The Tasting...

- A Trip to the Williamsburg Winery Continued - 

Tasting and Wine List

 During the tasting, I was given the opportunity to taste six wines at the Williamsburg Winery.  Two of the six wines were from the Reserve collection and the Reserve wines are known to be WW's better, more expensive wines. Below are the wines:  

2009 John Adlum Chardonnay was the first wine I tasted.  It's 100% Chardonnay and aged only in stainless steel.  It has green apple, pineapple, and pear tones.  Although not bad, I though this light and crisp Chardonnay was too acidic for my likeness.

2008 Samuel Argall Dry Riesling is 100% Riesling and has bright citrus and apple tones.  It is also stored in stainless steel and made in the style of Alsace.  For me, I found this wine crisp and very refreshing.

2007 Vintage Reserve Chardonnay is 100% Chardonnay and has a lush, full-bodied wine aged in newer French, American and Hungarian oak barrels.  It has a clean vanilla finish while having floral and fruit notes.  I found it interesting that WW stores this wine for 10 months in oak, which makes for it to be darker and cooler.  I found it to be different, but good.  The Wine Expert said this wine is paired greatly with steak.

2008 Susan Constant Red is a blend.  This wine is 42% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot.  It's a light-bodied red wine with cherry, berry, and red apple notes.  This wine is aged for 12 months in French, American and Hungarian Oak and stainless steel.  I found this wine to be very subtle.

2006 Hening's Statute Virginia Claret is another blend wine.  This wine is 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Cabernet Franc, 24% Petit Verdot, and 14% Merlot.  The tones are berry and dark cherry.  Has a smooth finish and aged for 12 months in French, American and Hungarian oak.  I thought this wine was good and cedar like.  Also, it smelt just like grape jelly.

2006 Merlot Reserve is yet another blend.  This wine is made up of 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.  One can call a wine by a varietal wine name, as long as the wine has at least 75% of that varietal wine.  This wine is full-bodied and has tones of cherry, blueberry, and pomegranate.  It's aged for 18 months in French, American and Hungarian oak.  I found this wine to have a thicker taste.  It was very nice and Merlot lovers would enjoy it very much. *Virginia and French Merlot are lighter due to other regions taking longer to produce.

Vin Licoreux de Framboise is a dessert wine.  It's blended with 80% Merlot and 20% real Raspberry juice.  Perfect for chocolate, this elegant wine is silky.  I loved this wine and thought that it had a very light finish.  I could smell the fresh raspberry smell.

This was an amazing experience and I recommend it to any wine lover out there.  My friends and I even got to take our WW Wine Glasses home, as a keepsake!

Williamsburg Winery

- A trip to the Williamsburg Winery -

The Entance

The Williamsburg Winery is located in Williamsburg, Virginia and is quite spectacular.  I visited this vineyard on October 2nd, 2011 for a tour of the vineyard, a tasting, and lunch ($30).

The Vines

The Vines

When driving into the vineyard, vines were all around us.

The tour began in this large building where they ferment the wine, store the wine, produce the wine and of course sell the wine.  We first watched a video that gave a little history on wine and of the vineyard.

The Cellar

During the tour, I learned new things about wine and also information about the Williamsburg Winery.  Did you know that the red wines get their color from the skin of the grape?  That's right.  For white wines, the grapes are skinned and seeded.  For red wines, the winemakers use the whole grape (the inside of a red grape is green).  The smells were wonderful while walking through the areas of where the barrels of wine were kept, before bottled.  Fruity smells filled the air.  The barrels where the red wines were stored were stained of red at the top:

Barrels (Red Wine)

In front of the Gabriel Archer Tavern

    Lunch was held at the Gabriel Archer Tavern where we were provided a sandwich of our choice accompanied by a salad.  A glass of wine of our choice and a cookie for dessert.  It was delicious.

In front of the Vineyard

   

This was a great experience and I would recommend it to any wine lover.  I learned a lot more about wine and definitely will return to this local place of Hampton Roads.

* I took all of these photos and edited them myself

Dave Matthews & Wine!

the Dreaming Tree

This is so interesting!  I am a huge Dave Matthews Band fan and Dave Matthews has teamed up with Steve Reeder for wine!  Of course it is called the Dreaming Tree (DMB song).  Dave's journey and interest with wine began in Virginia...

The Dreaming Tree talks about the four step process for getting the wine from the production to your table and how the environment is important.  Step one is about using clean gas during production to ensure there is no pollution over the vines.  Step two is all in the label.  Their labels are made with 100% recycled paper because it is the Dreaming Tree after all right?  Step three is the transfer.  Shipping the wine requires less fuel because the bottles are 50% lighter.  And finally, the forth step is popping the cork at the table.  Their corks are "sustainably grown".

"At the Dreaming Tree, we think the best vintage is pretty much right now and the best pairing is your favorite people.  Hey, there's nothing wrong with collecting wine, but isn't it more fun to drink instead?" http://www.dreamingtreewines.com

Are U a Cab Fan?

As I have mentioned before, although I enjoy all wine, I'm more fond of red wines and Cabernet Sauvignon is my favorite wine of all.  I wanted to share this great, inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon wine:

J. LOHR Cabernet Sauvignon.  This wine is stored in a French oak Chateau Barrel during production and the vineyard is located in California.  It's bottle age is 11 months, but can be aged for up to 10 to 15 years.  Here is a description from the Winemaker, Steve Peck:
 
      "The 2007 Cabernet is dark colored with red-purple hues.  Aromas of black plum, cherry and fresh fig
       are wrapped in a bouquet of roasted hazelnut, coconut and Italian espresso.  This wine offers large
       palate volume in a very soft package with a supple finish.  This new world wine showcases the best
       of the varietal fruit, with complexity and structure reminiscent of the finest of Bordeaux."

I enjoy this wine and think it is great for a simple, late night glass or paired with a lighter, pasta dish as a food pairing.  It's only about $14 at the Harris Teeter in Suffolk, VA.  If you are a fan of Cabernet Sauvignon, then you have to try this wine!

Locality

"Still" is a great place to taste wine in Hampton Roads.  This eclectic tapas restaurant is beautifully decorated and is located in Old Towne Portsmouth.  Still offers a very wide variety of wine to choose from at reasonable prices.  I am a Cabernet fan and my favorite wine at Still is the "Leese Fitch" (at around $6 a glass).  The relaxing atmosphere will comfort anyone into tasting wine.

"456 Fish" restaurant in Norfolk, VA is located off of Granby St and offers a nice selection of wine.  If you're a Riesling fan, you must try the "Frisk" Riesling (only around $30 a bottle).  Pair with their Fantail shrimp and you will enjoy every bit of the meal!

"Grape and Gourmet" is a store located in Virginia Beach.  Here, you will find over 1000 wines to choose from...talk about options!  This store even holds tasting events and has gourmet foods.  A great place to try different wines from all over the world and not limited to Hampton Roads.

"Total Wine" is one of my favorite places to purchase wine.  They have reasonable prices and rare wines that are not usually offered at one's local grocery store.

Yummy!

- Possible Food Pairings for Wines -

Riesling: This wine goes well with fish, chicken and pork, tuna, salmon, eel, and spicy Japanese food.

Sauvignon Blanc: Salads, seafood and any poultry are great pairings for this wine.

Chardonnay: Great wine for chicken and fish dishes.

Moscato: This wine is fine on it's own, but alright to pair with a dessert or sweeter treat.

Pinot Grigio: Great with mostly anything and mainly a personal preference.

     * Suggestion: If only a fan of white wine, pair this when eating red meats if necessary.

Merlot: This wine is similar to pinot grigio because it can be paired with mostly anything and is simply a personal preference.

     * Suggestion: If only a fan of red wine, pair this when eating white meat if necessary.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Great wine for any red meat that is simply prepared.

Pinot Noir: This wine goes great with sushi, grilled salmon, chicken and lamb.

Zinfandel: Great wine for grilled meats, red-sauce pastas, and pizza.

     * Suggestion: Try and pair according to the variety of the wine and it's heaviness.  A heavy wine may not compliment a heavy barbecued dish, but a fresher Zinfandel would.

* Try to avoid red meats with white or sweet wines.

* Sweeter wines go better if paired alone or with dessert.

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Red Wine

Some Different Red Wines/Grapes and their Descriptions:

Merlot:

     Considered to be the red wine for beginners in the world of red because Merlot means easy to drink and is smoother than Cabernet. 

Cabernet Sauvignon:

     As a varietal wine, this is considered to be one of the world's best.  Has an oak treatment and is sometimes mixed with merlot.  The taste is consist of bell pepper and wood/cedar when aged.  It is a full bodied wine.

Pinot Noir:

     Rarely mixed with other red wines and is very hard to grow.  Has a light and airy taste with soft tannins.  It's fruits consist of cherries, plums and strawberries.  Can have a subtle masculine aroma.

Zinfandel:

     Only found in California, this grape has a wide variety of making white and blush wines to dark reds makes this the most flexible grape.  This wine has berry flavors and sometimes spicy from peppers.

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