Grace Estate Winery, formerly Mt. Juliet Vineyards which sold high quality fruit to wineries around the state, will open today as a bonded Virginia winery. Under the direction of Jake Busching, formerly of Pollak Vineyards in nearby Afton, the winery will offer 100% estate-grown wines.

Located on Rt. 810 just south of White Hall on the road towards Crozet, Grace Estate Winery had under previous management built a reputation for its high-quality fruit from the 60-acre Mt. Juliet Vineyard which was sold state-wide and which was often referenced as the vineyard source on various winery labels.

Busching says he is proud of having built his professional reputation in the Monticello AVA and wants to support his colleagues in the area by dedicating whatever fruit he does not use for Grace Estate wines to be made available exclusively to other wineries in the Monticello AVA.

Wines on offer at the opening will include a 2012 viognier, the white “Three” blend, a collaborative effort with colleagues Matthieu Finot and Emily Pelton, featuring a blend of petit manseng, chardonnay and viognier; a 2011 tannat, a 2010 cabernet sauvignon, and a fun white blend called “Le Gras Cuvee”, 2010.

The tasting room is in an enclosed extension off the winery, a converted barn, keeping the atmosphere understated. Aside from the breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the north and the vineyards below, the winery boasts the most unique design feature I’ve seen yet: an empty dairy farm silo with gravel on the floor, three benches, and open sky at the top, a very relaxing zen atmosphere of empty/full.

The estate has a Tuscan villa where private events and weddings will be held. The tasting room will be open Thursday-Sunday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.graceestatewinery.com or call 434-823-5014.

Tasting Notes: Grace Estate Winery 4/18/13 (incomplete). All wines estate bottled.

2012 Viognier, Monticello

Nose: orange blossom, with solid orange/citrus fruits on the palate: orange, tangerine, kumquat. Bright, fresh, long finish with clean minerality. Not too heavy on the palate or perfumed on the nose, and with crisp acidity; a real winner.

2012 “3″ (white) petit manseng, viognier, chardonnay.

A collaborative blend between three Monticello winemakers (Emily Pelton, Matthieu Finot and Jake Busching), this is the second year of a white version of the meritage blend they started in the 2009 vintage. The wine is complex and elegant, still young and evolving. There is impressive balance of fruit and texture, medium weight, good depth of flavor and texture and a fine fresh finish. Stylish, this wine will come together and really rock by late summer.

Le Gras Cuvee 2010

An eclectic blend begun by previous winemakers and finished by Busching, this is a big, fun and juicy wine with lots of fruit, moderate oak and a hefty palate weight from lees stirring. It is also a blend of chardonnay, viognier and petit manseng. On the palate, it is round, smooth, juicy and easy to quaff; a great sipping wine but versatile for a lot of foods as well.

Tannat 2011:for the lousy quality of the vintage, an impressive red wine. Attractive dark ruby color followed by intriguing aromas; clean earth, black fruits and toasty oak. On the palate, dark and earthy but surprisingly light tannins, drinks more like a cabernet franc. No green veggies, a great warm weather red.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2010: Nose: smoky/oaky, but palate is very different, much fruitier and fresher. Ripe cassis fruit, juicy, lively and clean fresh finish, fun and quaffable.

On April 16th, Arlington Independent Media (Channel 69) aired this week’s edition of “The Bookman’s Corner”, with current host Lois Lindstrom, interviewing this author, Richard Leahy, about his new book on Virginia wine, Beyond Jefferson’s Vines.

Lindstrom, who co-hosted a cable TV show, “Metropolitan Magazine” on Channel 10, a public affairs program reaching viewers in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the early 1990′s.  She wrote a book titled: “Memoirs of a Swedish Nurse: A Life of Adventure, A Journey to Spirituality“ and she is currently a freelance writer in Virginia.

To see the interview live on Channel 69′s website, click on  http://www.bookmanscorner.com/programs.html.

Charlottesville, VA – In a ceremony at the historic C&O Restaurant, Pollak Vineyards was awarded the 2013 Monticello Cup for their 2010 Meritage, a blend of 41% Cabernet Franc, 41% Merlot, 18% Petit Verdot.  This marks the second time Pollak Vineyards finds itself holding the Monticello Cup (2011).  Nine wineries took home the eleven gold medals from the competition including Flying Fox, Jefferson, Michael Shaps, Veritas and White Hall. Pollak, Barboursville and Keswick each had two entries that were awarded Gold medals.

The Monticello Wine Trail announced the results of their 22^th annual wine competition (full medal list below).  The competition is limited to wineries in the appellation and received over 60 wines from twenty wineries.  The wines were evaluated by a tasting panel that included sommeliers, wholesale wine buyers, retailers and other wine industry professionals.

According to Competition Chairman Doug Holtz, of Rio Hill Gourmet, “The judges found the blended wines of the Monticello appellation showed very strongly.  The winemakers are very skillful in the art of blending.  The recent increase of Petit Verdot in the many of the blends increased the wines’ depth and complexity.”

According to Jeffersonian Grape Growers Society President Elizabeth Smith of Afton Mountain Vineyards, “The increase in number of Monticello Wine Trail tasting rooms provides visitors a cornucopia of winemaking styles.  From the polo grounds at King Family Vineyards to the concrete egg used to age Sauvignon Blanc at Stinson Vineyards to the South African influenced Pinotage of Lovingston Vineyards, every day the trail opens up new adventures for even the most seasoned wine tourist”.

Monticello Cup Wine Competition Results

Gold Medal Winners

Silver Medal Winners

Bronze Medal Winners

April 5, 2013 (Baltimore, Maryland) – Drink Local Wine LLC, the organization whose goal is bringing greater attention to regional wines, announces that for the first time, it will add an afternoon session at its fifth annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland on April 13, 2013.

Dr. Joseph Fiola, Viticulture and Small Fruit Specialist of the University of Maryland Extension, will present Maryland wines from alternative grape varieties or processes from his research program, in a post-lunch session prior to the start of the Twitter Taste-Off.  Session IV: Tasting Maryland’s Future will take place 1:30 – 2:15 pm at the Tremont Hotel in the Corinthian Room, and is a logical sequel to Session III on Maryland’s New Guard which examines trends.

In this session, Dr. Fiola will pour three pairs of wines; two whites, two reds, and two dessert wines, made from grapes (or new processing styles) he has been conducting research trials with that he believes perform well in various regions of Maryland.

The varieties tasted are planted at the four UMD regional research vineyards – the western mountains, the Southern Shore, and 2 sites on the Eastern Shore.  This provides the best varietal/environment pairing opportunities that need to be tested and exploited for each unique region.

Small batch winemaking studies of the varieties are conducted and evaluated (university and industry), which ultimately results in regional winegrape variety recommendations, explains Dr. Fiola, who has over 25 years of academic and industry experience in research and extension in small fruit production and breeding, viticulture and enology.

Non-grape wines and blends as well as varietals will be poured. “Grape geeks” will enjoy tasting unique varieties from experimental trials and comparing these wines to mainstream varietals and blends, making their own judgment on their potential for Marlyand.  No extra fee will be charged for participating in this session.

Registration for the full conference is $125 and includes a continental breakfast; entry to all sessions; lunch with paired tasting of Maryland wine; and the Grand Tasting of Maryland Wines and Twitter Taste-off. Tickets are also available for the Grand Tasting only for $40.

Those interested in attending the conference may visit http://www.marylandwine.org/dlwc13 for register and find out more information.
Drink Local Wine is an organization founded on the principal that there are great wines to be found everywhere, not just in the best known regions. A non-profit organization, the DLW mission is to promote the wines of these lesser known regions throughout the United States and Canada.  The brainchild of Dave McIntyre and Jeff Siegel, who writes the Wine Curmudgeon blog, the organization holds two major events each year — a conference spotlighting regional wine and Regional Wine Week, when bloggers and writers from across the continent write special pieces about their favorite regional wines.

The 2013 conference was held in Baltimore, Maryland on April 13, 2013. For tickets or more information, go to www.DrinkLocalWine.com.

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On Monday, 4/1, Virginia wine author Richard Leahy will speak to members of the Chrysalis Vineyards wine club on his book Beyond Jefferson’s Vines, the norton grape and its future, and sign copies of his book for attendees. On Friday 4/5, he will appear at the Library of Virginia Foundation in Richmond and The Virginia Shops, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219, at 6:15 p.m., giving remarks followed by a book signing, and a viewing of the Virginia wine exhibits of the Library. We hope to see you at one of these events!

[the following is a press release from the Eastern Winery Exposition. Disclosure: author of this website is Conference Manager for EWE]

MARCH 12, 2013

LANCASTER, PA—The Eastern Winery Exposition (EWE), which took place March 6-8 at the Lancaster County Convention Center in downtown Lancaster, PA, persevered over a regional snow storm to experience a increase in both booth sales and show registration over 2012. EWE 2013 had 174 exhibitors, up from 134 in 2012 or 28%, and 1063 winery and vineyard attendees, up 17% from 934 last year. Accordingly, the exposition will likely become the largest such trade show and conference for the wine industry on the East Coast.

The Eastern Winery Exposition is an Eastern-focused wine industry trade show and conference designed to provide the Eastern U.S. and Canadian wineries and vineyards with an easily accessible, low-cost professional meeting with a large number of winery and vineyard suppliers, at the right time of year. A strong conference program featured 22 sessions plus a half-day workshop on hard cider Friday 3/8, and 37 speakers. The exhibit hall featured 174 suppliers relevant to our region’s business of wine making, networking events, and sponsorship by 18 state and regional associations are all integral components of EWE.

The Second Annual Eastern Industry Celebration Dinner and Award Ceremony took place Wednesday 3/7 and honored Douglas Moorhead of Presque Isle Wine Cellars with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work laying the foundations of today’s post-Prohibition Pennsylvania wine industry with spearheading legislation for small family wineries, as well as his own winery and winemaking supply businesses.

Eastern Winery Exposition brings together the combined expertise and experience of Bob Mignarri (Show Manager), Richard Leahy (Conference Manager), and events professional Marcia Gulino (Operations Manager) and two knowledgeable and actively engaged advisory boards. Bob has over 30 years of successful trade show management experience and has earned a reputation among exhibitors as someone who recognizes and understands their needs and concerns. Richard Leahy is a renowned wine industry expert with 16 years of experience in developing quality conference programs.

Explains Show Manager Bob Mignarri, “When I began the planning for the Eastern Winery Exposition, I wanted to create a focused trade show and conference that would bring the Eastern wine industry together at a central location, in a first class facility, yet at an affordable cost. Furthermore, I wanted to cultivate an atmosphere where wineries and vineyards would feel that this show is truly their event.

“Last year, I believe my vision was achieved at the first Eastern Winery Exposition. This year I worked to exceed attendee expectations.”

Full conference details including a list of exhibitors, speakers, sponsors and conference sessions, is available at www.easternwineryexposition.com. The 2014 Eastern Winery Exposition will also take place at the Lancaster County Convention Center on March 4-6.