2011 Redux: Virginia Wines: Ready to Take Off … But Where To? Lenn Thompson December 31, 2011 FCG, Food & Conversation 1 Comment Editors' note: To close 2011, Palate Press: The online wine magazine will be featuring some of our top stories from the past year. Our sixth piece comes from Lenn Thompson, giving us coverage of the Virginia wine industry's continued growth and the future challenges the state may face.
Palate Press Wine of the Week: 2010 Stag’s Hollow GVM Palate Press November 19, 2011 FCG, Tasting Notes Quite an unusual wine from this Okanagan Valley winery : a field blend of grenache, viognier and marsanne, pressed together and fermented together in oak barrels, thus creating an unusual, largely blanc de noirs, white wine. Coming from a cool vintage, it has an edgy, vibrant touch, combining the aromatics of Rhône varieties with a blend of lime and tropical flavors. Crisp, it also has good weight and a fairly round mouthfeel. creating a unique profile and balance. It is, at this point, a very young wine. A year or two in bottle will round it out, and it may well have several more years of life in it. Highly Recommended. RC
Colorado Wine Industry Aims High Tom Mansell October 10, 2011 FCG, Features 10 Comments From the Denver/Boulder area, the Grand Valley AVA of Colorado is past the Continental Divide on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The trip westward on Interstate 70, which winds through canyons that the word "pcturesque" struggles to describe, is rewarding if undertaken carefully to avoid notorious mountain traffic.
2010 Blenheim Vineyards Viognier Remy Charest August 24, 2011 Tasting Notes 1 Comment Well-balanced, very aromatic and tropical on the nose but dry and refreshing as you gulp it down happily in the summer heat, it was also one of the closest things to Rhône Viognier I tried all weekend. Well-defined and quite pleasant, it goes well with charcuterie, smoked fish, and spicy Asian food. 20% of the wine is aged in oak—but I couldn’t have told you that without reading it. Recommended. RC
Virginia Wines: Ready to Take Off … But Where To? Lenn Thompson August 14, 2011 FCG, Features 68 Comments A modern wine industry that started with a handful of estates in the late 1970s has exploded to nearly 200 wineries covering every corner of the state, including six AVAs. According to the Virginia Wine Board, the state ranks fifth in the country in wine grape production, and produces more than 500,000 cases of wine per year. Clearly Virginia is already a player in the East Coast wine community, but can it go further?
Palate Press Wine of the Week: 2009 Et Fille Deux Vert Vineyard Viognier Palate Press July 10, 2011 FCG, Palate Press Wine of the Week, Tasting Notes Clear, medium intensity straw yellow. Clean nose with medium intensity aromas of honeysuckle, orange zest, baked yellow apples, pear, and clean linen sheets. Dry on the palate with medium acidity, full body, and flavors of apple, pear, white flowers, sweet hay, honeycomb and orange tea. Long finish. Pair with a summer salad dressed in an orange-fennel vinaigrette. Highly recommended.
2009 Et Fille Deux Vert Vineyard Viognier Ryan Reichert July 4, 2011 Tasting Notes Cear, medium intensity straw yellow. Clean nose with medium intensity aromas of honeysuckle, orange zest, baked yellow apples, pear, and clean linen sheets. Dry on the palate with medium acidity, full body, and flavors of apple, pear, white flowers, sweet hay, honeycomb and orange tea. Long finish. Pair with a summer salad dressed in an orange-fennel vinaigrette.
Palate Press Wine of the Week: 2008 Whitman Cellars Viognier Palate Press June 25, 2011 FCG, Palate Press Wine of the Week, Tasting Notes 1 Comment Clear, bright, medium straw yellow; Clean nose with medium intensity white flowers, candied citrus rind, apricot, sweet hay, yellow apple, and hotdog water (not bad! this is a classic Viognier marker for me!); Dry on the palate with medium-full body, medium acid, medium alcohol, medium flavors of yellow apple, peach skin, honeysuckle, candied lemon; rich texture and a medium-long finish. Pair with pan seared tofu glazed with spicy peach preserves. Highly recommended.
