Crowds Flocking from near and far for Virginia wine….Literally.

Arriving at the second of three new wineries we planned to visit on recent weekend wine trip, we found we had not done enough scouting and were greeted by a closed sign at Capital Vineyards. Not wanting to lose the time slot, the wife and I headed to one of our favorite locations for a glass on an extraordinary enclosed heated deck before heading to our last stop on our Saturday wine tour.

Chateau O’Brien is known for its great wine, engaging owners, and unfortunately it can also be known for its crowds. Based on the car already parked in their lower parking lot, we were glad we weren't going to be doing a tasting. However, after reaching their primary parking lot we realized that it wasn’t that crowded.

Entering through the front door, we were greeted by Howard O'Brien the winery owner. Howard told us that the deck was closed today because it is too cold to keep the heat up warm using the the gas space heaters, but invited us to enjoy the fireplace room which was warm and cozy. The wife and I agree that we needed a glass of wine so we quickly purchased a bottle of his Padlock red and headed for fire place. Since the fire place wasn't lit, we were lucky to snag the two seats right in front of the it to enjoy our glasses of wine.

This one is one of my favorites from Chateau O’Brien. It displays a rich full mouth feel, firm by not over powering tannins. It has dark fruit flavors with a slight leathery earthy finish. It will pair well with most red meats, but is equally good by itself for an evening sipper.

The atmosphere that day at Chateau O’Brien was a mixed lot. There were several small groups enjoying wine along with both the classic and reserve tasting bars full of people sampling the full selection that Chateau O’Brien has to offer. I usually recommend Chateau O’Brien to anyone looking for all the good a Virginia winery can be. Plus if you only want to visit one, this a location you can go to enjoy two distinctly different types of tasting and have great views along with a place to have a picnic for those of you who are like us and enjoy packing a lunch with you on the Virginia wine trail.

Wine enthusiast versus Wine Fan....It comes down to storage.

Taking a Break from wine drinking due to some medical concerns, I’m sorting through tasting notes, reviewing old pictures, and concerned that this blog that I have created will slowly fade into just a distant memory. I mean what is a person supposed to blog about on a wine blog when he can’t drink wine? Thankfully some of my fellow wine bloggers provided me an opportunity to blog about something that doesn’t involve tasting delicious Virginia wine, Wine storage.

After viewing pictures of the cellaring and storage techniques of some the other wine bloggers I follow (Virginia Wine time, Cellar Blog, SwirlSnipSnark, WineaboutVirginia), I think I have finally deciphered the difference between a wine enthusiast and people like me who are more like casual wine fans. It comes down to the wine collection. Don’t get me wrong, I love my wine, but even at peak capacity six cases of wine is my capacity for wine cellaring. However, even with that restriction, I’d like to think I’m able to keep a diverse variety of wines available around the house. Wine enthusiasts on the other hand, have storage capacity to survive a small nuclear holocaust. See other bloggers for good examples. Then there are a few who are just starting their adventure like JulesVine.

My storage system is fairly simple. My cellaring wines go in this electric wine “fridge.” My wife and I received this as a wedding gift. Its functionality kicked the bucket two years ago, but as it is always in the basement of my home where the temperature is mostly stable and cool, I’m not missing it. It houses all red wines. These are those bottles that only get brought out on special occasions, and must be at least 4 years old before they are even considered. Right now it primarily filled with 2007 VA red wines, with a few ‘06s hanging around for good measure. Additionally a pair of French stowaways are hiding within. They were gifts I received when I graduated college.

Next to that I have basic case storage of nicer wines that we wouldn’t mind hanging around a while, but will drink if it has been a tough week or will pair well with a nice dinner we have made.

On the wall we have our day to day wines. These are the wines that get cycled through our inventory. On the left are the whites, and on the Right are the reds.

In addition to the wall we have two additional case wine holders that sit on the floor that hold overflow. Usually that means day to day wines, with an occasional nicer one that is waiting for a place in the cellar.

As you can see, our storage area is quite full, and with my timeout from wine drinking I have been forced to take, it should stay that way, at least for a couple months until I am able to return to light wine drinking.

Route 9 Barrel Tasting: Sunset Hills Vineyard

When our group headed out for the Route 9 Barrel tasting, the plan had always been to end at Sunset Hills. It made sense, first my wife and I are wine club member so we get to use the upper level for the lunch we had pack with us. Second because we have been addicted to their 2010 Viognier which we wanted to let our friends try, and last because it has a great tasting room and a nice place to relax after a hard day of Va wine tasting.

So when we walked in the door and were pretty much directed down stairs to their private tasting room and production facility, we smiled because it had got a little later in the day than we had planned, and we were all really hungry. We have done the standard tasting many time, so my wife and I took it easy waiting to be pointed back to the barrel room. When the door opened up to the barrel room and the group exited there was about 10 or so of us ready to enter and talk to Nate Walsh Sunset Hills wine maker about what we were about to sample.

In the room were two barrels and a sign talking about futures for chardonnay so I expected chardonnay to be the white wine from the barrel to be tasted. However surprise, Nate walked around with a sample of the next vintage of viognier. It had the typical tropical flower and fruit nose that is associated with a viognier, but lacked a little of the balanced the explosion of fruit I have grown accustom too with their 2010 vintage. Overall it was well balance and probably will develop more until it is ready to be bottled.

Nate was curious about the group’s experience out during the route 9 Barrel tasting. It was toward the end of the day, and he was surprised that no one in the group and made it to all five wineries participating. Like ourselves, most people there had made it to four of them and for a few this was just their second stop, but they had said they planned on taking full advantage of the second day of the barrel tasting. I believe the two day event was the way to go. Trying to squeeze in that many wine tasting would bound to lead to trouble, especially because the wineries through in a their standard tasting which means a glass of two of wine at each winery visited. Although I didn’t say it there, I’ll admit it here. My pallet was pretty trashed even after four, something I’ll remember going into next year if we do this again. And we had only done part of the standard tastings at the other three wineries we visited.

After a big lead in, we found out the other wine we would be sampling the cellar was Nate’s Petite Verdot. It was right what we were expecting a smooth blend of fruit, oak and balanced tannin. I had found the nose a little over barring but coming from the barrel that was not so unusual. I’m excited to taste the final product when it is released, even if that isn’t in the foreseeable future.

The Petite verdot signaled the end of the barrel tasting, my wife and I caught up with our friends upstairs in the member’s only area for some delicious lunch. We opened a bottle of their 2010 Viognier and enjoyed conversation and some laughs and memories of the day’s experience.

Route 9 Barrel tasting Loudon Valley Vineyard

The third stop on our route nine barrel tasting was a place that has branched out into the world of food. By day, it is a bustling little winery. By night, at least on the weekends, it is a mysterious and exotic tapa restaurant. Additionally, it offers warm soup and baguettes on the weekend for anyone who is hungry after a hard day on the Loudon county wine trail. For those of you who haven’t guessed yet, our third stop was Loudon Valley Vineyards winery with our host and wine maker Bree Moore. We first heard of Bree on a trip to Unicorn winery back in 2007 where she used to be the winemaker and last time we checked still does the wine consulting with.

We started by going to their standard tasting upstairs while waiting for the next trip to the barrel room tasting. The highlights of the standard tasting were the Vinifera white, 2008 Cab Franc, and the 2008 Syrah. However before we could finish Bree came up from the spiral stair case ready for the next group to taste the treats she had in barrels below.

We started off with a Pinot Grigio, It came out a bit cloudy and for me, well, it had a funky smell. However, having been to a barrel tasting or two, I knew not to judge a wine by its color or nose, unfortunately the funky nose carried over into the wine. I thought it might be just me, but when others went for the dump bucket, or tried to give it to their tasting partner and were turned down, I knew that it might be the wine.

Next up was the next vintage of Route 9 Red, a chambourcin wine. It again had an insignificant nose, but at least it did have some fruit on the pallet but the tannins over powered the flavor. I guess once this is in bottle and has some time settle it could be better, but it will take a tasting to determine if that is the case.

Last on the barrel tasting adventure was something we were excited for. It was the next vintage of her Syrah. It is one of the wines we like the best from Loudon valley. This was different from our previous experiences in the barrel room. This wine displayed great fruit and earthiness on the nose. It followed by a well balance wine with light tannins and soft earth fruit pallet with a lingering finish, just what we would want from a good Syrah.

Our experience at this stop in the barrel tasting was less than stellar, but the standard tasting was pleasant and well, we needed a small break from our barrel tasting adventures. So after getting our friends up, it was time to head off to our last stop on our Route 9 Barrel Tasting adventure.