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| From left: Emily, me, Adam, & Eirika |
A day of sunshine, wine, and great company. What a wonderful spring day!
Fork & Cork happens each year, and I was so thankful to get to take part in it this season. I went with my lovely friends Eirika, Adam, and Emily.
There were SO many wines and fun food, we couldn't even imagine trying them all. But we did have a good time with comparisons. Here's some cool stuff we found:
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| Also the tasters here were sassy- loved them! |
Name: Ramulose Ridge's "Sweetwater"
Varietal: Traminette
Price: $12
What They Say: "Our luscious Traminette perfectly sweetened."
What I Say: I really loved all of their sweeter wines. This one had a little bit of a citrus/tree fruit back that I loved. Emily ended up getting one of these, and I bought their "Entangled" (more peach sweet) with the promise that we would share with one another.
Name: Notivia's "Y'all Make Me Blush"
Varietal: Rose (Vidol Blanc & Chamborcin)
Price: $18
What They Say: Their country music inspired wine, meant to be a nice middle ground as a sweet blush.
What I say: There was a lot of strawberry upfront on the nose, which was really refreshing. There was some maraschino cherry on the back of the mouth. It was real sweet, I thought, certainly a picnic wine.
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| Eirika mesmerized by some legs |
Name: Lazy Days Winery's Cab Sauv
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvigon
Price: $22
What They Say: "The rich and fruit Cab Sauv was aged in 5 year old neutral French oak barrels to bring out this wines flavor of plums, raspberries, cherries, and just a hint of vanilla. Perfect Red drinking wine!"
What I say: Those fruits were there, but goodness they were the dried version of them. There was a lot of prune, and I thought I got a hint of spice on the back. I wasn't a huge fan of this wine, but I was a big fan of the sangria they made it with- a lot more fruit was added and it was ice cold.
Name: Lexington Winery's 2010 Norton
Varietal: Norton
Price: $16
What They Say: " Tired of wimpy red wines? This original Virginia varietal has a great
taste with black cherry flavors and complimentary tannins for a truly
satisfying glass of real wine. Try Norton with chocolate, wow! Also
pairs with a juicy steak, lamb, game meats and sharp cheddar"
What I say: There was some black cherry up at the front, with a little coffee on the back. It felt hot and a bit spicy. It didn't go down like a wine, it almost had this liquor feeling to it, which was confusing to me. I wanted to like it because it was a Norton, but I really didn't. Eirika was a huge fan of it though- she's big on big reds.
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| Waiting in line was not always fun... |
Name: Lexington Winery's 2013 Traminette
Varietal: Traminette
Price: $18
What They Say: "Like its parent Gewurztraminer, this great German hybrid is a semi-dry white, great with just about anything!"
What I say: I throughly enjoyed getting to know this grape yesterday, it never disappointed. This wine in particular was fun, with a real fresh quality to it that was dry on the back, making the sweet front really smooth. There was a little tiny bit of vanilla or spice to compliment the pure-grape-3-seconds-from-the-vine mouthful it was giving us.
Name: Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery's Virginia Peach Wine
Varietal: Peach
Price: $16.95
What They Say: "This 'front porch' wine is like biting into a ripe, juicy peach, without the pit and the fuzz. This delicate sipping wine also pairs well with seafood."
What I say: This was exactly as they say- a huge mouthful of peach. It was just sweet enough on the front without being overwhelming, but it was hot on the back- perhaps the peach was not enough to hide all the alcohol flavor.
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| We also got to try meads! Yum! |
Name: Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery's Sweet Vixen
Varietal: Rose'
Price: $18.95
What They Say: "Your nose will tell you what is in store for your palate! This is
intensely strawberry and absolutely delicious. Pairs with dinner or
dessert. Go Sweet!"
What I say: This was very sweet, and unlike their fruit wines, there was no hot back. I agree that there was certainly a lot of strawberry going on, but there was some other red fruit going on as well, perhaps cherry or a light plum going on. It was so nice for a hot day like yesterday!
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| Adam modeling lunch |
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| What cuties. |
FOOD PAIRING:
Adam joined me in the food pairing fun. We had White Rock Winery's Scarlet Sunrise, which was 100% white merlot. It was a little sweet with a soft strawberry and subtle little vanilla.
We got a bottle of it to share while we had some lunch!
Pairings:
1) Shrimp/Sausage & Grits: The spice in the grits, and the heavy cheese, really pulled out the sweetness of the wine. The fresh fruit became very apparent and was just a delicious combination.
2) BBQ Sandwich: I thought the spice would do the same to the wine, but since it was a more mustard spice, it actually took some of the sweetness out of the wine. Though the fruit was still very forward, with the meat of the bbq the wine took on a little lighter, more acidic flavor which surprised all of us I think. We should have stuck with the grits!
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| End of the day, tired but happy! |
My hands down FAVORITE wine of the day was Ramulose Ridge Vineyards "Entangled". It had a subtle peach flavor that I could just not get over, and even though it was one of the first tents we visited, I ran back to it at the end of the day to buy a bottle. It just seemed to be a glass full of South Carolina spring, with all those peached a little hint of grass and herb, like standing in the middle of Aiken, SC farmer's market.
There were some other fun drinks, like the spicy Hill Top's "Dragon's Breath" that was all hot pepper and honey. Going from tent to tent, getting a really full-circle experience taught me a lot about how my taste buds have changed. A year ago I was all about Chamborcin, but yesterday I wanted nothing to do with them and begged for us to find more Traminette!
All in all it was a wonderful day. The sunburn was worth it, and trecking around the parking lot with my friends (occasionally being a little snobby with my new wine knowledge) was just a total blast. Can't wait to visit Blacksburg for Fork & Cork next year!
