New Building at Casanel

If you have not been by Casanel Vineyardss lately, you should definitely stop by an see the construction on the beautiful new tasting room. The work is coming along quickly and the is really taking shape. When the tasting room is complete, there will be plenty of space for tastings, plus a large room to host events and two patios that will look out over the lake.

Nelson is doing most of the work himself and has plans to make a functional and multi-use environment that will be able to host weddings, wine dinners and handle the rush of visitors during the fall.

The space is great and I am looking forward to seeing the finished space

Ain't That a Kick in the Teeth

Virginia just loves to test the mettle of its winemakers and, unfortunately, yesterday was no exception. After getting a late start to the season because of the cold weather, vineyard managers were excited about the prospect of a growing season without frost concerns.

The frost arrived Tuesday morning, impacting many vineyards in central and northern Virginia. It will be a few weeks before we know the full extent of the damage, but if the pictures popping up on Facebook and Twitter are any indication it is not good.

We'll keep you updated

A Look at the skybar One

I have been intrigued by the skybar wine system since it was first introduced. I like the idea of preserving a bottle wine at the perfect temperature after it has been opened. With diabetes limiting my wine intake this has become even more important.

Last month I took the plunge and invested in the skybar one, the single bottle wine preservation system. So far, I am impressed.

The skybar wine system is a countertop system and it is about an inch shorter than the cabinets in our kitchen. For the most part this is okay, but if you need to change the type of wine you want to preserve you have to pull the system out to change the settings.

This is a good problem to have though, the strength of the skybar one system is its versatility and ease of use. The system allows you to set the preserving temperature based on wine type or you can manually set the temperature. I cools the wine down quickly, and except for when it is first starting up, it is quieter than other wine chillers I have used. Loading a bottle is simple, as is serving the wine.

The big test comes with the taste. We've loaded a bottle into the system each week, switching between red, white and rosé. Each bottle has lasted for the full week, in fact the red wine we tested was significantly better by the end of the week than at the start.

I definitely feel the skybar one was worth the $229 we paid for it on Amazon, especially if you only drink a glass or so a night.

Win 120 Bottles of 2010 Bordeaux!

Praise for the 2010 vintage in Bordeaux continues to grow and now you have a chance to win 120 bottles of 2010 Bordeaux -- 1 bottle from each of the Grands Crus.

The contest is sponsored by Bordeaux negotiant Millesima USA, who will be at the Weekend des Grands Crus next weekend as well!

To enter the contest, visit the Millesima Contest Page, answer a couple of questions about Bordeaux and you will be entered.

This is a unique opportunity to own an amazing vintage, and the beauty of it is that even if it takes you forty years to drink all that wine it will still be good.