Take Aways from the 2011 Wine Blogger Conference

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Sonadora

1.) I look just like my picture. I started attending the Wine Blogger Conference during its very first year in Sonoma. I missed Walla Walla, but otherwise I have attended all other years. After 4 years, the most common thing people say to me upon meeting me for the first time is “You look just like your picture.” Next year I’ve decided I’ll wear a badge that says “Yes. I look just like my picture.”

2.) Virginia wine has come a long way since I moved here 8 years ago. However, I am still convinced that Viognier and Cabernet Franc are what VA does best, though my experience this weekend has started to sway me towards the belief that Petit Verdot has enormous possibilities here as well. I tasted an absolutely brilliant one (2005 Reserve) from Jefferson Vineyards, though with only 7 cases left, they aren’t selling it! Also, the just released 2010 Viognier from Breaux Vineyards is well worth your time to check out.

3.) Charlottesville is an adorable place that I need to return to when my life slows down a bit. I shared a lovely dinner at Tavola with Jason, Thea, and Craig and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Charlottesville. Also, check out Brookville Restaurant, where they have an appreciation for bacon, pork belly, and all other pig products that rang true with me!

4.) The conference, while always entertaining and a great place to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones, will never regain the magic that it held for me that first time at the Flamingo in Sonoma. Which brings me to…

5.) I missed the people who I was used to seeing at these conferences and it made a big difference for me. So Tim, Shana, Jeff, Randy, Russ, Patrick, Michael (too many others to mention)….I was thinking of you and missing you and wishing you were there with us.

6.) If the Pinot Noir I tasted during the speed tasting on day 2 from King Estate is any indication of the wines we will get to sample at the 2012 conference in Oregon, we are all in for a mighty treat.

7.) I have some thinking to do about what I want to do with my blog going forward. I’m certainly not the oldest wine blogger around, I believe that honor might belong to Alder over at Vinography, but I am going on 5 years here at Wannabe Wino. I’ve mostly settled into a format that works for me at this point, but I’m pondering the viability of the blog as it is. More on this another day when I’m not so sleep deprived.

8.) Wine people, regardless of the region, remain among some of the friendliest and most welcoming people I’ve ever had the pleasure to hold company with. Perhaps it’s simply all the wine we drink, but I’m fairly certain it’s more than that, to the core of the type of person that is drawn to the love of wine to the extent of becoming a part of the larger wine community.

9.) Jancis Robinson, was utterly charming and made some excellent points in her key note speech. I was honored that she accepted the invitation to come speak at the conference and would relish the opportunity to hear her again in the future.

10.) The nature of these events leaves little time for meaningful conversations and connections. But it is a start to what can become meaningful conversations and connections. So don’t let the pile of business cards you collected gather dust. Make sure to follow up with the folks you found particularly interesting and build on the fleeting moments you spent with the person at the conference. I’ve made some incredibly good and lasting friendships by doing so over the years.

Link up to WBC Round Ups.

Filed under: Virginia Vineyards, Virginia Wines, WBC | 6 Comments »

Leaving on a

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Sonadora

jet plane train boat, er, car that is. This year’s Wine Blogger Conference is actually in my backyard, in Charlottesville, VA, so I can take my own wheels! Does wonders for the cost of attending considering the last 3 years have found the bloggers migrating to the west coast. Which for me involves planes and car rentals and airport parking…

I’ll be trying to do a bit of a mix this year with some live reporting on the spot and take home posts as well. I’m hoping that the conference will help to show the wide world of wine bloggers what VA has to offer! With this heat though, bring on the Viognier!

Filed under: Virginia Vineyards, Virginia Wines, WBC | Comments Off on Leaving on a

Tis the Season…

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the folks at Maryhill Winery.

For white wines! Oh yes, the DC swamp has returned for the spummall. That would would be spring/summer/fall. Or what I used to call spring, summer, and fall when I lived somewhere with more distinguishable seasons. This year is felt like we got unburied from our 12 million feet of snow and then it was summer. Hot summer. Perfect for all those crisp, white wines that I seem to ignore in the winter. While I had to miss the Wine Blogger Conference this year (sob!) some of the lovely wineries in Washington State sent me some wines so I could taste from afar what my fellow bloggers would be treated to. We tried the 2007 Maryhill Winemaker’s White the other evening. This blend of 49% Chardonnay, 36% Sauvignon Blanc, 11% Sémillon, and 4% Viognier had a real cork closure, clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and retails for about $12.

On the nose I found pear, flowers, apple, honeysuckle, spice, and white pepper. In my notes I wrote “Could it have Viognier in the blend?” before I went to look at the tech sheet to see exactly what this wine contained. To me it was strongly reminiscent of Viognier, even though it turned out to only contain 4%. In the mouth I got yellow apple, cider, spice, slight tropical notes, and melon. Overall I found the wine to be crisp with nice acidity and perfect for a DC spummall evening.

Filed under: Virginia Vineyards, Washington, WBW, White, Wine | Comments Off on Tis the Season…

WBW #61 At the Source

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Sonadora

Oh yes folks, it’s that time of the month again: Wine Blogging Wednesday! I’m trying my best to participate in as many this year as I can, I’ve done a fairly decent job since I started the blog, though some months just get away from me or I can’t find a suitable bottle for the topic.  This month, our fearless leader Lenn has taken back the reins for the 61st edition of WBW. Ever the champion of local wines from the New York area, he has set us to the task titled “At the Source.” By this, he asked us to go taste wine at a vineyard local to us and write about the experience.  I almost didn’t think I could make this happen.  While the vineyards aren’t TOO far from  my house in VA, it’s still a 45 minute -1 hour drive each way to the closest ones depending on traffic. And yes Virginia, your traffic is still miserable on the weekends.  So I really have to plan to be able to get out there..plus, I have to cajole the husband into going, and he seems to think that the several trips I/we take to CA each year should satisfy my vineyard visiting desire…silly man.

Fate intervened and the heavens smiled down and I had the happy circumstance of connecting with Rappahanock Cellars on Twitter (though I had visited in the past), my brother in law(BIL) and sister in law (SIL) visiting, and a husband who didn’t mind driving us that day. Rappahannock is about an hour and half from where we live, so a bit of a hike. But all in the name of wine and WBW, right? Turns out, the voice behind Rappahannock Cellars on Twitter is actually Allan Delmare, one of the 13 12(yes, 13 12) children of the Delmare family, the owners of Rappahannock Cellars.  We arrived promptly at 11:30am on Sunday morning, found Allan and were whisked down to the cellar. Very exciting and different for my BIL/SIL who had never been in a winery cellar before nor had a winery tour! Allan had set up a table in the cellars with 3 glasses each, water bottles, and what looked like a case or more of wine.

While we tasted through the wines, I peppered Allan with questions (poor guy) and he did a fabulous job of explaining the operation especially to my BIL/SIL who weren’t so familiar with winemaking and cellaring and all the goes into the production of wine.  The Delmare family hails from Santa Cruz where they owned a vineyard before moving to VA in 1998 and purchasing the property in Rappahannock County.  They built the vineyard from the ground up and released the first vintage in 2000 with purchased fruit. I learned that about80% of the fruit Rappahannock uses comes from either Estate vineyards or vineyards they leased, planted, and manage from other folks.  They have 30 acres of vineyards and produce between 6,000-8,000 cases of wine a year.

Now, the wines. Overall, Rappahannock Cellars is producing an extremely solid line up of wines. They seem to have really figured out what works in VA and what isn’t so hot. Our climate here is a little tough on most vinifera grapes, though folks persistently grow them, with mixed results overall. Rappahannock seems to even have that down, refusing to produce a wine when the fruit isn’t perfect. For example, the 2007 vintage is the first Cabernet Sauvignon they have produced since 2000! (I know, you’re thinking, Cab Sauv from VA? But I promise, it was actually a very good effort.)

2008 Seyval Blanc: $17. Orange blossom, orange, lemon, citrus, crisp, dry, light, refreshing. A great picnic wine.  VA does really well with hybrid white grapes.

2008 Viognier: $22. Floral, apricots, honeysuckle, crisp, citurs, orange, grassy. I’m extremely pleased to see so many VA wineries getting serious about Viognier. They produce some fantastic examples of the grape…I’d say it should be the flagship wine from VA, though I know everyone seems to think that’s Cabernet Franc. We purchased two, and the BIL/SIL bought a chilled one for us to drink over lunch.

2007 Chardonnay: $22. Grass, pear, apple, flowers, butter, creamy on the finish, mid palate shows crisp apple.

2007 Headwaters Vidal Blanc: $16.50. Sweet on the nose, honey, candied orange, lemon, a little sweet. This has a touch of residual sugar, but isn’t overwhelming n any way.

2008 Noblesse Viognier: Another wine with some residual sugar. Candied sugar, apricot, candied honey, honeysuckle.

2007 Claret: $20. Raspberry, spice, pepper, strawberry jam, very light, red fruit.

2007 Cabernet Franc: $24. Raspberry, pepper, oak, cedar, roses, tight, raspberry, tannins, spice, peppery. We bought 1 bottle.

2006 Meritage: $29. Pepper, smoky, dusty, blackberry, black cherry, juicy, spice. BIL/SIL purchased one of these.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon: Honestly surprised by this one. I didn’t expect much, but really, well done.  Vanilla, cream, smoke, spice, mulberry, juicy, raspberry, nice acidity and structure. Certainly not a monster Cab Sauv, a totally different style.

2008 Chapellet Charlemagne Chardonnay: Pineapple, tropical notes, pears, orange, orange zest, lemon. I liked this best of the two Chards, this one was done all in stainless steel.

2007 North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon: From what I understand, a family member owns a vineyard out in Mendocino and sends fruit back East for this wine. It’s 97% Cab Sauv, 3% VA Cab Franc. Spice, pepper, blackberry, cedar, spice, big nose, herbs, red fruit, tannins to spare.

2008 Norton: Chocolate, spice, mint, juicy, tannic, big fruit.

2008 Late Harvest Vidal Blanc: $18.50 375 mL. Pear, pineapple, apricot, honey, peach, pineapple, tropical fruit.

2007 Port Style Wine: $39. Raisin, sweet, chocolate, blackberry, Welches grape juice. You’d have to taste this to believe it. We bought a bottle for my dad.

Solera: $32 375mL. Quite possible the oddest wine I have ever tasted. This is made by placing barrels of wine on the roof of the building and letting them bake in the summer sun. Then all the barrels are mixed together and one full barrel is pulled out to be put into next year’s wine…that way there’s always a continuation of vintages. Toffee, maple, nutty, almonds, caramel, pecan pie, peanuts. Goodness, not my thing at all, I hate nuts, but it sure lingered in your mouth and nose.

After we finished up our tasting, Allan toured us around the facility where we saw barrels, lots of cases of wine, a destemmer, and lots of other fun wine related things.  We made our way up to the tasting room to make some purchases and headed outside to one of the many tables to enjoy the picnic lunch we packed. While Rappahannock sells cheeses and crackers in their tasting room, they also let you bring your own lunch to enjoy outside.  The weather was perfect, and we lounged outside enjoying the chilled bottle of Viognier and our picnic lunch. The vineyard cat even joined us and politely waited until I’d finished my rib before jumping onto the table, grabbing the entire bone and running off with it. Never seen that before!

Brazen kitty.

Brazen kitty.

All in all, a great day. Thanks to Lenn for kicking my butt back out to the VA vineyards. If Rappahannock is any indication, things have come a long way since I last visited VA wine country about 2 years ago. I’ll have to get out some more this fall to see what everyone else has going on!

Filed under: Lenndevours, Rappahannock Cellars, Vineyards, Virginia Vineyards, Virginia Wines, WBW, Wine, Wineries | 9 Comments »

Barrel Oak Winery: Visiting VA Vineyards

Posted on July 28, 2008 by Sonadora

Several months ago, Brian Roeder, the owner of Barrel Oak Winery, contacted me, and invited me to come visit his brand new winery in Virginia. After some back and forth, given that I am traveling for work a lot these days, we finally came up with a good weekend and Matt and I ventured forth to Virginia Wine Country.


Barrel Oak is one of the newest of Virginia’s ever-growing winery population. About 3 and a half years ago, Brian and his wife decided to go ahead with purchasing land to start a vineyard, an idea they had been tossing around in a casual/semi-serious manner for a few years.

Right now, as you can imagine, Barrel Oak is in its infancy. They are currently producing wines with fruit sourced from various Virginia vineyards and they used the facilities of Pearmund and La Grange for their first vintage. They intend to have their first estate harvest in 2009 and will crush and make the wine at Barrel Oak this coming season. Brian’s wife is the head winemaker, having trained at many VA vineyards, she is assisted by the former assistant winemaker from Pearmund. Brian designed Barrel Oak with the future in mind: they have the capacity to produce 10,000 cases within 10 years, with 9000 square feet of production space. They also intend to boast 3 full tasting bars on the premises.


We tasted through the current line up and reserve line up:

Bow Haus White 2007: $18. 70% Vidal Blanc, 30% Sauvignon Blanc, it recently won gold at the VA State fair. Citrus, grapefruit, touch of honey, light good texture, pineapple, great summer white. We bought 2.

2007 Seyval Blanc: $19. Includes 10% Sauvignon Blanc. Minerals, wet stone, lemon, grass, crisp, dry. We took home 2.

2007 Chardonnay: $24. Stainless steel fermented, no maloactic, aged in neutral French oahk. Oak, apple, spice, lemon, green apple, light in the mouth.

2007 Viognier: $20. Maloactic fermentation and oak aged. Honey, peach, pear, honey suckle, creamy, nice mouthfeel.

2005 Bowhaus Red: $18. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Tourig, 11% Malbec, 6% Merlot, 6% Petite Verdot, some Norton in there too. Chocolate, earth, sweet, light, strawberries, berries. Would be good slightly chilled.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon: $20. Very light in color, 12% Petite Verdot. Light, berries, strawberry, raspberry, nice finish.

2005 Merlot: $20. 100% Merlot. Earth, leather, berries, wood, oak, nice body, tannins, cherry, plums, very well done.

2005 Norton: $18. 10% Cabernet Franc. Perfumey, violets, fruity, grapey, berries.

2005 Tour Ga Franc: $26. 40% Cabernet Franc, 60% Touriga. $2 from each bottle are donated to Lance Armstong’s Foundation. Spice, red fruit, herbs, pepper, red berries.

2006 Cabernet Franc: $26. 10% Chambourcin. Herbal, leather, tobacco, red fruit, very light, peppery finish.

2005 Petite Verdot: $26. 12% Merlot. Chocolate, plum, red fruit, very aromatic, nice fruit, good structure. One of my favorites of the day, we took home one bottle.

2006 Late Harvest Viognier: $25. Picked late October. Honey, citrus, spice, pineapple, sweet, thick.

2006 Chocolate Lab: $26. Muscadine, Merlot, Viognier. Cocoa nibs are added along with neutral grape spirits. Chocolate, slight berry, port-like.

Barrel Oak has a beautiful facility. Their porch looked so inviting, and had it been a little later in the day, we definitely would have parked ourselves out there with a glass of wine to enjoy the view (well, and also, if the sprinklers weren’t on drenching the porch!). The tasting bar of Barrel Oak is huge, and that’s just the first one! They also have a space in the loft for a 2nd bar, and space downstairs for a 3rd bar. Though I think we’ll have to avoid the 2nd floor as Matt was a bit too tall.

Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of wine being produced by Barrel Oak. It honestly surprised me for such a young winery as I have certainly tasted many established VA wines that don’t come anywhere close to the quality being produced here. I thought the reds were very well done, and would have taken home more if it weren’t so hot here now that red wine doesn’t really enter my mind. Also good to note, Barrel Oak is extremely dog friendly. You are more than welcome to bring your pooch with you to enjoy the day in VA Wine Country.


My one pet peeve, and I say this about all wineries: I hate tasting fees that aren’t returned if you buy bottles. I realize that many folks say that people will buy the cheapest bottle to get the fee back, blah blah blah. I have no problem if you put a “Buy 3 bottles get your fee refunded, or buy $50 worth and get your fee refunded.” And maybe I missed the sign or notation on the menu where it told you the cost, but I don’t think so. I must admit, I was thus a bit surprised to find a tasting fee charge on my tab.

I will certainly return to Barrel Oak in the future to see how their wines develop as they move toward harvesting their own fruit.

Filed under: Virginia Vineyards, Virginia Wines | 5 Comments »

From the Village

Posted on December 7, 2007 by Sonadora

Village Winery in VA, that is. I picked this bottle up at Village Winery on our tour this summer, it cost $17, clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume, had a fake cork, and I believe it is NV, or at least I can’t find any vintage info on the bottle.

On the nose I found spice, smoke, leather, and raspberries. Oddly enough, I also smelled what I can only describe as fireworks after you’ve shot them off. In the mouth the wine was fruit, light and pleasant, showing raspberries and a bitter chocolate essence. Overall, a little tannic and a little too sweet to go with the pasta and fresh tomato sauce.

Filed under: Merlot, Red, Village Winery, Virginia Vineyards, Virginia Wines | Comments Off on From the Village

Another Quickie

Posted on October 30, 2007 by Sonadora

Just a short review today, for a not too complicated wine. The wine was a 2002 Loudon Valley Vineyard Red Table Wine. We picked this bottle up at the vineyard for $9, it had a real cork closure, and clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume.

The wine was sweet with spices, cloves, cinnamon, and cherries on the nose. In the mouth the wine was sweet with raspberries and currants. It was very sweet. I think it needed to be very chilled, which is not something I usually say about red wines, but this was very sweet. I served it with linguine, homemade sauce, and parmasean cheese. Not a good match, the wine was too sweet for the food.

Filed under: Loudon Valley Vineyards, Red, Virginia Vineyards, Virginia Wines | Comments Off on Another Quickie

Just a Quickie

Posted on October 24, 2007 by Sonadora

And no photo either, I think I managed to delete the photo from my camera before uploading it.

The wine was a 2004 Loudon Valley Vineyards Vinifera White. We picked this bottle up at the vineyard this summer while meandering around Virginia Wine Country. It cost us $11.70 and Matt tossed the bottle before I could record the alcohol content. I know the wine has won several golds and silvers at various VA wine shows and we enjoyed a bottle the day we took residence on Loudon Valley’s porch as well!

The nose of the wine was sweet with honey and apricot and a slight pine tree note. In the mouth, also sweet with honey, but with a nice tangy element to keep the sweetness in check. Mostly flavors of apricots and something slightly tropical. Definitely a wine and cheese wine or one to be sipped on its own!

Filed under: Loudon Valley Vineyards, Virginia Vineyards, Virginia Wines, White | Comments Off on Just a Quickie

Touring Tuesday #5

Posted on October 16, 2007 by Sonadora

Our final stop on our summer tour of Northern Virginia wineries found us at Village Winery. Village Winery is a fairly new addition to Virginia Wine country, being founded in 2005. They offer very small production wines that are all made without the help of any machinery. The tasting room is housed in a small part of a larger barn structure, as they are currently restoring the old, larger barn.

The tasting room is simple and fairly unadorned, with a small tasting bar at one end. My brother in law and sister in law were on our trip to Village and it was here they found their favorite wine of the trip. Some of the photos are courtesy of my sister in law!

Apple Wine: $12. Apple cider, crisp, sweet but not cloying. Matt, his brother, and our sister in law’s favorite wine at Village. We took home two bottles, they took home one.

Viognier: $17. Peach, topical fruit, and odd sour/sweet note.

Cabernet Franc Rose: $15. Not sweet at all, very different, a bit medicinal. NMS.

Merlot: $17. Chocolate, raspberry, leather, light, nice body. A very good red effort. My favorite of the day, we took home one bottle.

Merlot Cabernet Franc Blend: $18. This wine also has Petite Verdot mixed in. Raspberry, blackberry, spicy, fairly light bodied. A good VA red.

Cabernet Franc: $17. All I got on this one was barnyard. It was recently bottled, I think it had bottle shock.

Elderberry Wine: $15. Sweet aroma, dark berries, very rich.

We met this camera-shy goat and his friend who didn’t want to be in my picture on the way out! (And yes, I am the shorty of the family. Also, my brother in law felt that you all needed to see me in action, hence the picture of me taking notes!)

All in all, a very nice stop in a beautiful setting in Virginia. The scenery is one of my favorite parts about visiting VA wine country, especially on a beautiful summer day!

Filed under: Village Winery, Virginia Vineyards, Virginia Wines | Comments Off on Touring Tuesday #5

Not a good photo, but a good wine!

Posted on October 15, 2007 by Sonadora

Apparently I need to take the camera away from Matt. I occasionally ask him to take a picture of the wine for me because he is opening it and pouring it and I am curled on the couch and too lazy to move. This is latest result, see my birthday post for what was supposed to be a picture of the cake…..

The wine was 2006 Doukenie Sauvignon Blanc that we picked up on our visit to Doukenie this summer. It cost us $16.20, had a real cork closure and clocked in at 12.5% alcohol by volume. The wine was finished in neutral barrels.

Overall, the wine was light and crisp. It showed grass and tropical fruit on the nose. In the mouth the wine was very tropical, with pears and a crisp finish. This was my favorite from our visit to Doukenie. I normally don’t care for a Sauvignon Blanc that has seen oak, but I do really like this bottle. I think it’s the first Sauvignon Blanc I’ve seen from a VA winery and I’m fairly impressed!

Filed under: Doukenie Winery, Sauvignon Blanc, Virginia Vineyards, Virginia Wines, White | 4 Comments »

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