Charlottesville, VA

A Tour Through Virginia Wine Country

Contributed by Nikki Hartz

This past week, I went on a wine tour with some William and Mary law students (one of them my boyfriend, John, a 1L). We toured three lovely vineyards, sampled some fantastic wine, and John and I walked away with four bottles. Below is a description of each of the vineyards and my recommendations for wines to sample and buy.

We began with Cooper Vineyards, located in Louisa, VA. This vineyard is located halfway between Richmond and Charlottesville. Currently, they are under construction but hope to open their new facilities in mid-December. The construction, however, did not affect the quality of the wine. This vineyard was the most generous with tasting, and I believe we sampled approximately 15 different wines. My favorite from this vineyard was a sweet, white wine called Rhapsody. It is an excellent blend of fruity flavors but is light and would pair well with an assortment of main courses or desserts.

Next, we toured Veritas Vineyards in Afton, VA. This was a beautiful vineyard where we were told many weddings and other elegant events are held. The wines at this vineyard were exquisite and we sampled around 8 different types. We were very impressed with both a red wine and a white wine at this vineyard. First, the White Star; this is a white wine with many tropical fruit hints in it. Second, Othello; this port, ruby wine was sweet without being overbearing and had a smooth flavor. Both wines were excellent and everything we tasted was enjoyable. Our host also offered a wealth of knowledge of how the wine is made, the naming of wines, and how the flavors in wine work together to create the perfect taste. If a wine education is what you're after, this is the place to go.

Finally, Blenheim Vineyards was our last stop. Unfortunately, we arrived at this vineyard in the dark and 20 minutes before closing so there was no time for a tour of the grounds. However, we still managed to taste their entire wine list. We found the most enjoyable of these to be the Cabamet Franc. Normally, I am not a fan of reds, but this was an exceptionally good wine with a smooth taste and yummy flavor.

We will certainly be returning to these vineyards for more samples and bottles!