boy pants and work it out. Paraphrasing Sherbeyn #commonsense

GEG: Sherbeyn admits there is NO EVIDENCE of danger of the roads (per local LEOs)

SSS: Sherbeyn wants wineries to have no events (safety concerns) but also thinks we shouldn’t be regulating #vawine

SSS: Now Stribling is up #vawine

GEG: Now we’re whipping out our pedigrees and measuring who’s lived here longest

GEG: Stribling thinks the ordinance is flawed but they need to pass something, so…there it is. Jackanape #vawine

SSS: Stribling says when wineries take away neighbors rights they lose their own #vawine

SSS: Granger says he’s not a rural person as he lives in a Warrenton Subdivision (and he’s a beer person) #vawine

GEG: Omfg Granger: “country people are different. I don’t understand country people.” #vawine

SSS: He hates that wineries are being referred to as roadside bars #vawine

SSS: He has learned that it takes a while to be all about the #vawine

@VAPourhouse:  haha do me a favor give someone a wet Willy on the BoS just for Shits and giggles

GEG: .@VApourhouse I’ll see if @swirlsipsnark can create a distraction

GEG: @VApourhouse there’s a reason I opted not to speak #lynchmob

@VApourhouse: had I not had work obligations tonight I’d have gone and brought the New England charm with me

@VAPourhouse: I’d probably gone off on Jim Law w not so civil words

GEG: .@VApourhouse I get where he’s coming from but that was a dick move

GEG: RT @VApourhouse @GrapeEnvyGuy I don’t and he is still a dick #JudasMove <- word

GEG: Hells bells, looks like Granger is going to be a nutless twit and side with the old guard

SSS: Granger is for it #vawine

SSS: RT @ TLColson @GrapeEnvyGuy #headdesk <– right with you

GEG: So Lone Star, I see your Peter Schwartz is speaking now

SSS: Schwartz thinks the version released at 5pm tonight has finally achieved a balance #vawine

@TLColson: The way the BOS is voting, I assume lawsuits will be filed soon, & Secy of AG may get involved. #idiots I don’t want to pay to defend this

@VAPourhouse: @TLColson no question this is going to be Marterella round two

SSS: @VApourhouse @TLColson this is definitely going to court… #vawine

GEG: Quit pontificating Schwartz my battery is at 10%

SSS: Carried 4 to 1 #vawine

GEG: 4 to 1. Sonofabitch

GEG: If crass language offends you please ignore the next tweet

GEG: What a gutless pack of bought and paid for pigmolesting ass clowns on the Fauquier BoS

GEG: So do I sleep on it or blog angry?

@VApourhouse: both then choose one

GEG: @VApourhouse who am I kidding? Laptop is on.

GEG: Can I point out I made it through the whole meeting w/ no jokes about Schwartz and a Johnson in govt? #allgrowedupiam

 

Renegade Flutist Attacks Winery with an Aqualung

A few weeks ago, we talked about opening a bottle of Hume Vineyards massive 15.1% abv chambourcin.  This led to a discussion via facebook about newly released and soon to be released wines at Hume since they’d sold out of that wine and expected to soon sell out of their “Rockstar” chambourcin (their first estate wine).  Since they had a newly released merlot and would soon be releasing their Detour blend, we decided it was time to plan a visit.  This happened last weekend during their holiday party (in part because we needed to pick up corks for use in our knitting vulture ornaments).

They’re still pouring the ’10 seyval ($19), the ’10 rosé ($18), and the ’10 vidal ($17), and we were probably among the last people to taste the Rockstar before it sold out.  I was primarily interested in the two new wines…and I bet you are as well.

The first of these is the ’09 merlot ($23).  This is a really soft, medium-bodied wine that immediately made me want food to pair with it (lamb in fact – which is darn strange since I’m not a big fan of lamb typically).  I noted some soft fruit notes along with a hint of herbs.  I think it’s that herbal (not green – just herbal) note that made me want some lamb to fair with this wine…we’ve got a bottle, so perhaps we’ll try that out.  If you’re in to large, oaky, fruity merlots, this isn’t the wine for you, but I like the softer, more food-friendly profile this wine offers and want to encourage you to check it out and let us know what you think.

The ’09 Detour, a blend of merlot, petit verdot, and cab sauv ($25), was the other new wine.  My guess is that this will sell really well (the last vintage sure did), but it’s also a wine that could do with some more time in the bottle, so don’t be afraid to keep in on the rack for a while.  It was very tight, but I noted some nice berry notes on the nose and dark berry and cedar on the palate with a hint of cocoa/coffee.  if you have a bottle and plan to drink it soon, some decanting might help, but I plan to wait awhile to open the bottle we brought home – my guess is that it will only get better.

All in all, I’m excited that good things keep coming out of Hume Vineyards.  If you haven’t made it there yet, definitely plan a visit the next time you’re in the area.

 

Long-Dead Postmaster General Possesses Winemaker to Deliver the Goods

As we made our new to us winery tour through parts of NoVa, one of our planned stops was Capitol Vineyards.  I’d heard some internet buzz when they first opened in the late spring as the owners are quite young (twenty somethings, if I remember correctly) and have no winery experience.  I’d also heard about the small, historic, former general store that was serving as the tasting room.  I didn’t remember anything particular about their wines, although I was pretty sure that Michael Shaps was serving as their consultant/winemaker.

The lack of buzz about the wines didn’t excite me, but I know enough to taste the wines and arrive at my own conclusions, so we ambled in to the small, tightly packed tasting room and hoped for the best.  Everyone else in the tasting room seemed to have a Groupon coupon with them which entitled them to a special food and wine pairing tasting (at $20 a person, we weren’t biting).  The one woman working could not keep up, and it definitely didn’t make me want to come back any time soon.  Plus, had I paid $20 for this pairing, I would have been unhappy as it seemed like a Costco sample platter.  I noted some spinach dip, a mini quiche, a brownie bite, etc.

This pic was taken at the end of our tasting when most of the Grouponers had cleared out

Once some clean glasses were located and our pourer had time to make it to our side of the room, we began the tasting with the ’09 traminette ($21).  It offered some spice on the nose along with some citrus and a ton of citrus on the palate.  This wasn’t a wonderful example, but some floral and spice notes both came out as I warmed the too cold wine with hands around my glass.

We then moved on to the reds with the ’09 cab sauv ($23).  Honestly, I worry when a cab sauv is the first red I’m served.  This was a fairly light wine (for a cab), and the oak was more noticeable than I’d like, but there were some nice plum notes.  It wasn’t a bad wine, but it wasn’t great.  We then moved on to the ’09 cab franc ($23), a wine I liked better than the cab sauv.  This is what you’d expect from a cab franc: cherry, black pepper, and some smokey tobacco notes on the finish.  Again, not a rockstar, but fine.

The ’09 merlot ($23) was next.  It had a lot of cherry/berry flavors with some oak and acid on the finish that made me want to put this wine with food – maybe a light beef dish.  The final wine was the ’09 Meritage ($25), a blend of roughly even parts of cab sauv, cab frac, and merlot.  I think this was their strongest offering.  I noted earthy, red fruit (mostly cherry) flavors with a nice acid/oak balance.  I still wasn’t feeling this wine at this price, but it’s definitely the one I’d want to revisit.

The wines here are all fine, but they’re generic.  I don’t really want generic, and if I do, I can get that cheaper at other VA wineries.  This is one of the downsides of custom crush and winemakers who consult for many different people – the wines stop being distinct.  I also don’t think the daily deal site coupons are the friend of a business this new and this small.  They don’t have the staff or space to handle this volume of people, they probably can’t handle the lost revenue of the discount (say the deal was for 50% off, and many sites then take 50% of what people pay), and corners end up being cut (the options for the food pairing and the interaction with customers).  Plus, few people who buy these deals seem to convert into regular/repeat customers.

I always pull for new wineries to make it, but they’ve got to get the service dialed in if they want it to work.  They also need to find ways to make their wines show well and as distinct…unfortunately, this is a problem a number of wineries are starting to run into.

 

Mad Scientist Mates American Bison with Fruity Pencil Shavings

When our lives are under control and we’re focused on living healthy lives, we menu plan every week so that we always know what we’ll be eating for our meals during the week.  Lately I don’t think anyone could say we’ve been poster children for a healthy lifestyle, and our work lives have been so out of control that we’ve rarely thought about dinner plans until we’re both gnawing on the woodwork.  Thankfully, I’ve come to the end of two weeks of meeting hell, we’ve got the house back under control, and we’re ready to eat well again.

Since we hadn’t thought about dinner in advance, we were limited to what we had in the freezer or pantry and what we could easily pick up at our not so well stocked local stores.  Thankfully, we had a bison steak in the feezer and foudn some sweet potatoes and green beans that were reasonably fresh at the store.  Before you knew it, we had a dinner of bison with a quick pan sauce, green beans, and sweet potato oven fries.  Given the red meat, I headed over to the wine rack to look at some of our bigger reds.  I quickly settled on the idea of a petit verdot, and after some negotiation between Grape Envy Guy and myself, we settled on a bottle of the ’06 Linden Vineyards petit verdot, actually a blend of 80% petit verdot and 20% cabernet franc.

We’re trying to get better about decanting big wines that can benefit from the aeration, so I popped the cork and checked on the wine.  I expected a well made wine, but I was amazed by how smooth and mellow this wine had become – no decanting needed here.  I noted some acidic dark berries on the nose with a hint of pencil shavings.  As I sipped it, I noted more graphite along with plenty of plum and some blackberry.

I enjoyed the wine on its own, but the acid really made me want to pair it with some food – thankfully dinner was ready.  When paired with the meat, I noted more graphite and leather and less fruit, and the acid was toned down a fair bit but really brightened up the meal.  This was a winner of a night all around.

 

 

Chupacabra Heard Dismissing Viggy Paired With Brie as “Loco”

As Grape Envy Guy told you last week, we visited Delaplane Cellars to  try their special Maggie’s Vineyard viognier tasting.  Once we’d tasted the wines, we decided to stick around for a while and enjoy the nice day and the gorgeous view while enjoying some wine and snacks on the patio.  After considering our options, we decided to go with the ’09 LoCo Viongier and the Delaplane sampler platter.  Honestly, we just wanted to enjoy some nice wine and each others company while fulfilling a snack craving, but it gave us the chance to also spend some time with a new to us wine and experiment with an array of potential food pairings.

First, the wine….

Delaplane offers an array of complex, grown up viogniers.  This one is a nice wine, but it’s not as complex or intellectually demanding as the Honah Lee or the Maggie’s.  That said, I don’t find this to be a problem – despite my self-proclaimed intellectual tendencies, sometimes you just want a solid glass of wine.  You get that with the LoCo – it’s a solid viggy!  I noted a ton of honeysuckle along with some subtle orange cream notes in the background.  I enjoyed sipping this wine, and the wine we didn’t drink at Delaplane, was still quite enjoyable the next night when I had a glass after dinner.

Now the food….

The sampler platter was perfect for us since we couldn’t make up our minds about what to order.  It was made up of local bread from a secret source (referred to as crack bread by a woman tasting next to us), sausage from Croftburn Farms, chutney from the Virginia Chutney Company (spicy plum, I think), and 3 kinds of cheese (french Brie, Caramont goat cheese, and Oak Spring Dairy cheddar.  I am not a sausage person – summer or otherwise – and even I love the summer sausage from Croftburn.  It’s fairly lean, and it’s incredibly well seasoned.  I’m also a longtime fan of Caramont goat cheeses and these chutneys.  You must try these local agricultural products!

Now the wine and cheese….

Honestly, the Williams Gap would have been a better choice for this platter.  This surprises me a bit given the extent to which I associate Delaplane with viognier.  The brie was almost too creamy, the cheddar was only okay, the chevre worked pretty well, and the sausage and the chutney were both a bit to spiced for this wine.

At the end of the day, however, we had good food and good wine.  They were better enjoyed in turn than in tandem, but that’s okay – good is just good.

 

Maggie’s Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard

We were out and about on the wine trail, sampling the Bacchanalian delights of the Old Dominion. Okay, maybe we were trying wines that weren’t thrilling us. Whatever the case, I said “Dagburnit, we’re headin’ for something good.” When I’m frustrated, I talk like a grizzled prospector. So we pointed the Winery Assault Vehicle at Delaplane Cellars, knowing that on this day they were doing the “Maggie’s Back in Town” Viognier tasting ($3 a person).

Holy crap they were busy! For the first time ever, we saw cars parked all the way down the hill and people making the climb to the tasting room. Screw that. Zippy the Wonder Buggy isn’t THAT big, and I managed to finagle into a spot near the door. We walked in and owner Jim Dolphin and a few others were as busy as the proverbial one legged man at a butt-kicking competition. We waved and waited for a spot to clear at the bar. In the meantime, we grooved to arguably one of the best musicians we’ve heard at a winery. His name is Gary Smallwood, and if you see he’s going to be at a winery you should check him out.

The first wine we sampled was the 2009 LoCo Vino ($18). I got an orangey citrus nose and creamy oak on the palate. Both the style and the price make this a very approachable, everyday Viognier. It’s not as complex and nuanced as the other two, but it’s still quite nice. Next up was the 2008 Maggie’s Viognier ($22). Everything was well integrated – the oak, the fruit – and there was a pleasant floral character as well. The special tasting finished with the 2010 Maggie’s Viognier ($24). Ok, so imagine your friend Doug has a precocious 5 year old who is cute and can play amazing Eddie Van Halen riffs on the guitar while reciting the first 400 digits of Pi, but he is also one of those bug-eyed alien looking kids and has some bad behavior. That was this wine at the Twitter tasting we did back in July. Now imagine that magically, the next time you come over the kid has magically grown up and turned into Sean Connery as James Bond. Yeah. It’s like that. The oak and alcohol are balanced and integrated, and while the sweetness is a little more pronounced it all just works. It’s almost all growed up.

As we were glancing at the tasting list we noticed a red wine that we hadn’t tried yet, the 2009 Williams Gap ($30). This is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 27% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 11% Petit Verdot. This was a soft, deep red wine that is drinkable now and will lay down as well.

Since we were now in a good mood, we bought a platter of cheeses, chutney, and summer sausage and hung out on the patio with a bottle of the LoCo viggy. With that, a rough day was saved and I spent an enjoyable hour with an amazing woman. Not too shabby!

(And if you couldn’t guess by the title, I wrote this post while watching VH1’s “Top 100 Songs of the ’00s”. Here’s some nostalgia for you.)