Winery Visit: Chateau Morrisette

On April 16th, 2012 me and 2 of my other friends went on a long day adventure throughout southwest Virignia in search of some wineries. Our second stop took us on the Blue Ridge Parkway through the mountains and brought us to Chateau Morrisette. Upon pulling in to the parking lot, we were instantly able to see how beautiful of a place it was:

View as we walked towards the Tasting Room

View from the front area

View down the hill 

 After looking around for a bit outside the winery, we then decided to venture in as it was nearing time for the tour of the facility. Upon walking into the tasting room/winery we were absolutely blown away. Huge vaulting ceilings, tons of space everywhere, and it was just an absolutely gorgeous structure. Walking around a bit before the tour revealed more of the same, it was quite amazing. They then began to show us around the winemaking parts of the facility, and here are the grape crushers that they have on site outside of the tasting room:

The grape crushers at Chateau Morrisette

We then walked around some more, saw some wine aging in barrels and just an overall look at the facility. The facility was quite amazing to see, as I never really knew how big wine was in southwestern Virginia and how big some of the wineries are currently. Following the tour we then went back into the tasting room and were offered to try a few wines for free or pay for a tasting. We opted for the smaller tasting as we had been touring wineries all day and figured we shouldn't try too many. Here are some of the wines we tried:

• Chateau Morrisette Cabernet Franc-  Cabernet Franc 2010: Wild berry and cedar aromas illuminate the plum and black cherry flavors in this mid-weight, mouth-watering wine.  The silky tannic structure is augmented by small amounts of Petit Verdot and Tannat, and slowly fades into a warm, lingering finish with emerging cocoa notes.   Ideal with steaks, this wine also pairs well with lamb, game, mushroom dishes, and medium to sharp cheeses.   Try it with dark chocolate! 
• This wine was very good and I was very interested to try it since we had had quite a few others that day on our tour. This Franc was very good and very well balanced, but in my opinion there was nothing to it that set it apart from other Cabernet Franc's that I have had in the past.

• Chateau Morrisette Chambourcin-  Chambourcin 2010: Aromas of plums and berries lift from this dark violet wine, augmented by gentle notes of black tea.  Tasting quickly fills the mouth with rich fruitiness, suggesting cherries and blueberries.  Silky and soft, this medium to full bodied wine features a fruity and exceptionally long finish, revealing glimmers of black pepper.  Chambourcin is an exceptionally smooth and food-friendly wine.  Enjoy it with grilled meats, sausages, roasted poultry, and dishes with mushrooms. 
• This wine was again one that we had tried at a couple wineries that day and this one was quite good. It had a very good balance and it was very tasty in many aspects. I actually picked up a bottle of this from the tasting.

After tasting of these 2 wines, my friends completed a full tasting, but being as I was the one selected to drive for the day I then had to cut it off there just to be safe. Overall the trip to Chateau Morrisette was very interesting and a very fun experience. It was a lot of fun to see a very successful winery that is located in southwest Virginia and how large one has become. I did not realize many aspects of Chateau Morrisette that I learned while there, like the fact that they have many vineyards all over the state to grow different grapes. I did not realize that was somewhat normal practice and was very interested to learn that. On our way out we got the lady working there to snap a picture of us in the tasting room just before we left:

Spencer, Austin and me at Chateau Morrisette

and then also one of us in front of the wagon out front:

Serious face outside of Chateau Morrisette

Overall it was a great day and I would love to go back and spend some more time there and enjoy more of their wine.

Tasting: Freetail Ananke

•Name- Freetail Ananke
•Variety- American Wild Ale(Sour Ale)
•Region- Texas
•Country- United States
•Year- 2012 Bottlign
•Price- $13.95 / 22oz
•Shop/wine critic/winery review- Open source beer, beta version. Deep copper hue with a rich, caramel aroma and subtle hop perfume. Aggressively bitter finish balancing the residual malt-sweetness.

•Your Review- Upon first pour I was quite shocked with the color of this beer. In prior sour beers that I have had, they tend to be darker, usually have some odd coloring to them because they are usually aged in wine barrels. In this case the beer was a lighter golden yellow color that almost looked like a hazy pilsner. The smell of the beer was quite amazing in that it was a pretty normal smelling pilsner but with a large hint of sour and bitterness to it. First sip of the beer was slightly a letdown as it was not as sour as I had hoped, but after letting it sit for a while and warming up to roughly 55 degrees or so, the beer really showed its true color. This brought out the intense sourness of the beer and was quite amazing to me. This beer has now moved into my class of favorite beers and I hope I can source some more of this.

I did not have food with this beer

Tasting: Dom Belle Crozes-Hermitage Les Pierrelles

•Name- Dom Belle Crozes-Hermitage Les Pierrelles
•Variety- Blend
•Region- Rhone
•Country- France
•Year- 2009
•Price- $22.95
•Shop/wine critic/winery review- Classic northern Rhone flavors of olives, herbs and smoked meats. Fruity and exuberant with flavors of savory herbs and some obvious oak. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)
•Your review- Upon pouring of this wine, it was quite evident from looking at the color that this should be a very interesting wine to taste. Just from solely looking at the price I had reasonably high hopes for this wine, mainly because I knew it was out of my price range and wanted to see how good it was. Upon swirling and smelling, I was able to get a smokey flavor on the nose as well as some oakiness, but besides that, it seemed very much all over the place and I struggled to find many flavors besides that. On the tongue the wine was quite good and was a very savory wine, with many herb flavors going on as well as a pretty strong oak flavor. I enjoyed this wine but at that price I do not see how one could justify it versus some others that I'd rank as similar but at a much cheaper cost.


I did not have food with this wine

Tasting: Ch D'Orschwihr Pinot Gris Bollenberg

•Name- Ch D'Orschwihr Pinot Gris Bollenberg
•Variety- Pinot Gris
•Region- Alsace
•Country- France
•Year- 2010
•Price- $18.95
•Shop/wine critic/winery review- The Pinot Gris Bollenberg is a rich and complex wine with a nose of peaches, white flowers and a touch of truffles. On the palate, the harmony and structure conferred by the vintage are perfect. This is a dry wine but honeyed, soft and elegant with a strong finish.
•Your review- Upon pouring it appears to have the general white wine color to it, a golden yellow color, although nice to look at, it does not do much to separate itself from other white wines in the field. Once I swirled the wine I gave it a smell and the floral element of the nose of this wine became quite evident. Upon tasting I was quite pleasantly surprised from the taste, it was quite fruity and floral but quite dry as well which was a very interesting but very good balance. I have not seen this from many white wines in my sampling, and I very much enjoyed this wine. I would have loved to pick it up but it was a bit above my price point at the time.


I did not have food with this wine

Tasting: Dom du Margalleau Vouvray Sec

•Name- Dom du Margalleau Vouvray Sec
•Variety- Chenin Blanc
•Region- Loire Valley
•Country- France
•Year- 2009
•Price- $14.95
•Shop/wine critic/winery review- Beautiful perfume of honey and fresh, juicy lemon which lifts from the glass. The palate is rich, fresh, textured and has concentrated lemon and honey flavours with a stony edge. The finish is very long and perfumed.
•Your review- I was very intrigued by this wine from looking at the label as well as reading the description that was provided. Upon first pouring the glass was a very beautiful golden color with some hints of other colors that gave it a very interesting appearance. After swirling it, the aromas of this wine became very evident very quickly. I was able to locate the smell of lemon and honey, but also was getting some other citrus elements that were quite enjoyable. Upon tasting I was able to locate similar flavors on the tongue just like those in the nose. The citrus and lemony flavors really came through on the taste. This was a good wine and I would love to have it again.


I did not have food with this wine.

Wine Tasting: Jean Sablenay Touraine Sauvignon Blanc

•Name- Jean Sablenay Touraine Sauvignon Blanc
•Variety- 100% Sauvignon Blanc
•Region- Loire Valley
•Country- France
•Year- 2009(I believe but it isn't noted on the sheet from Vintage)
•Price- $10.95
•Shop/wine critic/winery review- Bright and racy, with a tasty note of lemon zest with a pronounced thyme, grass and chive profile framing the white peach, herb and sea salt notes. This has a nice lively finish.
•Your review- After seeing this wine poured,it has a very standard but still nonetheless good looking goldish color to it. The smell is very pronounced once the glass is brought closer to the nose. Once I gave it a swirl it came out even more, this was quite an aromatic Sauvignon Blanc in comparison to others I have tried in the past. From the description I was able to locate a lemon zest smell within the wine but the other smells were not quite as pronounced. Upon sampling it with a taste it became quite evident that it was a decent Sauvignon Blanc. The mouthfeel and overall taste of the wine was lacking in flavors for me, and was just somewhat of a letdown to me.


I did not have this wine with food.

Winery Visit: Attimo Winery

On April 16, 2012 me and two of my good friends, Austin Gauge and Spencer Johnson, went on a trip throughout Southwest Virginia to explore some local wineries. Our first stop on the tour was to Attimo Winery which is located just outside of the main part of Christiansburg, which was slightly mind blowing to me as I did not realize that there was a winery in Christiansburg. I got this idea from some of the people I know that work at Vintage Cellar and they said this is a very new and upcoming winery and have some very good wines, as well as a good location. Upon arrival we were very surprised to see how nice of a place this was:

The Tasting room from the parking lot

The tasting room from the outside was a very nice looking and very new looking building. Also from here we were able to get a glimpse of the property and the different rows of vines:

View up the hill from the parking lot

Another view from the parking lot

Another angle up the hill from the parking lot

 The property itself was very beautiful and quite a sight to see. There was nothing growing on the vines as of currently because it was quite cold outside and we were told they were about to plant new vines, and the current vines they had were about to be going into growing season. I want to make a trip back to see the grapes growing in because they would be quite beautiful to see I am sure. After walking around the property a bit and talking to a couple people that appeared to work there, we then decided to venture into the tasting room. We were then told to take a seat and we then were able to move onto the tasting aspect which was quite exciting.

Our table in the tasting room

Us sitting at the table in the tasting room

We then began to sample some wines, but I did not sample all of them because I was driving for the entire day trip. Here are the wines that I tasted and took notes on while there:

• Attimo Winery "I do"- "Semi-sweet, distinct citrus notes" Upon pouring of this wine, it was very similar in color to those that I see commonly with Rieslings. Smell of the wine was also nearly the same as most Rieslings. Upon tasting, it was quite good but overly sweet for my liking, but had a good fruit balance.

• Attimo Winery Deep Silence- "Dry red, intense berry flavors and light smoky pepper finish" This was a very good red in my opinion from top to bottom. I was able to get berry smells on the nose, and then taking a sip brings to light how dry of a wine this was, and I was able to pinpoint the pepper finish in the tasting.

• Attimo Winery Masquerade- "Dry, smooth and oakey" I decided to try this one, because I am definitely a Chardonnay fan, and they can be very hit or miss for me so I decided it was essential to try. The description of Oakey made me worried because I am always afraid of something being an Oak Monster. Upon tasting this wine absolutely blew me away, it was an amazing balance between oak and the fruit. Absolutely amazing Chardonnay.

• Attimo Winery Vertex- "Dry red, rich with black currant flavors and French oak notes" This wine was very intriguing to me because I have always been interested in finding the black currant flavor. I have always heard this as a descriptor but I do not believe I have ever been able to pinpoint this flavor. On this wine I actually was able to, and this wine was absolutely amazing in my opinion. It was well balanced all around, and very oakey. I am usually not a fan of the oak, but in this case it was very well done.

Having only sampled 4 wines, I was unable to get the full tasting, but knew that we had 2 other wineries ahead and had to drive so had to make a sacrifice. I then decided to purchase a few bottles as I had never seen any bottles from this winery before. After buying a few bottles we then headed out of Attimo Winery, and we were very happy and surprised. It was a great stop overall.