Yesterday, Kellie and I spent the day touring Virginia Wine Country and visiting four wineries that, in their own ways, presented something unique and different. One of the best parts of the trip is that it was a chartered tour, which meant we didn’t have to worry about driving and getting from place to place. The other good thing is that all of the profits from the trip went to the American Cancer Society. And, oh yeah, we got to sample about 40 Virginia wines.
Our first stop of the day was at Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg, Virginia. The vineyard itself is located on a flowing, sloping property in Middleburg that offers an amazing view of the valley and surrounding mountains. After brief tour of the winery itself (and, at this point, I think we’ve been to enough wineries that a tour really isn’t necessary unless there’s something special to see) we had a tasting outside where we tasted ten of their offerings. While the wines were okay, there really wasn’t anything that stood out and even their signature wines, made from the Norton grape native to Virginia, weren’t really all that much to write home about. We didn’t end up buying anything here, which for us is usually an indication that the wines aren’t all that great.
Our next stop was a relatively new winery that we had not been to last year, Three Fox Vineyards in Delaplane. This is a husband and wife operation which opened in 2002 and is set on the side of a hill with plenty of space for picnics or just hanging out. Where Chrysalis has Spanish overtones, Three Fox draws its inspiration from Italy. And the names of their wines reflect this influence. As has been typical for our visits to other Virginia wineries, the reds that were offered were interesting, but disappointing and not yet up to the par of wines from California or Washington. Several of the whites, however, were outstanding; especially their Appassionata Vidal Blanc and Calabrese Pinot Grigio, both of which made their way home with us. Three Fox definiately warrants a return visit.
Our next stop was Gray Ghost Vineyards in Amissville . We had visited Gray Ghost about this time last year and left slightly disappointed. The atmosphere of the tasting room was dark, and the wines didn’t seem that impressive, which was surprising given the awards that they’ve won over the years. I’m glad we went back. The tasting room has been completely redesigned and is much larger and more open than it was before. As for the wines, we found much to be impressed with. I was particularly impressed with their Seyval Blanc and Reserve Chardonnay and was intrigued by the one wine we did not sample; their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which their web site describes as follows:
Gray Ghost?s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. After fermentation, the free run wine is siphoned into French oak barrels. The wine ages for two and a half years in the oak prior to bottling. The wine is then bottle aged for a minimum of six months prior to release. This wine displays the ultimate in delicate fruit and velvety tannins. Perfect complement to tenderloin, bison, and bleu cheeses. Gray Ghost produces a Reserve Cabernet only in exceptional years.
While I wasn’t overly impressed with their tradtional Cab, I would have been interested in trying this. Maybe next time. We ended up leaving with two bottles each of the Seyval and Reserve Chardonnay, further stimulating the Virginia wine industry.
Our final stop was Unicorn Winery, which is just down the road from Gray Ghost. As with its neighbor, we had been to Unicorn before and left not entirely impressed. Our return visit, however, was more productive. After yet another winery tour (note to the unitiated, after you’ve been on one winery tour, you’ve pretty much seen it all so, do it once, and then go straight to the tasting room at every other winery after that), we sampled about ten wines, two of which stood out; their 2002 Viogner and 2002 Cabernet Franc. Three bottles followed us home from this location.
In between wineries we enjoyed a drive through some of the most scenic areas of Fauquier, Rappahannock, and Culpeper counties. If you haven’t been to Virginia Wine Country yet, give it a try. Here’s a good place to start.
