Sunday, April 19, 2015

The Williamsburg Winery - Tasting and Tour

The Williamsburg Winery Ltd.



My boyfriend and I made the trip to the Williamsburg Winery after visiting his father’s house in Virginia Beach. It was a damp and dreary day as we made our way through the vine filled landscape up to the vineyard. Luckily we made it just in time for the last tour of the day at 5pm. The tour began with a short video that must’ve been made in the eighties or nineties judging by the poor quality. Then our guide rescued us from poor quality video hell and brought us into the basement of the winery after a quick sweep through their main room. The guide explained to us how the owner of the winery is Belgian and he tries to impart a European arcuitectural style into this area with replica chandeliers and fireplaces rescued and reconstructed from the Bordeaux region of France. At the risk of sounding like a snob, having been to Tuscany and one of the oldest wineries in the Chianti region, this was a far cry from the old European architecture I believe Mr. Duffeler was trying to emulate.

Williamsburg winery ages their grapes in French, American, and Hungarian oak barrels. The barrels weight about 60 pounds empty and roughly 600 pounds full. They are used 7-8 times before they are retired and offered to the Williamsburg Winery club members for purchase. The retired barrels run about $125 each. Our tour guide excitedly exclaimed that she recently bought two of the old French barrels to use as tables in her home. The new barrels are initially used to age the varietals in, after that they are used for blended wines. They age their reds in oak barrels for at least 3 – 6 months , the red wine oak barrel room is much larger than the room for the whites. They use a P to designate Hungarian barrels, an A for American, and a T for French.



The wines are tasted every day by their head wine maker Matthew Meyer. I do not think this is necessarily best for the wines though, as every time the barrel is tasted a rubber stopper at the top is removed which will let air into the wine causing for an unevenly oxygenated product depending on which barrel is taste tested each day.
The wines are bottle in house. Everything is done by machine in the Williamsburg Winery save for attaching the aluminum to the canister. Their bottling process can produce roughly 800 bottles in one hour. They spray air to get dust out of their bottles, then clear the air out from the bottle with a spray of nitrogen gas, then the bottle is filled, and sprayed again with nitrogen gas. Then it is corked and is ready for the aluminum application. The owner is very committed to keeping some old traditions within the wine so he refuses to have an aluminum screw top on his wines. 
All Williamsburg Winery bottles are either corked with natural cork or with plastic. The wines are then packaged top-of-the-bottle down so the cork will stay moist and it allows the wine to breath slightly while imparting some of the oak cork flavors into the wine. This is also why you should store your wine on it’s side.
In the white wine room there were about half the barrels of that in the red room. The tour guide explained this was because often the oak will overpower the light tastes that come from a white grape; which is why most of the whites are aged in stainless steel containers. 
The white wine room also had a very interesting concrete egg they were aging the Chardonnay in.  The tour guide told us that the egg was a conjunction of old and new world styles; old European wineries have been using concrete to age their wines in for years to impart a mineral taste to the wine, however the egg like shape of the container was considered new world. She also told us that the concrete aging process was a new thing they were trying and they had not yet produced any wines available for tasting that had made it through the concrete aging process.
After the white wine room, we climbed a spiral staircase to a viewing room where we could see the gigantic stainless steel vats the white wines were aging in. There were also giant stainless steel vats outside that the reds were in. She explained that they freeze the wine in the stainless steel white wine containers to prevent a differential in taste should the wine accidentally be frozen at home by a customer. Most of the time the wines are aged at approximately 55 degrees. The outdoor red wine containers also have cooling bands around them to help maintain their temperature.
Next we were lead into a small room lined with different old bottles and things that were excavated from the area that the settlers used to store their wines and other liquids in. Our guide explained how the divot in the bottom of a wine bottle helps rid the glass of wine of sediment when it is poured. If a flat-bottomed bottle is poured and there is sediment on the bottom, that sediment would come rushing forward and would cause you to have a rather gritty glass of wine. With the divot, however, if the wine is poured slowly from the bottle to the glass, much of the sediment can be prevented from falling into the glass. She also spoke about the cork used for the wines. In previous years the vineyard attempted to plant a tree to produce the oak cork but apparently this was a fail as now they import all their natural cork.

Now onto the part I was actually excited for: TASTING!

The first wine we tasted was a 2014 Dry Rosé. Williamsburg Winery says “This dry rose shows bright strawberry, cherry, and kiwi along wit ha hint of grapefruit. These bright fruit nuances are nicely balanced with the creamy vanilla and earthy character. The finish has just a bit of minerality ot balance out the entire wine”. I am very disappointed with Williamsburg Winery for not putting the proper accent over the E on their tasting sheet, almost as disappointed as I was with this Rosé. I love the sweet often sparkling and light fruity flavors of Rosé, but this one was just lacking. It was dry to the point that the fruit just wasn’t coming through the palate as much as it was through the nose. When smelling the wine, I detected some very distinct kiwi and strawberry notes and a hint of passion fruit. Tasting was a different story though, the best way I can describe the taste of this wine is sucking the life out of an unripe strawberry. It was dry and floral with an awkward creamy vanilla finish. I would agree there was a mineral quality to the wine that attributed to the dry quality, but I can’t say I liked it.

The second wine was the 2013 James River White wine.  The Williamsburg Winery description is “A Sauvignon Blanc aged only in stainless steel to emphasize fresh, fruity flavors. Consider pairing this wine with seafood or a mixed green salad.” This wine was how I imagine colonist’s lives to be: they started out on a journey they expected to be exciting but it turned out to be boring and sad. On the nose I smelled a lot of pineapple and mango and was expecting to be thrust into a realm of tropical flavors and over all deliciousness. On a second whiff, I realized these smells could be a little cough syrupy. Then I tasted it and realized that’s exactly what it was, a light, dry, a floral cough syrup concoction that I would really rather not have again. This wine brought back the aches and pains of my youth with a nearly immediate headache after tasting this Lost Colony of Roanoke-level catastrophe.

The third wine was the 2013 John Adlum Chardonnay. Williamsburg Winery describes the wine as “Our lightest Chardonnay is aged primarily in stainless steel resulting in citrus and pear notes. This wine will pair nicely with soups, salads and hor d’oeuvers. On the noes I detected hints of pear under the larger smell of rubbing alcohol. On the palate I tasted notes of orange, grapefruit, and asparagus.

The fourth wine was the 2012 Susan Constant Red. The Williamsburg Winery describes the wine as follows “This dry wine exhibits lush fruit character featuring rasberries and cherry with hints of tobacco and cloves. Balancing the fruit are subtle earthy characteristics and a bit of spiciness. Enjoy with turkey, barbeque, or grilled tuna.” I could definitely see this wine bringing a lemony characteristic forward if paired with tuna. On the nose I detected cherry, tobacco, cloves, and fresh cut grass. On the palate, this is the closest I’ve ever been to drinking a lawn. The wine had a strong tobacco finish to it: which I enjoyed, but the front palate was overpoweringly grassy. I also detected some lemon and tart raspberries in the mid-palate. I can’t say this would be a wine I’d kick back and relax with, but this is a fun wine to ponder, as there are so many different flavors within it.

The fifth wine was the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Williamsburg Winery describes this wine as “This old world style Cabernet has a nice balance between the fruit and the earthy character. It best complements rich pasta dishes and grilled meats.” On the noes I noticed cherry, pepper and blackberry. On the palate the cherry and pepper came through, along with some cranberry and black currant (thank you Smell-O-Vision for adding that one to my repertoire) with a strong tannin finish.

The sixth wine was the 2012 Gabriel Archer Reserve. Williamsburg winery describes this wine as “This reserve wine represents our winemakers powerful skill at blending red Bordeaux varietals. It pairs with most meats, and especially goes well with filet mignon.” I’ve never really had a wine quite like this one before. On the nose there was a strong umami meaty smell along with hints of walnut and leather. The wine sort of embodied that “new car smell” in a liquid form. On the palate there was a lot of cherry, tart blackberry, tobacco, and tannins.

The seventh and final wine was the Vin Licoreux de Framboise, which is French for Red Wine with Raspberry. The Williamsburg Winery description is “This dessert wine showcases the brightness of raspberries with the subtle nuances of Merlot. Serve lightly chilled after dinner or with chocolate or fruit based desserts. The server described the grapes as 80% Merlot and the wine later being infused with raspberries to give it that rich taste. She also mentioned that you could bake with it and use it to replace water in a recipe to give brownies or cake a rich and fruity dimension.  I found white chocolate, raspberry, and butter on the nose. On the palate it was very syrupy, with a strong strawberry and raspberry jab taste with just a hint of black currant. I really liked this one and might actually try that baking tip our server described.

And being the forgetful person I am, we nearly forgot to snap a photo of us! So here we are in the car leaving the winery (you can spot vines out the window!).

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Name: Tres Ojos Garnacha
Variety: 85% Garnacha; 15% Tempranillo
Region: Calatayud
Country: Spain
Year: 2012
Price: $6.95

Shop Review: 88 points – Robert Parker
"The 2012 Tres Ojos Garnacha contains 15% Tempranillo (I wonder why), and unoaked cuvée of 200,000 bottles that matures in vat for at least seven months before bottling. What I tasted was a very honest, fresh and fruit-driven red with aromas of cherries, garrigue and thyme with a medium-bodied palate, some weight and tannins that would do better with food. This is a red that sells for a song.”

 My Review: This wine was acidic and tannic; it had cherry notes and tastes; of any of the wines I think this one would go best with a steak--I had it without food. This was my least favorite of all the wines for this week.
Name: Torre CastilloCosecha 
Variety: 100% Monastrell
Region: Jumilla
Country: Spain
Year: 2011
Price: $7.95

Shop Review: 89 points - Stephen Tanzer
100% Monastrell, aged in American oak for four months. Bright ruby. Powerful, spicy aromas of dark berry preserves and lavender. Fleshy and round on the palate, offering spicy blackberry and blueberry flavors and gaining sweetness with air. Finishes smooth, long and slightly warm. "

 My Review: This wine wine had some tannic bite to it; it had raspberry taste to it, it was a tiny bit acidic but overall smooth. I did not have this with food, but would like it with a homemade burger off the grill. 
Name: Terre di Poggio Laude Pecorino 2013
Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Terre di Chieti
Country: Italy
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95

Shop Review: Bright and savory, this floral scented Pecorino offers juicy tropical fruit and lemon drop sensations accented by notes of mint and thyme. The ripe fruit is balanced by brisk acidity that leaves the palate feeling cleansed and refreshed. 
 My Review: This wine was light, crisp but tart. It tasted very acidic and a bit earthy to me I guess it was the mint and thyme coming through. It was refreshing overall and would be good pair with something light or a poultry dish--I had this wine without food.
Name: Hahn Piesporter Michelsberg
Variety: Riesling
Region:Piesport
Country: Germany
Year: N/A
Price: $9.95

Shop Review: This wine’s light, airy mouthfeel belies its sweetness and intensity of flavor. Honeyed pineapple aromas; similar flavors on the palate, adding gentle citrus notes toward the long, sweet finish.

My Review: this had a fruity note and tasted crisp, almost like sour apple. I had this food without food but since it was light I think it would go well with either fish or perhaps with the right desert (i.e. not chocolate).