NoVa Wineries

So speaking of wine... 

I'll be the first to admit it, I didn't have a lot of faith in Virginia wines.  It was one of those things that I've heard a lot about, but I figured, its Virginia, and its great that they're supporting local businesses, but the wine itself can't actually be good.  So when the MTB said we were doing some wine tastings, my attitude was , eh, its drinking in the middle of the afternoon, who cares if it's good.

The first surprise of the day came as the location of the vineyards - these aren't down near Charlottesville or in the Blue Ridge, there are a number of wineries near Warrenton, just 45 miles away from DC. 

The second surprise was that some of these wines weren't just passable, some of them were really quite good.  Here's the rundown:

La Grange Winery, Haymarket, VA: First I'd highly recommend printing out an actual paper map of the area.  I know, I know, but signal is weak out there, the roads are of the country variety, and one can easily get lost without some guidance.  La Grange is down a pleasant drive near the Shenendoah foothills in an old country house with a number of outbuildings, next to the vineyard.  Once inside, there is a little store that sells trinkets, snacks, and, obviously, wine.  Next to that is the tasting room, with a U-shaped bar to belly up to for your tasting.

Options for tasting are: whites for 5$, reds for 7$, or all of them for 10$.  These are not Napa prices (in a good way) but they are also not Napa pours (in a bad way).  What they call a tasting, I'd call a splash, but hey, its cheap and we're drinking, so its fun nonetheless.  The Chardonnay was our favorite, slightly metallic but not too sweet and not too oaky.  I'd also recommend the Cabernet (should mention that I'm a cabernet man) but the Dead but Still Red was interesting as a Cherry'd Cabernet Franc.  I didn't care for the Meritage as much as it was recommended.  The best part about Le Grange - after your tasting, grab a glass for 7$ and head out to the lawn where you can relax on patio furniture in the shade overlooking the vines.


Pearmund Cellars - Warrenton, VA: After we visited La Grange, we took the back roads (I mean no-shit back roads) to its sister winery near Warrenton called Pearmund.  It seems like a lot of the wineries in NoVa use grapes from the same farms, so while the wines may have similar characteristics, each is made in its own way and has its own personality.

To get to Pearmund, you wind through the vineyard of white grapes and arrive at the morton-style building with a decent interior to the U-shaped tasting bar.  Set up was similar to La Grange, whites, reds, or the reserve tasting with a mix. 

The MTB actually liked the Chardonnay here a bit better than at La Grange, it was a bit less sweet with a buttery oak flavor.  I got the full tasting which included the Malbec....  this was maybe one of the more foul wines I've ever tasted - the nose was so strong of earthy ammonia (pee) that I couldn't get past it.  In fact, I felt so strongly about it that I couldn't even get into the Ameritage blend that included a percentage of the Malbec.

Having said that, I really enjoyed the Cabernet Sauvingon, even though the body one typically expects from a Cab wasn't present, the flavors were there.  I also enjoyed the Cabernet Franc, which was a bit more funky, in a good way.

There are a few other wineries in the area that I look forward to trying soon.  With just $10 for a full tasting and less than an hour away, a Virginia wine tasting isn't a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon...