Return to Rappahannock Cellars - again

We were in the area and Carol said we should visit Rappahannock Cellars.  The parking lot was pretty full when we arrived.  There were also two limos, which meant that the tasting room was probably crowded.  It was, but the folks at Rappahannock Cellars have a system to open additional tasting bars as the crowds start building up.  They had one group down stairs and the other limo group was finishing up and purchasing wines, so we were able to walk right up to the main tasting bar.

There were eight wines on the tasting sheet that day. First up was the 2011 Rose - nick-named  "Fizzy Lizzie" ($20), an off-dry, "fizzy" version made of a blend of 63 percent Cabernet Franc, 25 percent Merlot, and 12 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.  The tasting room staff had named this "Fizzy Lizzie rose" after one of the Delamare daughters working in the tasting room. The wine had good fruit flavor, only a hint of sweetness, and nice "fizz."  We were surprised about how much we liked this wine and purchased a bottle.

Next up were the whites.  Right now that means the 2011 Viognier ($23) and the 2010 Chardonnay ($23).  Both were good examples of solid Virginia white wines.  We took home both the Viognier and the Chardonnay. 

On the Red side (with its own, wider, wine glass) we tried the 2010 Noblesse Rouge ($22.50), the 2010 Cabernet Franc ($26.50), and the 2009 Meritage ($30).  I enjoyed them all. 

Next we tried Rappahannock's two dessert wines, the 2008 Vidal Blanc ($17.50 week-end special, 500mL) and the Red dessert wine ($36), a "Port-style" wine made from Norton.  We enjoyed both, although I preferred the Vidal and Carol preferred the Red.  We completed our purchases with Lizzie at the cash register.  Another nice visit to Rappahannock Cellars.

 

Rappahannock Cellars   

14437 Hume Road
Huntly, VA 22640

540-635-9398        

Berry Hill Vineyard

Berry Hill Vineyard is small vineyard and winery located in Flint Hill, VA. The small vineyard and winery are basically along the way between  Gadino Cellars and Rappahannock Cellars.  Just a quick jog down a side road.  Berry Hill opened the winery in 2009, making hand-crafted Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  The rest of their Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot grapes are sold to another Rappahannock county winery.  Berry Hill Vineyard has been growing grapes since 2000 so these are mature vines for the most part.

Berry Hill Vineyard is available every day of the week, except Sunday, by  appointment only.  We had made an appointment with one of the owners, David Hilty, to visit around 2 PM on a Saturday afternoon. David is a retired Naval aviator. Berry Hill is very small so there hasn't been much coverage of the winery.  That's may be a good thing for those of us who know how good the wines are here.   The tiny tasting room is tastefully decorated.  I am not sure if this tasting room is smaller than Vino Curioso's, or Castle Gruen's, but it could well be.

Berry Hill 2010 Petit Verdot and Cab Franc have been released for sale, but David has another barrel of 2010 Cabernet Franc aging in oak barrels that is even richer and fuller than the fruity and delicious one we tasted from a bottle.  David has 2011 Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot aging in oak barrels as well, which he was kind enough to let us try too.  David said his 2011 Cabernet Franc, which had incredible flavor but light body, would be blended with some Petit Verdot.

We purchased two bottles of the 2010 Cabernet Franc and one bottle of the 2010 Petit Verdot.  Both wines were delicious examples of these varietals.  The Cabernet Franc has great fruit flavor and a hit of black pepper on the finish.  The Petit Verdot is lush and smooth.  We recommend that the Virginia red wine lovers go see and taste for yourselves.  As for us, we will patiently wait for David to send us the news he bottled that second barrel of 2010 Cabernet Franc.

A portion of each year's grape harvest is used for producing Berry Hill wines. The remaining p

Berry Hill Vineyard

466 Dearing Road

Flint Hill, VA 22627

540-675-2205

​​berryhillvineyard@gmail.com

Gadino Cellars

We always like visiting Gadino Cellars.  Gadino Cellars released their new Pinot Grigio the day we visited.

It was a rainy afternoon and the tasting room was uncrowded.  The tasting line up on our visit consisted of 6 wines for $5 dollars.

The newly released 2011 Pinot Grigio ($17) was light and crisp and had citrus flavors.  We took a bottle home.  The 2010 Viognier ($21) was a full bodied white with citrus and kiwi flavors.  Another bottle to take home.  The 2010 Sunset ($15) is made from Traminette and Chardonnay.

The 2010 Moonrise ($17) is a Rose-style wine made from 54 percent Cabernet Franc, 31 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15 percent Viognier.  Another wine to take home as these are nice, dry Roses perfect for summer sipping.  The 2009 Petit Verdot ($27) was a full-bodied red with dark fruit and silky finish.  The 2009 DonGiovanna Nero D'Avola ($19) is imported from Gadino's sister winery in Italy.  A nice Nero and well-priced too.

Stephanie told us the 2011 Luminoso, Gadino's popular blend of late harvest Petit Manseng and Vidal Blanc, should be released in mid-April.   We look forward to trying some. 

We always feel very welcome at Gadino Cellars and think you will too.  Gadino Cellars is all about nice wines for nice prices and being a comfortable place to visit.

Gadino Cellars   
92 Schoolhouse Road
Washington, Virginia 22747
540-987-9292

Quick stop at Narmada

When we arrived at Narmada on a rainy early afternoon the place was empty.  Just a little while later it was full.  Things sure can change fast, sometimes.

We had an enjoyable time doing a tasting and talking to Lori Corcoran.  Lori has just returned from Chile and filled us in on her trip.  We learned a few things while we tasted Narmada's wines.  New on this visit was the 2010 Gulabi. This year's vintage of this nearly totally dry Rose wine is made from Chambourcin and Chardonel and aged in stainless steel.  No Concord in this wine this year, which we think is a good thing.

Carol talking to Lori Corcoran

After our tasting, we bought a couple bottles of wine at Narmada.  We purchased the 2009 Melange to replace the bottle we opened at our charity fund raiser.  Melange ($23) is a blend of 40 percent Cabernet Franc, 40 percent Merlot, 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10 percent Tannat.  We also purchased the 2010 Midnight ($21), which is 100 percent Chambourcin aged in stainless steel tanks with French oak with 1.6 percent residual sugar. It's always been a favorite of Carol's.  That bit of sweetness really enhances the fruit flavors of Midnight.

Narmada Winery 43 Narmada Lane
Amissville, Virginia 20106
540-937-8215

Blue Ridge Oyster Festival 4/21/12

Another festival on the 21st:

“2 Counties, 2 vineyards and 2 new releases!”

Blue Ridge Oyster Festival 4/21/12

On The Grounds of Devil’s Backbone brewery

www.blueridgeoysterfest.com

The Blue Ridge Oyster Festival is very proud that all the food, wine and beer all comes from Virginia and one of the many ways we celebrate this is to debut two wines from 2 vineyards, from 2 counties. This year, Blenheim Vineyards will debut their House Red at the Oyster Festival and Cardinal Point Vineyards will debut their Chardonnay.

From Cardinal Point –Nelson County

2011 Chardonnay: clean, round, nice vanilla and cream, but not heavy. Our chardonnay escaped any ill affects of the the 2011 harvest rains." The chardonnay was aged in 100% American oak, mostly from Pennsylvania

2011 Rockfish Red: 100% Cab Franc, aged for 4 months in French oak. The steady rains during the 2011 harvest account for its lighter-than-usual color, but the great ripening weather before the rains account for the great flavors. this wine has great berry fruit aromas and flavors which a nice dry,crisp finish. A perfect warm-weather red wine!

From Blenheim Vineyards –Albamarle county

2011 Red Table Wine – Featured release

The latest version of red table wine is fruit forward and packed full of juicy berry flavors. With ripe plum and red cherry are supported by butterscotch and caramel notes from some barrel aging. 50% aged in French and American oak for 5 months. 352 cases produced. 46% Cabernet Franc,36% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon

2011 White Table Wine

A crisp and refreshing warm weather white perfect for pairing with oysters and picnic fare. 100% stainless steel fermented and aged, 33% Viognier, 66% Chardonnay. 331 cases produced.

2011 Rosé

A delightfully fruity but dry rosé made from Mourvedre, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Extended skin contact helped create a vibrant and flavorful wine that would pair well with a variety of seafood dishes as well as grilled chicken and vegetable dishes. 280 cases produced.

Featured beer will includes:

From Devil’s Backbone Brewery From Starr Hill Brewery

Vienna Lager Starr Pils (German Style Pilsner)

Eight Point IPA Northern Lights (IPA

Reilly's Red Ale

Belgian Congo Pale Ale

Wintergreen Weiss

 

Chesapeake Bay Foundation to host

“The Blue Ridge Oyster Festival”

Saturday April 21^rd from 12 PM to 6 PM

(rain date Sunday April 22^nd)

Discover Virginia Wine Festival 2012

Discover Virginia Wine Festival 2012
April 21 and April 22

The 7th Discover Virginia Wine Festival returns April 21 and 22, 2012.  The festival is located in Ruckersville just 1 ½ miles West of the intersection of Routes 29 and 33.

Participating Wineries announced so far:

Burnley Vineyards
http://www.burnleywines.com/burnley/

Ducard Vineyards
http://www.ducardvineyards.com/

Lazy Days Winery
http://www.lazydayswinery.com/

The Homeplace Vineyards
http://www.thehomeplacevineyard.com/

Saude Creek Vineyards
http://www.saudecreek.com/

Mountain Cove Vineyards
http://www.mountaincovevineyards.com/

         Kilaurwen Winery 

Tickets can be  purchased on-line.

Gray Ghost's Annual Barrel Tasting

This past weekend Gray Ghost Vineyards opened their barrels for wine tasting and we attended, arriving first right as Al opened the gates.  The $15 per person admission included a Gray Ghost signature logo glass, light hors d'oeuvres and the regular Gray Ghost tasting.  We thought this was a bargain.

We passed through a cold tank room on our way to the other building where the cellar was.  Before heading downstairs we saw forms for bidding on barrels and wine futures. 

We sampled the 2011 Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc, and Cabernet Franc from the barrel in the underground barrel room.  We also tried three different Cabernet Sauvignon barrels in the cellar, two 2010 vintages (one aged in American oak and one in French oak) and one 2011 vintage.  We then tasted some blends; first with the 2011 Cabernet Franc with the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, then a blend of the American oak aged Cabernet Sauvignon with French oak aged Cabernet Sauvignon. The blended 2011 Cabernet Franc/Sauvignon was our favorite red.   We thought the 2011 Chardonnay is great now with both good flavor and finish.

We also sampled the hors d'oeuvres in the barrel room. 

On our way back to the tasting room I stopped to photograph the cherry tree in bloom.

We then had the regular tasting.  Our picks for today were the 2011 Riesling ($19) the Victorian White ($15) which is Gray Ghost's semi-dry unoaked Chardonnay.  We always love the Late Harvest Vidal Blanc named Adieu.  Following our tasting and purchase, I went upstairs to photograph the grounds and the flowering cherry trees.  We really enjoyed this event and will watch for it next year.

Gray Ghost Vineyards   
14706 Lee Highway
Amissville, Virginia 20106
540-937-4869

Casanel visit

One of the Virginia wine bloggers we know, Fred from This is Wine, was lending some support to Casanel Vineyards by pouring in their tasting room.  We decided to go visit after church on Sunday.
Casanel Vineyards is a great winery to hang out at.  We have visited several times and have always had great experiences. 

Casanel, as many of you may know, is named for the couple that owns it, Casey and Nelson DeSouza.  Their daughters, the somewhat famous (at least in Leesburg) "Casanel Girls" run the tasting room.  Visiting Casanel is fun.  The wines are nice.  The family are both. 

The rockstar wine at Casanel is the the late harvest Viognier named Dulce.  It is named after Nelson's mother Dorcelina. Dorcelina was called "Dulce", which means sweet one in Portuguese. The wine won a gold medal from the 2011 VA Lover's Wine Classic competition.  In our opinion, it deserved it.   The wine  tastes of butterscotch and toasted almonds  and has a good solid finish.  It has really improved with age. 

We stayed a while at Casanel, drank some wine, talked with Fred, Allison and Fred's parents, and headed out with a bottle of Viognier and the Dulce.  We plan to pour Dulce at our second Virginia Dessert Wine Throwdown in May.

Casanel Vineyards 17956 Canby Road, Leesburg, Virginia 20175

Zephaniah Farm Vineyard

We decided to swing by Zephaniah on our way home from Casanel (that post is coming).  It had been quite a while since our last visit. Zephaniah only reopened for visits again on March 3rd.  They are open on Saturday and Sunday this year, instead of just Saturdays.

Our tasting was again in the old living room of the house on the farm property.  We tasted the 2007 Glen Manor Sauvignon Blanc (not on the tasting sheet, but soon will be because they are almost out of Chardonnay), 2010 Chardonnay Sur Lie ($22), 2010 Adeline ($20), 2009 Cabernet Franc ($22), a 2008 Cabernet Franc (not on the tasting sheet) 2010 Chambourcin ($20), and 2010 Chambourcin Reserve ($27).

Our favorite was the 2010 Chardonnay Sur Lie.  We really liked the Chardonnay on our last visit and did so again.  We think this is one of the better ones in Virginia.  This Chardonnay has hints of lime, is creamy, and has a long finish.  We took this one home.  The couple purchasing wine after us bought a case.  Better hurry if you want to try some of this great Chardonnay.  We enjoyed the other Zephaniah wines, especially the Chambourcin Reserve.  All in all, Zephaniah is a pleasant place to visit for a slower, more thoughtful wine tasting experience.

the Wine Kitchen in Leesburg

We won an evening at the Wine Kitchen in Leesburg at our church's silent auction.  Another couple from our church picked us at our home, took us out to Leesburg for food and wine, and drove us home again.  Quite a nice prize. 

The Wine Kitchen is all about small plates using fresh ingredients from local farms. The Wine Kitchen is also all about the wine.  The Wine Kitchen offers a variety of wines, many in cleverly chosen and named wine flights.  That evening my wife chose a flight named Whites of Fancy, while I had the Grape Unknown.   Food and wine menus change constantly.  The have a wine flight named Local Flavor with Virginia wines, mostly from Loudoun County.

Our hosts started the evening with a Cheese and Charcuterie platter while we reviewed the menu.  The Wine Kitchen had many appealing dishes on the menu.  I eventually chose the pan-seared arctic char in a Dijon beurre blanc sauce.  This was wonderful, perfectly cooked and with very tasty sides of

sautéed greens, warm crab salad, and pearl couscous.

After dinner, the ladies had the chocolate torta palla with bourbon walnut caramel while the men had glasses of a slightly effervescent Muscat for dessert.

We had a wonderful time with our church friends. The good news is they won two spots at our May Virginia dessert wine tasting in May.  So there will be two more discriminating palates commenting on our variety of Virginia dessert wines that evening.  And we will certainly be going back for more at the Wine Kitchen.

the Wine Kitchen
7 South King St.
Leesburg, VA
20175

Shenandoah Vineyards

We visited Shenandoah Vineyards many years ago.  They are the oldest winery in the Shenandoah Valley and the third oldest in Virginia.  Shenandoah Vineyards, according to our tasting room staff person, first introduced Virginia to Chambourcin. It is one of the pioneer wineries in Virginia. 

The tasting room is on the second floor.  Visitors climb up the stairs under these grape vines to enter.
The tasting fee is $5 per person at Shenandoah Vineyards.  They were offering wine and small plates for $10 per person the day we visited.  Shenandoah had 12 wines to taste, plus a mulled wine made from their Shenandoah Ruby. 

Shenandoah Vineyards sells many other items in their tasting room, from honey to various wine-related souvenirs to the spices for their mulled wine.

With this visit, we completed our visits of the wineries in the northern Shenandoah Valley.  Although Shenandoah Vineyards had a variety of wines to taste, the only wine we purchased here was a bottle of the 2009 Johannisberg Riesling ($13.95), which was an acceptable semi-sweet table wine. 

Shenandoah Vineyards   
3659 S. Ox Rd.
Edinburg, VA 22824
540-984-8699

Delaplane Cellars Va Wine Blogger Barrel tasting

Deleplane owner Jim Dolphin and Va wine bloggers tasting the Melange Blanc

Jim and Betsy at Delaplane Cellars invited several Virginia Wine Bloggers out to Delaplane Cellars to preview the upcoming red wines straight from the barrel. We were thrilled to be invited.  We started first in the tasting room trying a bit of the 2010 Mélange Blanc, a very nice dry white blend of 62 percent Chardonnay, 27 percent Viognier and 11 percent Petit Manseng, as a palate cleanser. This is a great white wine and should be a popular seller over the summer.

Jim Dolphin at the barrel

The Delaplane wines are all vineyard designated varietals or blends of high quality.  Our barrel tasting consisted of of Delaplane Cellars' soon-to-be-released 2010 reds.  These included the first ever blend of our Delaplane Vineyards Estate Red, the Springlot blend, and Williams Gap blend, plus Honah Lee Tannat, and Shirland Syrah. We also tried the new Late Harvest Petit Manseng.

Jim with the sneak thief giving Craig from Craig's Grape adventure a sample

My favorite among these red blends was the Williams Gap blend.  This wine is a blend of 31 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 27 percent Cabernet Franc, 30 percent Merlot, and 12 percent Petit Verdot aged in a Slovakian oak barrel.  This wine stood out to me as a potential Virginia Governor's gold medal winner should Jim enter it next year.

Jim has about four and half barrels of the 2010 Springlot blend.  I liked it, but my notes aren't clear about the blend, other than it is a Bordeaux style.

Dezel making notes

The 2010 Shirland Syrah is aged in new American oak and is an easy drinking red, already with great flavors.  The Honah Lee 2010 Tannat is 100 percent Tannat this year. The Tannat is awesome and should mellow with a bit more time in the barrel.

The new late Harvest Petit Manseng

The Late Harvest Petit Manseng is 100 percent estate grown with about ten and half percent residual sugar.  The wine is nicely balanced with acidity so, while sweet, it is not cloying.  There is a pronounced bouquet of pineapple. It is very good indeed.

Jim and Betsy were gracious hosts.  They offered us quite an assortment of delicious foods to pair with the wines.  We had a good time and were impressed with the dedication to quality at Delaplane Cellars.  We will definitely return to try these wines when they are released.

Delaplane Cellars   

2187 Winchester Road
Delaplane, Virginia 20144-1734

540-592-7210

Glen Manor Vineyards

We made it to Glen Manor Vineyards about 15 minutes before closing.  They were only tasting two wines this day, having recently removed the Governor's Cup winning Hodder Hill from the menu.  The tasting cost was only $3 for both wines though.  These two exceptional wines were the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc ($23) and the 2009 Petit Verdot ($30).  Both outstanding.  The Sauvignon Blanc was more a New Zealand style, but more grassy than expected.  The Petit Verdot offered dark plum fruit, good acid, and smooth tanins.  The tasting notes say intense.  I'd say restrained intensity. 

We have prior Glen Manor vintages of both the Sauvignon Blanc and Petit Verdot so we are planning a mini-vertical later this fall.  In the meantime, we are looking forward to winemaker Jeff White's upcoming releases of his semi-sweet and Late Harvest Petit Mansengs, Cabernet Franc, a Rose, along with his Vin Rouge.

Glen Manor Vineyards   

2244 Browntown Road
Front Royal, Virginia 22630

540 635-6324        

Vino Curioso

We have been trying to visit Vino Curioso for quite a while.  This past Saturday we finally did so. 

Vino Curioso has to have the smallest tasting room in Virginia.  Its nice enough, but don't show up with more than four if the weather changes.  We did enjoy a very warm welcome from Telly, the Australian Shepherd, as well as from Mike Sawyers, one of the co-owners.

Vino Curioso makes all their wines at their wine factory in Gainesville, VA.  They offer their wines, plus many others, for tasting at the Virginia Wine Factory in Ashburn, VA.

Vino Curioso makes primarily red wines, which are tasty and ready to drink now, with just low sulfur added.  They source grapes from many vineyards such as Breaux and General's Ridge, but their primary source is Ingleside.   They do make a couple whites, a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay, but we thought the reds are the better choice at Vino Curioso.

We picked up a couple of our favorites among these reds: the 2008 Sangiovese (which had just a touch of Chambourcin blended in) and the 2009 Cabernet Franc called Franc the Tank.  This will be the last vintage of the Sangiovese as the vineyard ripped out the vines.  We enjoyed the discount offered if you purchase more than one bottle. 


Vino Curioso   
1334 Perry Road
Winchester, VA 22602
703-447-0648

Quick stop at Twin Oaks Tavern

We stopped in at Twin Oaks Tavern Winery to catch up on things there.  Twin Oaks Tavern has added on to their tasting room, more than doubling the size.  Of course, they have always had the dramatic view of the Shenandoah Valley. 

 They had a musician playing when we arrived in the early afternoon.  A large crowd had just departed for Veramar. 

New tasting room addition

We had hoped to try some of their Estate Grown 2010 Chardonnay that we had sampled from the barrel on our last trip, but alas that was sold out.  We did sample the 2009 Chardonnay, the 2009 and 2010 Raven Rocks Red and the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon.  We took home bottle of the smoky Cabernet Sauvignon.  We will let it age a bit before opening.  Our tasting room hostess told us Twin Oaks was also making a Norton.

Twin Oaks Tavern Winery 18035 Raven Rocks Rd
Bluemont, Virginia 20135
202-255-5009

The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards (The Barns).

I contacted the The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards owners requesting some information about their their facility opening in 2012.  Here is what was sent in reply.

"The Barns is a former historic dairy farm located in Hamilton, VA / Western Loudoun County dating back to the early 1900’s.  We purchased the property in 2011 and began renovation of the 100 year old bank barn as our tasting room and events facility.  Our winemaker is Michael Shaps, Owner of Virginia Wine Works and our vineyard consultant is Ben Renshaw, Owner of 8 Chains North Winery. 
At this vineyard site, we have planted Petit Verdot and Viognier.   The Barns 2011 vintage will include: Viognier, Chardonnay, Rose (Cab Franc), Cab Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Meritage (Petit Verdot, Cab Sav, Merlot, and Cab Franc).  

Our Grand Opening will be the first weekend in August, 2012.  We invite you to come and try our wines and enjoy our beautiful venue."
 


The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards
16804 Hamilton Station Road
Hamilton, VA  20158

A Visit to The Boxwood Winery

The Boxwood Winery in Middleburg, Virginia is owned by John Kent Cooke, a former owner and president of the NFL Washington Redskins. The farm is also the former home of Billy Mitchell.  The Boxwood Winery is open for tour/tastings by appointment only on the weekends.  Current cost is $20 per person.  You can schedule your visit on-line.

We had tasted Boxwood wines before in their Middleburg tasting room and at other venues but had never been to the actual winery.  We decided to go and visit.

Tours at Boxwood begin and end in the tasting room with the circular aluminum (I think) tasting bar.  It was here we met the personable and enthusiastic Amanda who told us that the rest of our 12 P.M. group had called and said they were running late.  Amanda took us through the tour.  It was quite nice receiving this unintentional personal tour of Boxwood.

Boxwood has a certain design style, very modern and stunning to look upon. Much natural lighting, glass, and metal on full display.  You quickly notice that Boxwood is kept exceptionally clean, both inside and out.  Look at the spotless crush pad and tank room.  Amanda even apologized that floor was still wet from the post-bottling cleaning. 

Amanda told us Boxwood has planted (or will soon plant) some additional Cabernet Franc and some Syrah, a new varietal for Boxwood.

We saw the entire operation.  A lot of thought went into the design of the facilities and equipment.

Boxwood uses all French oak barrels to store wine in a man-made "cave."  The spotless barrel cave is carved out of a the side of the hill.  Wine flows in from the tank room.

The new corks are for the 2011 releases. Boxwood had just finished bottling the new 2011 Rose. Amanda says Boxwood uses cork for all their wines.

At the end of our tour we were able to taste the currently released Boxwood wines. First up were two dry Rose wines, the Boxwood Rose 2010 and the Topiary Rose 2010.  The Boxwood Rose is made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  The Topiary Rose is made from Cabernet Franc and Malbec.  We've had both of these before, and have had a hard time choosing a favorite between the two. (2011 will only have one Rose) We took home a bottle of the Topiary Rose with its light clean fruit and good finish.

Next we tasted three Reds.  First up was Boxwood, a blend that reflects the “Medoc” style of Bordeaux (a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Petit Verdot blend).  This was followed by Topiary,  made in the “San-Emilion” style of Bordeaux (a Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend).   Finally there came the Boxwood Trellis, a Bordeaux-style blend of 75 percent Petit Verdot, 17 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8 percent Malbec. (So this could legally be labeled Petit Verdot).  This was an easy drinking, smooth red with graphite flavors andr fruit.  Amanda said that Boxwood had a great crop of Petit Verdot that vintage and came up with Trellis.  We liked this wine (and the price) and took a bottle home.

Tasting room as seen from the barrel cave

We departed shortly after the arrival of the now very late remainder of the 12 PM group We liked the Boxwood Winery tour, staff, and the wines.  We both commented on the way home about the high quality of Boxwood wines for the truly very fair prices.  Well done Boxwood Winery.

Boxwood Estate Winery   

2042 Burrland Rd
Middleburg, VA 20118

(540) 687-8778

Glass House Winery Vino Signora

Our wine this Friday evening was from Glass House Winery.  Vino Signora is made from 100 percent estate grown Traminette grapes.  The wine is lightly sweet, with 3 percent residual sugar, but is nicely balanced. Vino Signora is also the name of the steel and titanium sculpture you see as you enter the Glass House tasting room. 


This is a well-made Traminette.  Although floral, there is none of the tea room scent you often find with some Traminette.  It was simply delicious. The wine went well with fried clam strips.  Whether with food or as an evening sipper, this wine will please most palates.