Virginia Bubbles - Briedé Sparkling Cayuga White

The Now And Zin Wine Country series started in 2011, with Virginia wine. In the dozen years since then I have sampled wines from 46 states. The last four - Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming - have proven to be tough nuts to crack, for a variety of reasons. There are fewer opportunities in those states and shipping restrictions, to name two. I'll press on to find wines from those states, but when I get a chance to revisit a previous stop, I'll jump at the chance. Especially when it is Virginia. 

The Old Dominion State has 291 wineries, by Wine America's count. That's good enough for 6th place in the winery count. As far as wine production goes, Virginia lags a little more behind, in eighth place. 

Briedé Family Vineyards boasts a ton of awards won by their wines. They also have a menu featuring a ton of North American grapes, although they do utilize vinifera grapes mostly in blends. The price list looks a tad spendy to me, considering the grape varieties. I have tried only one of their wines, so I can't say whether the prices are justified. 

Located in Winchester, VA, Briedé occupies the 30-acre patch of land on which the family has lived for decades. They started their winery in 2013. The namesake sparkling wine is made from Shenandoah Valley Cayuga White grapes, carries alcohol at 11.6% abv and costs $57. They label the wine as Sparkling, but on their website they reference Champagnes, which it is not. It is, however, made in the same way traditional Champagnes are made. 

The 2020 Briedé Sparkling Winchester Brut has a yellow straw color with a huge helping of white foam, which dissipates quickly to a frizzante appearance. It is wild while it's there, though. The nose offers beautiful aromas of green apples and apricots under an overlay of yeasty toast. The palate has a boatload of acidity and yeasty flavors of apples, and pears. Fun and tasty, too. 

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Wine Country: Virginia - Jump Mountain Vineyard

The Now And Zin Wine Country series started in 2011, with Virginia wine. In the dozen years since then I have sampled wines from 46 states. The last four - Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming - have proven to be tough nuts to crack, for a variety of reasons. There are fewer opportunities in those states and shipping restrictions, to name two. I'll press on to find wines from those states, but when I get a chance to revisit a previous stop, I'll jump at the chance. Especially when it is Virginia. 

The Old Dominion State has 291 wineries, by Wine America's count. That's good enough for 6th place in the winery count. As far as wine production goes, Virginia lags a little farther behind, in eighth place. 

Jump Mountain Vineyard is in the unincorporated community of Rockbridge Baths, in the southwestern part of the Shenandoah Valley. They admit that the mountain they call Jump is really a sandstone knob, but it protects the estate which has soil and a microclimate that makes vinifera grapes want to grow. 

The 2019 Jump Mountain Vineyard Borderland Red Blend is from the Shenandoah Valley. The grapes are 50% Tannat, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc. They also grow Syrah, Grüner Veltliner and a handful of grapes with an Italian pedigree. Alcohol hits 13.5% abv and the retail price is $26. 

This wine is medium-dark in the glass. The nose provides plenty upon which to ruminate. There is red plum and raspberry abetted by a raft of spices: clove, nutmeg, allspice and anise among them. On the palate there is mainly raspberry and blueberry with enough oak spice to make things interesting but not enough to take over the show. Big tannins make the sip a bit raspy, but this wine is made for pairing with beef. 

The 2021 Jump Mountain Livia Italian Style Red Blend is made with an interesting array of Shenandoah Valley grapes. The blend is 60% Refosco, 20% Cabernet Franc, 15% Lagrein and 5% Sagrantino. Owners Mary Hughes and David Vermillion say the wine was named for Roman empress Livia Drusilla Augusta, who made public her love of the Refosco grape. Alcohol is a low 13% abv and the retail price is $26. 

This wine is a medium-dark garnet in color. Its nose suggests savory aspects of the red fruit which is present. There is a smokiness that hangs over the plum, cherry and raspberry aromas, with some oak spice thrown in for good measure. On the palate are big red fruit notes, but little of the oak influence detected on the sniff. It is a rustic wine, with tannins that lie waiting for a bolognese sauce or a plate of sausage and peppers.

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Wine Country Virginia: DuCard Vineyards

During the effort of trying to taste wine produced in all fifty states, some states bear another visit - and another.  DuCard Vineyards is our third sampling of Virginia wine in Now And Zin's Wine Country series.  The Old Dominion state was one of the first in the series, and one of the more recent.

DuCard owner Scott Elliff says he started out innocently enough, growing grapes for sale to a neighborhood vintner.  On the winery's website, Elliff remembers, "We initially sold our grapes to a winery up the road, and wines that included our grapes won a number of awards, including the Virginia Governor’s Cup as the best wine in the state and the Best Wine in the East (out of 1,400 entries) in another competition."

Elliff avoided the proverbial ton of bricks and put two and two together quickly.  "We decided to begin bottling a small amount of wine under our own label, exclusively for friends and neighbors and a small but growing email list of “fans and followers.”  The value of his decision was realized when his wines sold out in his first three vintages.

Not only is DuCard a source of great wine, they are also a leader in Virginia's green business community.  DuCard was Virginia's first solar powered winery, and was awarded the Virginia Green Travel Star designation for its environmentally sound and socially conscious practices.

The winery composts grape waste for use in fields and gardens, uses reclaimed hardwoods from barns and other Appalachian sources for flooring and tasting room bar, employs organic alternatives to  chemical sprays whenever possible and recycles wine bottle corks for use in their flooring.

The label on DuCard's 2013 Signature Viognier reveals that grapes from the estate are whole-cluster pressed, then barrel-fermented and aged in neutral oak.  Alcohol tips the meter at 13.7% abv and the retail sticker of $26 per bottle may price the wine out of some "everyday wine" budgets, but there's always the weekend.

The wine's very pale, golden color is not too inviting - but don't stop after a glance.  The nose send showers of vanilla peaches out in a cloud of soft oak and floral scents.  On the palate, rich peach and pear mix with a slight taste of orange peel.  The acidity is striking, and a citrus note clings to the lengthy and delicious finish.  If all it had going for it were the acidity and the citrus angle, the DuCard Signature Viognier would be worth purchasing.  With all its other attributes, it should be in every wine rack in Virginia - and beyond.

Pair the DuCard Viognier with all the seafood you love - scallops, crab cakes and oysters come to mind - or a nice Gouda cheese plate with apple slices.  And, if you can't wait for lunch, have it with a late breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked bacon.


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Drink Pink: Stinson Vineyards Monticello Rosé 2012

Spring is official now, although it may not feel like it yet where you are.  In Southern California, the shading between seasons is not so dramatic as it is elsewhere, but we still know when it feels like a rosé.  Yes, it feels like a rosé pretty much all the time.  Look for some great rosé wines to be featured under the "Drink Pink" heading on Now And Zin Wine as we work our way towards summer.

This pink wine comes from the great state of Virginia.  Stinson Vineyards is run by the father/daughter team of Scott and Rachel Stinson - she's the winemaker.  Located in the Monticello AVA, the Stinson's are showing that Thomas Jefferson was right - great wine can be made in ol' Virginny.  Stinson Vineyards provided a sample of their rosé to me for the purpose of review.  Next week the full article on Stinson Vineyards in the Now And Zin Wine Country series will run.

This rosé is made from 100% Mourvèdre grapes, soaked on their skins for 72 hours, fermented and aged in steel tanks.  The wine is aged for three months on the lees (spent yeast) which imparts body and creaminess to the wine.

A Rhônish 13% abv in alcohol, only 220 cases were produced, in keeping with the artisanal concept of the winery.  The wine sells for $17 per bottle.

Intermittent rain during the 2012 harvest made ripening difficult for red grapes.  The Mourvèdre - from Horton Vineyards in Virginia's Madison County - was harvested in early October, when the weather cooled and rains let up.  Vineyard owner Dennis Horton is well-known to Virginia wine lovers.  He planted some of the first Rhône varieties in the state in 1988.

Stinson Vineyards says their Monticello Rosé is styled after the pinks of the Southern Rhône, Bandol in particular.  They're not just whistling La Marseillaise, either.  It looks, smells and tastes like a Rhône wine.  Strawberry and cherry aromas are filtered through a significant funky earthiness, while the flavors are soaked in minerality, too.  The acidity is a delight, and the finish carries a bit of smoke with it.  This is a serious rosé - there is certainly no mistaking it for White Zinfandel.  Thomas Jefferson would be proud.


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