
I hope this gives you an idea of what this area has to offer. As I said before, I think it's a pretty awesome place. To set your expectations, the alcohol levels are lower and the wines much less fruity than other wines from the US -- expect a more European flare here.
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Founded in 1976 by Gianni Zonin, 6th generation winemaker from the northeast part of Italy (Zonin is a massive company in Italy, BTW), this was one of the first wineries established by the new generation of Virginia winemakers.
Although everyone told the guy to plant tobacco and not grapes, Gianni followed his gut and 36 years later, Barboursville, which is north of Charlottesville, is at the top of my list.
There's something to be said for experience. The wines are refined, elegant, and just plain fabulous. Barboursville is the biggest winery in the area with 900 acres of vineyards at various elevations. What does this mean? They have a lot of land and different terroir to work with so they can work with the land to grow the best grapes on the best sites.

Another big plus for Barboursville -- Ginger, the woman who helped us -- was a total normal wine person. She was knowledgeable and slightly dorky too -- I loved it! I learned a lot about the wine and the winery because she was so passionate and smart. A great experience all around.
Here were the highlights of the tasting (almost everything was a highlight, except the Barbera, which I didn't review because it was just released and didn't show any character yet)
12.5% Alcohol, $17.99
95% Pinot Noir, 5% Chardonnay, this was a nice start. It smelled and tasted like pear, apple, and flowers and had low acid and a very light spritz (it had been open for a few hours so the wine had lost much of its spunk). Not sure if they'll be making this in the future, since they ripped up all the Pinot Noir on the estate because this is NOT a place that's cool enough to grow Pinot Noir, so get it while it's available!
95% Pinot Noir, 5% Chardonnay, this was a nice start. It smelled and tasted like pear, apple, and flowers and had low acid and a very light spritz (it had been open for a few hours so the wine had lost much of its spunk). Not sure if they'll be making this in the future, since they ripped up all the Pinot Noir on the estate because this is NOT a place that's cool enough to grow Pinot Noir, so get it while it's available!
12.5% Alcohol, $14.99
A nice mineral smell with something that resembled herbal tea -- like chamomile or Earl Grey. The wine tasted like the zest of a lemon, herbs (lemongrass, maybe?), red apple, and like how a waterfall smells. It had awesome, strong acidity. This was excellent and better than most Italian Pinot Grigios. Total score.
2010 Chardonnay
12.5% Alcohol, $11.99
This wine is their "naked" version -- no oak aging and no malo-lactic fermentation, which makes a wine feel creamy. The wine smelled so clean -- like pears, apples, and surprisingly like raspberries. It was fresh. I wasn't crazy about the taste -- it seemed a little musty or dusty. It had great mouthwatering acid and green apple flavors, but it didn't taste bright or fruity. Not a favorite for me.
2010 Chardonnay Reserve
13% Alcohol, $14.99

The wine smelled like thyme and basil, but there was a distinct vanilla smell and also something that was like the sweet paste inside an almond croissant. The wine tasted like oak. It was like a pineapple lollipop or Lifesaver and a little like coconut (American oak can sometimes make wine taste like coconut and that's what they used here). It had substance and was good, but it was a little too tropical for my style. If you like oak but want a wine that has it in moderation, this is a great one.
13.2% Alcohol, $21.99
This wine was a lot greener and more golden than the previous whites -- Viognier tends to be darker and richer in color.
Man, did this smell good. It reminded me of peaches and a honeycomb -- with a little twang of outdoor/fresh laundry smell to it. The aroma was like a lemon cookie and dried apricots. Yum. A sip of this and I could see why Viognier is a big grape in this area -- this was unlike other Viognier I've had. It tasted like peach and honeysuckle, which is totally normal for this grape, but then it had this white pepper, grassy thing going on that surprised me. It was lush AND spicy. My favorite white from here. Really something special.
2008 Nebbiolo
13.5% Alcohol, $31.99
This was so strange to see on the menu -- clearly the Italian influence!
Nebbiolo is the great grape of the Piemonte region in Northwest Italy. It makes the famous wines of Barolo and Barbaresco and really doesn't grow well anywhere else...except, apparently in Virginia!

13% Alcohol, $22.99
Another of this area's marquee grapes, this wine was a pretty ruby color and smelled very European (ie, dirty!). It was like green pepper, earth, rose petals, and decayed leaves with a little bit of vanilla. That's so typical of Cabernet Franc -- it had these really nice low notes that make you think of being outside or camping. It tasted like vanilla, plums, and a little like a carnation. It had long lasting tannins that I chewed on after the wine left my mouth, but it also had nice acidity so the wine wasn't cloying. Great.
Another of this area's marquee grapes, this wine was a pretty ruby color and smelled very European (ie, dirty!). It was like green pepper, earth, rose petals, and decayed leaves with a little bit of vanilla. That's so typical of Cabernet Franc -- it had these really nice low notes that make you think of being outside or camping. It tasted like vanilla, plums, and a little like a carnation. It had long lasting tannins that I chewed on after the wine left my mouth, but it also had nice acidity so the wine wasn't cloying. Great.
13.5% Alcohol, $39.99
A blend of (45%) Merlot with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot, the wine was a little brownish, had some sediment (little flakes from chemicals recombining) and kind of thick legs (the things that drip down the glass and indicate alcohol or sugar in the wine). Because this is Barboursville's flagship, and because Cabernet Sauvignon doesn't grow particularly well in these parts, this wine is only made in the best years. Only 10 vintages have ever been made in the 30+ year history of the winery.
Could have fooled me in a tasting -- this wine smells like a Bordeaux! It was earthy -- like decaying leaves and wet soil -- with a green pepper and violet smell too. I'm glad I wasn't tasting this blind. The wine tasted like it smelled -- earth, green pepper plus a little bit of vanilla oak and it had great tannin and acid. Again, the word that came to mind was balance. This was a medium wine but everything was in harmony. Fabulous.
A blend of (45%) Merlot with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot, the wine was a little brownish, had some sediment (little flakes from chemicals recombining) and kind of thick legs (the things that drip down the glass and indicate alcohol or sugar in the wine). Because this is Barboursville's flagship, and because Cabernet Sauvignon doesn't grow particularly well in these parts, this wine is only made in the best years. Only 10 vintages have ever been made in the 30+ year history of the winery.
Could have fooled me in a tasting -- this wine smells like a Bordeaux! It was earthy -- like decaying leaves and wet soil -- with a green pepper and violet smell too. I'm glad I wasn't tasting this blind. The wine tasted like it smelled -- earth, green pepper plus a little bit of vanilla oak and it had great tannin and acid. Again, the word that came to mind was balance. This was a medium wine but everything was in harmony. Fabulous.
In summary -- this is a must visit in the area. Barboursville is excellent and a great sign of what Charlottesville/Monticello has to offer.
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This time the winemaker is also European, but from the Rhône Valley in Southern France. The winery is combined with a polo field, since the Kings, who are originally from Houston, Texas decided to blend their two passions -- wine and horses. They set up shop in 1998 and have been making wine since.
13.5% Alcohol, $24.95
This wine was a pale straw with some golden notes and smelled like lemon, honeysuckle, and honeydew melon. The wine tasted just like it smelled but had great mouthwatering acid, which is not always the case with Viognier. Very well made wine and super fruity. Great porch sipper.
2010 Chardonnay
13% Alcohol, $21.95

2010 Cabernet Franc
13.4% Alcohol, $22.95
This was a good wine, but I think it needs some time to mellow -- it's a little strong and screaming. I bought some and I'm looking forward to trying it again in a year or two.
2009 Meritage (Bordeaux Blend, pronounced merit-IGE)
14% Alcohol, $27.95
'm going to beat a dead horse on this, since I say it all the time. Meritage is word that Americans made up when they were no longer allowed to call something a Bordeaux Blend. It's a combo of two words -- Merit + Heritage. Unless you say Herit-ahhhhje, you need to pronounce this Meritage -- like Heritage with an M. This wine was 52% Merlot, 20% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, and 8% Malbec. Per my earlier comment, Cabernet Sauvignon can't get the heat it needs to ripen here so it's not used too often.
'm going to beat a dead horse on this, since I say it all the time. Meritage is word that Americans made up when they were no longer allowed to call something a Bordeaux Blend. It's a combo of two words -- Merit + Heritage. Unless you say Herit-ahhhhje, you need to pronounce this Meritage -- like Heritage with an M. This wine was 52% Merlot, 20% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, and 8% Malbec. Per my earlier comment, Cabernet Sauvignon can't get the heat it needs to ripen here so it's not used too often.
2009 Petit Verdot
14.4% Alcohol, $34.95
I'm not a big proponent of making wines from Petit Verdot alone. I think this grape always makes wines that taste like plant stems and they are too tannic. Some grapes are better as blenders, and I think Petit Verdot is one of them. However, folks in Monticello disagree with me -- lots of them make this grape as a standalone.
To even make it drinkable, King Family has to age this wine for 20 months in an oak barrel to calm the tannins. Then they mix Petit Verdot with 20% Merlot. Still, the wine smelled like green stems and cocoa powder to me. It had vanilla scents from the oak but I was worried this was not going to be my style. This was my least favorite of their line -- it was like prunes, black raspberries, and vanilla and then it was very tannic, a little stinky like mud and had that green stem flavor to it. Although it was well made, I just didn't like the flavors. Less to do with the wine and more to do with my dislike for the grape.
13.5% alcohol, 10% sugar, $24.95
The wine is 50% Viognier and 50% Petit Manseng (a grape native to Southwest France and usually used for late harvest/sweet wines). It smelled and tasted like honeysuckle, peaches, and apricots. It had lower acid and was kind of mild, albeit sweet but very balanced. Would have been great with goat cheese. Very delicious.
King Family also makes a Port style wine from Merlot. To me, it was like milk chocolate and stewed cherries. Was not a favorite, but that was the only one that I wasn't into and didn't think was very well made since the sugar and tannins were out of balance to me.
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2010 Chardonnay
13% Alcohol, $19
This wine is put only in old oak, so it had a mild oak flavor and only 5% of it is put through malo-lactic fermentation, so it wasn't overly creamy. Kind of golden-green in color, this wine wasn't darkened by oak, like a lot of Chardonnays. That said, it did smell like oak and the things that accompany it -- vanilla and caramel. It was also green appley, like pineapples and tropical stuff and floral. With powerful acid, it was a little sharp and like a green apple or green herbs. It wasn't quite austere, but it definitely made my mouth water. Really well-balanced. A great porch wine.
2009 Merlot
13.5% Alcohol, $20
100% Merlot , which is something we didn't see too much of in other wineries, I was excited to see if this was better than a lot of the California versions, which I usually find kind of watered down.
The wine was blood red with thick legs from the alcohol and it held its color to the rim -- it was really pigmented. I could definitely smell the fact that 50% of the wine logged (pun intended) some time in new French oak -- new barrels give off a lot of flavor/aroma and this wine smelled like oak and toast, along with cranberry, cherry, and plum. The wine tasted like cranberry and cherry and it was both acidic and tannic. It was a little oaky but it also tasted like earth or dried dirt, which I really liked. It was a balanced wine -- not too fruity and not too restrained. Great Merlot.
2009 Cabernet Franc
Alcohol 13%, $20
Kind of crimson, and lighter than the Merlot (which I'd expect -- that's usually true), the wine smelled earthy and like damp soil. It also had a really nice fresh and dried cherry thing going on which was delicious. Cabernet Franc sometimes can taste a little like a green pepper (as can Cabernet Sauvignon, its love child with Sauvignon Blanc) and this was true to form. It was very spicy -- like black pepper but also like baking spices -- cinnamon and nutmeg. The wine was medium in acid and tannin and was really pleasant. It reminded me a lot of a Cabernet Franc from the Loire -- a Chinon or a St Nicolas de Bourgueil (look for these if you haven't had them, they're great). Fabulous wine.
2009 Meritage
Alcohol 13.5%, $25
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My favorite of Veritas was another one you don't see a lot of in Charlottesville -- their Sauvignon Blanc. Grown at a higher altitude to keep the grapes cool, this wine was like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc -- it tasted of grapefruit, grass, tropical fruit, and green herbs. My only criticism - it was a tiny bit sweet, but not enough to kill the lovely fruit.
Definitely worth a visit.
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Jefferson Vineyards
On lots of people's recommendations, we went to Jefferson Vineyards.
Dan, the tasting room manager, was a really cool dude, but he has his
hands full with the staff there. The woman who was helping us was beyond
rude and I almost left before the tasting was over. Dan stepped in and
took over after she tried to take MC Ice's glass away for the fourth
time (he went out to the car to get something for 2 minutes) and I got
really irritated.
Apart
from the crap experience and the fact that I learned next to nothing about the winery, the wines were pretty good. The Cabernet
Franc was a nice, light sipper (it's blended with 10% Tannat, one of the
most tannic grapes in the world and 6% Lemberger, a really light style
German grape), the Petit Verdot was a little bitter but pretty good, and
their off-dry Riesling was like a lemon sugar cookie with good acid to
keep it light. I would recommend it, but only after you've hit my top
4!
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Keswick Vineyards
We hit Keswick Vineyards as well. I have to say, it's a family run operation and the people couldn't have been kinder or more welcoming. It was crowded, but they still took time to help each person and explain their story to me and MC Ice. This was possibly the most hospitable of all the wineries and the most cozy/family oriented. Great people.
That said, they've won a lot of awards for their wines, but I wasn't a fan of their style. Most of the wines were fine, but not at all memorable for me (without notes I couldn't tell you anything about them, which is not like me with my elephant's memory for wine!). The one exception was the Cabernet Franc, which was delicious -- with lots of dried leaf, forest floor, dark cherry aromas and flavors and a really lasting finish which made it sing. I hate to have to criticize them because I loved the people, I just didn't love the wine, and I gotta be honest.
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I hope that gives you a sense of the wines in the Charlottesville area. It's a beautiful place with lots to offer and some of the wines are spectacular. Even the ones I didn't like as much were still well-made, and much better than I had anticipated. It's an area to watch, for sure...and one to visit if you're anywhere nearby.
Great comments! By that I mean I agree with many of them. Possibly because the industry is still in its youth out here, many Virginia winemakers still take the shotgun approach to winemaking - make as many different varieties as possible and hope one hits the bullseye. This means that you have to drink A LOT of wines from a lot of different places to find the really good stuff. I'm sure every reader who read this post who is familiar with Virginia wines shook their head in frustration and said, "Why didn't they go to ________, the wine is sooo much better!" Of course, I'm one of those people. You did hit some winners. King Family makes some amazing wines, and the Charlottesville area is relatively consistent in higher quality. If you're ever there again, Barren Ridge makes some great wines too. Loudoun county is a real crapshoot though, as you stated. I think the best there is probably Zephaniah and Tarara. There are some really great wines in the I-66 corridor too, but not the ones the DC tourists usually talk too much about. You MUST go to Linden, Pearmund is great, as is Glen Manor (EVERYTHING is good and they make a fantastic Sauvignon Blanc) and Chester Gap. If you're ever near the West Virginia state line in North Virginia, Cave Ridge is pretty good too.
ReplyDeleteAs we all say, my two cents...
Thanks so much for your comment! Glad we're on the same page.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely be keeping an eye on VA -- I think it's emerging as the wine titan of the east. I'm sure you saw the NY Times article on Barboursville. Very cool stuff and good exposure for the area.
I will definitely hit Barren Ridge when I head there.
And the I-66 corridor is on the list too, although I've heard the experience at Linden is terrible, the wines sound worth the attitude!
Thanks so much for all the ideas and for writing!
Best,
Elizabeth
I've actually been to the Charlottesville area before and it's amazing place. I've been looking for places that do wine tours for a friend of mine and would like some advice on a particular one: http://www.ambassadorlimos.com/our-services.htm. I don't drink wine or anything but I'd go with him to be able to see Virginia again.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time to Charlottesville and one of the things my husband and I want to do is the charlottesville wine tours. We've heard nothing but great things about it,so excited to try it next month.
ReplyDelete