by Richard Leahy | Apr 29, 2019 | Competitions, News/Announcements, Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine
From a field of 60 entries, all from grapes grown in the Monticello AVA, and from a final field of six (three white wines and three red wines), the top wine of the 2019 Monticello Cup competition was the Mountain Plains 2016 from King Family Vineyards in Crozet. This...
by Richard Leahy | Apr 7, 2019 | Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine, Winery Visits
On April 6th, Afton Mountain Vineyards owners Tony and Elizabeth Smith celebrated ten years operating the winery under their ownership with an open house that featured a talk by Gabrielle Rausse, one of the Virginia industry’s founders, this writer (author...
by Richard Leahy | Apr 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
This Saturday April 6th, Afton Mountain Vineyards will celebrate 10 years of ownership by the Smith family with a full day of events. Open to the public and no fees to attend. A free commemorative glass will be given with all tastings! They are also celebrating 40...
by Richard Leahy | Feb 26, 2019 | Uncategorized
[From the Virginia Wine Marketing Office, 2/26/19] Governor Ralph Northam awarded the 2019 Virginia Wineries Association’s (VWA) Governor’s Cup to Horton Vineyards for their 2016 Petit Manseng at the 2019 Governor’s Cup Gala. The Gala took place Tuesday...
by Richard Leahy | Jan 13, 2019 | Tastings/Evaluations
When I finally finished the first draft of this exhaustive list of my favorite wines from 2018, I realized I had to cut it back to only those wines that I’d rated 3 stars or I’d have pages and pages, and I knew you only wanted to read about the BEST! (note: this draft...
by Richard Leahy | Dec 30, 2018 | Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine
In my last post, I highlighted my favorite tank or barrel samples of the infant 2018 vintage. As Maryland vintner and friend Mike Fiore would say, “Not so bad!” Vintners may have lost up to half of their potential crop, but from what I’ve seen they did a great job...
