Spring Break Winery Visitation - 14 March

THE WINERY AT BULL RUN 

Wintery Winery: fewer blooming flowers than in spring, but still a lot of fun!

This is a slightly different take on a winery visit – rather than visiting per se, I came back to work at this winery.  Admittedly, I had worked there before, but since December, I’ve learned a lot about wines through the chapters and lessons in this class, and the Winery itself has made new wines and undergone a few changes, so it actually turned out to be a completely different experience.  And I was able to apply my newly developed wine knowledge and palate to the wines and the experience as a whole.  I even got to do a tasting for 3 other Virginia Tech seniors, including one girl who is in Geography of Wine too!  But that meant as a pourer, I had to be on point, or else I’m sure she would have called me out, what with her new wine-tasting expertise. 

When I'm not working, I get to hang around the winery and try some of the different wines

To begin with, I’ll describe the production facility and the winery itself.  Driving up to the winery, you pass by a wide expanse of land that makes up the Bull Run battlefield, the site of two bloody engagements of the Civil War.  Separating the Winery from the field itself is the famous Stone Bridge that was destroyed during the First Battle of Manassas.  There are two acres of Norton grapes to the left of the drive way; Norton is a grape with a long history in Virginia, thought to be indigenous to the state, so the placement of this grape varietal takes history into account.  Although the farm was not a winery during the Civil War, 19^th century history is a big part of this winery’s appeal, especially considering the proximity to the historical battlefield. 

The Winery itself is very beautiful – it looks like a massive barn that stands a few yards away from the ruins of the original house on the property, which has been converted to a patio.  Its off route 29 and secluded in a nice, quiet property, about 22 acres, and there are horses just beyond the fence.  There is a beautiful sunset beyond the patio, and it makes for a great place to spend the early evening.

Being relatively very new, production of the first few wines occurred at other wineries, namely Pearmund Cellars, as Chris Pearmund is the principle wine maker for Bull Run.  However, over the past 6 months, the Winery at Bull Run has produced and barreled several wines just below the tasting bar in the wine cellar.  There look to be about 50 American oak casks in the cellar, mostly with Merlot and Norton wines, two very popular reds at the winery.  There are also 6 Stainless Steel vats that will be used in the production of the white wines.

This is actually my manager Chris, pushing down the cap with the viticulturist, George Wilson.  

Here George is gathering the grapes for the crush

There are currently 10 different wines available to taste (and I was actually fortunate enough to get to try 2 new wines that will be introduced to the tasting list soon).  There are 4 whites, 5 reds, and one rosé.  These are all Virginia wines, made from Virginia grapes, with 2 new exceptions.  Since I’ve been at school for this semester, the Winery has introduced a dry Riesling that was produced in Virginia, but with grapes from Washington.  The second exception is a fruit wine, and is a 100% peach wine.

The wine to the far right (Viognier) was recently replaced with the peach wine.

My Tasting Notes

WHITES

2011 Dry Riesling

This wine was the only one with grapes that came from Washington State.  I had tried this when it was newly bottle, and it really wasn’t very good, but since then it’s really made big improvements.  With no residual sugars, it was a dry Riesling with a clean, crisp, apple flavor, as well as a light pear flavor.  Since it was fermented entirely in stainless steel, it had a very pale yellow color.  The nose was also had light apple flavors as well.  A few people who came to the tasting were surprised that they liked it, saying that they usually didn’t like Rieslings, but were happy with this dry version.

2011 Chardonnay

Whereas the Riesling was entirely stainless steel fermented, the Chardonnay was entirely fermented in French oak.  It also underwent malolactic fermentation, which brought out some mild buttery qualities as well as tart granny smith apple tastes.  The light oak flavor worked well with the buttery flavors, and I felt like there was a chestnut taste to this one.  The color was slightly darker than the Riesling, probably resulting from the time it spent in oak.

2011 Delaney

The first two were varietal wines, and this was the first blended white on the tasting sheet.  The grapes involved are Traminette, Vidal Blanc, Viognier, and Riesling, and as a result of some of these sweeter grapes, there is 1.2% residual sugars.  There was a definite floral component to this wine, maybe from the Traminette or Viognier.  This blue bottle contained a soft yellow colored wine, and the semi-sweet flavors combined to give it a citrus flavor, similar to grapefruit or lemon.  Although its sweet, it did have a mild sharpness on the finish too. 

Becky's favorite wine for a while was Delaney, so we got a bottle and came out for the day

Classic Peach

This was one of the wines I was most eager to try; I had never had a fruit wine before, and this was a popular one among the staff.  It had a very light clear color, and since it was fermented in stainless steel, the clear color was not surprising.  It was a little sweeter than I typically like, coming in at 1.5% residual sugars.  Nonetheless, I found it to be very good – although potentially very dangerous.  The nose had young peach flavors, and unsurprisingly the flavors of the wine were very peachy.  Dangerously easy to drink (almost like a white sangria or something), but I doubt the versatility of peaches.

The relatively new peach wine was advertised like this, because it probably won't be a staple of the wine tasting.  But it made a good impression, if not for being a great porch wine, then maybe for the price! Slightly smaller bottle,  but about $10 cheaper then most others.

2011 Rose

The Rose was also a stainless steel fermented wine, however, unique to this one on the Whites side, the wine is a co-fermentation of the two grapes used, specifically Merlot (about 90%) and Chambourcin (about 10%).  I learned that co-fermentation meant that the grapes’ juices were fermented together, rather than separately and blended together at the end of the process.  It had a light pink color, having spent limited contact with the skins.  It was a dry rose with no residual sugars, and despite the strawberry and mild alcohol smell on the nose, the taste was a nice combination of strawberry and raspberry flavors.  I think it would pair well with brie cheese.

REDS

Here's a shot of the tasting bar, although I have to say, it looks much bigger in person, I guess because this shot was taken at an angle.  The mural in the background depicts the First Battle of Manassas. 

Here are the reds as they appear behind the tasting bar.  On a slow week day, we only line them up like this, because we don't want to open too many bottles if it turns out to be a slow day.  But on weekends, we double and triple the stacks of reds that are out, and we always keep them in a specific order, so that in the chaos, we don't get confused.  The Whites on the other hand, stay below the bar in some mini fridges, so as to keep them cool.

2011 Merlot

This Merlot was fermented in American oak, and as a result it had a smoky quality that was really apparent.  It also had a slight spicy flavor.  The wine had a medium body, and a dark red color.  There was a light vanilla flavor from the oak in addition to dark cherry flavors.  The higher alcohol content was apparent compared to the Rose (which was also Merlot), and the body to it was significantly different. 

2011 Cabernet Sauvignon

I had a harder time picking out the flavors of this one.  Also in American oak, but I felt like the vanilla flavors were a lot more prominent.  I myself didn’t really pick up any identifiable or obvious fruit flavors, I would guess blackberry or something along those lines, but maybe it’s just my palate.  I found it really enjoyable, but I think I’ll have to try this one again. 

2011 Meritage

Meritage is a really popular red at the Winery at Bull Run.  This one spent 13 months in American oak, and I was told it likely become even better with a little more time on the shelf.  It is a blend of Bordeaux style grapes, in this case Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot, and Merlot.  As a Meritage, the wine maker actually has to pay a fee to use the name.  The wine had some darker fruit flavors, I felt like plum and blackberry were the flavors that I identified.  It had a much heavier body than the previous two wines, and I have to say, this was probably my favorite red.

2011 Norton

The Norton wine was a really rough, robust red.  Like all the other reds, it was fermented in American oak.  I’ve learned a lot about the history of the Norton grape, and I also learned that the grape naturally has a darker pigment than most other grapes, resulting in a darker wine.  Since the Norton grapes at the winery are far from ready, the wine was produced from grapes that came from Charlottesville.  The nose had a smoky, woody element, and these came through in the taste as well.  The roughness of the wine would probably work best with food, ideally a grilled steak or venison.  

2011 Fort

This was a port-style wine made from 100% Chambourcin grapes.  It had a deep red color, and was unique from the other wines in that it was actually fermented with cocoa nibs within the American oak barrels (the only wine to be infused with anything else).  It was fortified with ruby red brandy, and that meant the alcohol content was up to 17%.  The residual sugars were up to 8%, so a big difference from any of the other wines.  It had a powerful chocolate aroma as well as a strong chocolate flavors.  I tried it with a little bit of chocolate, and I felt like it had a mild raspberry flavor after the chocolate. 

SNEAK PEAK

Being an employee, I was also able to try a Rosé made from 100% Cabernet Franc that will replace the co-fermented Rosé.  It had a similar color to the merlot/chambourcin Rosé, but I thought the nose was a lot nicer than the previous one I had tried.  I actually really like the taste of the Rosé that the Winery is selling now, but I’m also really excited for this new one.  It had a small amount of residual sugars, so the fruit flavors came through slightly sweeter in this wine. 

  

Becky took this while I was finishing up a few tastings.  You can see the vineyards in the distance, and of course, she's drinking Delaney.  

Additionally, we tried a new version of the Delaney, which essentially excludes the Traminette from the blend.  A lot of my coworkers (who are much more capable than I am) said that the Traminette was very apparent in the Delaney being sold now, so the new one takes a very different approach.  I thought it was nice, certainly less floral/perfumy, but I still think I prefer the original.  Then again, maybe I just need to come back to it; I’m likely biased because I’ve had several glasses of the original one, but only a tasting of the new one.