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This is major. Gary Vaynerchuk tasting out Virginia wines in a Virginia Winery. Check out the video below or click on over to Wine Library TV.

I was very impressed to see him so excited about Virginia wine and the future of the industry. Also, I do have to agree with him that while many Virginia wines can hold their own against big time California, Washington and Oregon wineries, they are just not cost competitive enough in order to have a nationwide impact……yet. As I mentioned in a previous post, the future for Virginia wine is bright.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit the wineries mentioned in the video, GO! The only one that I can personally attest to is The Winery at La Grange. It has a great view, great atmosphere and great wine. And, YES, the Port Snort is that damn good.

For information about these and other Virginia wineries click on over to VirginiaWine.org.

We all know the phrase, “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere,” as an affirmation that it’s always time to have a drink and relax and that we shouldn’t really care about social norms and all of that jazz, right? 

Well, other than being a catchy song it doesn’t really hold much water for me. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid to put on a Hawaiian shirt, a plush hat shaped like a parrot and string up lights shaped like hamburgers from  my tailgate in the Nissan Pavilion parking lot in anticipation of a Jimmy Buffet Concert, but I think we can take it a step farther and clear up a few of the fallacies in the reasoning. 

You see, “some where” is a very generic and seems as if one is just looking for carte blanche justification to get buzzed before noon. These folks fall into 3 categories: 1) they are on a party barge in the middle of a body of water at 10 am rearing to go, or 2) they are drowning their sorrows of dealing with a dead-end job, an ever-growing pile of bills and his teenager that is convinced that college is for “conformists” and he/she can make a living at writing macabre poetry and playing Warcraft in the basement, or 3) an undergraduate student who just got the text to skip Western Civ and go play Madden and/or Hold ‘em at so-and-so’s apartment. You can make your own judgement on any of these situations, but those of us over 30 and should at times be at least attemting to exercise some sort of responsibity in our lives, we need a bit more compelling reasoning. Suggestions?

How ’bout,

“It’s Five O’Clock where your wine was made!”

Huh? Huh?

You see this not only comes with the aire of sophistification of drinking wine, but foreign wine at that. Trust me.  If they would change the name to Chateau Thuderbird, produce it in Lyon, and charge $20 a bottle retail, it would be served by the glass in multiple locations up and down K Street. I know this for a fact, I can difinitively prove it and will fight you if you say otherwise.

Anyways, that means the Bordeaux and the Rioja can come out at 11ish, the Port or Vinho Verde at 10ish, and if you need anything earlier just keep working eastward on the continent and head for Croatia, Moldova, or Georgia. Bonus if you’re on the north American west coast. Can anyone say Brunello with Coco Puffs? After that, if you’re really hurting, grab some Aussie or Kiwi wine and you should be set.

All you have to do it say something to the fact that, “I/We am/are just expressing some solidarity with our wine enthusiast bretheren in XYZ.”

I hope that this makes it all clear about how and when or where you can enjoy a good glass of Vino. Besides think of all of that time that being wasted waiting, just waiting for for 5:00 P.M. EST. At least for me, I’m sure I could be working and doing something productive, but I’d rather be enjoying a good glass of the you-know-what.

That’s all I gotta say ’bout that.

I know you all were expecting a highly detailed account of last weekend’s Virginia Showcase with tasting notes, etc., etc., so please accept my most humble apology for just now getting around to it. It’s been a rather busy week and several of my first drafts were just not up to RWR quality.

So with the limited time factor, I figure I just would like to give my overall impressions and account of a few highlights and then do detailed tasting notes in subsequent posts when I start to feature individual wineries. (WineStyles will be featuring a different VA winery every month from now on and we’re also looking to start a Virginia-specific wine blog where users can post pictures and reviews, etc.)

Anyways, it was a great mix of wine, food, crafts and fun. The usual suspects of the likes of Chrysalis, Breaux, Lake Anna and Horton were there in full regalia, but we also found a few new ones that we were not familiar with such as North Mountain and Miracle Valley. In addition, I was very impressed to see a lot of wineries turning out good reds made with Merlot, Cabernet and Tannat as well as some spectacular whites with lots of structure and complexity. And of course there were also plenty of Concord grape and fruit wines, which are not my cup of tea, but good and fun nonetheless. (Note to the wise, if you’re up for tasting a lot of these Super-sweet wines in a festival-type setting, save them for the end because all of that sugary, fruity sweetness can ruin your palate and/or turn your stomach upside down very quickly.)

Overall, the wines were solid with only a very few questionable ones, but you always have to expect a few of those. Virginia wines have come along way, but they still have a ways to go. However, I have a lot of confidence in the current mix of wine makers and grape growers as they are not afraid to buck tradition and try new things. As we all know Virgina is quite different from the Terrior of Sonoma or Tuscany,but that doesn’t mean that it can’t produce great wine. This leaves me very excited for the future and for the next Virginia Wine festival. in September.

As promised, here are some pictures from the Virginia Wine Showcase. Great show. Lots of great wines and wineries. Next time around, we’ll have to hit both days. I’ll write up some reviews of some of the wines very soon.

I am/we are off to the Virginia Wine Showcase today.

Here’s the link to the website for information.

Sometimes these things can kind of suck. Big crowds, lots of drunks, and half-ass wine. I can usually do two out of the three without cursing the promoters about an hour and a half into the day and actually relax and enjoy myself. After all, there is still wine there, right? And the ticket is already paid for, right?

However, I’m very optimistic about the Virginia Wine Showcase. The list of Virginia wineries is excellent and it is being held indoors at the Dulles Expo center, which makes the cab fare home better than from the Vienna Metro after the DC festival (which sucks due to the previously mentioned trifecta above, especially #3).

Pictures, videos, reviews will be up by Tuesdayish of all of the great Virginia wine. Stay tuned.

The ‘06 Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Shiraz was a WS 91 pointer and truly magnificent, and for $23ish, a real bargain. It was a huge hit last fall and through the Holidays and when the vintage finally ran out, there were many, many disappointed customers, including myself

Well, wait no more. It’s back at WineStyles in South Riding.

We tasted this one out right after we got it in during a special event make-up/wine tasting class hosted by Petra Greenhall with Arbonne. (Side note, I was just there to take some pictures for the website and had nothing to do with the make-up. Promise. Oh, and there was wine there too.) Anyways, the Shotfire was the big hit of the night.

Tasting Notes;

Like most Aussie Shirazes, it has a very high alcohol content, but it’s still very well-balanced. Lots of blueberries and dark rich red fruit and licorice with a little nuttiness. Clean mouth-watering finish with medium tannins. You can definitely tell it is a young one, so decanting is definitely in order to get the full experience. And, if you have the patience, this wine will surely benefit from 6-12 months of bottle aging. For $20.99 it’s a great value. This is a must have, but only time will tell if it will have that WOW factor of the ‘06.

Click on over to WineStyles for more information and stop on by for a bottle…or two…or three.

The Quattro Goomba’s Winery, one of the newest in Northern Virginia, is now open. So swing on by and taste their amazing wines. And I do mean “swing” by because it’s only six miles from South Riding at 1.2 miles north on Hwy 15 off of Hwy 50.

If you want the history and the background check out his part of their website. Click Here. And for directions click here.

Upon turning off of 15, you’ll notice one major distinctive feature: No vines.

What? No vines? They must be on the back 40, right? No. Then they are on another property, right? No. Then they just source their grapes from other local growers then? Kind of.

Yes, they source their grapes from California and Chile, but they have plans to use Virginia grapes in future crushes. This makes for a great combination of superb small-batch hand-crafted wine without the price of the airfare to San Fran or Santiago. Couple that with an amazing view and some traditional Italian music over the surround sound system, and bada-bing, you just got tele-ported to Tuscany, or at least a soy bean farm outside of Rome. Capice?

Here are some highlights:

1. The location - as stated above, it’s only 15ish miles outside the beltway and right on the beaten path.
2. The property - a very cozy house with beautiful wood finishing, an open fire place and a back deck that I’m sure will be the scene of many great times to come.
3. The Wines - traditional Italian style blends from top quality fruit. See below for tasting notes on individual wines.
4. Tasting Fees - $10 gets you a generous taste of each of the 5 wines, plus a “re-taste” of your favorite wine to enjoy on the deck or on the comfy couches right there in the tasting room.

Tasting Notes:

Vino Di Nonni - Literally translated as the “wine of our grandfathers”, this is a traditional light and fruity, but not too sweet, blend that is meant to be served slightly chilled.

• California ‘07 - very fresh with lush watermelon on the nose and a light, yet lively and refreshing mid-plate with a very clean and refreshing finish.
• Chile ‘07 - a little more robust than it’s west coast sister, with a peppery nose and more medium bodied with seriously smooth finish. Both of them a great value and perfect for quaffing while laboring over that grill in the 95+ degrees August heat.

Vino di San Pietro - a rich blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot.

• California ‘07 - We tasted this one right after bottling in February and as good as it was then, it was still green, very tight and fruit-forward. Barely six months later, this wine has certainly come of age. It’s ready now, and yeah is it ready, but could still benefit from 6 to 12 more months of bottle aging. Deep ruby in color with a rich earthy blend of dark fruit on the nose. This wine has the structure of a solid well-balanced Super Tuscan. Break out grandma’s recipe for old world pasta sauce and get to chopping up that garlic for this one. I don’t care if it takes two hours to make, it’ll be worth it. I promise.

Vino D’ Ana - a medium to full-bodied meritage-style blend of Cab and Merlot.

• Curico Valley, Chile ‘07 - Very peppery and spicy with robust deep fruit and with a lingering finish.
• California ‘07 - A little earthier and smoother than it’s brother from the southern hemisphere. Still great plumb and currant notes with equally well-balance tannins.

So check ‘em out and stay tuned for an announcement for the grand opening.

Well, this is not entirely wine-related.  However, in this video Dan is wearing his WineStyles shirt because he and Jen had just stopped by to check out our new feathered friends after the store’s Sunday wine tasting.

So, if this goes completely viral then it could be some good publicity for the store. 

Dan, don’t expect to be appearing in any Weezer videos anytime soon or to collect any of that “internet” money like the Canadians did in that episode of South Park.  Although it would be neat to figure out how to put light saber sound effects in the video and have the two birds duke it out ala Darth vs. Luke. 

We haven’t named them yet, so put any suggestions in the comments box.

Caution - mild profanity.

Here’s Jenn sharing the same fate.

Oh and that whole thing about not handling baby birds because their mother will reject them is complete BS. The mother humming bird comes by several times a day to feed the little ones. Based on some savy internet research, they should be flying in a week or so. I’ll keep you posted.

More pics.

Or maybe it is so.  A nice Saturday.  9-12 working on business plan to roll out new online business, 12ish - 3 at the pool taking in rays and reading about web marketing, etc, etc, etc.  3ish, decide to head over to WineStyles to say HI to the wiff and possibly, just possibly, drink taste some wine. (oh, keep in mind I’m on my bike b/c gas is $4+ a gallon now)  Anywho, tasting some good and not so good stuff and I get the, “Can you go to the Store for me.”  Dumbass response, “Sure, I gotta go get stuff for dinner what do ya need? Medicine?  Salad dressing?  Shampoo?”  “No, TAMPONS.”  “Oh, shit, what kind and what do I get for it?”

Fell into that one like quicksand in the Amazon (rainforest, not the website).

Well, I’m half cocked on sub-par French Sav Blanc and damn good New Mexico bubbly and, after almost 2 years of marriage, know better than to start a holy hormone war and decide to take off on the bike to Giant to retrieve said cotton infused plastic wrapped budles of joy.  $7.50 later I’m back, with the correct brand, styles, color, scent, size, etc, no doubt. HERO, yeah!

The Wines:

Domaine St. Vincent, Brut, NV, New Mexico $11.99

Lots of fruit, good peach and strawberry, but not over fruisty though.  Very clean on the finish and just the right amount of goody sweetness. 88 points.  AMAZING VALUE.

Danielle del Anse’e Sauvignon Blanc, Loire Valley, ‘06

This wine won a gold medal at Paris something or other in ‘07.  However, it’s not my wine.  The drink is grapefruit juice with a very dry grassy finish. And, I effing swear that the nose has pot resin on it.  That smokey caramel smell of tar and bud.  I swear. Probably need to pair this up with something, but not bad at all.  86 points.

The Red Square, -Kiwi Sav Blanc with Communist overtones. 

Not exaclty, but I guess the square represents the 4 hallmarks of Marlbourough.  Google it and read for yourself.  Save the $1 and lower the price of the wine.  Those kids will either wind up as Prime Minister or on crack alley with or without your support.  It’s all preordained, anyways.  Good solid wine. Love the grass.  Mow the lawn and maybe pair this one up with some talapia and grilled asparagus.  86 points.

Virginia’s First Urban Micro Winery

(South Riding, Virginia) Quattro Goomba’s Winery, the state’s first urban micro winery proudly announces the premier release of its 2007 wines from its winery located in South Riding, Virginia.

To celebrate the release of the winery’s premium red wines, made with grapes from the Curico Valley in Chile, WineStyles and Diego and Son Distributors are hosting a tasting of these high-quality wines on Sunday, June 8 from 1:00-4:00pm at their South Riding location. WineStyles is located at 25031 Riding Plaza, South Riding, in the Riding Center plaza at the intersection of Loudoun County Parkway and Rte 50.

Quattro Goomba’s Winery is a unique urban micro winery that produces Mediterranean Style Wine of the highest quality. We incorporate traditional old world methods passed on by our ancestors over many generations, producing artisan wines that are distinctive and expertly hand-crafted in limited quantities.

Quattro Goomba’s is Italian for four close friends and defines the heart of our business. The Quattro Goomba’s Brand represents our passion for friendship, family, celebration, and tradition. Our original winemaking process revolves around sourcing grapes from the top growing regions from around the world. Quattro Goomba’s Winery produces exceptional blends and varietals in the ultra premium and luxury class.

Quattro Goomba’s Winery offers a range of high quality red wines for every taste. The winery’s 2007 Chilean selections are all proprietary blends and are named as follows: Vino Di Nonni, or “Grandfather’s Wine”, a light bodied, fruity red wine that is refreshing and easy to drink, and Quattro Goomba’s signature brand, Vino D’Ana, a full-bodied red wine that is a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

In addition to sampling these fine selections, you will have a chance to meet the Quattro Goomba’s winemakers David Gaetani, Jay DeCianno and David Camden. All will be on hand to personally describe the unique winemaking practices that yield these truly incredible blends. Don’t miss this exciting event.

“We are very excited to finally be able to share our 2007 Chilean wines with the general public and are extremely grateful to WineStyles and Diego and Son Distributors for giving us the opportunity to do so,” said David Gaetani, the company’s chief winemaker. “In the midst of an increasingly crowded wine market, we believe that the Quattro Goombas brand will bring something truly unique to the consumer and the wine industry as a whole. Our urban winery model is just one way we plan to differentiate ourselves from traditional farm wineries. Another example of how we differentiate ourselves from the competition is with our proprietary blends. For example, our Vino Di Nonni blend is a company trade secret and is only commercially available through Quattro Goomba’s Winery. In the summer of 2008, our new tasting room and production facility in Aldie, VA will be open to the public and will be unlike anything you’ve ever seen at a traditional vineyard based winery”.

For more information regarding this event, visit the WineStyles website at www.winestyles.net/southriding or call 703-327-5052.

To Contact Quattro Goomba’s Winery:

Website www.goombawine.com

Phone 703-327-0812

Email qgw@goombawine.com