Virginia Wine Dogs Year in Review

2013 brought new wine dogs, new wineries, new wine grapes and new wine club memberships while Virginia's reputation for quality wine continues to spread.

January - Introducing Ecco

Little Prosecco joins the Virginia Wine Dogs in January, adding a bit of sparkling to the pack. Barely a year old, the Yorkie girl quickly begins sneaking a taste here and there (under parental supervision of course) – and takes to the vine like a pro.

February - Ecco Makes Her Winery Debut

 

Pomeroy decides Prosecco is ready to begin her training as a Virginia Wine Dog. First stop, Potomac Point Vineyard and Winery. The 2009 Richland Reserve Heritage is the Wine Dogs’ pick for enjoying in front of the fireplace - and the judge's choice for the Governor's Cup Case in 2012.

 

Later in the month, 2013 Governor's Cup winners are announced and Potomac Point's 2010 vintage again makes the case, while Barboursville's 2009 Octagon is top dog in Virginia. 

March - Let Them Eat Steak 

 

Ecco enjoys her first steak dinner. Pomeroy shows his Virginia wine expertise pairing the grilled T-Bone with a 2007 Ameritage Reserve from his Pearmund Cellars' barrel.

 

Also in March, Virginia wines fetch 61 medals San Francisco, including golds for Barrel Oak (2), Barboursville Vineyards, Gray Ghost Vineyards, and Narmada Winery. PAWS UP! 

April - It IS Her First Rodeo 

 

Wine Dogs celebrate Desert Rose Winery's second anniversary with Bob and the gang and sneak a taste of the Covert Cabernet, one of the new varietals debuting across Virginia in 2013.

Chateau Morrisette Winery adds to growing international reputation of Virginia Wine, signing 5-year agreement with China's Tianjin Commodity Exchange Company. Inaugural shipment of more than 1,150 cases coincides with Governor McDonnell's Asia trade mission. Go Dogs!

May - The Hills Are Alive

Wine Dogs check out Granite Heights and Morais then catch up with Robbie Limon at North Mountain where they are introduced to Gruner-Veltliner, produced for the first time in Virginia as a tribute to John Jackson's Austrian heritage.

Wine Enthusiast recognizes Jordan Harris (32) of Tarara Winery in its "40 Under 40" list of rising stars who are changing the way the world drinks while three Virginia Wines earn Double Gold at the International Finger Lakes Competition: Pearmund Cellars 2011 Late Harvest Traminette; Pollak Vineyards 2010 Merlot; and Sunset Hills Vineyards 2012 Sunset White (Traminette).

June - Dog Days and Summer Camp

 

The Wine Dogs take in a foster sibling, Scottie the Yorkie, who is awaiting his forever home through Paws for Seniors. Pomeroy leads the pack to Wine Boot Camp with Donna and Carl at Little Washington Winery.
 

 

The well schooled Wine Dogs kick off the Dog Days of Summer with Northern Virginia Magazine at Naked Mountain.

 

Virginia's Governor and First Lady commemorate the 200th anniversary of Virginia's Executive Mansion with release of 1813, a blend bringing together the best winemakers and grapes from around Virginia, including Chambourcin harvested from Executive Mansion vines. 

July - Your Table's Waiting

After being treated to top dog hospitality by Jeff and Laura McCarthy Louden, Ecco joins the Cobbler Mountain Wine Club. A new tasting room is in store for 2014.

 

The New York Times business section features Virginia wine, reporting that grapes are reshaping agriculture in Virginia. Keswick Vineyards 's Stephen Barnard and Tarara Winery's Jordan Harris make the Top 100 list of influential U.S. Winemakers. Pawsome!

August - Wine Dogs Make a Splash

 

Ecco and Pomeroy high-tail it to the beach for some well-deserved R&R. Governor McDonnell announces that Virginia wine sales reach half-million case benchmark in 2013.

 

 

 September - Check Out Our Clubhouse

 

Swedenberg reopens as Greenhill Winery and Vineyards and the Wine Dogs' Uncle Jeff is one of the first to join the club based in the estate's historic stone manor house. The Wine Dogs spot another new winery along the Winding Road. 

 

What's a little rain when Grillin' (and wining) for a Cause? The Wine Dogs spend a wet but enjoyable afternoon at Unicorn Winery with great BBQ and Virginia wine to benefit Hospice Support of Fauquier County.

Wine Enthusiast Magazine's 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Barboursville Founder Gianni Zonin. Eric Trump is named magazine's Rising Star for 2013.

October - VA Wine Month Turns 25

 

Ecco and Pomeroy enthusiastically celebrate the silver anniversary of Virginia Wine Month. The Scavenger Hunt takes them on a 2,000-mile trek, leaving tiny paw prints in five different wine regions across Virginia. 

 

En route, the Wine Dogs discover several new wineries including the Maggie Malick Wine Caves and neighboring Cardamon Family Vineyards, as well as Front Royal's first urban winery, the Miller Winery and even take in a polo match at the King Family Vineyards. Pomeroy joins the wine club at Ingleside Vineyards.

Virginia holds its first Wine Summit, featuring Oz Clarke, one of the world's pre-eminent wine writers, who dares Virginia to be bold: "Great grapes that the mainstream can't or won't produce are the grapes that make Virginia unique and will make Virginia famous."

November - Sippin' Cider

Virginia celebrates Cider Week for the first time, highlighting the eight cideries now operating in the Commonwealth. The Wine Dogs provide a preview with a visit to Virginia's first modern cidery, Foggy Ridge Cidery.

 

With the harvest in, the Wine Dogs get mixed reports about the 2013 crop. John Delmare at Rappahannock Cellars says he may have the best Chardonnay vintage ever. Good wine in the barrel, but many wineries struggled with bugs, critters, and frost. Almost everyone is planting MORE GRAPES. 

December - Wine Dog of the Month 

 

Exciting news for Ecco - she will be the January Wine Dog of the Month at Three Fox Vineyard, (where Pomeroy studied winemaking), wrapping up an eventful first year on the circuit.

 

Virginia Wine honors continue to pour in with Virginians Luca Paschina and Lucie Morton named among Vineyard & Winery Management’s “20 Most Admired People in the North American Wine Industry”

In-Cider Scoop on Foggy Ridge from the Wine Dogs

Foggy Ridge Cider
Dugspur, Virginia

Taking a break from their usual weekend wining, Ecco and Pomeroy decidered to check out Virginia’s blooming hard cider industry.  And where to start but Virginia’s first modern cidery – Foggy Ridge Cider.

Yes, it is indeed a foggy ridge.

Diane Flynt - the First Lady of Virginia Hard Cider – planted her orchard in 1996 and fermented her first vintage of cider in 2005. Today, Diane’s Garden of Eden outside Floyd, Virignia, grows 30 different varieties of apples, spread across 200 acres and produces 4,000 to 5,000 cases of cider a year.  

Don't expect your grocery store variety of apples – cider apples are tart and tannin: “They call them spitters for a reason,” Cider Slinger Connie told the Wine Dogs were told during their tasting.

 

It’s a different story after the apples spend 6-8 weeks in steel tanks and are transformed into delightful sparkling beverages that left the Wine Dogs be-cide themselves with joy.

The walls of the cidery are replete with article of accolades for Foggy Ridge from local and national publications (will we see the Wine Dog review on our next visit?).

We loved the quote from Virginia Wooff:



Connie poured four distinct hand-crafted ciders.

The Serious Cider reminded the Wine Dogs of a Brut Champagne (or Virginia Sparkling Blanc de Blanc). Three ingredients go into the cider – apples, carbonation, and yeast.

Serious Cider is made from Old English apple varieties, including Roxbury Russets which are found just across from the cidery.  The Wine Dogs found it paired well with cheese as they enjoyed a bottle at a table overlooking the orchard.

Foggy Ridge's First Fruit cider blends early season American heirloom apples – grafted from Thomas Jefferson’s trees at Monticello. This is a rich fruity cider with lively acidity.

Little Ecco gave her “Paws Up” to the Sweet Stayman – a crossover cider with 2.3 percent residual sugar. The Cider blends Virginia Stayman apples with heirloom varieties like Pink Lady and Grimes Golden. The result is a lightly sweet cider.

The older and more sophisticated Pomeroy gave his enthusiastic two Paws Up to the Port-style cider, Pippin Gold. The cider is blends Newtown Pippin hard cider with apple brandy from Laird and Company, America’s oldest distillery, making Apple Jack since 1780. 

There are currently eight cideries in Virginia – chances are you’ve passed signs for one or two as you wine your way across the Commonwealth.

• Albemarle Ciderworks
• Blue Bee Cider
• Bold Rock Cider
• Castle Hill Cider
• Foggy Ridge Cider
• Old Hill Cider
• Potter’s Craft Cider
• Winchester Ciderworks

The Wine Dogs note that one of our fav local wineries, Cobbler Mountain, released a wicked sparkling hard cider of its own over Columbus Day Weekend, which earned a “Paws Up” from both pups.

Check them all out during Cider Week Virignia!

Miller Time for the Wine Dogs

Miller Winery

Front Royal, Virginia

 

A new winery - actually a microwinery - opened in downtown Front Royal last week, and Ecco and Pomeroy simply had to poke their heads in to bring you the scoop.

The Wine Dogs found a freshly finished tasting room in the back of what was the Old School House -

and the Millers, Jason and Amber.

Amber and Jason’s passion for wine started in 2002, when they purchased a cabin in the Shenandoah Valley, a jumping off point for touring Virginia Wine Country. Four years ago, Jason graduated to home winemaker and in 2012, he teamed up with Erik Bandzak, who pioneered urban city micro-wineries in Baltimore with Aliceanna Winery.

The back of the house includes the winery - housing several Italian stainless steel tanks and two carboys where the Millers make wine in batches, 60 gallons at a time. Total production is 2,000 bottles (yes, bottles, not cases). The plan is to double production next year, adding Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chambourcin.

There is also an office/production room for packing and shipping. Jason already has expansion plans to bring the winery out to the front of Royal Street, with outdoor café tables looking out at the Warren County Courthouse.


Everything at Miller Winery is done by hand – from corking the bottles (Pomeroy learned how intensive that is when our own Miller hand-corked the Wine Dog wine) to the bags, which Amber hand-stamps with the Miller label.

The Miller Winery opened with Jason pouring four wines. The fifth, the Chardonnay, is awaiting label approval – apparently delayed by the government shutdown. “We tried to come out the door with something that hits everybody’s palate,” explained Jason. “Something” includes two whites – a German-style Riesling and a Seyval Blanc – and a pair of reds.

The first – aptly named LOL - was an amusing wine made from Concord grapes, with a Welch’s jelly nose accompanying a more sophisticated taste that still remains sweet on the palate. Ecco lapped it up.

(Gotta love the Miller humor).

 

Pomeroy preferred the smooth, rich and slightly peppery Hunter’s Red – made from the Noiret grape, a disease resistant hybrid developed at Cornell.

While the current run of wines are made from grapes purchased out-of-state, the Millers will be producing true Virginia wine. They have planted a 5-acre vineyard (managed by Jason’s parents) in Bumpass, Virginia (near Lake Anna).

The urban winery concept appealed to these Wine-Dogs-about-Town, a welcome addition to the flourishing Virginia industry. Yep, it's the right time for Miller Time!

Winding Road Leads to Good Wine and Good Times for the Wine Dogs

Winding Road Cellars
Markham, Virginia

Ecco and Pomeroy stop to wine along the Winding Road

Heading down the winding road to Hume, the Wine Dogs spotted an unexpected "Open" sign and turned in to investigate. They discovered Winding Road Cellars, a new Virginia winery which opened quietly over Labor Day weekend.

The pups entered the charming red wood building and Ecco's nose began to twitch as it filled with the scent of fresh wood.
From floor to ceiling, the tasting room is rich with polished pine, beautifully crafted by Amish builders from Pennsylvania.

The wines are hand-crafted too - by owner Scott Culver, who got his rookie winemaker training at Mediterranean Cellars.

Winding Road currently is pouring six wines, with a surprisingly mature selection for a new winery. The oldest is a Cabernet Franc from 2007, a pedigree year for Virginia wines. Both dogs liked the off-dry Vidal Blanc (2009). Pomeroy gave paws up to the spicy 2008 Chambourcin, while Ecco preferred its semi-sweet sibling, made from a late harvest of the same grapes.

Both Wine Dogs agreed the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon was the pick of the litter and their choice for the steak they planned for dinner.

The spacious patio is a great place for wining and unwinding, offering sweeping views of the vineyard.

Viognier, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc, are already in the ground - along with one experimental row of Pinot Noir. Scott plans to double the vineyard this spring with another 2,500 to 3,000 vines.

The Wine Dogs are glad they followed the Winding Road to Scott and Linda Culver's door, and are looking forward to future visits.