Friday, June 10, 2005

Vintage Virginia



We had a good time last weekend at the wine festival, although it was hotter than when we went the first time and we had a dog to pick up from the groomer's, so we spent a lot less time there.

We liked several of the whites that we tried, but we ended up buying only the Barboursville Viognier (the influx of good and cheap Australian, Spanish, and South African whites colored our perception of value this time around). We passed on Barboursville's very good Octagon VI (probably the best red in VA). The rest of the reds were highly questionable, especially the Cabernet Francs. Apparently, many Virginia wineries grow Cab Franc for their Meritage blends. Unfortunately, many also choose to put out a 100% Cab Franc, and they are universally terrible. Perhaps you've heard of "fruit forward" wines, and perhaps you've also heard a wine described as having "hints of tobacco." Now, just for a moment, imagine a tobacco-forward wine. That was the only way to describe one of the Cab Franc's we tried. Sarah threatened to hurt me if I made her try another one.

Yes, we are quite spoiled and bourgeois, especially by the very good wine store that I ("have to") walk by on the way from the Metro to Home.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well, as your Nana Holland once said, "It's all about who you are and what you know about wine." Or something to that effect.