A Map of New and Old World Wine Regions

Old World Wine Regions

The terms “Old World” versus “New World” wines are used to describe the differences in viticulture and winemaking philosophies between the Old World regions and New World regions.  Old World wine regions place importance on tradition and the role of terroir, placing emphasis on how well the wine communicates the sense of place where it originated.  New World Wines pare described as placing importance on science and the role of the winemaker.  Terroir is used to describe the aspects of a wine region such as soil, climate and topography that are often out of the winemaker's control.

Old World Wine Regions

1. Albania
2. Armenia
3. Austria
4. Azerbaijan
5. Bulgaria
6. Croatia
7. Czech Republic
8. Cyprus
9. England
10. France
11. Georgia
12. Germany
13. Greece
14. Hungary
15. Italy
16. Moldova
17. Portugal
18. Romania
19. Serbia
20. Slovakia
21. Slovenia
22. Spain
23. Switzerland
24. Turkey

 

Singing Water Vineyards

The tasting room.

 

 About the Vineyard:
This week I tasted some Texas wine.  Singing Water Vineyards is part of the Wine and Wildflower Trail and is nestled in Comfort Texas.  I found this vineyard after driving about an hour out of San Antonio and down into (or up) into what is known as Texas Hill Country.  Singing Water Vineyards was founded and is owned by Dick and Julie Holmberg.  Dick is also the winemaker. 

From the road.

 About their wines:
Singing Water is currently producing 7 wines for 2013.  Their current tasting offering includes a variety of wines from 2010 through 2012.  The two most notable wines for me were the 2012 Merlot and the 2010 Vintner's Reserve.  Merlot is the oldest vine on their vineyard.  It was planted in 1998.  They are growing a few other varieties, including montepulciano. Montepulciano is widely planted throughout central and southern Italy.

The link to their wine list can be found here: Wines

I tasted the following wines:

2011 Pinot Grigio - This wine is processed in stainless tanks and is the winner of several awards, including 2012 Lone Star International Competition.  You will find flavors of almond, peach and pear.


2011 Sauvignon Blanc - This wine is the winner of the bronze medal from the 2012 Lone Star International Competition.  This wine provides flavors of melon, peach and lime on the palate.

2012 Sunrise - Swishing the wine in my mouth I could pick out the tastes of peach, pear and pineapple.  It provides a floral aroma to the nose.  This wine is comprised of Pinot Grigio, Viognier, and Sauvignon Blanc.

2012 Merlot - This single varietal has the tastes of black cherry, blueberry and licorice.  It is aged up to 12 months in oak barrels.

2010 Vintner's Reserve - This reserve is aged in oak for 18 months and is comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

2011 Freedom - Named in honor of our countries Veterans.  This wine is comprised of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.  It is aged 24 months in French Oak.  It has won several awards, including silver in the 2013 San Francisco International Wine Competition and Bronze in the 2012 Lone Star International Wine Competition.

2012 Sweet Lupe  - This is a  semi-sweet wine (do not compare to Va. late harvest), which they names after their yellow lab.

2011 Pinot Grigio

  2011 Pinot Grigio

Found out more information about the wineries of Texas Hill Country here: http://www.texaswinetrail.com/

2011 Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Texas Reserve-Merlot/Cab Blend, Freedom-Merlot/Cab/Syrah blend and Sweet Lupe-semi-sweet Merlot. - See more at: http://www.singingwatervineyards.com/winery/#sthash.bTyZ0bA0.dpuf

Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Texas Reserve-Merlot/Cab Blend, Freedom-Merlot/Cab/Syrah blend and Sweet Lupe-semi-sweet Merlot. - See more at: http://www.singingwatervineyards.com/winery/#sthash.bTyZ0bA0.dpuf

Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Texas Reserve-Merlot/Cab Blend, Freedom-Merlot/Cab/Syrah blend and Sweet Lupe-semi-sweet Merlot. - See more at: http://www.singingwatervineyards.com/winery/#sthash.bTyZ0bA0.dpuf

Prince Michel Winery

Prince Michel is located along 29, as you are driving South toward Charlottesville, VA  There are two wine lists offered at Prince Michel that are: Prince Michel Wines and Rapidan River Wines.  I stopped off today to take a look at the vineyard.  The grounds a very pretty and offer some opportunity for relaxation, if you ignore the cars zooming by on 29.  I stepped inside to find a large, round bar with people crammed around it conducting tastings.  Around the tasting room was all kinds of paraphernalia and wine gifts for sale.  The atmosphere didn't feel like a winery at all.  As I observed the activity going on around the bar, I realized it was more like a they were processing people through the wine list and not really guiding people through the wine tasting.  When I got to the bar, the host simply swung over, provided me two sheets of paper with wines listed and said "the tasting is $5.00 to taste 10 wines.  Mark them on your sheet and I'll start pouring."  He then swung over to his other guest, proceeded to pour their next wine and followed the same pattern around.  There was no discussion of the wine, the process to make it or the information about the winery, provided.  Blah.   It was, in fact, how I imagined the Prince Michel experience would be over the last year and reinforced my feeling of why I did not want to spend my money there.  I did mark off some wines to taste.  They included a selection of reds, white, and desserts from 2009 and 2010, but the host was busy and didn't make it back to me.  So I aborted my $5.00 tasting and headed on out. 

Overall, the place felt like a cross between rest stop and a fast food restaurant.  Many seem to like Prince Michel and its definitely some place exciting to try.  Unfortunately, its not my venue.

On my way, I snapped these pics:

The entrance.

The vineyard to the left of the building.

Watering Holes of Virginia: Wine Made Simple

I just found this great watering hole in Charlottesville, VA.  This store has several 2010 Virginia wines available now and a 2009.

In stock, but going quick are the following:
King Family Vineyards - No. 7 (2010)
Linden Vineyards - Claret (2010)
Flying Fox Vineyard - Trio (2009)
Bluestone Vineyard - Cabernet Sauvignon (2010)
Oldhouse Vineyards - Cloverhill, Vidal Blanc (2009)
Gabriele Rausse Winery -  Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (2007)
Pollak Vineyards - Meritage (2010)
Michael Shaps - Cabernet Franc (2008)

Also, you can find Albemarle Cider and Foggy Ridge Cider here.

Wine Made Simple:
http://www.wine-made-simple.com/main.html


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How does your knowledge stand on (hard) cider?

In trying to find an alternative to wine or beer, I have recently gotten into Virginia hard cider.  It turns out that hard cider is a very popular drink and with over 7,000 varieties of apples, there are allot of possibilities.  Cider also has a deep rooted history during early settler’s time in North America and in England.  According to an article written by Johnathan Katz and published April 18, 2013 by Food Republic; between the 1600s and 1800s British estate owners paid part of their workers' wages in cider. In fact, this led to the Truck Amendment Act in 1887.  This act made it illegal to compensate workers in this manner.

For a list of 12 things that you may not know about hard cider check out Johnathan Katz’s full article published on foodrepulbic.com. Article posted here: http://www.foodrepublic.com/2013/04/18/12-things-you-didnt-know-about-hard-cider.

Here are some things I didn’t know:

• Cider has a deep rooted history in early America and was used as a way to satisfy worker wages.
• Cider can be aged.
• Cider is served close to room temperature.
  
• In France, Calvados is an apple brandy distilled from cider matured in oak casks for at least two years.

King Family Vineyards and Roseland Polo

 

King Family Vineyard was named Best Winery of 2013 in C-ville's "Best of C-VILLE" issue.   The vineyard is 28 acres and sets on a 328 acre farm in Crozet, Virginia.  The vineyard is owned and operated by David and Ellen King.  The wine maker is Mathieu Finot.  Other than Virginia, Matthieu has made wine in wineries located in Burgundy, Rhone Valley, Jura, Provence, Bordeaux, Friuly, and South Africa.  He is from France, Crozes Hermitage (northern Rhone).  David and Ellen purchased the farm in 1996 and started planting vines around 1998.  Their first plantings were Merlot and Viognier. Other early plantings include Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Petit Verdot.  Newer vines on the vineyard include Malbec and Petit Manseng.  Read more about the vineyard at: http://www.kingfamilyvineyards.com/Our-Family/Our-Story.

One of the award cases in the tasting room.

There are 10 wines to taste at King Family Vineyards.  They include the Viognier 2012 (aged in stainless steel and cement), Chardonnay 2012 (aged in French Oak), Crosé 2012 (aged in stainless steel), Cabernet Franc 2012, Merlot 2011 (aged in French Oak), Meritage 2011 (49% Merlot, 30% Petit Verdot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 6% Malbec), Roseland 2012 (74% Chardonnay, 26% Viognier), Petit Verdot 2011, Seven 2011, and Loreley 2012.

Loreley 2012

As part of the tasting we were able to try the Viognier 2012, Chardonnay 2012, Crosé 2012, Merlot 2011, and the Meritage 2011.  In addition to included wines, we also tried the Loreley 2012, which is a dessert wine and the Seven 2011, the "Port" style wine.  Both were unbelievably good.  Loreley 2012 is 50% Viognier and 50% Petit Manseng.  I got the taste of pear, apricot and tangerine on the palate and floral notes on the nose with the Loreley 2012.  If you are a fan of "Port" Style wines, you will find Seven 2011 to be in a class of its own among the Virginia Ports.  Seven 2011 is named for the 7th chukker in polo.  It offers fig, banana, and orange peel on the nose.  It possesses vanilla and nutmeg on the palate, with cherry and toffee.  The photo below is a picture of Seven 2011 in the glass.

Roseland Polo also occurs on the farm, every Sunday.  Here are some photos from today's polo match:

Other Photos from King Family Vineyards:

Kings Family in the news: http://www.kingfamilyvineyards.com/Press-Page

Fruits of Today's Labor

To day, I picked up a bottle of  Albemarle Ciderworks, Royal Pippin.  Royal Pippin is the featured cider on their website today.  Royal Pippin is a single variety cider.  Royal Pippin has notes of pineapple and grape, with a well balanced acidity and a lush apple taste.

Albemarle Ciderworks has 8 varieties of cider:

Jupiter's Legacy

Old Virginia Winesap

Ragged Mountain

Royal Pippin

Virginia Hewes Crab

GoldRush

Pomme Mary

Red Hill

Places to buy Albemarle Cider: http://www.albemarleciderworks.com/where

I also bought, Foggy Ridge Cider, Serous Cider. 

Description from Foggy Ridge's website: "Serious Cider mixes traditional English cider apples like Tremlett's Bitter and Dabinett with tart American favorites like Ashmead's Kernel and Roxbury Russet."

Check out their site Discover Foggy Ridge Cider

 

Finally, I also bought King Family Vineyards Chardonnay 2012.  This chardonnay is aged in French Oak.