Wannabe Wino

Several months ago, Brian Roeder, the owner of Barrel Oak Winery, contacted me, and invited me to come visit his brand new winery in Virginia. After some back and forth, given that I am traveling for work a lot these days, we finally came up with a good weekend and Matt and I ventured forth to Virginia Wine Country.


Barrel Oak is one of the newest of Virginia's ever-growing winery population. About 3 and a half years ago, Brian and his wife decided to go ahead with purchasing land to start a vineyard, an idea they had been tossing around in a casual/semi-serious manner for a few years.

Right now, as you can imagine, Barrel Oak is in its infancy. They are currently producing wines with fruit sourced from various Virginia vineyards and they used the facilities of Pearmund and La Grange for their first vintage. They intend to have their first estate harvest in 2009 and will crush and make the wine at Barrel Oak this coming season. Brian's wife is the head winemaker, having trained at many VA vineyards, she is assisted by the former assistant winemaker from Pearmund. Brian designed Barrel Oak with the future in mind: they have the capacity to produce 10,000 cases within 10 years, with 9000 square feet of production space. They also intend to boast 3 full tasting bars on the premises.


We tasted through the current line up and reserve line up:

Bow Haus White 2007: $18. 70% Vidal Blanc, 30% Sauvignon Blanc, it recently won gold at the VA State fair. Citrus, grapefruit, touch of honey, light good texture, pineapple, great summer white. We bought 2.

2007 Seyval Blanc: $19. Includes 10% Sauvignon Blanc. Minerals, wet stone, lemon, grass, crisp, dry. We took home 2.

2007 Chardonnay: $24. Stainless steel fermented, no maloactic, aged in neutral French oahk. Oak, apple, spice, lemon, green apple, light in the mouth.

2007 Viognier: $20. Maloactic fermentation and oak aged. Honey, peach, pear, honey suckle, creamy, nice mouthfeel.

2005 Bowhaus Red: $18. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Tourig, 11% Malbec, 6% Merlot, 6% Petite Verdot, some Norton in there too. Chocolate, earth, sweet, light, strawberries, berries. Would be good slightly chilled.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon: $20. Very light in color, 12% Petite Verdot. Light, berries, strawberry, raspberry, nice finish.

2005 Merlot: $20. 100% Merlot. Earth, leather, berries, wood, oak, nice body, tannins, cherry, plums, very well done.

2005 Norton: $18. 10% Cabernet Franc. Perfumey, violets, fruity, grapey, berries.

2005 Tour Ga Franc: $26. 40% Cabernet Franc, 60% Touriga. $2 from each bottle are donated to Lance Armstong's Foundation. Spice, red fruit, herbs, pepper, red berries.

2006 Cabernet Franc: $26. 10% Chambourcin. Herbal, leather, tobacco, red fruit, very light, peppery finish.

2005 Petite Verdot: $26. 12% Merlot. Chocolate, plum, red fruit, very aromatic, nice fruit, good structure. One of my favorites of the day, we took home one bottle.

2006 Late Harvest Viognier: $25. Picked late October. Honey, citrus, spice, pineapple, sweet, thick.

2006 Chocolate Lab: $26. Muscadine, Merlot, Viognier. Cocoa nibs are added along with neutral grape spirits. Chocolate, slight berry, port-like.



Barrel Oak has a beautiful facility. Their porch looked so inviting, and had it been a little later in the day, we definitely would have parked ourselves out there with a glass of wine to enjoy the view (well, and also, if the sprinklers weren't on drenching the porch!). The tasting bar of Barrel Oak is huge, and that's just the first one! They also have a space in the loft for a 2nd bar, and space downstairs for a 3rd bar. Though I think we'll have to avoid the 2nd floor as Matt was a bit too tall.

Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of wine being produced by Barrel Oak. It honestly surprised me for such a young winery as I have certainly tasted many established VA wines that don't come anywhere close to the quality being produced here. I thought the reds were very well done, and would have taken home more if it weren't so hot here now that red wine doesn't really enter my mind. Also good to note, Barrel Oak is extremely dog friendly. You are more than welcome to bring your pooch with you to enjoy the day in VA Wine Country.


My one pet peeve, and I say this about all wineries: I hate tasting fees that aren't returned if you buy bottles. I realize that many folks say that people will buy the cheapest bottle to get the fee back, blah blah blah. I have no problem if you put a "Buy 3 bottles get your fee refunded, or buy $50 worth and get your fee refunded." And maybe I missed the sign or notation on the menu where it told you the cost, but I don't think so. I must admit, I was thus a bit surprised to find a tasting fee charge on my tab.

I will certainly return to Barrel Oak in the future to see how their wines develop as they move toward harvesting their own fruit.

Village Winery in VA, that is. I picked this bottle up at Village Winery on our tour this summer, it cost $17, clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume, had a fake cork, and I believe it is NV, or at least I can't find any vintage info on the bottle.

On the nose I found spice, smoke, leather, and raspberries. Oddly enough, I also smelled what I can only describe as fireworks after you've shot them off. In the mouth the wine was fruit, light and pleasant, showing raspberries and a bitter chocolate essence. Overall, a little tannic and a little too sweet to go with the pasta and fresh tomato sauce.

Just a short review today, for a not too complicated wine. The wine was a 2002 Loudon Valley Vineyard Red Table Wine. We picked this bottle up at the vineyard for $9, it had a real cork closure, and clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume.

The wine was sweet with spices, cloves, cinnamon, and cherries on the nose. In the mouth the wine was sweet with raspberries and currants. It was very sweet. I think it needed to be very chilled, which is not something I usually say about red wines, but this was very sweet. I served it with linguine, homemade sauce, and parmasean cheese. Not a good match, the wine was too sweet for the food.

And no photo either, I think I managed to delete the photo from my camera before uploading it.

The wine was a 2004 Loudon Valley Vineyards Vinifera White. We picked this bottle up at the vineyard this summer while meandering around Virginia Wine Country. It cost us $11.70 and Matt tossed the bottle before I could record the alcohol content. I know the wine has won several golds and silvers at various VA wine shows and we enjoyed a bottle the day we took residence on Loudon Valley's porch as well!

The nose of the wine was sweet with honey and apricot and a slight pine tree note. In the mouth, also sweet with honey, but with a nice tangy element to keep the sweetness in check. Mostly flavors of apricots and something slightly tropical. Definitely a wine and cheese wine or one to be sipped on its own!

Our final stop on our summer tour of Northern Virginia wineries found us at Village Winery. Village Winery is a fairly new addition to Virginia Wine country, being founded in 2005. They offer very small production wines that are all made without the help of any machinery. The tasting room is housed in a small part of a larger barn structure, as they are currently restoring the old, larger barn.

The tasting room is simple and fairly unadorned, with a small tasting bar at one end. My brother in law and sister in law were on our trip to Village and it was here they found their favorite wine of the trip. Some of the photos are courtesy of my sister in law!

Apple Wine: $12. Apple cider, crisp, sweet but not cloying. Matt, his brother, and our sister in law's favorite wine at Village. We took home two bottles, they took home one.

Viognier: $17. Peach, topical fruit, and odd sour/sweet note.

Cabernet Franc Rose: $15. Not sweet at all, very different, a bit medicinal. NMS.

Merlot: $17. Chocolate, raspberry, leather, light, nice body. A very good red effort. My favorite of the day, we took home one bottle.

Merlot Cabernet Franc Blend: $18. This wine also has Petite Verdot mixed in. Raspberry, blackberry, spicy, fairly light bodied. A good VA red.

Cabernet Franc: $17. All I got on this one was barnyard. It was recently bottled, I think it had bottle shock.

Elderberry Wine: $15. Sweet aroma, dark berries, very rich.

We met this camera-shy goat and his friend who didn't want to be in my picture on the way out! (And yes, I am the shorty of the family. Also, my brother in law felt that you all needed to see me in action, hence the picture of me taking notes!)

All in all, a very nice stop in a beautiful setting in Virginia. The scenery is one of my favorite parts about visiting VA wine country, especially on a beautiful summer day!

Apparently I need to take the camera away from Matt. I occasionally ask him to take a picture of the wine for me because he is opening it and pouring it and I am curled on the couch and too lazy to move. This is latest result, see my birthday post for what was supposed to be a picture of the cake.....

The wine was 2006 Doukenie Sauvignon Blanc that we picked up on our visit to Doukenie this summer. It cost us $16.20, had a real cork closure and clocked in at 12.5% alcohol by volume. The wine was finished in neutral barrels.

Overall, the wine was light and crisp. It showed grass and tropical fruit on the nose. In the mouth the wine was very tropical, with pears and a crisp finish. This was my favorite from our visit to Doukenie. I normally don't care for a Sauvignon Blanc that has seen oak, but I do really like this bottle. I think it's the first Sauvignon Blanc I've seen from a VA winery and I'm fairly impressed!

Our next stop in VA wine country found us at Corcoran Vineyards, formerly Waterford Vineyards (another big company that came after a little winery in VA for the name they were using...ya know, in case they ever wanted to expand into the wine business.....). Moving on though, Corcoran was a delightful place to visit. This was one of our stops when we went tasting with my brother in law and sister in law.

Unfortunately, the ceiling was a bit low in the tasting room, as it seems to be in a very old home, low ceilings are common around these parts. My brother in law and husband barely fit in and both had to duck to get in and out the door. Our tasting host was very welcoming and knew a lot about the wines she was pouring, and also a lot about beer festivals! Corcoran was pouring 4 wines the day we visited.
2005 Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay: $18. Pear, apple, sweet tropical fruit, crisp overall, yum! My favorite of the day, we took home a bottle.

2005 Cabernet Franc: $18. Raspberry, cherry, leather, tannic.

2005 Meritage: $24. A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. Barnyard funk, raspberry, cherry, tannic.

2006 Seyval Blanc: $12. 4% residual sugar. Orange blossons, citrus, sweet, with a crisp finish, nice mouthfeel. Matt's favorite, we took home a bottle.

A quick stop along a very windy road, but worth the trouble to find. Friendly people, gorgeous setting and tasty wine. Who could ask for more?

Traveling along our route in VA Wine Country for our anniversary celebration, we found ourselves at Loudon Valley Vineyards. We have subsequently returned to Loudon, as we very much enjoyed our first afternoon there.

Walking up to the tasting room, I was reminded of many of the old cabins I used to see in VT/NH when Matt and I lived up that way. It looked homey and inviting. Inside, the tasting bar was not large, but on our first visit we had no trouble getting a spot to taste. Even if you need to wait, there is plenty of seating inside and outside, if it's a beautiful day like when we visited.

Loudon Valley was our final stop for the day, and spent a good 4 hours tasting, walking the grounds and relaxing on the porch. The winery offers several options for eating, including a fruit, bread, and cheese platter that we took advantage of. It was fabulous, for $10 we got a beautiful plate with grapes, sliced apples, pineapple and strawberries, 3 kinds of cheese, and a full French baguette. We also picked up a bottle of chilled Vinifera White to drink with our late lunch and enjoy on the porch overlooking the vineyards.

The winery was pouring an amazing 13 wines to taste for the day:

2005 Chardonnay: $18. Lemon, pineapple, apple, light wine, slightly sweet at the end.

2004 Vinifera White: $13. Honey, apricot, sweet wine, good very cold. Matt really liked this, we bought 3 bottles.

2006 Classic White: $11. Spice on nose, peach, sweet and light in the mouth.

2006 Rose: $11. Spice, slightly sweet, red berries, slight smell of butter. We bought a bottle for the porch on our second visit.

2002 Cabernet Franc: $15. Spicy, tannic, currants, light and well balanced in the mouth.

2003 Merlot: $18. Berries, rum (I know, that's odd), tingly in the mouth, tannic.

1999 Merlot: $21. Smells denser than the 2003. Berries, cherries, plums, well done, smoother than the 2003.

2002 Dynasty: $15. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot blend. Raspberries, leather, spice.

2002 Sangiovese: $15. Smoke, barnyard, very light, berries.

2003 Pinot Noir: $15. Cherries, slight leather, light and fruity, well done. We took home one bottle.

2002 Red Wine: $10. Blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese. Sweet, fun, very different. We took home two bottles.

2005 Pomme: $9. Dessert wine made of Granny Smith apples. Too sweet for me.

2005 Chambourcin: $13. Very sweet, but not cloying. Blackberries.

All in all an excellent day, we had a blast hanging out here. Everyone was so nice and helpful, I hope we can return for Sunday Soup, hosted periodically throughout the winter!

Our second stop of the day found us at Doukenie Winery, formerly Windham Winery. Doukenie was our favorite stop of the day and we have already returned since our first visit. We were supposed to go back for a third visit for an event to meet their new winemaker, but unfortunately, the weather that was called for was terrible and there was no way we were heading out over an hour's drive with torrential rain on the way!

Doukenie looks like a friendly red barn as you drive up. The grounds are gorgeous, and if we hadn't had a few more stops we wanted to make that day we would have sat out by the pond for the afternoon and enjoyed the salad of the day and some of the cheeses that were for sale in the tasting room. When we arrived, we were the only guests in the tasting room, which gave us plenty of time to talk to the attendant, until the room filled up fast and furious about half-way through our tasting!

Overall, the wines at Doukenie were fantastic! The tasting menu was solid, and each offering was very good, I liked all the wines, a first for me at a VA winery. We liked it so much we took my brother in law and sister in law to visit about two weeks later, where our tasting was poured out on the porch on a gorgeous VA day by the brand new winemaker. He was great and really knew his stuff, you can tell he loves wine and I look forward to his first vintage at Doukenie.

2006 Sauvignon Blanc: $18. Light and crisp with lemon and orange zest. Barely a bit of oak from the neutral oak aging. My favorite of the day, we bought 3 bottles.

2006 Riesling: $17. I was surprised to see a Riesling in VA, a first for me I believe. Honey, tropical, mineral notes, slightly sweet. We took home 3 bottles.

2005 Chardonnay: $15. Slight butter, tastes like candy (maybe caramel?), with a slight tropical note. A little oaky.

Mandolin: $15. Flowers, red apples, sweet on the end of the palate. Matt's favorite of the day, we took home 4 bottles.

2005 Merlot: $18. Strawberry, light, good balance, very good for a VA red.

2005 Cabernet Franc: $19. Earthy, herbs, fruity, with jammy red fruit, slightly tannic.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon: $23. Earthy spice, tobacco, raspberry, plum.

Hope's Raspberry Merlot: $21 for a small bottle. Just delish. Intense raspberry, tastes like fresh berries, amazing with dark chocolate. We bought 2 bottles.

If you are in the area, I would highly suggest a stop at Doukenie. I hope that we are able to visit many times in the future.

From our travels this summer, I have quite a few Virginia wineries to review for you, so I will be starting a weekly series for the next 6 or 7 weeks to tell you about the vineyards we visited in Loudon County.

We spent our anniversary visiting the Northern VA vineyards. Our first stop of the day was to Hillsborough Vineyards. We tasted through the menu of 3 whites, 2 reds and one dessert wine. Hillsborough has a non-refundable $5 per person tasting fee, so as usual I will gripe about that.

The winery has a lovely patio where you could easily spend the day overlooking the vineyards, sipping a bottle of wine, and munching on one of the selections of cheese and crackers available inside the tasting room. I really enjoyed the koi pond on the edge of the patio. The tasting room is long and narrow, and was quite crowded when we arrived around noon. A second room where you could sit inside on a not so nice day had plenty of tables and looked cozy.

All of Hillsborough's wines are blends and named after various gemstones:

2005 Carnelian: $18, a blend of Chardonnay and Roussanne. Slightly butttery with some oak. Light, dry and floral.

2005 Opal: $18, a blend of Viognier and Chardonnay. Peach, apple, light and silky. Another dry wine.

2006 Serefina: $18, Rose, blend of Viognier and Tannat. Very fruity on the nose, crisp, not sweet, dry. Very refreshing, strawberry, watermelon. Our favorite of the day, we took home two bottles.

2005 Garnet: $20, blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Strawberry, light mouthfeel, but a spicy wine.

2004 Ruby: $22, blend of Tannat, Touriga Nacional, and Petit Verdot. Chocolate, leather, cherry. A very strong and powerful wine.

2005 Moonstone: $18, a blend of late harvest Viognier and Chardonnay. 6% residual sugar. Apricots, honey, sweet, but not overly so. Very well balanced. Matt really liked this one, we took home a bottle.

All in all, an excellent first stop, though again, I am never happy when tasting fees are not refunded.

We're on a real VA kick over here at the Wannabe Wino house! Several trips have been made to VA wine country this summer, including two within the last month! I have lots to report on about 6 wineries we have stopped at for the first time, so look forward to those reviews.

We picked this bottle up for $13 (that's with a case discount) at Doukenie (formerly Windham Winery, hence the label on the bottle). It's a Doukenie Virginia Table White that clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume.

The wine was sweet on the nose with orange blossom, honeysuckle, and oranges. In the mouth I found orange creamsicle, madarin oranges, and honey. This is a sweet wine, though not cloying, and one I am happy having a glass of, but I'm not much for sweet wines. Matt loved this one, and he is a big fan of the sweet wines. It was easily his favorite at the winery, while mine was a toss up between the Riesling and the Sauvignon Blanc.

I served it with a concoction that I made up that evening from stuff in the fridge. It turned into chicken breasts stuffed with blue cheese and spinach, a side of mashed potatoes and broccoli. An interesting dinner, but not great with the wine. Again, the sweet wine didn't do much for me with the dinner and I preferred it on its own after dinner.

It's not so much that I forgot to report on the Key West Wine Fest at Breaux Vineyards that we went to on July 21, it's that we got incredibly busy as soon as we got back from it. And I simply never got around to reporting on the lovely day we spent at Breaux! We headed out to VA Wine Country to celebrate (slightly early since I was going to be away on business) my birthday! There's nothing more I like to do to celebrate events than use them as an excuse to go wine tasting! And it just so happened that Breaux was having a Festival the day we could go!

This was their second annual fest and it was fabulous! I believe the fee at the door was $15 to get in, but you could have purchased your ticket earlier for less money. Your ticket got you a wine tasting, lei, mardi gras beads, take home glass, entertainment and a raffle ticket. At the fest they had food vendors and craft stands in addition to the Jimmy Buffet cover band that was fabulous for the warm weather we were having. Matt tried the Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya from the Jambalaya shack and said it was very tasty. I opted for some brie and crackers from the winery as cheese and crackers is one of my favorites with wine.

Breaux had ten wines available for tasting under a huge tent that day, including the 2006 Jolie Blend that was just released that day!

2006 Jolie Blond $13-Grapefruit, lemon, citrus, light and dry, great really cold. We took home 3 bottles.

2006 Viognier $22- Peach, honey, tropical, smooth and light. A little pricey.

2005 Madeline's Chardonnay $18- Honeysuckle, pear, very aromatic, nutty. We took home a bottle which I drank for WBW!

2003 Barrel Select Chardonnay $20- Oak, charcoal (very odd), buttery, smooth, but lots of butter.

2006 Syrah Rose $22- Pretty salmon color, strawberries, not too sweet. I really like this one, but thought it was too pricey.

2006 Chere Marie $13- Dessert-likie, orange, tangerines, pears, sweet. We took home 2 bottles.

Sweet Evangeline $11-Oranges, tropical, too sweet for me.

2002 Lafayette $18- Raspberries, cherries, black pepper, very light red, solid red effort for VA.

2002 Meritage $29- Smoky meat, oak, spicy, raspberries.

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon $24- Cherries, raspberries, oak, light.

Overall, we had a fantastic day and I wouldn't hesitate to head back out for another fun day in the sun next summer!

The first stop we made on our visit to Virginia Wine Country last weekend was to Swedenburg Vineyards. You drive up a one lane road to the tasting room(so be careful, you need to pull over if you meet anyone else). The tasting room is not too big and it looks new, though the woman in the tasting room (I think she was the owner?) said they had been there for 25 years, but I think she might have misunderstood my question!

A tasting at Swedenburg costs $3, which is not too bad of a fee, though they don't refund with purchase either. They were tasting five wines on Monday, all of which were very well done in my opinion, and all of which were excellent values, with the most expensive being $20. This is the 7th vineyard we have visited in Virginia and overall, I was most impressed with the consistent quality of the wines here.

Here's the run-down of wines tasted:
Reisling- Very reserved fruit on this, but good apple tones. Not too sweet at all and would be an easy wine to start an evening with. Good structure, and quite a value at $15 a bottle.

Chantilly- This was an excellent off-dry bottle of wine. Very aromatic, with a floral nose. Pear in the mouth. Easy to drink and would go well either on it's own or with a light white fish. A bargain at $12 a bottle. We took home two.

C'est La Vie (Rose)- Easily the star of the show here. We really liked this bottle of wine. A very dry rose with a good strawberry and raspberry character. We took home 3 botttles and will hopefully be sipping this one on our own porch come this summer! Fantastic value at $12.

Pinot Noir- Pepper and spices on the nose of this of this one with a hint of oak. Reserved berry flavor in the mouth. One of the best done reds I've tasted in Virginia to date. Not a bad deal at $18 a bottle, we took home one.

Cabernet Sauvignon-This would be good with a steak. It was a bigger bodied wine and could easily stand up to a nice pepper grilled steak.

We were the only visitors in the tasting room on Monday morning. The owner was quite quiet at first, but she warmed up to us after she saw that I was really taking notes on the wines. I then explained, as best I could, how I was going to do a write-up of the vineyard for my website. Then she was eager to tell me more about the vineyard and she even gave me her recipe for mulled wine. It was quite cold in the tasting room, which was odd because it was so warm out!! I recommend a visit to Swedenburg highly.

This gray and dreary day found us heading out to the "country" in Virginia to check out some of the local vineyards and wines. Our second stop of the day was Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg, VA. Overall, this vineyard was a very inviting place to visit. It had a huge patio with tables and chairs (which were actually full because despite the gray day, the weather was so warm for January!) and even an area where you can grill your own food and picnic. The tasting room is surrounded by the vineyards and gorgeous property.

Now, an overall comment and gripe. I have no problem with tasting fees. However, I feel stongly that they should be refunded or taken off the cost of a bottle when you buy. Especially if they are hefty. Here, it cost $5 for the regular tasting and $10 for the reserve, with no discount or refund. And also came with a glass. Which we left there because really, the LAST thing we need is another wine glass. We went for the reserve tasting since we were all the way out there.

The tasting room was crowded, but the staff was very friendly. They did their tastings in shifts, so you had to wait for the group to gather and everyone to pay, then they had about ten of us taste at the same time. I guess we hit it at a busy time of the day, we had to wait for a group to finish and there was another group waiting to start when we were done.

The regular tasting had 6 wines.

2005 Viognier-Easily the star of the show here. However, very steeply priced in my opinion at $29 a bottle and $8.50 a glass! This was a tart, crisp wine that was floral and displayed apricots on the nose with apple, apricot and a little pear in the mouth. I think this would be excellent with a spicy thai dish.

2004 Chardonnay- Aged in old oak, this was a smooth, tart chardonnay. There was almost no evidence of oak on this one. There were apples on the nose, peaches in the mouth and quite reserved overall.

2004 Mariposa- Amber in color, which I found odd in a rose, This was light and dry with flavors of cherries.

2005 Sarah's Patio White- The best value of the day, at $13 a bottle we took home 3. A mix of vidal blanc, chardonnay and viognier, this had a fruity nose, is sweet but not cloying with pear and good structure.

2003 Rubiana-This is made in the style of a Rioja, but overall didn't do much for me. There were currants and it was peppery and served too warm.

2003 Norton Estate Blend- Made with 75% Norton grapes, I got dirt and wood, red berries with a big body. A good value at $16.

The Reserve tasting included a bigger wine glass and 5 extra wines, all of which were quite pricey.

2003 Norton Locksley Reserve-This was bigger than the Estate Norton, mmore fruit on the nose, a bigger body with currants and hints of earth.

2005 Norton Barrel Select-The only wine made of 100% Norton, or the "American Grape." I thought this smelled like grape juice. It was floral, but also a lot of grape jam, raspberry and quite light in the mouth.

2004 Papillon- Composed of Tannat and Petit Verdot, Matt said this was like drinking a glass of steak. I got meat and new leather.

2003 Petit Verdit-I got cherry blossoms on the nose, but not much in the mouth. This was tannic, it made me pucker.

2004 Petit Manseng- A dessert wine made in the ice wine style. It was thick and golden in color, tasted like drinking a honeysuckle flower with a hint of mango.

Overall, I thought the white wines were very well done. Chyrsalis produces 10,000 cases of wine a year, but I asked them how, if at all the the new VA laws are effecting them. And since they are so large, it isn't. They already have a distributor and won't really feel any effect since they do most distribution through in tasting room sales, distributors and their VIP program.

Fun to visit, but pick an off time or day. It was crowded and I would have liked to stay with a glass of wine, but the patio was packed as well.

I went with our original plan and we stopped by Swedenburg Winery and Chrysalis Vineyards. I was going to check out Dezel from Virginia Vinespot's suggestions, but only one of them was open today. So we will have to save that trip for a weekend! We had a very nice day, though I'm exhausted since we started early with a trip to see some more houses with our real estate agent (I think we found one!!). The weather here is unseasonably warm, high 60s to low 70s, but sadly not too sunny. Here's a picture from Chrysalis, I'll post reviews tomorrow!