Potomac Point, Winery Visitation

My parents, our lunch platter, & my pre-tasting glass

 

So I was a lucky girl this weekend, and when I went home for the weekend for a little break from my Blacksburg-busy-schedule, my parents treated me to a grand afternoon at the Potomac Point Winery Vineyard & Winery in Stafford VA! They had been there before and were sure I would love it. As usual (don't tell them I said this) they were right.


<This mural is right above the tasting bar. Funny, inspiring, true? All of the above.





The drive up leads you through some rough-looking small towns, but eventually winds through a few mountains and past a few small creeks. Then you take a sharp left and BAM, this view:

"Dad! Stop the car, I need this shot!"

We were going to take our tour first, but sadly you had to have a group of 10 (only 3 of us) and we couldn't get any of the other tasters there to join us :( But we did have a lovely walk around the property ourselves. To the left of the above picture, in the little valley, is a flat space where they hold several weddings a year!

(Above is a better shot of the mural you can kinda see here)

We weren't too sad about moving straight onto the tastings, especially since the space was so nice -->

This bar wraps the whole way around in the middle, and leads back into an inside-dining room on the other side, which was nice with all dark wood- but I was glad it was sunny enough for us to go outside.




And OH the tasting! We chose the "premier tasting" which includes FOURTEEN wines (one on this list wasn't available for tastings, but they had done a mulled wine that we were treated too not from the list).  The gentlemen who worked with us was so nice, and when I told him I am in a wine class, he loved telling me little bits of information not on the sheet and quizzing me on flavors I found- it was just an excellent experience for a newb like me. The sheet they gave us was awesome- here's what it had:

A great example of my awful handwriting, everyone.

1. Wine's name
2. Where the grapes were from
3. Grape percentages
4. Its aging (barrel type)
5. Alcohol content
6. Residual sugar levels
7. Winemaker's tasting notes
8. Medals it had one
9. And of course, prices

Now, since there were 14 wines in all, I'll just tell you about my favorite three:

Name:  La Belle Vie Rose' 
Year: 2013
Region: Northern VA
Grapes from: Indian Springs, VA
Grapes: 91% Chambourcin
              9% Chardonnay
Aging: Stainless Steel
What they say: "This is a semi-dry pale pink Rose wine obtained from a soft press full cluster of Virginia Chambourcin. Its aroma of citrus will lead you in the direction of pink grapefruit however your finish will linger with the refreshing strawberry you have grown to love with our rose."
What I say: First, let me brag that this wine was only released the day before we got there (so, last Friday). I also got to learn what a "soft press" is, which was cool too. The aroma of this was SO grapefruit, it really punches you. There's also a bit of a jamy smell, which I love. The taste was full of fresh strawberry. It was dry for a rose, my Mom says "it's so white for a pink!" and between my Dad and I, we identified the back as very pear filled, like those juicy Asian pears. It was super yummy.


Name: Robelos "Virginia Dessert Wine" (Because they're not allowed to call it Port)
Year: 2010
Region: Northern VA
Grapes from: Orange & Woodstock, VA
Grapes: 50% Touriga Nacional 
              30% Chambourcin
              20% Tinta Cao
Aging: Bourbon Barrel (from the Bowman distillery, which we've toured! It's a must-do around Fredricksburg)
What they say: "These 3 varietals have been harvested and aged in bourbon barrels coming from our neighbor A. Smith Bowman Distillery. Rabelos is rich in wonderful flavors of ripe raspberries, baked plums, and cherries, with a strong full body. Never heavy but sweet and powerful with a toasted oaky finish. It is a never ending wine and the perfect ending to any meal."
 What I Say: It may have been because it was so late in the tasting, but I adored this wine- we got a bottle for our dinner-party later in the evening. The nose is full of those dark-red fruits, especially the baked plums. When it hits your tongue, there is sweetness but not too much as it explodes in your mouth without being too heavy. There was a hint of caramel from the bourbon barrels, which we all loooooved. There were still flavors evolving even after the wine was gone, the raspberries and dark baking-spices flavor staying in the mouth. 

 
 Name: La Belle Vie White (my mother's favorite)
Year: 2013
Region: Northern VA
Grapes from: Woodstock-Stafford
Grapes: 60% Vidal
              10% Chardonnay
              10% Traminette
              10% Rkatsiteli
              5% Viognier
              5% Petit Manseng
Aging: Stainless Steel
What they say: "Our most popular white here at PPW is a crisp and refreshing white wine that is perfect for sipping on the patio. We loaded up the varietals to enhance all the fun fruit you will taste. This slightly sweet white has hints of citrus and melons. The perfect anytime wine with anything you may be doing."
What I say: Those melons hit you square in the nose. I'm new to this flavor, but it was strong and I quickly learned it. However, there is nothing "slightly" sweet about this flavor- it's real sweet. But it's balanced by a light body with a slight dryness so it's not overwhelming. There was a lot of tree-fruit flavor in the taste, but the strongest were Fuji apple along with the melon. It was so crisp and passed quickly.

A first day of sun in a rough winter to allow us on their patio!

Food: After our amazingly-long tasting, we each got a full glass of wine to go with our lunch platter. It had humus, olive spread, whole olives, baked dates, pickles, prosciutto-stuffed peppers, salami, sweet sausage, spicy sausage, sage cheddar, and brie.

Now, after so much wine- it all tasted wonderfully with my full glass of the La Belle Vie Rose, but I found myself sticking much closer to the soft brie and olive spread. They had their own strong flavors that worked well with my uncomplicated wine, without having to fight with the anything. Though a huge fan of hummus, with the big apple and pear flavors in my mouth, it tasted just awful. I also loved the stuffed peppers, since the spice was set off with the sweet wine (but also because I'm just obsessed with proscitto).

It was a GRAND visit overall. The wine was great, the food yummy, the company lovely (if I do say so myself) and even the sunshine was out after all the snow from the previous week. I would go here over and over again.

A Winter's Tale

I should start by admitting that I am easily taken by a good marketing campaign when it comes to wine bottles. I'm bad about choosing a wine based on the looks of the label rather than its reputation. This has given me a variety of results- sometimes I'm rewarded for my love of color, flash, and clever title, and sometimes I am seriously punished for falling for a pretty face. A couple friends joined me with this bottle, they're not in the wine class but were happy to help with my "homework."

You'll have to forgive me for- but I'm watching a show right now called "Once Upon A Time," (it's on Netflix guys, and it's the good kind of cheesy) and it's a Sauv Blanc, which was recently a Grape of the Day in class, so I felt safe choosing it. Whoops.

Can you really blame me? The label's exactly like the show's opening credits!

 Name: Lost Slipper
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $8.99

What they say: "Smooth and delicate as a glass slipper, our Sauvignon Blanc will delight your palate and get your taste buds dancing with its fresh, bright flavors of sweet white peach, luscious nectarine, and lemon chiffon icing."
I haven't really figured out who to trust for reviews, but "We Speak Wine" says this wine is a "finely-crisp choice, good for palate and wallet."

What I say: Perhaps I'm just not into Sauvignon Blanc's yet, but I was not a huge fan of this one. The smell to me was very crisp and fruity, rather melon-y. There was certainly some huge acidic bite in the taste, though, which I'm just not a big fan of. I thought I tasted pear past the shock of the dry acid. I did like the after taste though, of a fruity-clean.

What my friends say: All three of them really enjoyed this one.They really like the drier whites, so it did not surprise me too much. They agreed with me about the pear flavor, and perhaps a little mineral as well, but none of us got that big tropical-fruit idea that we expected from a Sauv Blanc.

Ingleside & Pizza, Snowday-Winesday!

So it's a snowy, wintery day outside. What better way to stay warm than to taste a new wine? So today we're doing a food pairing with delivery pizza. Boyer said that pizza goes with anything -- I'm willing to test it! The following wine is one that my parents actually picked up for me during their wine-touring through Virginia.

Name: Ingleside's "Sweet Virginia Rose"
Variety: 83% Chardonnay, 10% Cab. Sauv., 7% Merlot
Region: Eastern Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2013
Price: 14.95
Pairing: Domino's Spinach & Feta Cheesy Bread and Pepperoni Pizza

What they say: The hot tub wine. This sweet blush wine has a delightful kiwi and citrus bouquet followed by flavors of strawberry, jam, and cherry. Its finish is rich and fruity. Recommended with cakes and sorbets and other sweet desserts. This wine is best served chilled.
Separate grape lots are fermented on the skins in stainless steel tanks. Then, just prior to bottling, the wine maker uses his skills to to develop this delightful dessert wine.


What I say:  This wine is everything that I want a wine to be. If I had to have one wine for the rest of my life, I would never hesitate. Yes, I have had better ones, but this is the one I think I would never ever tire of. The aroma is filled with strawberries and a little bit of fresh greens, as if you're standing at the strawberry cart in a full farmer's market. On the front I'm teased again with the strawberry, but rather than fresh it tastes a lot like strawberry-preserves. On the back, I'm happily pleased with the way it medium-fills the mouth, which is what I love about Blush wines in general- they're usually a perfect balance between the full-mouth of red wine and the "did I even drink that?" of dry whites. This one is a bit dry for a Blush, but I like that because it lets me focus on the flavor a bit more. I don't get any of the cherry they talk about. The back leaves me with what I think might be the "clean mineral" taste that I've heard of- like white pebbles or something. Though it has a 6% residual sugar, the sweetness is not overwhelming, of course I think that's helped a lot by the presence of the pizza. It has legs, thin but there (due to the sugar?) and a beautiful amber-rose color that makes me fall more in love with it. 

On the pairing: Boyer was right, pizza is delicious with all wine. I get to feel fancy because my cheesy bread has spinach in it. Like I mention above, I think the pizza helps the wine's sweetness balance really well. I'm sure this wine could be paired with much more extravagant things, but I appreciate a wine that sits happily with a coupon-inspired pizza. Would do again, over and over.

Beliveau Estate Wine Tasting

Name: Serenity
Variety: Chambourcin
Region: Virginia, Blue Ridge Highlands
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $15 
Food pairing: none

What they say:  "Our after dinner sweet Chambourcin in a .375 size bottle. Great with dark chocolate!" (Double Silver winner)

What I say: This wine is there sweet, almost dessert wine that came in a smaller bottle. Its aroma had a very strong dusty dark chocolate sense. The first taste was overwhelming because of the strange texture brought on by a bubbly feeling. Our server told us this may be due to the shot of nitro given to any open bottles the previous evening to keep them fresh, I wasn't a huge fan of the feeling. I did like that this wine filled the mouth with a dark fruit feeling, like dark cherries or even plum. Its sweetness was not as strong as I expected and was overtaken mostly by the bitter-baking-chocolate taste that it left in my mouth afterwards. It had strong legs and left little "wine crystals" in my glass.

Name: Reflection
Variety: Traminette
Region: Virginia, Blue Ridge Highlands
Country: United States
Year: 2012
Price: $17
Food pairing: none

What they say: "2012 dry Traminette with overtones of lime and tropical flowers.  Great with pumpkin pie!" (Double Bronze winner)

What I say: First smell was full of a flower/beach feeling. Our server suggested hibiscus and that felt right (but then I wasn't sure if it was only because now the idea was in my head). The flavor did have a very strong flower, almost too perfume-y for me. It was light, leaving barely visible marks on the glass, and rather dry but did leave enough sweetness in the mouth that I didn't mind the dryness too much.

Name: Discovery
Variety: Riesling/Niagara mix
Region: Virginia, Blue Ridge Highlands
Country: United States
Year: 2012
Price: $15
Food pairing: none

What they say: "This sweet white Niagara/Reisling blend is flying off the shelf.  Delicious!" (Double Bronze Winner)

What I say: I really did not like this wine at all. It smelled just like Welch's white grape juice, and aside from a little hint of grapefruit, tasted exactly like Welch's too. It was so sweet that it even made little legs, which I thought strange for what was supposed to be a light white. It was boring and tasted rather childish, like the kind of wine made for people who do not actually like wine but want to be seen drinking it.

Name: Silhoutte
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Virginia, Blue Ridge Highlands
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $20
Food pairing: none

What they say: "This dry lightly oaked Cabernet Sauvignon is medium bodied with a mellow blend of berry flavors" (Double Bronze winner)

What I say: The aroma gave to me was just full of grilled fruit. It smelled like apples and other tree-fruit had just recently been pulled off a fire, which I just loved as it filled all of the senses. This flavor continued into the taste, where I found I liked it much more as a smell alone. The taste felt like it had an accompanying bread-taste, which is perhaps what turned me off. The bread, thick feeling stayed far too long after the wine was gone as well.

Name: A Cappella
Variety: Landot Noir
Region: Virginia, Blue Ridge Highlands
Country: United States
Year: 2012
Price: $16
Food pairing: none

What they say: "A semi sweet fruit forward wine made of 100% Landot Noir" (Bronze winner)

What I say: I loved the smell of this one too, it was so full of prunes. The server kept trying to direct me back to "plums" but there was certainly that sense of dried-away but still a bit juicy that left me more with prunes. It left thin legs and was a very pretty shade of maroon, I thought. The taste continued the prune as well as adding in a sharpness that reminded me of pepper, but lighter, so I think it was that "white pepper" taste. I liked it quite a bit, and this was probably my favorite wine at the tasting. 

Overall, I was not a huge fan of the wines that Beliveau Estates had to offer. It was a great experience, as my friend and I had the tasting to ourselves and the server was very nice. However, none of the wines seemed very complex, which is something I really enjoy. Most of them were what my dad would call "just a wine, nothin' more." I am curious about going out to their actual winery, as we did the tasting here in their Blacksburg shop, to see if they experience is different.