First Impressions of Wine in Lynchburg

I suggest we learn to love ourselves before it's made illegal.
When will we learn? When will we change?
Just in time to see it all fall down.
Those left standing... will make millions...
writing books on the way it should have been.

When she woke in the morning
she knew that her life had passed her by.
And she called out a warning,
"Don't ever let life pass you by."
--Incubus

I was raised here in a small town just outside of Lynchburg (Forest). I attended Jefferson Forest High School (Go Cavs!) and knew that there were wineries up in Charlottesville and over in Williamsburg. Those of you that have been reading this blog since it started 8 years ago (Those of you that are new, I tend to exaggerate) know that I had lived both in Oregon and South Carolina since. Now that I am back in Virginia, I am looking for that "go to" wine and beer shop for what I want to enjoy. I'm still looking...

Craft beer seems to be the big "to do" here in Lynchburg, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it seems to be setting itself up for failure. There is no real awareness or education, the best beer shop is in the back of a pizza joint and there are no growler stations to be found. And wine? ...here we go...

When I came back here to visit my parents, we always stopped at a chain supermarket to pick up wine, which has had, admittedly, a pretty decent seleciton, but by the standards that South Carolina has produced, the selections here are, how do I put it nicely... "less than desirable." What I have noticed is that the supermarkets that have a passable selection like to make you feel as though you can't see the forest for the trees. There definitely is selection, but selection of wines that are all in the same price point. example, at the chain store that I was at, there was a large selection of Pinot Noirs and the price points were all within $5 dollars of each other. I'm sure that exhaustive studies had been performed to keep them in that price point, but what about someone that wants more?

And when it came to value picks, the only selections were the cheapest of the cheap, not in terms of price, but in terms of quality.

So why don't I just go to one of the wine stores in the area? Well, there are two. One is a semi-gourmet European Style cafe that doesn't want to expand its holdings and the other is an old general store that has more of a beer selection.

It seems as though the wine culture is dependent on the restaurants in town, but here lies the crux: most restaurants are starting to lean back on their wine lists to force a corkage system and granted, some of them are foregoing a percentage price for a reasonable $5. This system would be a wonderful system in a place like Charleston or Washington DC, but if you can't find a good wine in the stores, you are still subject to higher pricing on restaurant menus. This shouldn't happen in Virginia.

The first grapes in the colonies were planted here in Virginia under the orders of the Crown of England:

Virginians have made wine for more than four centuries. The Jamestown settlers had such hopes that Virginia would become a major source of wine for the British Empire that in 1619 they signed into law a requirement for each male settler to plant and tend at least ten grape vines.

(http://www.virginiawine.org/learn/wine-history/)

Thomas Jefferson devoted his knowledge of agriculture primarily around wine. We have wineries in this area: 5 in Bedford county and many more just north of us in Amherst county. We as Virginians should embrace the proud heritage that our ancestors laid out for us in wine and promote it as much as possible. We have the Norton grape and similar growing conditions to the North Coast of California.

We should have better wine selection and education in this area, but it is up to the people to want it. Do you? I know that while I am here, I will do my best to promote not only Virginia wine, but wine in general.

Get ready Virginia... we're about to get our learn on.

When the Barrel Runs Dry

“You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It wont happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, ‘I don’t care how hard this is, I don’t care how disappointed I am, I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with my life.” --Joel Olsteen

“You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened... or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move the f*** on.” --Tupac Shakur

This image was taken at LeoGrande Winery in Forest, Virginia. The background is of the Peaks of Otter, which is only a 30 minute ride from this location.


As some of you might now know, I am not in Florence anymore. I have moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, where I am going to pursue my hopes of working closer to wineries.

Of all the jobs that I have wanted (without working as a winemaker) have, in some form, required that I have an MBA or Bachelor's in Business. Well, unfortunate for me that when I went to South Carolina (Go Cocks) that I wanted to be an English and Poly Sci major so that I could corner the market in research and writing to prepare myself for law school. Now, I'm sure that many of you have heard me tell the story of how I fell in love with my job in wine, so I won't bore you with it now.

All of this having been said, I am waiting for classes to start and trying to find a job (anyone? come on...). In the meantime, if I come across any wines that are "must haves" or even "must avoids," I will do my best to keep you informed. Luckily, I am on the southern end of some of the best wines on the east coast, ranging from here in Lynchburg to Charlottesville, which have a few things in common: not only were both areas home to Thomas Jefferson (Charlottesville has Monticello and Lynchburg has his summer home: Poplar Forest), but they are similar in growing conditions.

Virginia will always come out strong with the wines she has to offer, but always keep a keen eye toward Cabernet Franc and Barbera for reds and Chambourcin, Seyval Blanc and Riesling for whites. The more I taste, the more I will tell you about it...

Florence, I will miss you as well as all of the close friends that are there. As for wine, Micky Finn's still has and will continue to have great wine selections as long as people like Bryan Holt, Tom Smith and Rick Havekost are there. They gave this guy a chance when no one else would and I can look back and say that we did some great business together and together, we raised the awareness of wine, beer and shopping local. I pray that you keep doing this... as always, demand the absolute best from them and they will step up and meet your need!

In the meantime, I hope that you take the time to read what I will post in the future as well as what I have posted in the past.

Until next time,
Cheers!

Just a Thought on Champagne...

Now there are virtually thousands of styles of Sparkling Wine in the world. From the fine American houses of Schramsberg to famed legends of Prosecco to the new kids on the block, making sparkling Shiraz, there is nothing quite like a chilled glass of Champagne in a flute.

Dom Perignon is quoted to usher everyone to where he was saying "I see stars!" I'm sure he said the same thing in the morning after consuming enough of his product... but much more quietly.

Champagne is a tribute unto itself. No, it wasn't the first area in the world to produce Sparkling Wine. Their cousins to the south of their own country in Limoux established sparkling wine in 1531, more than 100 years before the Monks in Northern France "invented" Champagne. But what the Monks in the Abbey of Saint Hilaire missed out on, the Monks of Northern France took advantage of and exploded their product (as often as their corks) into the mainstream market.

Today there are hundreds of Champagne houses in the Champagne region of France. And while we can't get a hold of them all here in little old South Carolina, I would like to help you get a bearing on some of the amazing wines that are in fact available.

Ok, we all know about the Champagne giants like Veuve Clicquot, Perrier Jouet and Moet Chandon. What I want to talk to you about are maybe "lesser known" houses. Not to bad mouth the houses that I just mentioned, but there is so much more out there!

For example, there is a large Champagne house called Duval-Leroy that produces high volumes of wine. It is full bodied with aromas of honeysuckle, toast, roasted pear and follows with tastes of baked apple and just delicious acidity.

Pierre Moncuit is another great Champagne, but from a much smaller Champagne house (I will get into differences in Champagne Houses another time). To sum this wine up as well as I can, it is a locomotive that has let out the throttle on flavor and won't stop any time soon!

I will sum this up quickly with a shout out to Diebolt-Vallois. I recently had a big day and at the end of that day, there was nothing more satisfying than diving into that delicious bottle of Diebolt-Vallois. As elegant as Donna Reed and as seductive as Anne Hathaway, this wine is everything you could want in a special occasion. Why? because it didn't matter that I was celebrating a big event. Opening the bottle was special enough!

Go out and try these wines for New Year's Day, or any day! You will be happy that you did!

--Cheers!

2011 McManis Merlot

100% Merlot
Ripon, California
84 Points

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I had not tasted McManis wines before. As a matter of fact, I had been trying to get rid of this wine from my store.

Now those of you that know me know that I am fairly stubborn and sales sometimes dictate what I think will and won't sell in the future. Then I read up on this wine in Wine Spectator's "Top 100 Values" List and decided to taste for myself.

Vibrant red fruits such as cherry, pomegranate race to the nose with just a hint of cedar, telling me that this wine is going to be simple. In this case, simple is good in that it isn't trying to be more than what it is. It isn't blowing me away with complexity and for a wine that retails for only $8.99, it really shouldn't.

There is a little weight in the mouth with consistent flavors of Bing cherry.

Granted flavor-wise, this wine is a one trick pony, but once again, that isn't a bad thing.

I rate this wine 84 Points based on nice aromas, good weight and consistent and pleasant taste and the major fact that this wine is a value. I have tasted wines like this for more than $10 that I wouldn't rate as high as this.

Get it, know it. It is good for entertaining people or just a glass or two at the end of the day.

2011 Thomas Jefferson Vineyards Viognier

Charlottesville, Virginia
100% Viognier
88 Points

It's always nice to have the time to go home for Thanksgiving and for this past one, I made a little pit stop to get some of the great wines that Virginia has to offer.

My selection for here is from none other than a winery honoring one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson.

TJ, like many of our founding fathers, was an avid wine collector (amongst a billion other things he did) to the point where he hired an Italian gentleman named Filipo Mazzei to establish a vineyard next to Monticello, where the present day Jefferson Vineyards are located.

Throughout time, (In my opinion), the best grapes to grow in this area have become Norton, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Barbera, and Viognier. This selection is the latter.

The nose? Imagine cutting open a perfectly ripe peach. That aroma, along with a great floral component dominate the aromatics with just a slight touch of petroleum (trust me, this is a good thing).

This wine had a nice balance of acid and a very nice weight in the mouth. It isn't light and crisp, nor should it be. It has a thicker viscosity with tastes of apricot and peach.
The finish doesn't linger the way in which I enjoy my wines, so it doesn't get a 90+, but the wine is of very good quality. If the pricepoint where just a little lower ($25) at maybe $19, this would be a steal.

So the TJV is just a little pricey, but it really is a delicious wine. Enjoy this wine with Chicken with Herbs, Fried Chicken (yes, I said it.), Fruit Salad, Ham (Christmas Wine?), Thai Foods and baked Butternut Squash.

2010 Chapoutier Bila Haut Red

Cotes du Roussillon, France
Syrah, Grenache and Carignan Blend
92 Points

I know from my past posts, you must be thinking, "where oh where are the Cotes du Roussillon? As fortune would have it, I have a map for you!

This wine is the Maverick to Top Gun's Wine World, out of the relatively unknown (at least in local circles) Hills of Roussillon. This area is a place with many identities. It is very close to the borders of Spain and Andorra. The people are French, like their countrymen, but they are also Basque, like many Spanish.

Beloved by some, cast out by others, this region of "France" produces many solid wines that are equal, if not superior to their eastern neighbors of the Rhone Valley. In this case, we are talking about the "big 3" of the area: Grenache, Syrah and Carignan.

Now when I first tried this wine a few months ago, I learned that this wine is (A) Big and (B) Needs to breathe.

Having these instructions, a little bit of patience can go a lllloooonnnnng way. For the first 40 minutes after opening this bottle, the wine is very closed off. The nose muted as well as the flavors on the palate. After 40 minutes? (Let's say 40 minutes and 23 seconds), this wine explodes with flavors of blackberries, beef roast, bacon and pepper with an intensity that doesn't finish slowly.

Pair this wine up with game meats, steak, pork or just a glass.


It is amazing that a wine from the Cotes du Roussillon can have this kind of power! It takes conventional, snooty wines of its cousins and/or naysayers, goes into a 4G negative (inverted)dive and gives them the bird, and then takes a Polaroid. And it does all this under the price point of $15. I can't describe anymore; I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Apparently I'm not the only person that thinks highly of this wine. Robert Parker HIMSELF gave this wine a ratings range of 92-94 Points and Wine Spectator thought so much of it that they ranked it in their prestigious "Top 100" list!

Bila-Haut, you can be my wing-man any time!

2010 Bethel Heights Gewurztraminer

Eola-Amity Hills (West Salem), Oregon --Winery
Fruit sourced from the Rogue Valley (see map)
89 Points

This is my ultimate turkey wine. When I think Thanksgiving, I like Dry Riesling, I like Pinot Noir and I like Petite Sirah; but if it's available, I go for Gewurztraminer, or Gewurtz (GA-vurtz for short) every time.

This wine in particular has a great fruity-spicy nose of nutmeg, lychee blood orange, and pears. To me, on the palate, all I can think of is apple sauce being put on the table, next to the stuffing and the turkey. This wine is well balanced and ready to take on a variety of foods besides Turkey, such as Asian cuisine, Indian Cuisine, Foie Gras, Goose, Lobster, Salmon, Shrimp, and for me and this very moment... orginal Doritos!

I must show my bias in that Gewurztraminer is one of my favorite wines. It is an atypical white wine in that you think that it is a very sweet wine, but it is just a high fruit wine. It has great fruit and amazing acidity, which, in my opinion, makes it a superior wine to your everyday Chardonnays and Pinot Grigios.

I highly recommend this wine and know you will fall in love with it as much as I have!