Picture: Historic Römer of Frankfurt (The Mayor's Office)Behind the group of established wine producers in the USA - California, Oregon and Washington State - is a group of emerging wine producers, including Virginia. 30 years ago, there was very little wine made in Virginia. Today, the Virginia wine industry is thriving with around 300 producers. Very little (only 5 percent) of the Virginia wines are consumed outside the State of Virginia. The wines of Virginia are virtually unknown in Germany.
Against this background, I was sent a 2016 Virginia Governor's Cup Case to Frankfurt/ Germany a few months ago. Put on by the Virginia Wineries Association, the Governor's Cup is the commonwealth's premier wine competition that rates hundreds of Virginia wines. For the 2016 contest, which was held over a four week period during the month of January/early February, more than 90 (of the more than 300) wineries submitted 432 wines. Jay Youmans, MW, directed the competition. Of the gold medal winning wines, the 12 highest scoring red and white wines comprise the Governor’s Cup Case to showcase the state’s top wines.
See also: Virginia's Best Wines: 2016 Virginia Governor's Cup, USA
The Tasters
We tasted the 2016 Virginia Governor's Cup Case in early May 2017 in Frankfurt. The tasters were:
Stuart Pigott with Alexandra Stellwagen: Arguably the world's greatest #Riesling expert, Stuart Pigott, spent a week or so in Virginia recently. His in-depth report was released a week ago on JamesSuckling.com. He provides an introduction to his massive Virginia report on his blog. Here is the link to the full report.
Uwe Lützkendorf: Winemaker in the Saale Unstrut region. One of two VDP members in the Saale Unstrut region. See: Tasting at Weingut Uwe Lützkendorf, with Uwe Lützkendorf, in Bad Kösen, Saale-Unstrut – Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Wolfgang Junglas: TV wine journalist, wine book author, restaurant taster, President of the Weinfeder, the Association of German Wine Journalists.
Armin Busch: Owner of K&M Weinhandlung a leading wine store in Frankfurt
Joachim und Christine Schrod: Wine Freaks
Gunter Hellmann: Wine freak; spent a year in Washington DC recently
Annette Schiller: ombiasyPR and WineTours
Christian Schiller: schiller-wine (Blog)
Wine Producer Virginia
Virginia is the 5th largest wine industry in the US, with about 300 wineries and over 3,500 acres of vineyards. In the original charter of the thirteen colonies was a royal commission to pursue three luxury items that England was unable to provide for itself: wine, silk, and olive oil. Every colony made attempts to satisfy the requirements of its charter. Despite many years of failure, the early Americans persisted in their efforts. A big step forward was made in 1740 when a natural cross pollination occurred between a native American grape and a European vitis vinifera. Other successful crossings followed.
In 1762, John Carter, who had 1,800 vines growing at Cleve Plantation, sent 12 bottles to the Royal Society of Encouragement of the Arts, Manufacture and Commerce in London for their evaluation. Minutes of their meeting on the 20th of October 1762 declared Carter’s wines to be “excellent” and a decision was taken to reward Carter’s efforts with a gold medal for his wines. These were the first internationally recognized fine wines produced in America.
Over the past 30 years or so, Virginia wines have experienced a tremendous development - to elegant and balanced, mostly European vinifera-based wines. Recently, Donald Trump as well as AOL founder Steve Case bought a Virginia winery.
Today, the vitis vinifera grapes Chardonnay and Viognier are the leading white varieties. Increasingly they are made without any or with neutral oak, to retain natural acidity and freshness. It appears Viognier is on its way to becoming Virginia’s official “signature grape”.
For French-American hybrid varieties, Seyval Blanc is still popular, but resembles now the fresh and crisp wines from France’s South West. Vidal has become the backbone of the artificially frozen (cryoextraction), ice wine which I am not a great fan of. Cryoextraction is an approach, developed by the French, which kind of simulates the frost in the vineyard in the wine cellar.
As far as red wines are concerned, there has been a shift from straight varietal wines to blends, with the blends now being dominated by Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Mirroring the Virginia white wines, there is an increasing focus on neutral oak and clean, vibrant fruit.
Tannat, Uruguay’ signature grape from the South West of France, is showing up in more Virginia wines, usually as a blend. The only red French American hybrid which has performed consistently well in Virginia is Chambourcin, which resembles the Gamay grape of Beaujolais.
Finally, Claude Thibault, a native from France, has taken Virginia sparkling wines to a new level. His NV Thibault-Janisson Brut, made from 100 percent Chardonnay, is as close as you can get to Champagne outside of France.
Tasting
We tasted the 12 wines of the 2016 Virginia Governor's Cup Case plus 4 other wines. We started with a German Sekt, had a Trump sparkler between the whit end the red wines of the Virginia Governor's Cup Case and ended with a top red Virginia wine and a wine of Uwe Lützkendorf
Before the Tasting
NV Reichsrat von Buhl, Reserve Brut
The 2016 Virginia Governor's Cup Case Whites
Bluestone Vineyard 2014 Chardonnay (Bridgewater)
Barboursville Vineyards 2014 Vermentino (Barboursville)
Stuart Pigott on twitter: This was the first exciting wine at the #virginia #wine tasting at Christian Schiller's home in Frankfurt. No surprise if you read my report for www.JamesSuckling.com. Almost every wine from @barboursville is good or great!
Horton Vineyards 2014 Petit Manseng (Gordonsville)
Michael Shaps Wineworks 2014 Petit Manseng (Charlottesville)
Stuart Pigott on twitter: A great Petit Manseng from #virginia at Christian Schiller's tasting. Thank you Michael Shaps for this taste of genius! This is one of the best dry wines I ever tasted from this grape variety (the most important for Jurancon in SW France. The 2014 Petit Manseng from Horton Vineyards in the background was also good, but a bit more opulent, creamy and sweeter.
Intermission
2010 Trump Blanc de Blanc Brut
Alexandra Stellwagen on twitter: Stuart Pigott spuckt Trump ( 2010Blanc de Blanc) - Stuart Pigott spits Trump (2010 Blanc de Blanc).
Stuart Pigott on twitter: Not expecting Trump to spit back.
The 2016 Virginia Governor's Cup Case Reds
Cardinal Point 2014 Clay Hill Cabernet Franc (Afton)
Keswick Vineyards 2014 Cabernet Franc Estate Reserve (Keswick), Cup winner
Keswick Vineyards, located just east of Charlottesville, won this year’s Governor's Cup for best wine with its 2014 Cabernet Franc Estate Reserve. A Cabernet Franc won for only the third time in the 34th year of the award. The Governor’s Cup was the third for Keswick winemaker Stephen Barnard. His 2005 Rappahannock Cellars Viognier Reserve won in 2006, and Keswick’s 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon was tops in 2009.
Glen Manor Vineyards 2013 Hodder Hill (Front Royal)
Fabbioli Cellars 2012 Cabernet Franc (Leesburg)
North Gate Vineyard 2013 Meritage (Purcellville)
Stone Tower Winery 2013 Hogback Mountain (Leesburg)
Stuart Pigott on twitter: Three very good #bordeaux type red blends from #virginia at Christian Schiller's tasting. Glen Manor (Left Bank Style) I discovered when tasting for my report on Virginia wine for www.JamesSuckling.com. The Stone Tower (also Left Bank style) is a new discovery this evening: wow!
Naked Mountain Winery 2012 Petit Verdot (Markham)
Granite Heights Winery 2010 Evening Serenade (Warrenton)
Final (Extra) Wines
2012 Octagon Barboursville Vineyards
Stuart Pigott on twitter: At Christian Schiller's #virginia #wine tasting in Frankfurt the 2012 Octagon #bordeaux blend from @barboursville was the star. For more info see my report on www.JamesSuckling.com
2013 Weingut Lützkendorf Hohe Gräte Weissburgunder GG
The Favorites
Most of us liked the Michael Shaps Wineworks 2014 Petit Manseng and the Stone Tower Winery 2013 Hogback Mountain best.
Dave McIntyre (in the Washington Post): The Results Hint at some Interesting Developments in Virginia’s Wine World
In previous years, white wines were underrepresented in the Governor’s Case. This year, the rules were changed to reserve three spots for whites. That four made it into the case demonstrates the strength of white wines this year. Two of them are Petit Manseng, which is making a strong bid to eclipse Viognier as Virginia’s most distinctive white wine. And it’s notable that both the Horton and Michael Shaps are dry expressions of this wine, which is more often made in a fruity or even sweet style. The inclusion of Barboursville’s Vermentino is another hint that Virginia has the potential to excite with “alternative” white wines.
We also see consistency: North Gate’s Meritage (a Bordeaux-style red blend) makes the Governor’s Case for the third consecutive vintage. Glen Manor’s Hodder Hill (another Bordeaux blend) won the Cup in 2011 for its 2009 and reappears here. And Michael Shaps is a familiar name among Virginia’s elite winemakers. Shaps garnered five gold medals, more than any other producer, including one for his stunningly delicious petit manseng, which is in the Governor’s Case.
And we see new wineries emerging. Granite Heights, in Opal, won three gold medals for its red blends, including the 2010 Evening Serenade, which made the top 12. This is a tiny winery worth a detour off U.S. Route 29 as you drive to Charlottesville. And Loudoun County’s Stone Tower Winery, already a popular site for weekend wine tourists, earns a spot in the Governor’s Case with one of its first releases, the Hogback Mountain red blend.
schiller-wine: Related Posting
Northern Virginia Magazine October 2012: Wine Recs from Local Winos
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Jim Law and Linden Vineyards in Virginia – A Profile, USA
Boxwood Winery in Virginia: Lunch with Wine Makers Rachel Martin and Adam McTaggert in the Chai between the Tanks – TasteCamp 2012 East Kick-Off, USA
An Afternoon with Jordan Harris, Winemaker of Tarara, Virginia, USA
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Book Review: "Beyond Jefferson's Vines - The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia" by Richard Leahy, USA
TasteCamp 2012 in Virginia, USA – A Tour d’Horizont
As Close as You Can Get to (French) Champagne at the US East Coast – Claude Thibaut and His Virginia Thibaut Janisson Sparklers at screwtop Wine Bar
See: American Wines with French Roots: The Wines President Obama Served at the State Dinner for President Hollande, USA/France
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North Gate Vineyard in Virginia, USA – A Profile
Virginia Wine Chat “Live” with Frank Morgan at Breaux Vineyards, Virginia, USA
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