Uncorked: Virginia Winery News
Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition
The results are in from the 5th Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition, and Reston Limousine’s Public Wine Tour friends have collected their fair share of medals!
The competition, sponsored by the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association, took place July 18th and 19th at the Regency Country Club at Dominion Valley in Haymarket. More than 100 wineries in 11 states entered their best products, and here are some of our northern Virginia winners:
Chrysalis Vineyards
Best Of: 2005 Reserve Norton Locksley
Gold: 2005 Reserve Norton Locksley
Silver: 2008 Albarino, 2008 Barrel Select Norton , 2005 Estate Bottled Norton, 2008 Viognier
Fabbioli Cellars
Best Of: 2007 Chambourcin
Silver: 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 Chambourcin, 2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc
Bronze: 2007 Tre Sorelle
Hillsborough Vineyards
Silver: 2005 Bloodstone
Bronze: 2006 Garnet, 2005 Ruby
Pearmund Cellars
Best Of: 2007 Petit Verdot
Gold: 2007 Petit Verdot
Silver: 2007 Cabernet Franc
Bronze: 2007 Ameritage
Sunset Hills Vineyard
Best Of: 2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
Gold: 2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
Silver: 2007 Petit Verdot
Veramar Vineyard
Silver: 2007 Estate Club Merlot, 2007 Norton
Bronze: 2008 Seyval Blanc
Veritas Winery (on Reston Limousine’s Charlottesville Day Trip)
Gold: 2006 Kenmar Dessert Wine
Silver: 2006 Othello, 2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc, 2008 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 White Star
Bronze: 2008 Harlequin Chardonnay, 2007 Petit Verdot, 2008 Viognier
Willowcroft Farm Winery
Silver: 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
If you’d like a visit these award-winning wineries, visit www.restonlimo.com for a schedule of our upcoming Public Wine Tours !
Unique Winery Opens
Vint Hill Craft Winery, the latest project by Chris Pearmund of Pearmund Cellars and Winery at La Grange, recently celebrated the first weekend of its month-long Grand Opening with educational wine tastings and tours.
“This is all about you through a customized experience specifically tailored to your interests” Chris says. “Taste wine with us and we’ll show you how the professionals do it and what they look for. Choose to make wine with us and it will be crafted to your specifications, in your style with your name, a label of your design and of course, your story behind it.”
At Vint Hill Craft Winery, individuals or groups will work with expert winemakers from grape to bottle to create a barrel of their own of their choosing. After a year of “hands-on education,” the new winemakers will be rewarded with the juice of their labors – about 25 cases of wine.
Baltimore Wine Travel Examiner Terry Sullivan recently posted that he’ll be making a barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon; read his behind-the-scenes tour of the winery on his site, The Wine Trail Traveler.
Vote for your favorite Virginia winery!
It’s time for fans to head over to VirginiaWineEvents.com and cast your vote for your favorite local winery! The poll ends Aug. 17 and accepts only one vote per computer network, fyi!
Local Wineries Collect Ribbons at State Fair
Northern Virginia wineries, including several on Reston Limousine’s Public Wine Tours, are continuing to collect awards and recognition this summer at regional and international competitions!
At the 2009 State Fair of Virginia Wine Competition, for example, Chrysalis Vineyards, Pearmund Cellars, Sunset Hills Vineyard, and the Winery at La Grange took gold and silver ribbons in a blind tasting of 239 wines from 48 Virginia wineries.
Gold Ribbon
Pearmund Cellars – Ameritage 2007
Sunset Hills Vineyard – Reserve Cabernet Franc 2007
Sunset Hills Vineyard – Petit Verdot 2006
The Winery at La Grange – “Fletcher’s” Chardonnay 2007
Silver Ribbon
Chrysalis Vineyards – Mariposa 2008
Chrysalis Vineyards – Viognier 2008
Pearmund Cellars – Old Vine Chardonnay 2007
Other wineries on our Public Wine Tour also won in the label competition: Hillsborough Vineyards took 1st place for its Bloodstone label, and Notaviva Vineyards and Fabbioli Cellars took 1st and 2nd, respectively, in overall winery presentation. Sunset Hills Vineyard received an honorable mention in that category as well.
The competition, which took place in Montepelier, featured wine varietals of Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
“We had the most wines entered this year than ever before, and it is nice to see the industry grow and really go forward even from just five years ago,” senior judge George Davis says. “National industry trends reflect lighter, less tannic wines and less use of oak. We saw more un-oaked wines this year and the submissions of un-oaked Chardonnay is a perfect example. Among the reds, the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot wines had less oak exposure as well. They all were well-made wines.”
The State Fair of Virginia will announce the top winning wine – “Best in Show” – on Sept. 23. The winning wines will be displayed at the 2009 State Fair of Virginia, which returns September 24 through October 4 at The Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia.
Ready for your own tastings of these and other award-winning wines? Visit www.restonlimo.com for a schedule of the wineries on our upcoming Public Wine Tours !
