Weekend Wine Activities

I haven't done a WWA post in a while, but there is so much going on this weekend, I figured you all should know about them:

1. Fabbioli is having an open house this weekend. Lots of good food, good wine and even some barrel tastings.


2. Breaux is also having an open house...and there are some special treats for cellar club members.


3. Loudoun Valley continues with their soup weekends on Saturday.


4. Corcoran Vineyards has two events happening on Saturday. First they are having an open house, then they are doing a Sparkling wine tasting with Mary Watson.


5. Veramar is continuing their Deck the Halls Event...pick up Christmas wreaths ornaments and drink mulled wine!!
   

These are just some of the events, definitely check out your favorite winery to see what is going on!

Review: 2004 Veramar Cabernet Franc

Wine: 2004 Veramar Cabernet Franc



Review: 2004 was a good year for for Virginia Cabernet Francs, and this one is no exception. The wine has aromas of blackberry, with hints of vanilla and oak. It also has the strong peppery taste associated with Virginia Cabernet Francs. The tannins have smoothed out nicely over the last five years and leave the wine smooth but with a long finish.

Price: $21

Grade: 95

Steven Spurrier Tastes Veramar Wines

I mentioned Virginia wines are going to be represented at the London International Wine Fair. This is, obviously, a really big deal and the wineries owners I've talked to are naturally excited.

But, it is not just Virginia winemakers who are excited, it seems the international community is excited as well. Check out what Steven Spurrier said about Veramar wines:

Veramar Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay:
Fresh pale yellow, good broad Chardonnay fruit backed by good acidity, quite high in alcohol, but good fruit. 16-.

Veramar Vineyard 2006 Cabernet Franc:
Good colour and good fleshy fruit, quite forward, nice "earthy" taste,
quite French in style, and a little green on the finish. 16-.

Steven Spurrier works for Decanter and uses their 17 point grading scale...so a 16 is very good!

Cinco de Mayo

Looking for something different to do to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Why not spend May 2nd at Veramar Vineyards celebrating with them! $10 a person gets you a wine tasting, free music and I understand there will be Wine-A-Ritas.

Enjoy!

Looking to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at your favorite winery this weekend? You are in luck. Veramar is celebrating St. Patrick's Day with live entertainment and Irish Faire. On Sunday, you can go to Bluemont Vineyard has their Celtic Celbration on Sunday (and they should be releasing some new wines this weekend).

Whichever way you go, enjoy!

On Saturday Veramar had a library tasting. We got to compare different years of their Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Norton as well as highlights of some of their other wines.

Justin Bogaty, the winemaker, and Jim Boagarty, the owner, led the tasting and gave the attendees insight not only into the wine but also into their style of winemaking and how it has changed over time. They were great about answering questions and it make for a very intimate experience. It really helped that they limited attendance to 20 or so people.

They did spend a lot of time trying to convince me that Norton can make a good wine, and Jim even suggested a recipe that I should try with the '06 Norton. So, I am going to give it a try and see if I can be converted.

I know a lot of people plan on being at the Virginia Wine Showcase this weekend, but don't forget Valentine's Day is next week, which means chocolate and wine tastings at several local wineries:

• Swedenburg Winery is doing it right with a chocolate fountain and plenty of fun things to dip in it.


• Veramar is also having a chocolate fountain, plus a chance to win a diamond ring (a plus for many, but it makes those of us who are engagement-adverse a little nervous ;)).


• Of course, I wll be at Breaux with the wine club. Truffles and their excellent Cabernet Sauvignon are perfect pre-Valentine combination.

If you have an extra $3,000 (plus airfare) and really love wine you can go to a weekend wine camp in Sonoma. The camp is sponsored by the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission and looks like fun.

if you don't have $3,000, you can do a wine camp at Veramar for about $375 per couple.

The wine club went to Veramar on Sunday. I was bummed that they were completely out of their Cabernet Franc, but i did enjoy their Pink Chicken -- a light rose perfect for sipping out on their patio.

Their D'Ora was also an excellent dessert wine, a late harvest Viongier; very sweet with hints of pineapple and citrus flavors.

Their Red Chicken was a good Bordeaux-style wine, comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes. It was a medium body blend with a taste of brown sugar and a smoot finish.

The Great Grapes festival was a lot of fun. There were a number of nice wineries represented as well as the booths that usually follow the wineries. The festival was well-laid out and the lines were very short for the tastings.




Some highlights:

Lake Anna had an excellent 2004 Cabernet Franc. Very peppery with solid Earth tones, it was a great example of Virginia Cabernet Francs.

Peaks of Otter had two very unique wines. The first, called Chili Dawg is 97% Apple wine blended with 3% Chili Pepper wine. They serve it with a touch of Cheese Whiz and it really does taste like a Chili Dog. The second wine is not really a drinking wine, except on a dare. "Kiss the Devil" is made from 30 different Chili Peppers and it is H-O-T. This is really a spicy wine :). They have you follow it up with a shot of Apple wine just to cleanse your palette.

Veramar did not have their Cabernet Franc out, but they did have their Rooster Red, which is a light, well-balanced wine. Very enjoyable. They were also offering their famous mulled-wine, which was perfect for a drizzly afternoon.