Fork and Cork 2013!

Yesterday my roommates, their moms, and I headed to First and Main to experience our first ever Fork and Cork! Every year since I have turned 21 I have been out of town the same weekend as it, and I was so excited to finally be able to go. It was a great day to have fun and try some of the best wines that Virginia has to offer.

The rain held out on us so that we could enjoy the day, and I would definitely recommend buying tickets online before because the line to buy them there was ridiculous and they unfortunately sold out soon after the event even started. As soon as we got there we headed to the back to sample a bunch of wines from Veritas Vineyard Winery from Afton, Virginia.

Myself, Kelsey and Abby sampling some wine

Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Afton, Virginia
Country: USA
Year: 2012
Price: $22.00
Winery Review: If “Pristine” were a color, that is how I would describe the color of the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, which is just paler than pale lemon. The aroma is even more promising with bright, fresh white flowers, lemon-lime, citrus, passion fruit and that touch of tangy grassiness that so characterizes Sauvignon Blanc. The taste confirms the expectations of a zesty, crisp tartness of balanced fresh lime; grapefruit and green apple wrapped up in a light bodied refreshing style. This is a bright and fun wine to drink with delicate white fish, oysters and shrimp.
My Review: I really enjoyed this wine! It was a great way to start our day of tastings. It was almost clear in color and was very grapefruity and lemony on the nose and in taste. It was clean and refreshing and not too tangy. It would be perfect to casually sip on during the summer.


Saddleback Chardonnay 2012
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Afton, VA
Country USA
Year: 2012
Price: $22.00
Winery Review: A medium bodied wine showing aromas of apple, pear, honeydew melon and kiwi. It is a perfect wine to pair with light fish and shellfish dishes, or even poultry with citrus sauces. Nice "Chablis style" with stainless steel fermentation, and matured 4 months in neutral French oak barrels.
My Review: I was so so so pleased with this Chardonnay. It was not super oaky to my surprise and was very clean. I normally wouldn't pick a Chardonnay but I would definitely buy this one again. It had flavors of apple and melon but wasn't super sweet.

Viognier 2012

Variety: Viognier
Region: Afton, VA
Country USA
Year: 2012
Price: $22.00
Winery Review: As pale yellow as winter sunshine that gradually brightens to yellow primrose, our 2012 Viognier has a heady aroma of lush peach and orange blossom. The first taste is of a fruit-filled rush of mouth filling ripe peaches, honey and orange zest flavors that simply won’t quit. The Veritas style of Viognier is so precise and lively that you will only want one thing: another taste. Sometimes a taste is worth a thousand words. Drink with equally delicate yet intense foods like Thai and Yum-Yum soup.
My Review: This is another one of Vertias' wines that I thought would be great to drink on a nice warm summer day. It was very apple on the nose and in taste which I enjoyed. It had good acidity and a nice clean finish. I liked the balance of fruityness and freshness that it left on the tongue.

Veritas bottles chilling

White Star NV

Variety: Viognier, Traminette, Chardonnay, and Petite Manseng (indigenous to VA)
Region: Afton, VA
Country USA
Year: 2012
Price: $18.00
Winery Review: “White Star” shows to be a complex but palate friendly style of wine. The varietal blend of Viognier, Traminette, Chardonnay, and Petite Manseng create layers of ripe tropical fruits such as peach, apricot, mango, pineapple, tangerine and coconut that meld beautifully with the bright acidity. We would recommend enjoying White Star in its youth while it expresses the tropical fruit nuances that can truly please the taste buds.
My Review: This wine was packed with tropical fruits! It was much sweeter than the ones before, a little too sweet for my liking. My roommate was very tempted to buy a bottle of this one. Alot of mango on the nose and I could taste pineapple and passion fruit. For being super sweet it had a nice and balanced finish.

Rose 2012

Variety: Cabernet Franc and Merlot
Region: Afton, VA
Country USA
Year: 2012
Price: $16.00

Winery Review: 2012 was an amazing year for Rose -Lots of lovely intensity in this Rose made from Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Brighter and more vibrant this year in color, with a delicate fruit aroma with floral hints, hauntingly dry with cherry and red fruit flavors. Remember Rose is our party, porch, beach and barbecue wine – just for fun- goes with anything and everything you enjoy!
My Review: This rose had a full boquet of red fruits. I smelled a lot of strawberry and cherry. It was also very sweet, which is to be expected in a rose. Im not a big rose fan so I didn't really have anything to compare it to.

Claret 2012

Variety: Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Merlot
Region: Afton, VA
Country USA
Year: 2012
Price: $19.00
Winery Review: The word Claret was originally an English term used to reference the pale colored table wines from Bordeaux. Claret 2011 is made up of a Bordeaux style blend of 55% Cabernet Franc, 28% Petit Verdot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, 2% Merlot. The bouquet has a delicate balance of fruit and spice. The palate is soft, elegant, and fruit forward with layers of red and black cherry, blackberry and currant. The tannins give firm structure, leading to a soft but lingering finish. A great wine to enjoy with everything from hamburgers to pasta.
My Review: Ew... ew...ew... All of us absolutely hated this wine. It was waaaay to smoky, peppery,  and tannic for any of our liking. It also had a very bitter aftertaste.


Cabernet Franc 2012

Variety: Cabernet Franc
Region: Afton, VA
Country USA
Year: 2012
Price: $22.00
Winery Review: Our 2012 is a Cabernet Franc that has all the niceties of a good Virginia Cabernet Franc. The color is ruby with garnet accents and slightly lighter than in previous years yet the aroma is pleasantly fresh with floral red fruits that lead into bright tastes of raspberry and cherry with a black-pepper finish. The wine is ultimately quaffable – a perfect accompaniment to lighter red meat, particularly lamb, veal, and chicken – even salmon if the fancy takes you.
My Review: Definitely better than the Claret, but it wasnt anything amazing. I definitely tasted a lot of cherry flavors and blackberry. The tannins on this wine are much softer and I would consider drinking this with a nice steak. Overall though, Vertias' white wines were much better than their reds.

Food and Wine Pairing

Amazing scallops

As we were walking around, we were fortunate enough to get to try some amazing cooking from the Inn at Virginia Tech. We had a scallop with bacon, pea puree, and a garlic sauce with parmesan. My roommates and I bought a bottle of Chardonnay from the Trump Winery tent because we enjoyed it so much and we figured this would be a great wine pairing.

We finished the Trump quickly! 

Trump Winery tent

Chardonnay

Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Charlottesville, VA
Country USA
Year: 2012
Price: $16.00
Winery Review:Trump Winery continues to win acclaim throughout the United States and the world. Trump is pleased to continue this significant legacy, and to bring Virginia wines to the forefront of United States winemaking.
My Review: I loved this chardonnay! It was so great. I really liked it because it wasn't oaky at all and very light. We loved it with the scallop because it was refreshing and tasted so good with the garlic type sauce and the bacon.

Eating some pizza! 

Hands down my favorite part of the day was our tasting at the Horton Vineyards tent. We had to wait almost 45 minutes in line but it was wellll worth it. We tasted over 19 different wines! We all loved their wines so much that we bought 3 bottles. My favorite one was their Eclipse White. For 12 dollars I was tempted to buy a whole case. It was floral and citrusy and light. They call it the "Hot tub wine."

Huge crowds at Fork and Cork

We all had such a great day and were definitely feeling tipsy by the end of it after than marathon wine tasting at Horton. I cannot wait to hopefully come back again next year.

Cheers to a great day

Wine Dinner: Sonoma Wine Bar & Bistro with family

Over Easter weekend, I went home to Virginia Beach to relax and spend time with my family. The Thursday evening I got home, my mom, sister and I decided to go out to dinner at Sonoma Wine Bar & Bistro. My mom had been there before, only for drinks, so we were very excited to try their food. I turned this into a wine pairing dinner for fun! We had a great time tasting wines and catching up.

Selfie outside of the restaurant. 

 About Sonoma Wine Bar & Bistro:

Sonoma Wine Bar & Bistro is located in Town Center in Virginia Beach, VA. According to their website, they carry over 325 different varieties, and you can order 70 by the glass. They like to carry smaller producers compared to mass producers and their stock spans almost every wine-making region in the world! When it comes to their food, their website says that they fuse together American food with a European bistro twist.

Just one of their many wine racks! 

A sample of the restaurant's decor

Food & Wine Pairing:

Tour of Europe wine flight

Since their food is very rich, and somewhat pricy, the three of us decided to all pick a dish we could all share. When it came to the wines, our server recommended to us one of their wine flights! A flight is designed specifically for tasting and they serve you 3 two-ounce pours of wine. For what we were having, he suggested the Tour of Europe flight. 

Crab & Artichoke Dip:baked jumbo lump crab and artichokes with house-made mozzarella and grilled baguette slices  $12

With the dip, our server paired it with a Finca Venta Verdejo. 

Variety: Verdejo

Region: Tierra de Castilla

Country: Spain

Year: Didnt say

Avg. Price: $5.00

Winery Review: Brilliant straw colour. Intensive mixture of tropical fruit aromas and fresh grass. In mouth refreshing, full bodied with a slight elegant bitter ending typical for the Verdejo grape. Very pleasant drinking.

My Review: I really enjoyed this spanish wine. It was light yellow in color and was very tropical on the nose. I definitely got a pineapple taste and some apple taste as well. It was a great combination of sweet and sour with a refreshing finish. It was also a little bit bubbly which I wasn't expecting. Our server said it would be great with fish so we thought crab was close enough. It was great paired with the saltiness and creaminess of the dip since the wine was so refreshing and dry. 

Gorgeous presentation of the Caesar salad

Caesar Salad: hearts of romaine with house-made croutons, parmesan

and a house-made garlic dressing   $8 (added Shrimp)

With the salad our server paired it with Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbes Pinot Blanc. He said that although this wine is good with seafood and salads, the anchovy taste in the dressing will pair great with it and the shrimp as well. 

Variety: Pinot Blanc

Region: Alsace

Country: France

Year: Didn't say

Price: $18.00

Winery Review: The robe is light yellow with green reflection. The disk is bright and luminous.
The nose is fine and delicate, on floral and fruity notes. Green lime notes can be found after airing.
In the mouth, the onset shows vivacity and as slightly full-bodied, but very fresh. We note the characteristics of a fresh vintage. In the middle mouth, we evolve on more mineral, slightly grilled notes. The finish is of medium length and very fine, making this wine a perfectly balanced wine.

My Review: It was light gold with a greenish tint. This wine was not sweet at all which was surprising because it is very fruity on the nose. It was very buttery to me and it also had a bit of a bitter aftertaste. I did like it with the salad though because caesar salad is so rich, it needed something dry and not super crazy to balance out the dressing and the amazing parmesan on it. The shrimp added a grilled/ spicy component to the salad but was also good with the wine since it wasn't sweet at all. 

Pesto and chicken pasta

Grilled Chicken Pasta: Grilled chicken over roasted Roma tomatoes and spinach tossed with 

penne pasta and sautéed with white wine and basil pesto $22 

Last but not least our server paired this with a Monti Guidi Pecorino. 

Variety: Pecorino

Region: Terre di Chieti

Country: Italy

Year: Didn't say

Price: $17.00

Winery Review: "Pecorino is a quite full-bodied wine with only moderate acidity, often showing flavors and aromas of yellow fruits, ground white spices like ginger and white pepper, and nuts, especially almonds and hazelnuts. Nice scents of green apples, bananas."

My Review: It was very golden in color compared to the other two wines we tasted. On the nose it was very alcohol forward, on my tasting sheet I have written "burns nose." It was very fruity on the nose as well. Definitely pineapple and floral. On the tongue I got very sweet and tangy with a large oak component. Im assuming thats how it got its color. It also had some acidity, but not as much as the other two. It was also not as refreshing as the other two, it was much thicker in body. With the pasta I really enjoyed it with the pesto component. Also since it was on the sweeter side, the grilled chicken tasted great with it. 

Over all I was very pleased with my first Sonoma experience. Although the prices were a bit expensive, I would defintiely go back for a happy hour or another tasting experience. We had so much fun catching up and my mom was so tickled that I had to do this assignment for a class. She wishes she could take a wine class for fun! 

Mom and sis waiting to order

awesome wine dispenser built into the wall

Winery visit: Belliveau Estates Winery

My roommate, Kelsey, and I decided that visiting a winery would be a great way to spend such a beautiful Sunday. Belliveau Estates is only about 20 minutes away from Blacksburg and is gorgeous! Not only is it a winery, but they also have a Bed and Breakfast on their 165 acre property.

Sign on the way onto the property.

Gorgeous view of the grounds on the way to the parking lot

 Once we got there we headed over to their tasting room where we were met by a very nice lady who ran our tasting for us. 

 There were two different sets of tasting options available, Flight 1 and Flight 2. Flight 1 is 3 Dry Wines and 2 Red Zinfandels, which is what I tasted. Kelsey opted for Flight 2 which was Semi-sweet and sweet wines. The tastings only cost $4.00 which is great for what you get!

Here is more information on the wines that I tasted:

"Afternoon Delight"- $18.00- "This lightly oaked dry Vidal Blanc has overtones of grapefruit, melon, almond, clove and a hint of white chocolate."

This wine was golden yellow in color and definitely had a lot of oak and melon taste. It reminded me a lot of Chardonnay. It was a nice wine to start out the tasting with.

"Destiny"- $16.00- "This dry, crisp Vidal Blanc is an excellent sipping wine, especially on a warm afternoon." This one won a bronze medal at the Mid-Atlantic wine show.

This was definitely my favorite, which is why I had to bring a bottle home with me! It was light, refreshing and left me wanting more. It was light yellow, almost clear, in color and had a nice citrus taste and a nice crisp aftertaste.

"Silhouette"- $20.00-  "Our Cabernet Sauvignon is a cornucopia of red berry flavors; raspberry, cherry and red currant, topped with spicy overtones."

Reddish in color, this Cab was nothing like your average Cab Sauv. It had a nice finish, not as full as a normal Cab, with lots of berry flavor and not a hot type of taste that you would have expected. I was definitely pleasantly surprised.

"Rainbow"- $24.00- "Full bodied with the peppery overtones that Zins are known for."

This Zin was very peppery and blood red in color. It had a pretty dry finish and would go great with a nice piece of meat.

"Sunset Sipper"- $24.00- "The Zinfandel has rounded spicy overtones and a smooth finish."

The lady said that customers usually like one of the Zins better than the other and this one was definitely my favorite of the two. It still had that peppery punch like the first Zin, but the finish was much smoother and not as harsh as the first one. It was definitely more well rounded than the other one.

"Reflection"- $ 24.00- "This hearty Traminette has complex notes of apricot, lychee, and lemon. This wine is a luscious and bold sipping wine."

We were very excited to get the opportunity to try this white wine because normally it is not available for a tasting. Luckily they had a bottle already open so she let us try it free of charge! It was not overwhelmingly sweet, but it had a floral punch and an almost overwhelmingly taste of Lychee. It was very different than what I was expecting. They entered it into a Mid-Atlantic wine competition though and it was a gold medal winner!

Just some of their wines on display

I enjoyed "Destiny" so much that I just had to take a bottle home with me! Kelsey decided to bring home a bottle of "A Capella." We're really excited about having these at our leisure.

                                 After the tasting we walked around the rest of the winery area.

We made a little friend while we were touring the property!

Patio space on the side of the tasting room

Back patio on the property

No one was around so we took a selfie!

Picture of the Vineyard

If you are looking for a place to go visit a beautiful winery, Belliveau Estates is definitely the place for you! Visit their website for more information of the tastings and other events that they have! 

Alpha Chi Senior Wine Party

As a celebration of the semester coming to a close and our time as members of Alpha Chi Omega, a bunch of girls in our pledge class decided to have a wine dinner party! We invited everyone to bring a dish and a bottle of wine to match their dish. There were about 20 of us and we had a great time sampling wine and enjoying each others company.

Abby behind the bar with some of the wines!

For my dish, I made a garlic and red pepper hors d'ouerve served on french bread. I paired this with Flip Flop Pinot Grigio.

Name: Flip Flop California Pinot Grigio
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2010
Store: Kroger
Price: $8.00 

Winery review: "Light-bodied, refreshing Pinot Grigio with tropical citrus, ripe pear and a zesty, clean finish. It is full of balanced crisp acidity."

My review: I really enjoyed this wine! I liked the citrus and pear combination but I didn't think it was super zesty, probably because the garlic was really kicking in the dish. It definitely had the perfect combination of acidity and citrus. For the price point I would definitely pick this up from Kroger again, I think it will go really well with a shrimp dish. 

Alouette & Crackers, Caprese Salad, Red Pepper dip

We definitely had a ton of appetizers and desserts.
Items brought:
- Caprese Salad
-Bruchetta
-Toasted Kale Chips
-Alouette
- Clam Dip
- 7 Layer Mexican Dip
- Ranch Chicken Salad
- Pasta Salad
- Mac n' Cheese
- Spinach dip with french bread
- S'mores Crescent rolls

Ranch chicken salad, 7 layer dip, Kale chips

My two other favorite wines/pairings are as follows:

Kelsey paired her clam dip and crackers with a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile:

Name: Concha y Toro Frontera Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Central Valley
Country: Chile
Year: 2012
Price: $9.99

Winery review: "Very good as apertif, with a fruity nose and palate, some body and fruit concentration. Very fresh. Aroma: Tropical Gooseberries. Medium Length."

My review: This wine was very refreshing and balanced with the dip. I have had it before (reviewed on the blog but without food) so I was excited to try it with food this time. Very citrusy, like many sav blancs, and a little tangy as well but it was nice with the dip. 




Abby paired her s'mores crescent rolls with Barefoot Moscato.
Name: Barefoot California Moscato Red Sweet

Variety: Moscato 
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Price: $6.00 

Winery review: "Refreshingly sweet, Red Moscato dances with all the right fruits. Juicy flavors of red cherry and raspberry shimmy with a sweet citrus until the last sip. If you're looking for sweetness, this is the perfect partner for any song."

My review: This red moscato was super sweet but matched really well with the super-sweet taste of the crescent rolls. I definitely recommend them to anyone who needs to make a quick and easy dessert! The wine is definitely an easy bridge for someone who is just making the jump from whites to reds. It has a little bit of a fuller taste than a regular moscato, but is way too sweet for my taste if I were looking for a regular drinking wine. 

Not ready for the picture clearly!

As you can see we had so much fun enjoying each other's company while refining our palates and learning about more about wine and food pairings! 

Some of our sisters! 

Wine and Food Pairing Dinner

My roommate, Abby Eastman, and I decided to have a food and wine dinner at our house for class!

Course 1: A spinach salad with avocado, strawberries, honey roasted almonds and mozzarella cheese with a strawberry balsamic dressing. I found the recipe on this blog:
http://valsocal.blogspot.com/2013/03/strawberry-avocado-salad.html?showComment=1363316503050


We paired this with a 2011 Chardonnay from California called Crane Lake.
Price: $4.49 at Kroger (super sale)
Region: Napa Valley, California
Smell: It wasn't super sweet or acidic, I smelled hints of apple, pineapple, oak and pear.
Taste: I got the same taste of apple and definitely pineapple, it was slightly acidic and very tangy. The oak also was brought out and some berry flavor. It was mild and mellow and perfect with the salad because it was bitter from the spinach but sweet and salty with the fruit and the almonds. I thought they were paired together very well and I would definitely recommend it to anyone!
Color: Light yellow, almost clear

Our main dish was a spicy sausage and broccoli pasta with gouda cheese. It was absolutely delicious and was relatively cheap and easy to make.
http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2012/02/spicy-sausage-broccoli-pasta-837-recipe.html

We paired this dish with a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile called San Elias.
Price: $9.00 at Kroger
Region: Central Valley, Chile
Smell: Very acidic and lots of greens and tropical fruits like pineapple and orange
Taste: Lots of citrus and hints of herbs. Had an acidic aftertaste, it is very acidic but not in a harsh way, very tangy, it complimented well with the spiciness of the sausage. Sauvignon Blanc is my favorite white wine so I was very pleased with this one! It was very fresh and had a clean finish.
Color: Light golden color with a hint of green

Our final course, dessert, was a slice of Tiramisu from Our Daily Bread on South Main St. It is my favorite dessert so any excuse to eat it sounded like a great time to me!

We paired this with a 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon from California called Snap Dragon.
Price: $11.99 at Kroger
Region: California, USA
Grapes: Zinfandel
Smell:  It was very sweet, like cherries and raspberries and then the oak monster came out!
Taste: Very oaky and cherry and had a lot of tannins, spicy and somewhat bitter when it came to the chocolate part of the tiramisu. Definitely could taste the raspberry in the aftertaste but was very very hot to me.
Color: Blood Red almost blackish

We had a great time, cant wait to have another one soon!

Hannah

Tasting: Pinord

Tasting: Pinord

Name: Dibon Cava Brut Reserva
Region: Catalunya
Country: Spain
Grapes: Macabeo, Xarel-lo, Parellada
Year: 2008
Price:  $12.00
Pairing: Tasted without food
Winemakers Notes: DIBON CELLARS is a family business with a long wine growing tradition. Now, three generations work together, counting on the support of the firm's hard workers who contribute to the elaboration and maturing of wines and cavas.

The cellars are in Vilafranca del Penedès, where all the elaboration, storage, maturation and bottling of our products take place; in the same location our ancestors' vineyards can be found, and others of the same quality that we have been incorporating. The vineyard is in the process of becoming 100% Organic by 2009, and consists of 75 hectares of trellised vines 1000 feet above the Mediterranean Sea. 

My Notes: I bought this sparkling wine as a gift for my roommate who had just completed taking her LSAT earlier in the day. As we popped the cork we were very excited to celebrate! It definitely had notes of apples, and some floral notes. It was very light and refreshing. It was definitely dry but it had a little hint of sweetness to it which made it easy to drink the whole entire bottle in an hour span. For $12.00 I would definitely buy it again because it is much better quality than Andre and is only 6 dollars more! 

Tasting: HobNob

Tasting: HobNob

Name: HobNob
Variety: Merlot
Region: Languedoc Roussillon
Country: France
Grapes: Merlot
Year: 2009
Price:  $9.00-$10.00
Pairing: Tasted without food
Winemakers Notes: "The HobNob Merlot is assertive and dynamic. It pairs well with marinara sauces, Filet Mignon, roast veal and chocolate. It is rich like a black currant cobbler."
My Notes: I definitely got a big profile of chocolate vanilla and oak which I do not mind in my reds. I was caught off guard though because before tasting it I was assuming from my sniff that it would be full of tannins but they were surprisingly on the softer side. It was also not very acidic so I was confused, it was kind of a just "there" aftertaste. It did not send me in either direction of liking it or disliking it. Definitely an easy drinking red wine for someone who is again, just starting out with red wines and the price point isn't terrible either!