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Virginia Wineworks   

800.826.0534

www.vawineclub.cominfo@vawineclub.com

17435 Louisa RoadLouisa, VA 23093

Often the most interesting roads lead to the most interesting wine. Located just south of Charlottesville, visitors to Virginia Wineworks journey from pavement to gravel, past First Colony Winery to a small driveway that leads back into the dark woods, then just as you think you must have gone too far, the winery appears on your left.

Th is facility was once known as Montdomaine Cellars. Th en winemaker Shep Rouse (now owner of Rockbridge Vineyards) worked with his assistant Graham Bell (currently winemaker for Lake Anna Winery) produced a vintage 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon that won the 1993 Virginia Governor’s Cup. In the mid-1990s, the facility was shuttered and production moved to another winery.

For many years, the winery in the woods remained dormant until 2007 when Michael Shaps and Phillip Staff ord, opened up a multi-faceted winery. In addition to the Virginia Wineworks label, they also produce Michael Shaps labeled wine.

But that’s only half the story of Virginia Wineworks, “Custom Crush” operations take up a signifi cant portion of their production capabilities. Under this paradigm, a vineyard can bring in their fruit to Virginia Wine Works to be processed and aged. Th is signifi cantly reduces the capital costs required to start producing wine.

On each of our visits to the winery it has been a hot bed of activity, whether it is a Piedmont Virginia Community College class, a custom crush client tasting out of barrel or the random visitor seeking to taste the wines, there is always much going on.

Th e tasting “room” is tucked into a corner of the fermentation area where visitors feel very close to the winemaking process. While the winery just recently expanded, it’s easy to see how they might soon need to expand again.

While he fi rst learned winemaking in France, Shaps established himself as one of

the premier Virginia winemakers since 1995. His hand crafted wines at Jeff erson, King Family and under his own label have received national and international awards.

Never one to sit still, for the last seven years Shaps has been “jumping the pond” as a partner in a Burgundian winery property, Shaps & Roucher-Sarrazin.

He is also a wine making consultant for wineries across four states (most recently named as Breaux consultant as they conduct a national winemaker search).

Winemaker Shaps is perhaps the personifi cation of Virginia Wineworks operation. Shifting his tone from teacher to the PVCC class to wine making mentor with his custom crush client, the passion for the wine shines through. Even when he is unimpressed with a particular bench blend, his disappointment is as heartfelt as a parent watching their 8 year old strike out.

Virginia Wine Works is something of an anti-tourist winery. If you are looking for wine related gifts – this is not the winery stop for you. If your goal is to get closer to the winemaking process and understand how industrial (and decidedly unromantic) it is, there is no place better than this undersized, overachieving winery in the woods.

Fast Facts:• Monticello Appellation• Custom Crush Facility• Home of Michael Shaps Wines

Virginia Wineworks 2010 Viognier

The big news out of the Virginia Wine Board meeting I attended last month was the designation of Viognier as Virginia’s signature grape.

The Washington Post’s Dave McIntire reported it this way, “We can now look for some national marketing campaigns aiming to associate “viognier” with “Virginia,” much like New Zealand wine has become identified with sauvignon blanc, Argentina with malbec, Oregon with pinot noir, New York with Riesling, and Napa Valley with cabernet sauvignon.”

As one who has worked in Napa Valley, not all Napa producers have a big Cabernet Sauvignon on their list but most do; those that do not still benefit from the focused marketing of Napa Valley around the world. A full 72% of Virginia’s wineries produce Viognier including this month’s white selection from Virginia Wineworks.

The 2009 vintage includes 25% Chardonnay. This complementary blend provides structure to the bright floral Viognier notes. In the glass the wine is a dark goldenrod with a nose filled with violets and a hint of citrus.

On the attack the forward acid minimizes the tropical tones found in the mid palate. The expanding midpalate expresses bananas and all spice leading to a crisp clean finish.

This wine would pair well with grilled chicken or fish perhaps with fruit chutney.

This wine is drinking well now – enjoy it this summer.

Drink NOW through FALL 2016

Virginia Wineworks 2008 Red

With a cursory glance at the glass, many wines reveal their true identity. This is not the case with the 2008 Virginia Wineworks Red. The dark crimson color in the glass is foreboding suggesting a tannic bomb to follow. But the rich color is nothing but a clever winemaking ruse.

This wine spent ten full days on the skins to extract the maximum color but not long enough to extract the maximum tannins from the skins and the seeds. Following fermentation, the deeply colored red (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc) was aged in both stainless steel and older oak barrels.

Barrels are like tea bags, the first time you use them they provide a ton of structure each subsequent vintage has exponential less impact on the flavor profile of the wine.

The minority blend of Cabernet Franc provides a nice structure to the mouth feel to the wine. The nose is filled with plum, raisins and anise. The attack is sharp with a great deal of fruit. The midpalate expands slightly with dark cherry undertones and a hint of coca. The finish lingers longer than anticipated with slight tannins.

With a slightly higher alcohol content (13%), this wine pairs exceedingly well with tomato based pasta dishes, grilled beef or roasted eggplant.

Drinking nicely now, I do not anticipate this wine will improve with cellar aging. This is a delightfully full summer red that is built to be consumed now.

Drink NOW through FALL 2011

Rockfish Baked with Virginia Wineworks Viognier

Serves 2-4

Virginia Wineworks Viognier1 – large onion, sliced thin *(thinly

sliced bell pepper)½ stick – unsalted butter, melted1 ½ -2 lbs. – Rockfish fillets skin on

or offSalt to tasteFreshly ground black pepper**

(cumin, or paprika)Lemon wedges

Optional*2 Tblsp. – finely chopped parsley **

(tarragon or dill)

Preheat oven to 450

• Pour wine to a depth of an 1/8 inch in a shallow baking pan. Spread ½ of the onions over the bottom of the pan.

• Place fish skin side down on the onions. Brush the fish with butter and cover with remaining onions.

• Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 7-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.

• Serve with lemon wedges and onions and sprinkle with parsley if you like.

* You can add other thinly sliced vegetables.

** These are other spice and herb choices that would be good.

Maceration – the winemaking process where the tannins, coloring agents and fl avor compounds are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the juice.

In small to medium sized wineries, maceration often takes place in vessels known as microbins. Th ese square plastic bins are roughly 4 ‘ by 4 ‘ and about 4’ deep. After the grapes are crushed and destemmed the must goes into the macrobin.

Th e vast majority of the color is extracted after 7 days. Th e tannins and other phe-nolic characteristics require from 10 – 15 days of full skin contact.

Most wineries seeking to enhance the tannic structure of their wines will “punch down” the must cap into the wines two or three times a day during maceration.

Some winemakers allow the skins to remain in contact with the must after fermenta-tion is fi nished. Th is is known as extended maceration.

Strawberries inVirginia Wineworks Red Wine

Serves 4 1 cup – Virginia Wineworks Red Wine½ cup – sugar2-3 cups – sliced strawberries

1. Stir together the wine and the sugar and allow the mixture to sit until the sugar dissolves. To speed up the process and eliminate the alcohol in the wine, put the wine and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat. Boil for a few minutes to cook away the alcohol and melt the sugar. Let the wine and sugar cool..

2. Combine the wine and sugar with the strawberries, and let them sit for at least and hour. Serve alone or over vanilla Ice cream.

Editor’s Note: by Neil WilliamsonAt the Montpelier Wine Festival earlier this month a number of members stopped by to say hello at the seminars I put on with Chris Breiner from Stone Mountain and Len Th ompson from Rockbridge. Th e seminars, as always, were great fun but I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to have members come up and tell me how much they enjoy reading the Virginia Wine Journal.

I am very lucky to have a great tasting panel and most creative (and understanding) graphic artist to work with to bring you the news and notes from inside the Virginia Wine Industry.

More news will follow later this month about the fi rst Virginia Wine Club Dinner. Circle Wednesday, July 20th on your calendars. Our fi rst dinner will be in Northern Virginia with additional dinners to follow in other parts of the state. We are planning to have three winemakers at the dinner but details are not yet fi nalized. Next month, we will provide you the menu and the names of the wineries represented. Stay tuned.

I do hope to see you at the Top 5 Tasting Tent at Vintage Virginia on Saturday, June 4th. If you see us at a festival please stop in and say hello.

As always, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your Virginia Wine Journey.

Respectfully Submitted,

Neil Williamson

Editor, Virginia Wine JournalChairman, Virginia Wine Club Tasting Paneleditor@vawineclub.com

Virginia Wine Event CalendarMay 28 ValleyFest - Beer & Wine Festival - Massanutten Resort, Va.  11am - 7pm.  May 29 Wintergreen Festival of Wines - Wintergreen Resort, Va.  June 4 & 5 Vintage Virginia - Bull Run Park (northern Va.) Sat. & Sun. 11am - 6pm. 

(Your Editor will be hosting the Top 5 Tasting Tent Saturday)June 11 Summer Celebration - Lee Hall Mansion, Newport News, Va.June 11 Wine & Arts Festival - Locust Grove, Walkerton, Va.  June 11 Roanoke Valley Wine Festival - Elmwood Park, RoanokeJune 18 Clifton Wine Festival - Childrens Park, Clilfton, Va.  June 18 Central Virginia Wine Festival - Innsbrook Pavilion, Richmond, Va.  12pm - 6pm.  June 19 Manassas Jazz & Wine Festival - Harris Pavilion, Manassas, Va.  11am - 6pm.  July 2 & 3 Floyd Fandango Wine & Beer Festival formally Wine Down Th e Music Trail - Floyd, Va.  11am - 6pm.

Vincabulary – (n.) Vin-kăb-yoo-lehr-ee

Some winemakers allow the skins to remain in contact with the must after fermenta-

July 2 & 3 Floyd Fandango Wine & Beer Festival formally Wine Down Th e Music Trail - Floyd, Va.  11am - 6pm.

May’s Sweet Wine Selection

Stone Mountain Vineyards Bacon Hollow Revenuers’ Select

Stone Mountain Vineyards is located in an area of Greene County known as Bacon Hollow. There is only one way in and out of Bacon Hollow. This limited access and the large number of dead end paths made this region a hot bed for moonshiners during prohibition. Stone Mountain Vineyards named this sweet white wine in honor of the moonshiners and the revenuers that chased them.

On each and every bottle it states “While we are not the first to make alcoholic beverages in Bacon Hollow, we are the first to do so legally”. Winemaker and General Manager Chris Breiner often says that he was the first truck loaded down with alcohol to leave the hollow without a squad car chasing it.

Breiner and his late father Al, founded the winery in the mid 1990s with their first pressing in 1998. The concept was an appreciation for the land and an appreciation for agriculture. Located halfway up Wyatt Mountain in Greene County, Stone Mountain Vineyards boasts one of the most panoramic views in all of Virginia wine. On a clear day, their observation deck provides a literal bird’s eye view of the valley below all the way over to the Southwest Mountains of Southern Albemarle County.

Committed to the success of the entire Virginia Wine industry, Breiner has served in leadership roles in the Jeffersonian Grape Growers Society and The Virginia Wineries Association. In 2009, he was made a Master Knight of the Knights of the Vine.

The Bacon Hollow Revenuers’ Select is a Chardonnay dominated blend (80%) with a minority of Pi-not Grigio. The color is a shade of goldenrod in the glass with streaks of darker gold along the outside edge. The citrusy sweet nose leaves no question regarding the structure of the wine. Honeysuckle, grapefruit and muted pineapple dominate the low acid attack. The midpalate expands to include mangos and cantaloupe undertones. The finish lingers with more tropical notes.

With 5% residual sugar this wine hits the “sweet” spot for our new sweet wine selection criteria. As with many sweet whites this wine pairs exceptionally well with airs well with spicy foods, such as Thai or Szechuan.

In wine dinners, this non-vintage wine is often paired with dessert. The bright fruit flavors, from the stainless steel fermentation, provide a great combination with a fruit tart or a parfait. This wine also works well as a greeting aperitif. A glass of Revenuers and the palate is relaxed and ready for a great dinner.

This wine is built from the ground up to be consumed young. Additional cellar aging will not increase the integrity or the complexity of this fun summer wine.

Drink NOW through OCTOBER 2011