Undertaking Wine

On the last day of our family reunion in Colonial Williamsburg, my parents, brothers, my wife and I decided to take a trip to visit Williamsburg Winery, located just off route 199 about 10 minuets from the center of Williamsburg.

We decided to take the Tour and Tasting.  The price was nice at $ 8.00 per person.  It started with a video, which we missed.  Then we had a tour of the winery.  We started in their entertaining room, Wessex Hall. It has a 18 century feel, with iron chandeliers, old wood and Spanish body armor statues.  They use this room for entertaining and weddings.  My wife said that when she gets married again, this is the place.

We then went on to the barrel room in the cellar.  The room is kept at a temperature of 55 to 60 degrees and a humidity level of 80%.  There were alot of barrels there and the room had a wonderful aroma of wood.  They mainly use American oak, but a good amount is in french oak.

We then went on to the production area.  There were able to watch them bottle their Dry Riesling. We saw them rock and label and seal the bottles.  This was very entertaining for those on the tour who never saw this before.

We then walked through the museum which houses bottles from the colonial days that were recovered from the area and some vintage bottles that the owner, the Duffeler family has acquired over the years.  The highlight of this part was to see an actual part of the cork tree.  They use all natural corks from such tree.  We then also saw the stainless steel tanks that they use to ferment their white wine.

Next we went on to the tasting.  This is where I was disappointed.  First the pourings were about a half of a jigger…they had liquor bottle pourer on all the wine and our guide did not give a full pour.

We tasted seven wines, one of them was a reserve wine.  The wine’s I liked were the following:

Samuel Argall Dry Riesling 2007: this wine is only sold in Virginia.  This was the first wine we tried and liked alot.  On the nose, some granny smith apple and lemon.  On the palate it was very crisp, lip smacking crisp and very dry.  This was a favorite of mine and my mom.

The Williamsburg Winery Acte12 Chardonnay 2006: This Chardonnay is aged and fermented in French Oak.  Now I don’t like Chardonnay aged this way, but this is French Style and it was well done, not to oaky.   On the nose it was fruit foward, it had a slight toasty aroma, but the fruit came through.  On the palate, it all fruit.  The Chardonnay fruit was all there.  Some apple and peach were there and the finish was just buttery enough.  This Chardonnay was named one of the worlds best by Decanter Magazine.

Barrel Aged Claret: This is a Bordeaux style blend made of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 5% Syrah.  It has wonderful red berry aroma and some cherry was there.  On the palate it was a little smoky and peppery.  It is medium to light body wine that has a nice clean finish.  I would consider this wine for my wine cellar.  This one I wish I had more of a tasting.

My overall impression with Williamsburg Winery is this, it was missing something and more of a pour was it.  I also found it interesting that they only have 30 of the 50 acres planted with grapes.  They do obtain grapes from other parts of America, like Washington, California, Virgina and New York if they are looking for a certian grape.  I feel that they could be more of a grower than a maker, they have the land for it.  It appears to me that they are more focused on making wine than growing wine.  I understand that sometimes winemakers need to get grapes from other vineyards, but there is just something about farming you own fruit and producing your own product from your own back yard that makes that wine extra special.  You can taste it.

The next time I am in Williamsburg, VA, I will take advantage of their Reserve Tour.  This is a $30 tour, which according to there website, “are available by appointment only in our private wine cellar. You will sample and compare some of the reserve wines produced at the winery with selected vintages from our library collection. A country sampler of assorted cheese and crackers will complement your personalized tasting and you will take home an oversized etched reserve wine glass to remember your tasting.”

So today’s blog brings me off Long Island and across the Mason-Dixon Line.  I find myself here in Colonial Williamsburg, VA.  I am here with my family for a reunion.  We arrived on Thursday, and decided, before the rest of the crazy cousins arrive, let us get out, and explore.  So my wife and two brothers took off for the 30-minuet drive west to New Kent.

New Kent Winery is a new winery located off I-64 almost directly between Williamsburg and Richmond, Virginia.  When we arrived, we were impressed right away.  The view and the setting was beautiful.  It was a hot, humid and sunny, typical Virginian weather.

We decided to take the tour and tasting, not a bad deal for $7.00.  We had a 20-minute tour and then a tasting of seven wines, one that was just released.

Since this is not going to be my normal tasting, I will report on what we saw and tasted.

The grapes were planted in 2001 and they have 20 something acres of grapes.  There is a plan for a total of 50+ acres of grapes.  Their tasting room and facility was built almost entirely of recycled materials, civil war bricks, cypress siding, shingles milled from north Florida, after being submerged for over 100 years, lots of heart-pine and floor timbers and columns from century old buildings.  The design and details go down to the small detail like the hinges and knobs on the doors that came from the Jefferson Hotel.

We had a tour of the barrel room, where they had six stainless steel vats from Europe and new American oak barrels.  It is an American winery so they use American oak.  The room is cooled with glycol piping to 55 degrees.  One interesting concept was the “Barrel Club”.  You can purchase a membership for $650.00.  It is a 3-year membership, and you get a “barrel” with your name on it.  You also get a case of wine for 3 years, of your choice.  In addition, many other offers and first for members.

Now, on to the wine.  The first wine we tasted was 2005 Chardonnay.  It is a French style Chardonnay.  It is cold fermented in stainless steel then gently aged in oak for 12 months.  On the nose, fruit elements.  On the palate, it was extremely crisp with a lot of acid, very nice acid.  I tasted a little tart, like a Granny Smith Apple.  The finish was smooth, with just a hint of butter.  My wife tasted a touch of toast.  This was a hit and a nice way to start.

The next tasting was a 2006 Reserve Chardonnay.  This was a California style Chardonnay, meaning that it was aged in oak.  They ferment and age this Chardonnay for over 3 years in premium oak barrels sur-lie, meaning on the yeast lees.  Surprisingly, it does not have that typical oaky Chardonnay aroma.  A little butter on the nose, but you do pick up hints of citrus.  The taste is a little buttery, some honey and the citrus is still there.  The finish is smooth and creamy.  It is a decent chardonnay.  My problem is the aging in the oak, you lose some of the grape, and pick up too much of the barrel.  This was not too bad, but I preferred the first Chardonnay.

Next, we tasted their non-vintage Mertiage.  This is a blended wine of three grapes, two from their estate and one from another vineyard in Virginia.  The two that they grow are Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  The other wine from outside the estate was Cabernet Sauvignon; this comes from the Shenandoah Valley.  This was a beautiful wine, well rounded and delicious.  Wonderful aroma of dark berry and cherry.  On the palate, it was a little peppery with some hints of black cherry and black berry with just the right amount of acid.  It was light body with a very nice peppery finish.  This was a very nice well-blended wine.  I would recommend this wine to anyone and could find a spot in my wine cellar.

The next wine we all tasted was their 2005 Merlot.  This is estate grown.  The nose was very earthy, some cloves and spice with a touch of leather.  The taste was tannic, it overpowered the wine.  According to my brother, there was some smoke and some musk on his palate.  It felt like I had a cotton ball in my mouth.  I was not impressed with this wine, too tannic, it needed some aromatic elements.

We then went on to the 2008 Vidal Blanc.  This wine had 2% residual sugar.  It was almost clear in color.  Had a nice honey, fruity aroma.  On the palate it continued.  Not to syrupy, light body feel.  The finish was clean.  I did enjoy this wine, it was refreshing.

Next was their NV White Norton.  This is a rose, but not your normal rose.  It does have 3% residual sugar.  It is made from the Norton grape, which is native to Virginia.  It is very close to the Merlot grape.  Thomas Jefferson used to grow the Norton grape.  When you get most Norton wine, it is usually red, not pink like this.  New Kent uses a secret to get this wine.  The grapes are cold fermented in stainless steel without the skins, this way the color does not turn red, but stays pink.  There is a heavy aroma of strawberry on the nose.  On the palate, there is a nice amount of acidity that makes it very tart, but still shows red berry flavors.  The finish is spicy, a little peppery, but it does finish clean.  I enjoyed this wine, because I never had a Norton before.  I now want to try the traditional Norton wine.  Honestly, the only problem I had with this wine was with the name.  White Norton reminded me of White Zinfandel, which, well need I describe that wine.  I think Rose of Norton would have been a very cool name and would also add to the mystique of this unusual wine.

Finally, we had a tasting of Sweet Virginia.  This is a desert wine made of, Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon and Concord grape.  Yes, Concord grape.  There is 8% residual sugar and 13% alcohol.  It is very sweet, on the nose there was grape jelly, and the taste was grape jelly.  The only thing missing was the peanut butter…if you know what I mean.  If you like desert wine than this was for you.  They called it “Sassy” to target the ladies.

In conclusion, New Kent Winery is a wonderful place to visit.  The architecture and design is very impressive.  I would recommend visiting this winery to anyone that visits the Williamsburg area.  Please do take the tour and the tasting.  The guides are very informative and really show their southern hospitality.  The wines there are very nice and some I would consider adding to my wine cellar.  My top three that I tasted are 1) 2005 Chardonnay 2) Meritage and 3) White Norton.  I feel that New Kent needs to work on their red wine a little more.  I prefer more aromatic wine, but that is just me.  I am not a fan of tannic wine.  I would love to see what they could do with Cabernet Franc, since I am a fan, and it is estate grown.  I hope to visit them again the next time we are in Williamsburg, most likely the next family reunion in 2011.  Overall, this was worth the visit and I would come again.