Stonehouse Dining Room

The Stonehouse is a small and secluded restaurant and the winner of numerous awards, including Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence.  Jerry has overseen the wine there for nearly five years, since the historic property completed an extensive (and expensive) renovation.  He noted that the majority of visitors and locals alike want to drink local wines, so Jerry keeps his inventory about half domestic and half imported.  Jerry also enjoys offering a few exclusive wines by the glass, “I always pour Krug Grand Cuvée by the glass, and currently we’re pouring glasses of 2003 Chateau D”Yquem.”

Solomon Hills

Mollydooker. Among the exhibitors is Brian Pasch, blogger at weloveshiraz.com and representative of Mollydooker Wines. The Weekly Wine Pick has already reviewed Mollydooker’s the Boxer, and I covered the Scooter Merlot. Today, I had the opportunity to be among the few people to get an early tasting of the 2009 vintage, which is exceptional. These are very big, high-alcohol wines that are well balanced, extra rich, and silky smooth. Enjoy them with your summer grillings. Today, a personal favorite was the Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz, which is bursting with fruit and richness. There will be more coverage of Mollydooker wines at the live logging session latter.

Canoe Ridge. Next, I tasted some of the local wine from Walla Walla. Presented by the winemaker, Ned Morris, Canoe Ridge wines are made in an old world style. He offered an Alsatian-styled dry Riesling, a Merlot and a Cabernet Sauvignon. My favorite was the Cabernet, which offers rich cedar and delivers big, showing Walla Walla’s greatness.

Lake Chelan AVA Wines. Washington State’s newest American Viticultural Area–Lake Chelan–also hosted a table with more than a dozen fantastic wines. This region is a bit cooler than others in Washington State, and its Northern-facing slopes offer climates to grow some cool-climate grapes like Pinot Noir and Riesling. The wines were so good that it was hard to pick just a few to highlight! Among the most interesting was a small-production Pinot Noir made by Judy Phelps of Hard Row to Hoe winery (see the website for story behind this title). It was full of smoky oak yet retained a rich fruity flavor. There were no vegetal or off notes on this one. It was delicious. It’s a home run, particularly given it is the first Pinot produced by this winery! Production is small for this yet-to-be released wine, but check the website to see if you can eventually get your hands on one.

The Chelan table also featured Vin du Lac wines, presented by the winemaker, Dreux Dillingham. Among their offerings is a perfect, fresh summer sipper–a dry and refreshing Riesling. Like the Hard to Hoe Pinot, it is grown on Northern-facing slopes, which are cooler, ensuring a crisp and refreshing quality. Vin Du Lac also had a fantastic red table, which is a blend of a number of grapes. It delivers big for a moderate price and is available around the nation. Keep an eye out for these Chelan AVA wines or search for them on wine-searcher or at winery websites.

Not surprisingly, one of the state’s first wineries—the Williamsburg Winery–produces some of the state’s most exciting wines. The winery produces top quality because its founder, Patrick Duffeler, invests in top talent. In 2002, he brought on Napa Valley winemaker Mathew Meyer, whose credentials include studying oenology and viticulture school at the University of California-Davis. Meyers launched his career at Grgich Hills winery—the winery started by Napa pioneer winemaker Mike Grgich, who made the Chardonnay that shook the world when it won at the 1976 tasting of Paris.

Meyers then went on to make award winning wines at Heitz Cellar, which makes some exclusive wines near St. Helena in Napa Valley. Among them is the Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a highly regarded premium Napa wine. In 1999, the Wine Spectator selected the 1974 vintage to be it as one of the Top 12 wines of the 20th Century.

Not surprisingly, the Williamsburg winery has been making some award winning wines on Meyer’s clock. Among them are awards from prestigious UK-based Decanter magazine, which dubbed the winery’s he 2006 Acte Chardonnay as among the “world’s best wines.” That is pretty substantial praise for one of Virginia’s humble wines! This wine region surely have come a long way. And this wine retails on the Winery website for just $16. Who says Virginia’s quality wines are not affordable?

So start tasting them. Meyer recently gave me a tasting of some his wonderful wines at the winery, and all were quite impressive! Among them were:

The Willamsburg Reserve Chardonnay, 2006. This wine is made fermented and aged in French oak and undergoes malolactic fermentation, resulting a wine with toasty and creamy qualities. The winery recommends serving it with “grilled swordfish, steak, grilled prawns, pheasant, and ‘duck a l‘orange.’” If you serve it with steak, make sure you include a nice creamy béarnaise sauce! Decanter awarded this wine as “commended” in 2009. It retails for just $24 a bottle on the winery website online.

Sir Samuel Argall Dry Riesling, 2007. The grapes from this wine come from all the way from Washington State, where Riesling thrives. As a result, it cannot be sold in inter-state commerce because of unfortunate wine regulations. But if you are lucky enough to see it at the retail level in Virginia or if you make you way to the winery, grab one—or more—bottles. This is a light, crisp dry wine with a lemony profile. It’s the perfect match for a light fish dish with lemon or something oily like fried chicken as it will cleanse the palate between bites. It’s a refreshing picnic or summer sipping wine. And it retails for just $10.50 a bottle.

Gabriel Archer Reserve, 2005. This Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc) blend combines only select wines each year from the best barrels of the vintage. It is only made in the better vintage years, ensuring it always meets a certain standard of quality. Like the other reds, it was rich with good acidity, and soft and smooth tannins. Decanter gave the 2006 Gabriel Archer Reserve a bronze metal, and gave the 2005 a “commended” award. It retails for $32 on the winery’s website.

The Virginia Trianon. This wine is the Winery’s Cabernet Franc, a grape that is doing quite well in Virginia. It has nice acidity and soft tannins, with red fruit flavors (cherry and raspberry). It retails for $32 a bottle.

Adagio, 2007. Last but not least was the Adagio, the winery’s most premium wine, carrying a price tag of $65. It is a rich blend of 40 percent Petite Verdot, 40 percent Merlot, and 20 percent Cabernet Franc. The Winery describes it as: “An initial hint of black cherries progresses into more mature dark fruits such as figs and dates. Mixed in with the fruit is a lovely note of fresh cocoa, along with a bit of soy and eucalyptus. Earthiness and minerality blend agreeably with the fruit.”

You can look for these around town, in Virginia wine shops, or shop online at the winery’s website. Another option is to drive a couple hours to the winery and enjoy them there!

Sandy overseas a program that includes over 30 outlets in 10 different states and has long been recognized for excellence by leading wine publications and critics.  Sandy also teaches at the Boston University Elizabeth Bishop Wine Resource Center, and publishes The Grapevine, a wine journal available on Legal’s website.

Legal seafood’s oyster festival continues through October 17th.

Label

   This week’s pick comes just in time to welcome warmer weather, and is offered up by Michael Bryan, director of the Atlanta Wine School.  Michael describes this off-dry Riesling from the Rheingau as “very balanced and generous in flavor” and recommends it for cheese pairings.

  Leitz Weingut (winery) produced this white Spätlese wine from the single Drachenstein (Dragonstone) vineyard in Rheingau, which is Germany’s principal region for the production of Riesling.

 The Atlanta Wine School offers education for wine lovers of all experience levels, and is a key part of Atlanta’s growing wine scene.

The Dragonstone Reisling retails for about $15 a bottle and can be found at retailers such as these on Wine-Searcher.com.

  The French Laundry is widely recognized as one of the world’s best restaurants.  Located in the heart of Napa Valley, it attracts serious foodies and wine lovers from around the world with the chef’s nine-course tasting menus.  Their wine list is a major reason The French Laundry earned three stars from Michelin.  This week French Laundry’s head sommelier, Dennis Kelly, offered WeeklyWinePick.com the following recommendation:

  “Riesling has emerged as the fastest-growing white wine in America for the third year in a row.  Stony Hill Vineyard, located right inside the Napa Valley on a northeast slope of Spring Mountain, is producing an incredibly elegant expression of Riesling from 25-60 year-old vines.  Moderating climatic influences including northeast-facing slopes and an elevation of over 600 feet above the valley floor make this an ideal microclimate for growing premium Riesling grapes.

  The 2007 Stony Hill Vineyard, White Riesling is pure elegance.  With delicate flavors of white peaches and wet stones, along with the subtle perfume of lime blossoms, the wines laser-like acidity assures incredible balance. With less than 1% residual sugar and only 12% alcohol, I like to serve this wine as aperitif- or to complement a wide range of seafood canapés at the French Laundry.”

  In addition to trying this wine at the French Laundry, you can order it from the winery or find it at retailers listed on wine-searcher.com

The Estate Riesling offering a tight structure that is balanced with commensurate acidity, mineral flavors and a speck of residual sugar (0.2%). The majority of the writers paired it with Chef Wiedmaier’s succulent Diver Scallop and Pork Belly Ceviche, and raved about the combination. Wakefield’s Estate series is the backbone of the collection, offering more complexity than the value-minded Promised Land series, and setting the stage for their full-bodied and ultra-rich St. Andrew’s line.

The 2006 Riesling has begun populating retail shelves at a price of around $17 per bottle.