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The Virginia Wine & Food Society
Monthly Newsletter December 2004

Happy Holidays, Virginia Wine Lovers!

• Champagnes of Virginia for All Occasions
• International Cabernet Franc Tasting: Impressive Results for Virginia's Winemakers
• Virginia Wines Make Parade Magazine's Holiday Hit List
• VWFS Takes on New Senior Partners
• Go Local: 2005 Virginia Wine Trade Tasting Coming to D.C.
• Ivy Inn's Chef/Owner to Prepare Feast at James Beard House
• Make Scents of Wine: A Magnificent Tool for Wine Lovers
• Current Events Calendar
• Society News
• Membership
• About This Newsletter

Champagnes of Virginia for All Occasions
by Kit Johnston and Mike Potashnik, Virginia Wine Guide

Many Americans turn to Champagne* during the holidays to add a special verve and sparkle to the occasion. As native of Champagne, France, and maker of Virginia Champagne Claude Thibaut says so aptly: “When you want to celebrate, there is no question. You choose Champagne.”

But Thibaut and the Kluge Estate Winery for which he works are on another mission: to turn the American consumer onto Champagne as an all-occasion wine, especially when it comes from Virginia.

It may come as a surprise to some wine lovers, but some other, older Virginia vineyards have been producing sparkling wines—and some rather highly rated—since the late 1970s, shortly after the industry got its start. In 1980, for example, Oasis Winery took the gold in the state’s top competition (the Governor’s Cup) for its Brut Cuvee D’Or. Other regular Virginia producers of bubbly are Barboursville and Ingleside.

Barboursville’s Brut, now served as the House sparkling wine at the Inn at Little Washington, is a classic blend of estate-grown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes vinified by the Charmat process, in which the second fermentation occurs in stainless steel tank. This, winemaker Luca Paschina feels, is most appropriate for the fruit, and the result is somewhat like the very popular Italian Prosecco.

Ingleside’s cuve, made in the methode Champenoise style, is Chardonnay, Pinot and Pinot Noir Meunier, a blend that originated in the mid-80’s when Belgian Jacques Recht was at Ingleside’s winemaking helm. Today, Ingleside’s winemaker, Bill Swain, enjoys making the wine, and feels it is a true success. He recently served it at his daughter’s wedding in Hood River, Oregon, and the guests loved it.

“Champagne is highly versatile,” Thibaut notes. “You can take it by the glass as an aperitif, to prepare for a meal, you can drink it with the meal, except if you are having lamb or beef, and it can be lovely, of course, for dessert. There are different sparklers for different courses—in Champagne, we can go through an entire meal with only Champagne—and the reasons are many. For example, it is low in alcohol compared to other wines and its crispness accentuates all flavors.”

Click here to read more.

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2nd International Cabernet Franc Tasting: Impressive Results for Virginia’s Winemakers
by Mike Potashnik, Virginia Wine Guide and Jay Youmans, MW

The results of the Virginia Wine Guide’s 2nd International Cabernet Franc Tasting demonstrated once again that Virginia’s winemakers are producing some of the finest Cabernet Francs in the world. Three Virginia Cabernet Francs—Barboursville’s Cabernet Franc Reserve 2001 ( $20 ), Linden’s Cabernet Franc 2001 ($22), and Rockbridge’s De Chiel Cabernet Franc 2002 ($15)—all scored 89 points in the blind tasting held on Nov. 7 at the award-winning 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church, VA.

The two leading wines of the tasting, scoring 90 points each, were: Charles Joguet’s Chen Verte 2002 ($30) of France and Lang and Reed’s Premier Etage 2000 ($32) from California. In addition to the three Virginia wines, the tasting panel awarded 89 points to only three other bottlings: Chapellet’s Pritchard Hill Cabernet Franc 2001 ($59) of California, Franco Furlan’s Cabernet Franc 2001 ($12) of Italy, and Lang and Reed’s Cabernet Franc 2002 ($21).

Several other Virginia wines garnering 88-87 points were: Prince Michael Cabernet Franc 2002 ($13), Rappahannock Cellars Cabernet Franc Reserve 2002 ($24) and Pearmund Cellars Cabernet Franc 2002 ($19).

The marathon tasting brought together 40 Cabernet Francs from among the finest produced worldwide. For the full report and ratings and tasting notes for all the wines, Click here.

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Virginia Wines Make Parade Magazine’s Holiday Hit List

In a feature story in Parade magazine about American wines for the holidays, wine writer Barbara Ensrud recommended Virginia wines. Parade is one of the nation’s most widely read magazines. It is usually available as a supplement to the Sunday editions of major metropolitan newspapers.

In the Nov. 14 story, Ensrud said she had been tracking the progress of America’s regional wines since the early 1980s, and "it’s exciting to see the progress made…Who would have thought a decade or so ago that we’d enjoy superb renditions of Merlot from Long Island or Walla Walla? Or juicy Cabernet Franc from the mountains of Georgia and the Carolina Piedmont, fragrant Viognier and Pinot Grigio from Virginia, Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and Syrah from west Texas and the Appalachian foothills."

Then, in her short list of America’s top wine-producing regions outside of California, Ensrud recommended the following wine varieties and producers from Virginia:

Whites: Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Grigio
Reds: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot
Some top wineries: AmRhein, Barboursville, Chateau Morrisette, Horton, Kluge Estate, Lake Anna, Linden, Naked Mountain, Oakencroft, Valhalla, White Hall

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Two New Senior Partners Join the Society

The Virginia Wine and Food Society is fortunate to have two new and outstanding senior partners to help guide the next phase of the Society’s growth and development. They are already on board and working for the Society. They are:

Bonnie Algera
Director of Development and Member Services

Bonnie, seen here incognito and relaxed, will be helping the Society serve the business needs and interests of our member wineries and other business members and corporate sponsors. Bonnie brings to the Society extensive experience in marketing and management as principal of Pseudonym, an organization in Alexandria, VA, that is helping small businesses succeed.

Kirby Nickerson
Director of Administration and Finance

Kirby will be helping improve the Society’s overall administration and financial management, thereby ensuring for our members and Board of Directors that the Society’s finances are being managed in a fiscally sound manner. Kirby is based in Winchester, VA, where he is Chief Financial Officer for Shenandoah Valley Westminster-Canterbury.

See below for more Society News.

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Go Local: 2005 Virginia Wine Trade Tasting Coming to D.C.

The Virginia Wine and Food Society will sponsor its 2nd Go Local: 2005 Virginia Wine Trade Tasting in Washington, DC on Feb. 23, 2005, at the Latham Hotel in Georgetown.

Last year’s highly successful event at the Latham attracted 25 top Virginia wineries pouring over 100 wines—many of them new releases--for nearly 200 representatives of the hotel and restaurant trade and retail wine shops in D.C and across the state.

If you are in the trade, be sure to put this event on your calendar. Local and national organizations/companies wishing to sponsor the event are encouraged to contact the Society for further information: Tel: 703-448-5566.

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Ivy Inn’s Chef/Owner to Prepare Feast at James Beard House

The Ivy Inn Restaurant’s chef/owner, Angelo Vangelopoulos, will be featured at the James Beard House in New York City on Dec. 21, preparing "A Shenandoah Christmas" dinner of seven-courses featuring local and regional foods paired with White Hall Vineyards offerings. White Hall owners Dr. and Mrs. Antony Champ will speak to diners about the food/wine pairings and the Virginia wine industry.

Click here to read more.

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Make Scents of Wine: A Magnificent Tool for Wine Lovers
by Mike Potashnik, Publisher, Virginia Wine Guide

On a recent wine tasting trip to the Rhone Valley, I ran across and purchased the magnificent Master Kit of Le Nez du Vin. Developed by the French wine expert Jean Lenoir over 20 years ago and recently updated, this kit is an ingenious instructional and educational guide for wine lovers interested in developing their sense of smell to decipher wine aromas.

Known in its English version as Make Scents of Wine, the Master Kit contains 54 vials of aromas found in red and white wines, including Champagne, from around the world. Each aroma also comes with an illustrated explanatory card with interesting background information about the scent and the wines in which it can be found. A booklet on wine tasting is also enclosed. The Master Kit currently costs $349.00. However, smaller and more modestly priced kits focusing on red and white wine and on wine faults are also available. For more information, go to www.makescentsofwine.com. I think you will have fun with these kits while developing your sense of smell and appreciation of wine—including Virginia wine. I know that I have.

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Current Calendar of Events

Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Read more here.

Central Virginia

Read more here.

Eastern Virginia

Read more here.

Southwest Virginia and Shenandoah

Virginia Wine of the Month Club

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Society News

The Virginia Wine and Food Society and RESOLVE’s Nov. 6 fund-raising gala at The Grange in Great Falls, VA, was a very big success. Six Virginia wineries poured their wines—First Colony, Barboursville, Old House, Farfelu, Chrysalis, and Horton—and made a big hit among the 175 patrons of the event to help solve challenges of infertility. Thank you to the Virginia wineries and our corporate sponsor Wine Touring.com who supported the event.

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Free Individual Memberships The Society is offering free individual memberships. All of our readers are encouraged to become members by signing up at www.virginiawineguide.com. Membership entitles you to many of the same benefits you currently enjoy as well as some new ones. Create your own member profile and keep it up to date so you will not miss out on future benefits. It is fast and easy. Click here to sign up.

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About This Newsletter

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