Winter Vineyards

King Family Vineyards during January

Although the leaves are gone and the harvest is long complete and it appears quiet with little activity, the vineyards of Virginia are busy places during the winter. 

Although it may not look like it, this vineyard is being pruned in preparation for the coming growing season. The piles of wood, as it is called, on the ground are the evidence of the activity that continues even with snow on the ground.

Chris took this picture during our Charlottesville wine weekend. The white snow provided contrast against the dark mountains in the background. And the vines, the stars of the show, are shown just after the pruning that prepares them for the growing season ahead.  

Although there isn't a lot of growing going on, vineyards are busy places during the winter.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Consensus Blending at Keswick

The Consensus Team
George, Sue, Peggy, Chris, Mark

Consensus Blending at Keswick Vineyards near Charlottesville, Virginia, is an awesome way to spend a day. I have written about the Consensus blending before--an event sponsored by the vineyard that brings the wine club members together to blend a winning wine that the winery will bottle and sell.

Our team was ready for the challenge of taking four wines with defects and making a good tasting wine that people would buy. It was tough. We were presented with four wines: Touriga, Norton, Syrah, and Chambourcin; all grown on the estate and ready to be blended into a great wine.

The Consensus Tools:
Four wines, graduated cylinder, and a wine glass

Blending a winning wine takes a lot of patience, the ability to find ways to blend imperfect wines into a masterpiece, and a lot of luck. There is science involved, but as the winemakers says every year, we are being asked to do in two and a half hours what takes him six months to achieve. And we do fairly well. 

This year we had a lot of fun, enjoyed some really imperfect wines, and blended what we thought was a great wine (until we tasted it later) all while spending another awesome weekend in Charlottesville. Our wine did not do as well as we had hoped, but when we tasted it later during the blind judging portion of the day, I felt that it got what it deserved. I rated for the winning wine very high and it was a very nice blend. Our wine, was mediocre by comparison and we rated it as such. 

Although we felt bad that our blend didn't do well this year--we learned a lot and I know that I am already looking forward to next year's event.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Overcomplexifying Wine

I decided to explore this word for one more day.

It seems that I have moved down the road in my enjoyment of wine into the realm of overcomplexifying. Yup, no longer is it enough for me to just like a wine.  

Gone are the good old days when I just considered whether I liked the wine or not. Now, whether I like it or not, I am pulling the wine apart and deciding why I like it or what could be improved in the wine to make me like it.

Is is balanced? Is there a complex flavor and aroma presentation? How does the wine feel? How are the tannins? The acidity? The minerality? What aromas are present? Currants or grapefruit or flowers or cherries or leather to whatever flavor you can imagine. I tasted a wine once where the winemaker described hints of bubblegum. 

And I look at how the wine appears in the glass. Is the color good--be it red or white. Does the color go with the kind of grape? 

I have overcomplexified wine drinking and enjoyment.

Even when someone asks what my favorite wine is I find myself unable to give a straight answer? Do you mean for drinking with cheese? Or sitting around the pool on a hot summer afternoon? Or enjoying with pizza, or hamburgers, or salmon, or a hunk of beef? Red or White? 


It used to be so simple--my favorite wine was an Australian shiraz.  But now it comes out something like a 2005 Axios Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. I can't afford to drink it very often, but it is my favorite. On the other hand  depending upon the day, my favorite wine might be an Americana Vineyard Apparition, if I'm in the mood. 

Perhaps that is why life is all about. We take simple things and overcomplexify them, just to make ourselves feel better.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Wine Tasting Evening with Laurie Forster

While it may seem boring to some and it may seem I do a lot of of it, the most important thing that happens when I go out to taste wine is that I meet people. Wine drinkers seem to be a group of people who are willing to celebrate life and enjoy the fruit of the vine.

Last evening Chris and I along with two close friends went to a wine event (not entirely a tasting) at a recreational store in Annapolis and enjoyed not only an evening together but rekindled a relationship with a star of the wine world, Laurie Forster.  We first met Laurie about five years ago at the St Michael's Food and Wine event. I must have made an impression because she remembered me. How do I know? She told me where and when we first met! Wow.

Laurie Forster

During the evening, I had the opportunity to play a how good is your nose game--mine isn't very good because blindfolded I confused a banana with an apple and couldn't identify Old Spice aftershave, and wine a book written by Laurie while enjoying an evening of wine and learning. 

Learning about wine is what makes the whole process fun. It is not all about the drinking, but the learning to slow down and appreciate wine. 

Laurie has a great approach to help people learn about wine without that snobby approach that turns so many novices off.

Wine provides a means to meet people and to share experiences. Laurie has developed a subtle comedy act that helps to to educate while also encouraging the enjoyment of wine--and especially moderately priced, good tasting wines. 

Chris and I enjoy learning about wines from new places and even new wines from known locales. The best part is tasting them to appreciate their strengths and to enjoy their complexity.

Good wines, good friends, and meeting new people. What could be better.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Vint Hill Winery - A Review

Vint Hill Tasting Room

I ran across a new and exciting winery on Sunday while passing through Northern Virginia with Mom and Dad. The winery is Vint Hill and the site that it is on has a WW2 history that appeals to me.

And, they make some really rockin' wines.  Although it appears that they have a web site, the URL was not working for me when I went back.

The winery specializes in craft style, small vintage wines. It is located in an old farm which was used as a signals relay station during WW2. I was amazed by the history of the site and I was also pleased by the variety of wines and their complexity.

Vint Hill makes a wide variety of wines using grapes from throughout Virginia, Washington State and California. The key is that they buy grapes from many sources and make some very tasty wines.

Vint Hill is located in Northern Virginia just over an hours drive from Baltimore. The tasting room is located in the upstairs loft of a barn--we did not see an elevator and so this winery is not suitable for disabled vinophiles. They have a nice variety of wines from whites to reds and including a few dessert wines. Many of the labels hearken back to the site's WW2 history and provide a setting for history and a bit of learning while enjoying wines.

The winery offers two levels of tastings--$10 and $15. I recommend a couple take one of each and swap the wines while tasting.

RECOMMENDATION: Visit this winery and enjoy not only the wines, but a piece of American history. CAUTION: The tasting room is on the second floor and not easily accessible by the handicapped. I did not find an elevator.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Virginia Wine Trail - Pearmund Cellars

Pearmund Cellars

Traveling through Northern Virginia yesterday on my way to Charlottesville, I had the opportunity to visit two wineries and vineyards that I had driven by but not stopped at during my previous travels through the area.

The first was Pearmund Cellars in Broad Run, Virginia. They say of themselves: "Pearmund Cellars is located in the beautiful foothills of eastern Fauquier County, VA, conveniently close to Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. Our 7500-square-foot geothermal winery and 25-acre vineyard produces Chardonnay, Viognier, Riesling, Late Harvest Vidal, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Ameritage, and other award-winning Virginia wines."

I did note that they were recently recognized by Virginia Wine Lover magazine as the best winery in Virginia for 2013 as reported on their web site.

The tasting room is located a short drive off Highway 29 and is well marked. Follow the signs! There are a couple turns where without the excellent signage it would be easy to end up in the driveway of a private residence. The tasting room is large and offers good access to the pouring bar for larger groups. They also offer an assortment of light sandwich fare and cheese plates for those who just want to buy a glass or a bottle and stop to enjoy themselves for a while.

I found the wines to be very representative of Virginia wines. Most of the juice for their wines is sourced from vineyards throughout the central Virginia region, with only the Chardonnay being estate grown. They have an arrangement with a growers in Washington State to produce some wines sourced from there. Of special note, I enjoyed the 2012 Petit Manseng and the 2010 Merlot. The merlot is very light, as compared to most merlots, but has some very nice characteristics. The Collaboration, a wine made entirely using juice form Washington State is also very drinkable and I enjoyed it. The selection of wines offered should find something to appeal to nearly every wine drinker.

RECOMMENDATION: The tasting fee is $10, but it is well worth the time and money to experience the very nice quality wines offered at Pearmund Cellars.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Charlottesville, VA

Endless Summer Vineyard and Winery -- Review

Endless Summer Vineyard and Winery Entrance

Yes, I found a winery in Florida that actually grows grapes and makes wine. That, of course, deserved a visit to check out the wines and help drive away the blues of a rainy day.

The Endless Summer Vineyard and Winery in Fort Pierce, Florida is roughly a 45 minute drive from Jupiter. The winery is just a short two miles off the interstate and has a nice tasting room adorned with a beach theme. The winery is striving to develop serious Florida wines that will appeal to many people.

Palms and Grapes

Entering the tasting room provides a great introduction to the winery. Surf boards and beach items adorn the walls. We were met be a very nice and wine savvy hostess who helped us to understand the wines and the grapes used to make the wine for this vineyard. The tasting room has been open for only a year and the vines are only four years old--so they are using juice from other vineyards to make their wine. But, next year they are expecting to produce  their first home grown vintage.

The winery provided my first introduction to the muscadine grape, which is the only one that will grow in this part of Florida. I was amazed to find that there are over 300 varieties of muscadine grape. The grape is very light and sweet. I found that it smells a lot like the niagara grape grown in upstate NY. Likewise, the wines made from this grape smell like grapes and not berries like those made from the other wine making grapes. The grape nose is in every wine that the winery offered. Some of the wines are blended with merlot and chardonnay sourced from, of all places, Arkansas. One wine blended with a mango wine.

Endless Summer Vineyards

The wines that Endless Summer wines have very creative names: I found Marlin Monroe and Rated Arrr to be the best. All of the wines are on the sweeter side and all have the pronounced grape nose. These wines are good for drinking around the pool. This winery represents the furthest south in Florida that grapes are grown for the purpose of making wines. There is another winery further south, but they do not make wine from grapes.

Driving by the vineyards, it is clear the the vines are very young--but that does not dampen my enthusiasm for this winery. I am very impressed with the location, the concept, and the idea that they are going to produce the best possible wines from the grapes they can grow.

RECOMMENDATION: A must visit if you are in this part of Florida. The whites are the best and the reds are light, summery offerings.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, FL